Little Strummer Boy

I thought I could share this video that I took of this young boy playing his guitar in Old Riga. He definitely caught my attention, along with Katerina's, so we watched and caught ourselves "aww"-ing at his playing and singing. I gave him .50 Lats, Katerina gave him a bit more. It was well deserved.

If it weren't summer, I would have questioned why this boy wasn't in school.

20 Hours in Riga: Part II

(This is a continuation from '20 Hours in Riga: Part I'- I would expect for you to figure that out).

View of Old Riga from the top of Doma Laukums' Tower

Old Riga feels like a little big village. As I made my way towards the plaza of Doma Laukums to meet up with the Couchsurfer that I had contacted the night before, I was amazed how clean this little part of town was. It was probably the high tourist traffic that caused such cleanliness. I noticed a lot of local tourism from the local Baltic countries, and many Germans. Many, many Germans. 

Oh, and the city of Riga is in a country called Latvia. Many people don't even know of such place unfortunately. At least many people in the western hemisphere don't. It is clearly overshadowed by more popular destinations. The Baltic countries are definitely beautiful small gems in northern Europe. Educate yourselves!

When I arrived to the plaza of Doma Laukums, I did exactly as I told the couchsurfer I was going to do: sit down and write in my small notebook, wearing a tan jacket, black skinny jeans, and tan shoes. Shortly after I sat down, I barely wrote three sentences when I heard my name. Katerina from Australia had found me without a hitch, and we hit it off. Like me, she had also arrived the day before and was looking for company, since her Couchsurfing host was at work. Her company was wonderful and it distracted me from missing Moscow. She knew a lot of little factoids about Riga, thanks to her host. Here are a couple:

- Fake windows are painted on buildings because (1) windows are desirable- it's human nature- and (2) during the Medieval Age it was believed that windows 'stole' sunlight from the city, making the days shorter.

- During soviet occupation, Latvians had to speak Russian when a Russian was in the same room. Today, about 30% of Latvians are Russian.

Highlights of the rest of the 5 hours I had in Old Riga:

Doma Laukums

This is worth the 3 Lats (~$6) that I paid for- this will admit you to the top of the tower, otherwise the cathedral is free. I got the student price, fortunately. The lady at the ticket office was snarky, though. I asked her if my student ID card was valid (since it is not an ISIC), and all she had to say was "well, you're a student right? and you are showing me card? you are student then!". 

The view from the top of the tower is beautiful, and you get the whole view of Old and Central Riga, even the over side of the River Daugava. Surprisingly the terrain is flat. The top of the church tower is a little claustrophobic, but you get to people watch as if you were a god high up above. 

Worth it? Yes. 

But there is another place with a view- and for free. Read on.

After walking around the city, admiring the quaint facades of the Old Town, we started to feel a bit hungry. She asked if I knew of a good place for lunch, and fortunately I had done some "cheap eats" research on my digital copy of my Lonely Planet guide of Riga:

Pelmeni XL

I think I was craving Russian food, so I led the way towards this wonderful little pelmeni establishment. Pelmeni is a Russian dumpling, often referred to as "Russian ravioli". Pelmeni XL is actually a small chain with only 2 locations withing Riga. After glancing at the menu, we deemed it worthy. Katerina wanted a little taste of Russia (or Latvian- pelmeni is also part of the Latvian cuisine now) since she had never been. The establishment is cafeteria style and you get to choose your pelmeni: pork, beef, chicken, veggie, fried; additional ingredients: sour cream, ketchup, carrots, pickles, parsley, dill. 

Paying for  my bowl- which they charge you by the weight- only came out to 1.65 Lats (~$3!)- with a drink. I should have piled on more pelmeni! And it was wonderful pelmeni. Katerina definitely agreed. 

Worth it? Yes. 

Pushpin recommended!

Rigensis

Since lunch was so cheap, Katerina wanted to get some dessert to make the most out of our short day together in Riga. After walking in circles for about an hour (and discovering Riga at the same time), we came across Rigensis, a small bakery. Judging by the amount of people in the patio basking in the sun and enjoying their beautiful tarts and pastries, we decided to check out what they had to offer. Immediately we knew this is were we wanted to spend dessert-time. I ordered Medus Kūka (which translates to Honey Cake) and a hot chocolate. My total was only 1.20 Lats (~$2!). I definitely felt a little rich being here. The Medus Kūka wasn't much sweet, but it was just perfect. My hot chocolate was one of the best I have ever had, tasting the sweetness of the milk, and the rich chocolate that was mixed in.

