As you might have presumed, I didn’t really make this trip to undertake sociological research. Being half Latvian /Polish, I decided that after three trips to Poland in 2010, it was high time I redressed the imbalance by visiting my other homeland, so to speak. I was last there in 2006. At that time, Latvia was hailed as some kind of economic wunderkind – often invoking Ireland’s Celtic Tiger reputation; Latvia was the veritable Baltic tiger.
That didn’t last. In 2008 Latvia suffered the worst financial collapse of any EU nation. On that point, it seems Latvia successfully emulated one its Scandinavian models, namely Iceland as well as its erstwhile tiger companion Ireland…with spectacular bank crashes, huge budget deficits and economic distress.
I am glad that this hasn’t been for nothing. I read with interest while in Latvia that the finance minister is convinced the whole world views Latvia’s handling of the financial crisis as an exemplary prototype of how to overcome these problems. I doubt many Latvians derive much comfort and pride from that. That reputedly laudable Latvian response has entailed reducing government employees’ wages by 50% and drastically cutting public spending until there are virtually no public services at all. Unemployment stands at 14% and store prices are unbelievably high – perhaps and most bizarrely of all, the only area where they have achieved parity with their Scandinavian neighbours. According to the CIA Factbook, the economy has contracted every year since 2008 – just like Iceland’s, although the latter’s woes are actually even worse!
I think I’m digressing here. I meant to share something of my travel experiences – although it’s equally true that everything has a context.
My Latvian cousin Raimonds ( second cousin once removed[1]) announced he was going to Latvia for a short break, so it seemed like an opportune moment for me to go too. Rather than flying there directly, I decided to fly to Helsinki first and then take the ferry across to Tallinn and bus to Riga.
Helsinki has always been a place I wanted to visit. Who knows why? For a long time, I have also cherished the wish to take the ferry across the Gulf of Bothnia between the capitals of Finland and Estonia and now I’ve achieved both those long held desires.
Luckily, the low cost carrier Easyjet connects Manchester and Helsinki. My impression of Helsinki has been drastically affected by the fact it was winter – it was very cold and there was a lot of snow.
One thing I have learned since living in Europe is that I hate snow … and ice. The footpaths were basically ice sheets several cm thick with grit to give you some traction. Even though I had decent winter shoes, I still had a morbid fear of slipping. I never felt totally safe.
In Riga some days later. I saw a few people young and old sliding on the street ice for fun … I guess they’re used to it, but for me it represents danger and the possibility of broken limbs. I suppose I still haven’t got over breaking my arm 2 years ago.
Well, Helsinki seemed pleasant enough but nothing spectacular. It is basically a 19th
century city. The harbours were probably the most interesting features.
From Helsinki, I took a ferry to Tallinn. Actually, it was more what I would be inclined to call a ship. It was my first time on such a thing – several decks, bars, restaurants, lounge chairs, even poker machines – all in all, a very pleasant experience. I sat with a Finnish woman who offered me Finnish candy and being the same age we compared notes on our mid-life crises! Then we arrived in Tallinn.
I could see immediately I had arrived in a post-Soviet country – that typical jumble of contrasts – modern with dilapidated. Strangely enough, I felt anger at seeing that – angry that countries like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (just to mention those three) could have been handed over to the Soviet Union at the end of WW2. Of course, I know the reasoning behind it all – but it still made my blood boil to see and experience the contrasts between Tallinn and Helsinki – and knowing that for many years before WW2, these countries were actually similar economically and socially. Who would think that today?
Likewise for Riga, the many fine architectural monuments from the mediaeval and art nouveau periods are testimony of the fact Riga was once a burgeoning and wealthy city. In actual fact, during the 200 years it was part of Imperial Russia, it was that country’s 3rd city. Alas, where is all that prosperity today?
