Out of the USSR

• Hlance23's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Riga

Trip Start Jun 10, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Ongoing Next
Entry

  Riga, Latvia
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Moscow was mostly a pleasure.  I guess the downside was that four tomatoes would have cost $10.00, I thought that was a ripoff.  The city itself, however, has plenty to see.  We went back to St. Basil's Cathedral and the Red Square on multiple occasions--just because they are so cool!  Our hostel was nice, too.  Possibly one of the best night's sleep of the trip.  And the free Internet had great Skype connections so we were able to call home.  I enjoyed my time as a whole in Moscow, but St. Petersburg took the Russian cake. 
Our hostel in St. Petersburg was tough to find, had a boring atmosphere and so many mosquitos that I still haven't stopped itching.  Aside from the hostel, the city is a beautiful one.  St. Basil's Cathedral has a brother in St. Petersburg that was also very neat.  Alban even thought it was nicer, but I prefer St. Basil's.  Everywhere we walked through St. Petersburg were old buildings and beautiful, impressive cathedrals.  It would be easy for some people to spend a quality week touring the city.  The highlight for Alban (I'll take the liberty of guessing, and he can correct me) was the Hermitage museum.  It was impressive to me also, but each successive museum I go to seems to make them all start feeling the same.  Maybe it is narrow-minded of me,  but museums just don't thrill me.  Also, Alban got in for free because he brought his student I.D. card; I didn't bring one, so it cost me $15.  I think if it was free for me--like I think it should have been--maybe I would have enjoyed it more.  It also would have helped knowing more of the history behind the art.  Nevertheless, it is a quality museum--if that's what you're into. 
The non-historical highlight for both of us (Alban certainly wouldn't disagree to this) was the random Doener Kebab stand we happened to run into by the train station.  We each got four kebabs in total during our two day stay, and they were the most delicious things we have eaten since China.  Oh mercy, I may go back to St. Petersburg someday just for those.  Or maybe I should have just gone to Turkey with Alban, I bet they're easy to find there. 
Sunday night took us into Riga, Latvia which exceeded my expectations as another beautiful city.  Riga has the first well-landscaped parks that I have seen since leaving home, everything in them is beautiful.  Our hostel is in the quaint old-town section of Riga with cobblestone streets and sidewalks and awesome window shopping.  We found a record store with old and new music.  The vinyl was more expensive than what I would be willing to shell out at home, but the selection quality was awesome!  The city, thus far, has just been a pleasant experience.  As we were searching for our hostel Monday afternoon, we got lost and asked a casually-dressed young man for directions.  He completely dropped his conversation with another person, whipped out his phone and called someone for directions.  He then drew us a perfectly accurate map pointing us in precisely the right direction.  He was well-appreciated by us. 
We cooked our own supper last night--Alban did most of it.  I thought it was good, although it had a different taste compared to most pasta.  We shared it with some Aussies to shared their delicious Baklava with us--certainly a fair trade!  The Aussies had planned to do a trip of the same lscope as our's but a longer time.  They wanted to do the silk route through western China and Tajikistan, Uzbekistan etc. but were unable to get the appropriate visas.  Certainly a shame! 
Today Alban and I said our sad farewells at the Riga airport as he left to Istanbul to meet Aaron Marson.  I will spend the next couple days relaxing in this comfortable city before taking the bus to Berlin to meet Tye.  I won't lie,  I'll be really happy to see him, especially after being all lonely these next couple days.

Print this entry Share

Previous Entry Next Entry