Worth it? Yes

Pushpin recommended!

Radisson Blue's Skyline Bar

After 4pm, the Skyline Bar in the hotel is open for guests and tourists alike. Katerina let me know of this because it is another beautiful view of Riga, both Central and Old. We took our fair amount of photos in the bar; I only had less than an hour left in Riga and with Katerina since my flight was at 19:30-ish. 

Worth it? Yes (it's free!), especially if you are on a budget and would rather spend it on souvenirs. ;]

It would have been lovely to spend another day in Riga, but I had to travel on. Thank you, Katerina, wherever your are now, for making my time in Riga oh-so-wonderful. You brightened my day. 

On the way to the airport, I ran into the same young man who asked me to exchange some coins at the bus stop the night before. As it turned out, he is an American from Boston currently living in Turkey (that explains his impeccable English) and was visiting Riga via Couchsurfing! We got to chat a bit while I waited for my flight. His sister was arriving that evening, so he went to pick her up. I passed on my bus pass that I bought the day before, since it was valid for 5 days- so that his sister could use it. (I should have bought the bus ticket ON the bus, I would have paid .50 Lats or something like that, not the 4 Lats for 5 days).

It's a wonderful feeling randomly meeting people with a common interest and participation like Coushsurfing. 

at the Riga airport, at the terminal about to depart.

20 Hours in Riga: Part I

Arriving to Riga, I already felt pretty lonely. After being in an amazing country with amazing people, I felt saddened to be somewhere else other than Moscow. At the terminal I exchanged about 500 rubles, which got me 9 lats. It was definitely strange to hear such a difference, especially because 500 rubles is about $15.50 USD. At the airport parking lot, I sat waiting for the bus, watching someone struggle with the automated bus ticketing machine. He later asked me, in perfect English, if I had some spare lats (the Latvian currency) to switch with his since his for some reason wasn't being accepted. He was from Turkey, but I didn't ask why his English was so impeccably American. We chatted up a bit about our travels, and when he learned that I was coming from Russia, his expression was that of surprise (it always is, no matter who it is), and naturally he assumed I was Russian.
Trust me, I do not look Russian. I get that a lot, but when I was in Russia, I became 99.9% sure that I have zero percent of Russian physique.

photo from Cinnamon Sally. polaroid action by pushpin

When I finally came to the Cinnamon Sally Hostel in central Riga, it was about midnight, and the hostel keeper simply led me to the 6-bed dorm since I already had a reservation for the night. She came from bed, and didn't want to deal with the payment, so she said I looked trustworthy and that we could wait until the morning. I was definitely exhausted, because 3 of my luggage wheels had broken (even after I got 2 of them fixed while in Moscow), so I was basically dragging 18 kilos (about 40 lbs) for about .75 of a kilometer getting off the bus. It didn't help that the elevator was broken and I had to climb 4 flights of stairs to reach the hostel. At least somehow I felt at home at the hostel. It was bohemian looking, spacious, and not institutional-feeling. It was warm and welcoming, and I loved that. Right before I went to bed, I went to Couchsurfing.com to check on the open request that I had posted earlier while in Moscow for anyone who was in Riga that wanted to hang out with me before my flight left later in the evening, since the feeling of loneliness was actually increasing. I had one reply, but this guy had to references, and only one photo posted, so I deemed him not-so-trustworthy. I simply told him that I had already accepted to meet up with another couchsurfer (lie).
Waking up, I was intent on two things: getting a new luggage, and checking Couchsurfing for any other replies. Luckily an young Australian replied, and I shot her a message asking her to meet me in the plaza of St. Peter's square. I told her what I was wearing. Just to add to that I told her that she would find me sitting writing in a small brown notebook. After I sent the message, I arranged everything with the hostel keeper- paying my 6 Lats for the bed and having her show me a map of Old Riga. 

