First Days

During my family’s many travels, my mom always said that recording my first impressions of a city were the most valuable. After a few days, the amazing becomes the routine. So here are my first thoughts on Riga. 

The city is wonderful. It’s the perfect mix of old Europe and Russia, history and modernity, comparative low prices, and small enough to call manageable. Everyone is happy and relaxed, enjoying the privilege of being part of the EU, but sufficiently integrated with Russia to enjoy the best of both worlds. Russians make up the majority of Riga’s population, so communication is easy, but Latvian language laws require everything to be in Latvian, making grocery shopping a challenge. The Latvian language appears more Germanic than Slavic, but there are enough similarities between the two to make rough translations survivable. Almost all of the locals speak English or Russian, so we have encounter few language challenges so far. 

The biggest issue we’ve encounters though, is that pushing a stroller on cobble stone is not easy. Our temporary apartment (and the permanent apartment were slated to move to) are both near the historical center, with cobble stone aplenty. Taking CR for walks involves substantial forearm strength and a lot of vibration. C has had a few tumbles on her Strider bike as well, but the benefits far outweigh the sacrifices. We saw amazing cathedrals, medieval city walls, and ate fresh strudel on our first outing around the city this morning.  Keeping the weight off is going to be a challenge. 

The weather is surprising hot, with a heat wave blanketing the city. It’s been in the 90s and our apartment had no AC. Staying hydrated and cool has been key. We spent our diary afternoon unpacking our luggage in just our skivvies, but the forecast shows a high in the 70s for next week. I’m sure we’ll miss the heat when the chilly Baltic winter rolls in in the next few months. 

The next few weeks will be challenging as we adapt to our new life here, get the kids enrolled in school, and learn our new jobs. But that is the foreign service life. Once were settled, I envision a very happy life here for the next three years. 

M