It was like déjà vu all over again. I arrived in Riga, Latvia in mid-September – after three months of travel in Central Asia, visiting some of the most remote places on my itinerary and experiencing some of the most basic conditions. I longed for a taste of the West – literally and figuratively. I felt very much the same way I did ten months earlier, when I stepped foot in Riga for the first time. Last December, I had just...

Coming from Russia, Riga was a breath of fresh air – love at first sight. While I only had a week there, I found a lot to love about the capital of Latvia. 1.  Old Town. Not surprisingly, I adored Riga’s Old Town.  I loved wandering the streets and stumbling upon different squares or churches at each turn. Fairly small in size, I also liked that it blended well with the surrounding area, with a large park called serving as a...

I awoke early on my second to last day in Riga and peeked outside to see cloudy, but dry, skies. It didn’t appear ideal for a day trip to nearby Sigulda but I didn’t have much choice if I wanted to make it there before I left Latvia. So around 9:00 a.m., I headed for the bus station. Not even fifteen minutes outside of Riga, a wet mix of rain and snow began to fall. Staring out of the bus window, though, it seemed light and I was...

As I approached Arena Riga, the home of Dinamo Riga, the city’s professional hockey team, I wondered if it would feel the same as a game back home. I have only been to one professional hockey game in my life, but I grew up going to high school hockey games in Minnesota and I’ve been to countless professional basketball, football and baseball games, so I was curious how the overall experience would stack up. For starters, the price...

Arriving in Riga after three months in Russia was kind of like meeting a new guy right after getting out of a rocky relationship. Absolutely everything about the city was amazing in comparison. It’s not that Russia was horrible, but it was difficult at times and I had quite a bit of not-so-great mixed in with the really wonderful. And after three months, there was a lot that I got used to – and was comfortable putting up with. I was...