Riga

Riga, Latvia – Tuesday, November 4, 2008, 1:16pm local time

 

Ah, Riga.  The good ol’ Baltic States, (semi-)western Europe.  Thanks for Air Baltic and the cancelling of our flight to Kiev last night, we got to spend the night here in Riga and get a little respite from our hard pace of the past several days.  We knew in advance that we’d be overnighting here, so I found a moderately-priced hotel right in the Old Town of Riga.  It was within walking distance of everything we could need or want to see.  It was thoroughly enjoyable to do a two-hour walking tour this morning.  We were numb from the cold after ten minutes, and so we simply stood with our face to the wind and pressed on!    I mean, really.  How often do you get to stand in the nave of a church that was built in 1225 or walk cobblestone streets that were laid centuries ago and are hardly wide enough for a horse and cart let alone a car?!  So what if it’s only 40 degrees and damp outside!  Like any good tourist town, the hotels in Riga have little magazines with loads of advertisements, lists of restaurants and hotel, and a roster of points of interest.  This little guide also provided us with the great walking tour.  In about two hours we had covered most of Old Town, and I sucked in the atmosphere of the city.  I love being in old Europe and seeing buildings that have stood little changed for centuries.  Riga looks a little like Vienna, a little like Timisoara, Romania, and a little like something all its own.  The colors, the style of the buildings, everything is just a little distinct from other places I’ve been.  The walk ended with us going back to the hotel via the riverfront.  The wind chill was about 25, and we fairly froze our noses off!

 

As quaint and fascinating as the old centers of Europe are, one thing hits you immediately.  You can see it in the faces of the people and in the storefronts.  Secularism runs rampant and is embraced with vigor.  After checking in to Radi un Draugi Hotel (fantastic!), we set out to find an affordable dinner.  We ended up at Čili Pica, which was both affordable and delicious, but we will hit full force with the worldview of Europe as we walked down the first street from our hotel.  We passed a clothing shop called Faith Connexion.  In the window, we could see shirts with the word ‘FAITH’ emblazoned across the front.  Another said ‘GOD LOVES YOU,’ all in very gothic script.  Curiously, we poked our heads inside, and Bruce asked the girl behind the counter what the idea for the shop was.  She immediately shot back, “To be sexy, to be ‘rock and roll.’  It has nothing to do with God.”  Here was the perfect description of the majority European mindset.  God might exist, but if He does He’s simply a tool to be edgy.  There is spirituality, but it is only an essence of being, a front you project to show that you have deeper knowledge of something and are “enlightened.”  Never mind that it is really mockery of God and true faith.  It’s sick.

 

The people in Latvia have grown wealthy quickly.  They gained independence less than 20 years ago, and the economy and standard of living are already visibly high.  It’s not Germany or France, but it’s getting there rapidly.  It was nice to be back in a western country after the time in Belarus, but it saddened me to see the spiritual and moral decay that has already set in.

 

We’re off to Kiev shortly—a first for me.  I can’t wait to drink it all in and absorb something new again!  More to come.

 

Scott