Back to Tallinn, I got over my sense of injustice and counted myself lucky that my Latvian mother somehow had the foresight or plain good fortune to avoid that Soviet fate and I made my way to the hotel. I had less than 24 hours in Tallinn and I was determined to see as much as I could.
The sad reality was having arrived at noon, I could only expect 4 more hours or so of daylight, so realistically, I wasn’t going to see all that much and once again, all that snow and ice was going to impede my adventurer's spirit!
At the tourist office I was told I had missed the one and only walking tour of the day and from my brief experience of Tallinn’s old town, I thought it looked so much like Riga’s, that I shouldn’t be too concerned about how much I saw. With that erroneous mind-set, I forthrightly ventured toward the bus station to buy my bus ticket for Riga for the next day and get something for lunch… and go shopping.
It was only later, after I had spent a few days in Riga that I realised how wrong I had been about Tallinn’s old town. As cute as Riga’s old town may be, it’s the classic Snow White syndrome of there still being something more beautiful – and that would be Tallinn’s old town. Still surrounded by most of its mediaeval wall, towers and a frustrating assortment of narrow streets – Tallinn is the embodiment of a fairy tale European village. I would love to go back and see more.
The following day was Saturday and I was Riga bound on a Luxexpress bus. I had misgivings about what such a bus trip might entail but all my concerns were unfounded – in this case, Lux lived up to its promises: comfy seats, heaps of leg room, hospital levels of cleanliness, toilet on board, access to coffee machine (free) and 80’s video hits – I wondered if heaven must be like this. I just sat back and relaxed as they say anticipating the Latvian border.
Schengen be damned – when I got to the border, were there grumpy border guards, fluttering flags, queues of cars, cheering crowds? – NOTHING, just a little sign announcing ‘Latvija.’ That was it. However, all the signs suddenly reverted to something I could pretty much understand, so I had that weird sense of here was something familiar, something I was connected to.
I spent the next 6 nights in Riga, basically going over old ground, but it all helps consolidate my impressions.
As many of you might recollect my 2006 video, I won’t discuss Riga too much anymore other than to mention that I spent some time with my 2nd cousin gathering as much family history as I could.
This hadn’t been my specific intention, but she seemed keen to talk and I thought I owed it to my niece’s children to preserve some of this heritage for their sakes. After all, they will be the third generation born in Australia so feelings about Latvia will be pretty remote unless I can somehow kindle an interest with personal details and family trees and so on – a la ‘You Do You Think You Are.’
I also had the chance to make a short trip to the Hill of the Crosses. While actually in Lithuania, it’s only a two hour drive from Riga.
I first learned of this place when reading a National Geographic magazine in the late 80’s. I was absolutely enthralled by the picture and ever since then, going to the Hill had featured on my wish-destination list.
As you imagine, it was a potent opposition symbol during the Soviet period and legend has it that anyone involved in attempts to destroy the crosses met an untimely death. I’m not sure I believe all that, but the place has certainly developed a mystique around itself.
After Latvia I took advantage of more cheap fares to fly back to Manchester via Oslo, the capital of Norway. Oslo had never figured on my wish list, but given I had the chance to go I thought ‘Why not?’ I was also curious to see what the world’s most developed country looked like.
Well, it was everything I suppose I should have expected. Even arriving at the airport was an OMG moment. The airport was palatial – the very fast trains that connected the airport to the city were futuristic. As for Oslo, it had an extensive underground train system, buses and trams - all for a city of around 1.5 million (OK that’s the extended metro area, and it felt like a city that size). Everything was efficient, clean, and presentable – it wasn’t like any city I had been to before! And it had prices to match – hamburgers for AUD$16 were just the start.
It was a very interesting place… but just try buying a coffee in downtown Oslo at 8.30am on a Saturday morning (other than McD). You need to wait until 9am! I am not sure if that's uber civilised or a somewhat hick town - I tend to go for the former.
[1] My great grand-parents are his great-great grandparents
[2] #1 on the UN Human Development Index interestingly Australia ranks second
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