Shortly after, I left in search for new luggage. I remembered passing a shopping mall on the bus the night before. It was called Stockman's (later I learned it is a Finnish department store). I found my way up to the travel department, and oh-my-gosh the Latvian currency is very deceiving. It is about half the amount of the dollar. In the end, and after much reasoning with myself, I bought a $200 Samsonite. 
It better be durable. More than the Heys that I had before. I'm very disappointed in you, Heys. 
I returned to the hostel, repacked everything in my beautiful, grey, Samsonite, and left to meet the couchsurfer at noon. 
At that point I had 6 hours in Riga left before I was to take the bus back to the airport. 

Lessons Learned #4: AirBaltic... again.

courtesy of  http://www.fabbrunette.com

It was my first time flying AirBaltic when I departed Moscow for my 18 hour layover in Riga, with my destination being Oslo. I already had a small beef with AirBaltic (which was later, somewhat, forgiven). Ilya accompanied me to Sheremetyevo Airport. When I checked in, I took my checked baggage and  left my carry-on baggage with him so that I didn't need to unnecessarily lug it 10 meters to the counter when Ilya was waiting for me in the seating area. While standing in line awaiting my turn, I began to notice that the AirBaltic personnel were weighing carry-on baggage (which I have never seen before on other budget airlines), in addition to weighing checked baggage as usual. And they were very strict about their one carry on per passenger rule. I had small panic attacks in my head. My carry-on was 13 kilos- 5 kilos over the allowed weight- but at least I only had one carry-on. After personnel would weigh the carry-ons, passengers would basically receive a gold star in form of a neon-green strap to attach to their carry-on: "AirBalic approved" or whatever it said. There was no way that I was getting a green strap. After saying my thank yous and goodbyes to Ilya, I move on to the boarding area, where I had to torutre myself with passport/visa check, and another 40 minutes of waiting before boarding. The whole time I was still panicking about that weight allowance, especially because my bag wasn't glowing green from the strap that I didn't receive. I think I ended up chewing on about 5 or 7 fruit chews (a Russian equivalent to Starbursts) because of stress. 
What were the air stewardesses going to do? Were they going to turn me away? Charge me the unfair extra baggage fee (I think it was easily more than 60€)? Give me the usual "She's American" dirty look? The best that I could have hoped for was they they were going to just take it and put it with the rest of the checked baggage. I would have yelled at them for that (I really would have), though, because my cameras, laptop, and other very important items were inside.


Well, boarding the plane was flawless, and nothing happened. All that stress for nothing. Now all I had to do is worry about the second leg of the flight from Riga to Oslo. But nothing happened there either, because I had already checked in at Sheremetyevo, where I should have technically weighed my carry-on. 


Keep Calm and Carry On! I should have had that plastered on my hand or something. 

Lessons Learned #3: Visa Registration

trying out my Bukoh kit with Moscow's city lights

I didn't want to leave Russia. After my 9 days were up, I was regretted even booking a flight to Riga and Oslo months before. I could have stayed in Moscow indefinitely if I could. But I had to look on the bright side. 99% of the my time spend in Moscow I was with Ilya (a cousin of Boyfriend's), and some time also spent with his mom. There was a point during my stay where I desperately went to Couchsurfing  on Russia Day to find people that I could meet up with. I was well advised not to go to the center during this day because there were planned protests against Putin. As much as I wanted to see this action, I was advised once again- this time my Boyfriend- not to. 7 years in a Russian prison will not be worth it. I didn't question it so I spent the most of the time in Ilya's apartment, mostly on the computer. In the morning I noticed that the fridge was short of bread and ryazhenka (ряженка) so I went alone, for the first time, to the market near the apartment. Ilya was away tutoring an art student anyway. I was pretty sure he wouldn't have let me off by myself if he were there. I survived my supermarket experience, but brought back the wrong type of bread. It was close, but not the one that I wanted. 
So back at the apartment (sorry for that detour), I went on Couchsurfing to find people to meet up with so that I could at least get more cultural insight from different people. I messaged a few, gave them my phone number (I had gotten a Russian SIM when I arrived back from St. Petersburg), and hoped for the best. I even contacted a Postcrosser who had earlier suggested that we meet up while I was in the city. Is 'desperate' and understatement? Perhaps. In the end, no one contacted me, but a few days later I noticed that the Postcrosser did indeed reply, but it went to my spam folder, which I naturally never view. So that day was a bit of a failure escaping the apartment, but I guess I got some stuff done, like organizing photos, posting a blog entry, and even washing some clothes. 


