Sunday, May 29, 2005
Riga, day three
I woke up at 9, still hyper from last night. I said goodbye to Vija and thanked her for having me over.
I went back to Old Town. Had lunch at a self-serve cafe called Pelmeni XL. Pelmeni, a Russian dish, is basically wontons stuffed with pork, mushrooms or a number of other ingredients. It can be served boiled or fried. Russians eat it slathered with sour cream. It's hearty and cheap.
Old Town's main street
I observed several diners start and finish their meals during the time I was eating. It seems that Latvians eat as quickly as they can so they can get on with their day. I also noticed that their portions were smaller than what I was accustomed to. I wondered if they eat smaller meals for cultural reasons or for a tight budget.
After lunch I walked around Old Town and spent an hour at a park just outside of it. This was a nice place to laze on a sunny afternoon.
Latvian festival in train station
At 3 P.M. I left to catch my train for Moscow. I was kind of apprehensive about train travel in this part of the world. I had heard stories of thieves running loose on trains, with the only defense being to buy an entire compartment and locking it from the inside. Since I didn't have enough money for that, I ended up sharing a compartment with one Russian man. He looked decent, and it turned out that he spoke some English and he translated for me on a couple of occasions. Just as I was getting used to this nice arrangement, the the train stopped near the border and let on more passengers. Two shabbily dressed men who smelled like Riga's worst sewer joined our cabin. I was a little suspicious of them, but for the rest of the journey I minded my own business and everything turned out all right.
Latvian festival. Notice Russian text in background.
