Some Latvian architecture
The school, in art nouveau style
Close up of design on the school
More art neouveau
Friday, December 31, 2010
Art Nouveau
Some Latvian architecture
The school, in art nouveau style
Close up of design on the school
More art neouveau
Central and Old Town
The Dome Cathedral
A square in Old Town (the tall building is St. Peter's Church)
A picture of the park
The freedom monument
The dorm (obviously built during Soviet rule - looks like a dungeon)
A square in Old Town (the tall building is St. Peter's Church)
A picture of the park
The freedom monument
The dorm (obviously built during Soviet rule - looks like a dungeon)
First 2 Days
So I've become a little more acquainted with Riga since my last post. Wednesday after I arrived I basically just caught up on sleep. I woke up early Thursday, worked out, showered and then read some. After awhile, I decided to go explore some, since I didn't have plans until 3, when I was set to meet Lena (my compadre) and see downtown. I found out that down the road near the bus stop there is a small shopping center with a restaurant, a few stores, and a grocery about the size of the Kroger near UK. I bought some groceries here, went back to the dorm, and made myself a sandwich for lunch. Although there are no English labels in the grocery, fortunately everything is pretty easy to find.
At 3 I met Lena and we hopped on a bus to go toward the Center (downtown). The bus ride took awhile but she said that it was due to holiday traffic. Lena was also very helpful, as she got me a bus pass that would also save money on other passes I might buy. Once we got near the Center, we walked to the school. By this time it had already gotten dark outside, making the walk a lot colder. But on the up side, the city was very beautiful at night, as many of the buildings have Christmas lights on them and some Christmas trees are put up around town. The school is a beautiful building as well and is famous for its art nouveau style. After seeing SSE, Lena and I walked to Old Town, which is where most of the activity goes on in the city. I was surprised how many tourist there are in Old Town, and Lena said most are from Germany. We found a shopping center where I got a cheap phone and phone card for local calls and then went to eat at a place called "Cili Pica." This is a chain pizza restaurant (it serves other Latvian food as well) and can be found all over the city. The food was very good and not too expensive. I know this is somewhere that I will frequent over my stay here. Lena and I then walked around Old Town some just so I could see it, and she also showed me St. Peter's Church, the Monument of Freedom, and the Dome Cathedral. We then made our way back to the bus stop, where I went back to the dorms. That night, the airport called and brought my missing bag to me, which I was very happy about.
Today, I slept in a little longer, but still woke up and worked out. I then went downtown on my own for some lunch and to exchange some of my cash for Lats (it is the main currency used here). Currently, at bank exchanges, one dollar is about 0.43 Lats. Hopefully I will be able to find a small exchange place where I can get a better deal on my exchanges. When I got to Old Town, I took some pictures of places I had been the night before and then just wandered around to take in the culture. There is a large park that runs through the downtown that is very beautiful, and many Latvian children can be seen sledding there. On the way back to the dorms after a few hours, I stopped at a hypermarket called "Rimi." Rimi is their largest supermarket (very similar to Walmart) and is cheaper than the grocery nearby the dorm. I bought a few things I needed (shampoo, soap, etc.) and finally made my way back to the dorms. In the hall I met a boy named Gerard. He is a Lithuanian exchange student (he studied at SSE last semester as well) and had just arrived at the dorm the night before. I spoke with him and he invited me to a New Years Party (Lena will be with family) tonight with some of the other students from SSE. So, fortunately I have something to do tonight that doesn't involve me being downtown alone. I will post some of my pictures soon from the last few days and keep the posts coming. Until then, Happy New Years!
At 3 I met Lena and we hopped on a bus to go toward the Center (downtown). The bus ride took awhile but she said that it was due to holiday traffic. Lena was also very helpful, as she got me a bus pass that would also save money on other passes I might buy. Once we got near the Center, we walked to the school. By this time it had already gotten dark outside, making the walk a lot colder. But on the up side, the city was very beautiful at night, as many of the buildings have Christmas lights on them and some Christmas trees are put up around town. The school is a beautiful building as well and is famous for its art nouveau style. After seeing SSE, Lena and I walked to Old Town, which is where most of the activity goes on in the city. I was surprised how many tourist there are in Old Town, and Lena said most are from Germany. We found a shopping center where I got a cheap phone and phone card for local calls and then went to eat at a place called "Cili Pica." This is a chain pizza restaurant (it serves other Latvian food as well) and can be found all over the city. The food was very good and not too expensive. I know this is somewhere that I will frequent over my stay here. Lena and I then walked around Old Town some just so I could see it, and she also showed me St. Peter's Church, the Monument of Freedom, and the Dome Cathedral. We then made our way back to the bus stop, where I went back to the dorms. That night, the airport called and brought my missing bag to me, which I was very happy about.
