The trip

Latvia was an experience. I really had no idea what to expect, and many times my sister and I just looked at each other and couldn't believe that we were there. We had heard so much about this country when we were growing up, but I never figured that I would actually visit the place let alone with my entire family! Here are some of my personal highlights and observations from my trip:
- I have a better understanding of what my mother went through. I didn't have a good idea about the Soviet/German occupations that she lived through. And why it was so important for her to escape. But I received a sobering lesson in Latvian history at the Occupation Museum.
- It was great to see my kids so interested in all the history of the places we visited. Not once did I hear "I'm bored".
- My mother was so happy to have all of her kids and grandkids there. I haven't seen her that happy in ... well ... I don't think that I've ever seen her that happy.
- The Latvian women were gorgeous! Blond, blue-eyed, tanned, skinny. They all dressed to the nines in skimpy little summer dresses and walked those cobblestone streets in 4-inch heels. I felt like frumpy central around these women.
- But .... not friendly people. Not mean, just not warm people. Most do not like English-speaking people (and unlike other countries in Europe, it wasn't because they thought we were American - they just don't like English-speaking people).
- Our daily Double Coffee ritual. And "chocolate" sprinkles for my double cappuccino (funny story I'll save for later).
- The Baltic beaches were beautiful. Soft, white sand that stretched forever along the coast.
- Remnants of the Soviet occupation were everywhere. Abandoned military-style buildings, checkpoint towers at road intersections - eye-opening. Karosta was an area in Liepaja that was built for the Soviet military and their families. Most of the buildings sit empty now so it was like a ghost town driving through it. But then you'd come across areas where people were still living - sometimes there would be a huge apartment building and half of the building would be boarded up and run down, and then the other half of the same building would be lived in. It was a strange feeling driving through there.
- Riga is a hidden gem of a city. Like any old European city that I've visited, it had an old town with cobblestone streets (and no vehicles but delivery trucks and some taxis allowed), museums galore, lots of cafes, great restaurants, pretty decent shopping, and lots of history. The central market was housed in 4 old zeppelin hangars - massive! Although on the day we visited, we didn't see the tanks of eels that we had heard so much about.
- The Russians kinda scared me (make up almost 50% of the population). They just always sounded so harsh and mobster-like. Even the women.
- They need screens on their windows. I was devoured by mosquitos every night ... in my hotel room!
- I saw the house that my mother was living in right before her family had to run from yet another Soviet invasion in 1944. Can you imagine having to leave everything behind and starting over from nothing?
- On a happy note, we stayed in an inn in Liepaja that used to be my great-grandfather's house. When Latvia became independent again, residents were given a small timeframe to regain property if they had the necessary paperwork, deeds, etc. My mother convinced her cousin to try for this house, and he got it so they took over what was now an inn and turned it into a really nice place.

I don't know if I'll ever make it back, and I'd like to see the other Baltic countries (Estonia and Lithuania) ... but I am so thankful that I was able to make this trip.