At saturday it’s time for me to see some Latvian sights. We go to a place that, if I remember correctly, is called Segunda. There they have caves with very old inscriptions:
Nearby we also walked around through the beautiful nature and forest. It was beautiful, but once again also hot and humid. Which means… mosquitos, mosquitos and above all: mosquitos. Aaargh. With bloody legs and arms, because of all the mosquitos that I killed, we left.
The next day we’re having brunch at 12.00 with Zanete’s friend Maija. Maija is having a bad day that day. While walking to the restaurant a car splashes through some water on the road. Maija’s the main victim. In the restaurant Maija only gets a cup of coffee because she already ate (she forgot all about the fact that we’d eat together). She walks to our table, sees an interesting-looking dog and wham! there goes her cup of coffee. After dinner Maija has to look something up on the internet. We decide to drive to her brother’s work where there’s a wireless access point that we can use. When we get there my and Zanete’s wireless internet work fine, but Maija’s doesn’t. Then we drive to the bus station to let Maija buy a ticket for the bus to Riga (where she lives, studies and works). As soon as she queues up, there’s a technical problem and we have to wait. After around 10 minutes I suggest to her to give the rest of the people in the line a break by getting out of the line. So that the technical problem gets resolved. She laughs, but doesn’t leave the line. Another 10 minutes later the problem is fixed and she can get her ticket.
Tuesday morning we get up at 5.00. Today I’m getting on the plane back to Holland. The bus to Riga leaves at 6.00. When we arrive in Riga at around 7.30, we have to walk about half an hour to the bus station to the airport. We get there at around 8.02, the bus just left. This shouldn’t be a problem, as Maija convinced Zanete that there are multiple busses leaving each hour. Not so. The next one leaves at 9.20, and I have to be checked-in before 9.35, considering that the ride to the airport takes approximately 30 minutes, this is not an option. What now? Zanete calls some people who tell her that at the place where we arrived in Riga there’s also a bus leaving to the airport. That’s just great. We walk/run back all the way, which isn’t a lot of fun with a big suitcase, even though it has wheels. When we arrive there we wait for bus 22. When the bus arrive and check if it goes to the airport, the driver tells us that we’re at the wrong side of the road… Just in time for the last bus to the airport at 8.30 we get to the other side of the road. We arrive at the airport at 9.10. Thank god there’s no long line and I can check in quickly.
The flight back to Berlin went fine, except for the landing which was sort-of roller-coaster like. When I get to the train station I have to get back to the Zoologische garten station. But this time I know how to buy the ticket! I think… I immediately go to the track where the train is leaving, because that’s where the ticket machine is supposed to be. No such machine. I go downstairs to find a machine there. I find one, enter where I want to go, it asks me to pay. It accepts none of my cards. I ask a Deutche Bahn guy who tells me that I can buy my ticket at another track. When I go there, there’s a line. Mainly foreign people like me who have no idea how the railway system works. When it’s finally my turn the sun blinds the screen. I can’t see anything. An impatient german woman behind me asks me where I want to go, presses a couple of buttons and after paying, the ticket comes out. Great.
I arrive at the station around 12.00. At 12.15 the train to Holland leaves, however because I wasn’t sure that I would make it in time, I reserverd seats for the one after… the one that leaves at 16.45. So I have to wait. And I can tell you, 6.5 hours is a VERY long time. Finally, at around 21.30 I’m back in Holland where my dad, who happened to be in the neighbourhood comes to pick me up.
Although the stories may not particularly show it (because I’m only telling what I want the world to know ;)) I’ve had a great time in Latvia and I’m going there again from July 24th to August 4th. Looking forward to it already. You can find the “rest of the pictures I took while in Latvia here”:http://www.zefhemel.com/~zef/Latvia/Latvia.html.