Today, I slept in a little longer, but still woke up and worked out. I then went downtown on my own for some lunch and to exchange some of my cash for Lats (it is the main currency used here). Currently, at bank exchanges, one dollar is about 0.43 Lats. Hopefully I will be able to find a small exchange place where I can get a better deal on my exchanges. When I got to Old Town, I took some pictures of places I had been the night before and then just wandered around to take in the culture. There is a large park that runs through the downtown that is very beautiful, and many Latvian children can be seen sledding there. On the way back to the dorms after a few hours, I stopped at a hypermarket called "Rimi." Rimi is their largest supermarket (very similar to Walmart) and is cheaper than the grocery nearby the dorm. I bought a few things I needed (shampoo, soap, etc.) and finally made my way back to the dorms. In the hall I met a boy named Gerard. He is a Lithuanian exchange student (he studied at SSE last semester as well) and had just arrived at the dorm the night before. I spoke with him and he invited me to a New Years Party (Lena will be with family) tonight with some of the other students from SSE. So, fortunately I have something to do tonight that doesn't involve me being downtown alone. I will post some of my pictures soon from the last few days and keep the posts coming. Until then, Happy New Years!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Flight and Arrival
So I am finally in Riga! My flights yesterday went well with only a few problems. Due to the cancellations in Newark, I was placed on a flight to Chicago that left an hour and a half early from Cinci than what I had planned. The Chicago airport was just how you would expect the Chicago airport to be - extremely crowded. Due to McDonald's being closed, my last meal in America ended up being one of the generic Chinese places. Fortunately, I've been advised that there is a McDonald's in Riga. Soon enough, I was on a flight to Frankfurt. The person who I sat next to on the flight was from Chicago but had married someone from Germany and therefore had extensive knowledge on how Americans should act in Europe. He gave me a lot of helpful tips on where to go to find people who speak English and how to get a good deal on a taxi. After a long flight (about 8 hours) with little sleep, I finally arrived in Europe.
I flew into the Frankfurt airport at about 5 AM in German time (about 11 PM Eastern time) and spent the first hour or so trying to find my gate and attempting to check in for my flight to Riga. Because my flight didn't leave until 11 AM in Germany, I had plenty of time around the airport. The airport in Frankfurt was much more spread out than most airports in the US, as each gate was given much more room and more seats for people who had to wait for their flight. For me, this just meant a farther walking distance to my gate. I was very tired but still had trouble sleeping, so I bought a deli sandwich and a very good wheat beer at one of the bars/restaurants near my gate, allowing me to finally get a few hours of rest before my flight. On my flight over to Riga, I had a terrible headache so I was in and out of sleep for the whole flight. Luckily, we landed in Riga okay.
My first view of Latvia is what you would expect when you think of Russia or another country near there - snow everywhere. I was actually surprised that my flight hadn't been delayed when I saw the amount of snow surrounding the airport and coming down even as we landed. When I got off my flight, I made my way to the baggage check. Somehow, one of my bags showed up and the other went missing. As of now, I'm still waiting to hear about my second bag. Fortunately, the airline was very helpful about taking my information to search for my missing bag and gave me a number to call to track the bag. My compadre, Lena, was waiting for me outside of the baggage check area.
Lena has been very helpful, as she made sure that I was registered for the dorm here and went through the trouble to get my key for me. I am meeting her today to get a phone and other necessary items. As far as the dorm goes, I will probably be looking for alternative accommodations soon. The inside of the dorm is not bad, and I will share a bathroom with just one other room. However, the dorm happens to be very far away (out of walking distance at least) from any store, restaurant, or the school. It is even a decent walk to get to the nearest bus stop. Once I get pictures of the dorm, I will show you the outside of the building (it's not very impressive). Driving through Riga, it looked like a very nice city. However, I don't have any pictures of it either since I only drove through and I'm too far away to go there now. That's all I have right now! I'll make sure to update and give more details about my first few days discovering Riga.
I flew into the Frankfurt airport at about 5 AM in German time (about 11 PM Eastern time) and spent the first hour or so trying to find my gate and attempting to check in for my flight to Riga. Because my flight didn't leave until 11 AM in Germany, I had plenty of time around the airport. The airport in Frankfurt was much more spread out than most airports in the US, as each gate was given much more room and more seats for people who had to wait for their flight. For me, this just meant a farther walking distance to my gate. I was very tired but still had trouble sleeping, so I bought a deli sandwich and a very good wheat beer at one of the bars/restaurants near my gate, allowing me to finally get a few hours of rest before my flight. On my flight over to Riga, I had a terrible headache so I was in and out of sleep for the whole flight. Luckily, we landed in Riga okay.
My first view of Latvia is what you would expect when you think of Russia or another country near there - snow everywhere. I was actually surprised that my flight hadn't been delayed when I saw the amount of snow surrounding the airport and coming down even as we landed. When I got off my flight, I made my way to the baggage check. Somehow, one of my bags showed up and the other went missing. As of now, I'm still waiting to hear about my second bag. Fortunately, the airline was very helpful about taking my information to search for my missing bag and gave me a number to call to track the bag. My compadre, Lena, was waiting for me outside of the baggage check area.
Lena has been very helpful, as she made sure that I was registered for the dorm here and went through the trouble to get my key for me. I am meeting her today to get a phone and other necessary items. As far as the dorm goes, I will probably be looking for alternative accommodations soon. The inside of the dorm is not bad, and I will share a bathroom with just one other room. However, the dorm happens to be very far away (out of walking distance at least) from any store, restaurant, or the school. It is even a decent walk to get to the nearest bus stop. Once I get pictures of the dorm, I will show you the outside of the building (it's not very impressive). Driving through Riga, it looked like a very nice city. However, I don't have any pictures of it either since I only drove through and I'm too far away to go there now. That's all I have right now! I'll make sure to update and give more details about my first few days discovering Riga.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
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