Then I remembered about registering my visa. Russia has this little nuance about visas. If you are staying in Russia, one needs to register their visa on the 7th day if they are to stay in Russia for more than 7 days. But did that include the 7th day? Or was it after the 7th day? I tried to educated myself thoroughly about the process because I was to leave Russia the next day- but I still was left confused. In some cases that I read, it is only if you are staying in a city for more than 7 days. If I were to follow that, then I was fine. Clearly I was in the country for more than 7 days, but it does not include holidays. The saturday before was a holiday and then it was Russia Day that day. So that would leave me at 7 days when I was to depart. In the end, there was nothing that I could really do because registering a visa takes about a day or two. I had to take the risk at the airport at passport check and just hold my breath. The consequences didn't seem all that bad: either I would spend some time in jail while the whole thing was sorted out, or I would basically be banned from the country for the next 5 years.

The next day at the airport, I passed passport check! I was prepared to play the role of the stupid tourist. At least I didn't have to stoop to that level.

Moscow Museums, etc.

You could only expect a 865 year old city that is 970 square miles- or 2,510 square kilometers- to contain many museums. I was definitely left tired of museums or churches or galleries, but it all was part of the cultural experience. It's fortunate that most of Moscow accepts any student ID card- it does not have to be that wretched ISIC card. Here is a run down of some that I saw there:

State Museum of Mayakovskii 

This was the first museum I visited while in Moscow, and it was a total "WTF" museum. All I knew going into the museum was that he was a Russian playwright/poet. But this museum was a metaphysical mess. I definitely left more confused than going in; the museum made me think he was more of an artist than just a playwright or poet. I was beginning to think that the museum should put a warning on the door, recommending to bring a little weed or something to help with the experience. I felt that it was a mess of a collaboration between Giorgio de Chirico and Vladimir Mayakovsky- which obviously was not the case, but it sure did feel like it. 

Skippable? Yes. Mind-tripping museum? YES.

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

This was a complete 180 from the previous museum visited (Mayakovskii). It is your usual classical museum: filled with art from the Greeks and Egyptians, Medieval, Renaissance, etc. Unfortunately only the titles of the pieces were translated into English, while the descriptions remained solely Russian (but that would actually apply to virtually all museums). What actually disappointed the most me was the rather large collection of sculptures, about 90% of them copies. This museum would be perfect for those seeking a collection of sculptures to sketch and study, not for those seeking an original, historical, sculpture collection. The highlight of this museum was the architectural model of the proposed expansion of the Pushkin Museum, which was entirely made of transparent acrylic and lit with LEDs throughout. I was highly tempted to sneak a photograph of the model, but for some reason, there was high security around it. 

Around the model. 

Not the paintings.

Security personnel with the typical Russian pokerface surrounded the model like hounds. I didn't even have to think twice. I just took a mental photograph. 

Skippable? Depends if you are a classical art fanatic. 

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior 

(Храм Христа Спасителя)

While not an old church like say, St. Basil's, this church still has had it's battles with history in the last 200 years. When little Napoleon retreated from Moscow, Emperor Alexander I declared his intention to build a church  "to signify Our gratitude to Divine Providence for saving Russia from the doom that overshadowed Her" and as a memorial to the sacrifices made by the Russian people. Then some years later, it was built, and again some years later Stalin comes around and decides to tear it down to build the "Palace of the Soviets". It was never built, so that torn down site became the world's largest open-air swimming pool.

So... a cathedral lost itself to the communists, and the communists lost it's palace from lack of funding- and this all became the world's largest open-air swimming pool. Never would have guessed. 

The Cathedral was eventually rebuilt starting in 1990 and consecrated in 2000.

Skippable? No. As 'new' as it is, it is worth a visit. It's free anyway. It's briefly mentioned in Doctor Zhivago, too (the book).

