there aren't that many things that i can say about latvia. this city, with its cobblestone streets and post-soviet defaced churches looks neat from the outside. but there are strong tensions between the russians and latvians that are hard to avoid. yesterday i hung out with a group i met during a walking tour of latvia, and the tour guide was giving us the breakdown of latvia's history. we were standing in front of the jewish ghetto when an older man approached the tour guide. the man spoke in russian, but our tour guide could not speak it back. she understood almost everything he said and the end of his rant, our guide's eyes became glassy from the anger. russians in latvia will not learn latvian, and i guess they still think that the soviet union lives on.
anyways, today is a new day. in a few moments my carry-on will be stumbling across the cobble stones headed to the great country of lithuania. vilnius is where i'll stop and find my next meal.
Showing posts with label soviet union. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soviet union. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
estonian to latvian
its been three days since my last taste of some of that elk soup from tallinn; though the second time around was not so pleasant as the first. from what i gathered, estonians seem to be the friendly and outgoing type. they are also freaks! as in, the women seem to have the same mentality as the opposite sex.
on the last night of my stay in tallinn, i was invited to an outdoor concert right next to the freedom steps. it was me and four girls from the hostel, which made for interesting conversations. as the concert drew to its end, it grew more patriotic and grand. "estonia!" from all over that specific pocket of the city were shouted as the crowd swayed from side to side. but from what i gathered, this emotion that estonians were displaying has been the same since they gained freedom from the russians in the early 90's. nina, a finnish girl who was studying in tallinn, explained how the movement hasn't really progressed forward. after hearing the same melancholic song for the third time, it didn't seem farfetched.
the night ended, everyone went there way, and i began making sandwiches for the long day ahead. the next morning i said my goodbyes to john(sweden), and nina(finland), and off i was with roller in hand. i turned a corner and walked into a 'R kioske' and asked, in my most estonian english, "baass tiikettt REEEGAA". that sounded about right, but the lady across the counter just gave me a ticket for the local tram. i shook my head and repeated riga, this time including latvia; the lady laughed. she shook her head and communicated exactly what i feared.
i walked outside and took a cold deep estonian breath. a few seconds after, i heard a soft "hello" directed straight at me. during my deep conversation with the kiosk lady, a girl inside had been hearing our conversation and offered to help me. at first she tried explaining, but apparently the bus station was far. she asked me to follow her to the next block, for a better view of which street to take. her english was good, but very estonian. her explanations of getting to the bus station kept being interrupted by sub conscience. we kept walking until we approached a lot full of cars. she began walking to her car and i tried remembering the vague directions she had said.
"alright, well thank you so much for everything. so i make a right on..." she didn't let finish my sentence. "no! no, you its too complicated! you will get lost, you come with me." as she pointed to her car, "i will take you"
now, going against all my judgement, i had to make the call. on the one hand, what i had here was a stranger, inside a strange city. but on the other, she seemed sweet, genuine, not out to harvest my kidneys for profit. she was also good looking, so in case of rape, i would rather it be from the opposite sex.
well, everything turned out fine. her name is christina, and she was very nice. she dropped me off right in front of the bus station which was about a 10 minute drive from where i originally was. we exchanged emails, and parted with a gentle smile. a few hours later, i was on a bus headed to latvia.
on the last night of my stay in tallinn, i was invited to an outdoor concert right next to the freedom steps. it was me and four girls from the hostel, which made for interesting conversations. as the concert drew to its end, it grew more patriotic and grand. "estonia!" from all over that specific pocket of the city were shouted as the crowd swayed from side to side. but from what i gathered, this emotion that estonians were displaying has been the same since they gained freedom from the russians in the early 90's. nina, a finnish girl who was studying in tallinn, explained how the movement hasn't really progressed forward. after hearing the same melancholic song for the third time, it didn't seem farfetched.
the night ended, everyone went there way, and i began making sandwiches for the long day ahead. the next morning i said my goodbyes to john(sweden), and nina(finland), and off i was with roller in hand. i turned a corner and walked into a 'R kioske' and asked, in my most estonian english, "baass tiikettt REEEGAA". that sounded about right, but the lady across the counter just gave me a ticket for the local tram. i shook my head and repeated riga, this time including latvia; the lady laughed. she shook her head and communicated exactly what i feared.
i walked outside and took a cold deep estonian breath. a few seconds after, i heard a soft "hello" directed straight at me. during my deep conversation with the kiosk lady, a girl inside had been hearing our conversation and offered to help me. at first she tried explaining, but apparently the bus station was far. she asked me to follow her to the next block, for a better view of which street to take. her english was good, but very estonian. her explanations of getting to the bus station kept being interrupted by sub conscience. we kept walking until we approached a lot full of cars. she began walking to her car and i tried remembering the vague directions she had said.
"alright, well thank you so much for everything. so i make a right on..." she didn't let finish my sentence. "no! no, you its too complicated! you will get lost, you come with me." as she pointed to her car, "i will take you"
now, going against all my judgement, i had to make the call. on the one hand, what i had here was a stranger, inside a strange city. but on the other, she seemed sweet, genuine, not out to harvest my kidneys for profit. she was also good looking, so in case of rape, i would rather it be from the opposite sex.
well, everything turned out fine. her name is christina, and she was very nice. she dropped me off right in front of the bus station which was about a 10 minute drive from where i originally was. we exchanged emails, and parted with a gentle smile. a few hours later, i was on a bus headed to latvia.
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