It's 7:10 PM and the sun is blazing! Here's the walk I did this afternoon! Tales from a day in a much-brighter Riga:→[More:]

I met a friend for lunch today and them embarked on a walk. I knew not where, but seeing as it was a toasty (for Latvia) 22C/70F (!) today, I stripped down to my t-shirt and embarked along what Frederick Law Olmstead would recognize as Riga's Emerald Necklace, all the way to Andrejsala, which is currently the site of a bunch of disused industrial ruins slated to be eventually bulldozed and covered with apartments and other urban-ish things, but which has a pretty awesome view of the ferry harbor (well, dock, I guess, as it only accomodates one ferry at a time...) and across the Daugava, the longest river in the Baltics and the river which splits Riga in two. I laid down on a big concrete slab and dozed, undisturbed, for almost an hour.

The concrete was warm and lovely, and the sound of traffic was actually really hard to discern between the boats, the river, young folks sipping various beverages and smoking various substances under the blazing sun, and the birds. Even though the place looks a broken-down ruin, there are little bars and nightclubs - and even an artists' commune-residence-type thing. And it is covered - COVERED - in amazingly cool graffiti/urban art; here's the Flickr tag for "Andrejsala" so you can take a look.

The economy here is a bit off-kilter at the moment - per-capita income here is only half of the EU-27 average of 22,000 Euros a year, and that's really been exacerbated over the last few years by inflation, which has peaked currently over 14%, and yet I see Bentleys and super-expensive custom Mercedes-Benzes on a daily basis - so lots of development has slowed down, though foreign-fuelled property speculation continues apace. Riga is the only city in the Baltics that feels like a real city, I think, and it's a shame to know that this very cool area - which, I think, could end up as some sort of funky/artsy district someday if given the chance to ferment - will end up just another pricey, investment-property-centered, modern complex.

You know, this place, as much hassle as it's been living here, has an edge that I'm only now coming to appreciate; it's a shame that I've been so swamped by work and being robbed and the winter to enjoy it, but I'll be back. I'm off to greener pastures next fall, but today's walk got me thinking about how despite all the evidence to the contrary, you can make a place for yourself wherever you are.

*radiates good sunshine-infused vibes into the ether toward anyone who made it this far*