Borodino Panorama Museum

Located east of Poklonnaya Hill, this museum is about the Patriotic War of 1812- where little Napoleon wanted to take Russia (amazing that Hitler didn't learn from Napoleon many years later. Never mess with Russia). As an American, I learned very little about this war during my European History course in high school. Going into the museum (and being a little history buff myself), I actually felt a little ignorant of this war. Nonetheless it was a good learning experience, and the museum in itself was quite impressive with it's good collection of art of the subject matter, military costumes, equipment, etc. The museum wouldn't be complete with the main exhibition: a 360 panorama of the Battle of Borodino. Boyfriend actually recommended this museum some time ago because many years ago as a child, he paid a visit to this museum, and as a little Russian boy, I guess it left quite the impression on him. 

Skippable? Not for the history buff. But unfortunately if you want to take photos inside, you must purchase a ticket to do so. 

The Kremlin

Considered to the heart of Moscow, this complex contains 4 palaces and 4 churches. It also serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. When I visited, they were actually dismantling some event tents because Putin decided to have a party to commemorate Russia Day the day before. Standing in line to get tickets to acquire admission into the Kremlin was confusing. Although the admission prices were listed on the window outside the ticket office (church visit, armory visit, diamond exhibition visit....too many separate admissions!), the ticket-teller actually told us that we could get into the Kremlin free with student I.D. or other acceptable forms of I.D. Excited of free admission, I could see myself running all over the Kremlin grounds like a little girl in a flower field. But after battling yet another never-ending crowd of Chinese tourists, I was finally inside and it was definitely not what I had expected. The complex was quite an open expanse of smooth stone roads with historical and newer buildings sharing the same boundaries. Where the public was allowed was only a small section of the Kremlin, and looking at the older palaces of Catherine the Great, I felt like 'defecting' to the other half of the complex. Again, staring into the pokerfaces of the security guards prevented me from doing so.


We tried to go into the churches on the half of the Kremlin that we were in, but we found out that our 'free' tickets only admitted us onto the property, not the churches. At that point I didn't care about visiting another church. At least I can say that I had visited the Kremlin, right? And seen a super-huge bell? And a huge canon?


Skippable? Unless you visit the armory and actually pay admission.

St. Basil's Cathedral

This is perhaps the most iconic of Moscow's buildings. It actually also marks the geometric center of Moscow Because of the summer season, it was overrun by tourists. Who am I to say- I was technically a tourist myself. Erected under orders from Ivan the Terrible in 1555-61, this cathedral contains 8 side churches around the center church (the 9th), and a 10th church was built in 1588 over St. Basil's grave. And yes, he is still there. 

This is not your typical church. 

No nave. No transept. No arcade. 

Its just a whole bunch of chapels connected by beautiful, winding, dark, hallways. It is a labyrinth of narrow vaulted corridors, all of which are painted with ornamental floral murals. 

Skippable? DEFINITELY NOT. Seriously, don't even think twice. Looking at it isn't enough. You have to go inside.  

(Any by the way, don't pay the photography fee because unlike everywhere else, no one is watching you here.)

Russian Pokerfaces

Typically when I walk my dog (or I guess even walk myself), I come across others also walking for leisure around my neighborhood or the surrounding areas. Usually a "good morning" or a "hello" is exchanged, sometimes with a compliment about my small Pomeranian dog. Exchanging a greeting is typical in American suburbia. In the city, it doesn't happen very often, but a smile at least might be exchanged.

"You know he is not Russian because he smiled at us." 
That's what I heard when I was in St. Petersburg. And it is very, very, true. No one will smile at you at passing. They might look at you, but no smile, no verbal exchange. Unless they say excuse me because you walk too slow (which is rare in itself). In the metro, in the street, in a grocery store.... nothing. I would find myself sometimes giving a slight smile to a child in the metro, but even they have mastered the pokerface. I had to teach myself to have a straight face. Only tourists would smile at others. It was a dead giveaway.

It is safe to say that Hollywood, for the most part, has it right. Russians in films are typically portrayed as cold people. Well, they are definitely not all cold people, but their pokerface is. I'm always reminded of 007: Casino Royale (the 2007 version) and the character of "Le Chiffre" (portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen... he's actually Danish, though).

By the end of my 10 days in Russia, I am happy to report that I have mastered the pokerface.