[ESN EVENT] Sea Battle

From 18 to 20 November I participated in the Sea Battle, an ESN trip to Tallinn and Stockholm. Sea Battle has probably been one of the most widely advertised events by ESN (Northern countries).

''Imagine - more than 2000 international students together having fun on a cruise ship, dancing all night long. Does it sound impossible? Not for us! Does it sound crazy and lots of fun? Yeah, it will be!!''

What can I say, rather than that it was indeed crazy and lots of fun. To already make all our (Facebook) friends jealous and aknown that we were out partying, we did a major Flashmob on Facebook before our departure.

This departure was on Sundaymorning early, around 6:30 AM, at the Economics & Management Faculty at the University of Latvia (our usual departure location for ESN trips). This was the meeting point for 170 exchange students from Latvia. All ready to go to battle!

After having occupied 4 buses we headed to Tallinn. Halfway, just after the Estonian border, we had a break. There was a canteen and a small shop, where they actually sell Riga Black Balsam?! A friend of mine told me that it is really normal and that they sell it everywhere. ''Learned something new already on this trip'', I thought. Maybe it is also no coincidence that it is standing next to Jagermeister. I don't think I have ever had Jagermeister, but they say Riga Black Balsam tastes kind of the same.

During our break we also got a bottle of water and a nice sandwhich from ESN. Better than the 'on the go' sandwhiches from RIMI, I would say. The ESN Team really takes good care of us! After our 2nd breakfast/early lunch it was another 1,5 hours before we reached Tallinn, our first destination.

In Old Town we had a guided city tour, provided by ESN Estonia/Tallinn. Unfortunately, our guide was hard to hear, so making notes was not an easy task. I simply opted to make some pictures instead, whilst following the pack. Most of the people found it to be cold to pay any attention anyway. One of the Latvian Erasmus students and friend said that Tallinn has very much a medieval style (not so much reflected in my pictures). Having had a look around I can only conclude that he is right and that Tallinn looks very nice.

At the 2nd building seen from the left (bottom row) you can read ''Kalev'', this is an Estonian sweets company. Where Riga has Laima, Tallinn has Kalev. I didn't go in to buy a piece to compare, maybe I should have done this (In Riga Laima is sold in every supermarket, and having bought it quite often I know its taste already).


Moving on and going up the hill you will be able to get an overview of Tallinn. After the tour, which lasted longer (1.5 hr+ instead of 1 hr) than planned, there was not much free time left for lunch & free time, and it was not long before we found usself back in the bus. Next destination, Stockholm.











As you can see from the picture, I was excited to get on the boat! :D

The ferry that we would use to get from Tallinn to Stockholm was the m/s Baltic Queen. Being a cruise ship there were some things on the boat which you don't expect to find on a normal ferry. Of the 10 floors, 5-9 were with cabins. These floors also had party areas.

I believe all Latvian exchange students were located in cabins on floor 5, being very close together and sharing bottles of alcohol sooner than I could imagine (Alcohol in the supermarket was cheaper than water!!!. In the end I spent more money on non-alcoholic
beverages....)

Not long before we went on board I decided to take out my camera, as I knew this was most likely the only time where I could still make pictures without people blocking the view or being in the party area 24/7.

At first, our cabin looked quite small, but I would use the word compact after having lived there. Enough space to move and a comfortable bed! Another cool thing was that we had cameraview on different party areas (Seapub, Ibiza Disco, Starlight Palace) on channel 1 of the TV.



There were more party areas, but I basically only went to Starlight Palace and Ibiza Disco. There was enough choice for anyone, so all is good.

On the top left we could already see the video of the official Seabattle dance, which we did many times on the boat. In the beginning everybody thought it would be stupid and that nobody would do it (evidenced by demonstrating the dance 1 week before Seabattle at a party and everybody looking at you like O_o). In reality almost nobody cared. People were even enjoying the dance!
It was also one of the first activities we did during the information meeting in the Starlight Palace.

These were the instructions to the dance, performed by Oscar, the head organizer of the ESN Seabattle.
Related link: http://vimeo.com/52676252

Since each ESN section seemed to do some (combined) performance with the students, we also did a weird 'Ram Sam Sam' dance and being asked to first hugging 3-5 persons and then later on 20 persons at the time. A bit over the top for me, and to quote my friends, ''I am too sober for this'' :D. When I then noticed that we were going to start the (egg) -> (chicken) -> (dragon) -> (superman) rock paper scissors game, I knew it was my time to flee to the supermarket (while it was not so crowded yet).

Coming from the cabin, and on the way to the supermarket, I was also able to ''play'' accordeon once more.

Furthermore, for the first night buffet on the boat was included. At this time Spanish people were already going crazy (and making a lot of noise) once more (we are used to it by now - however, the Tallink personnel looked surprised) during their meal, not only hungry for food, but for party as well.
I guess I was guilty to the latter as well. That is, it was only around 4 o'clock that I got back to my cabin to get some rest. The Movember Party (1st theme party) was a bigger success than expected. It also didn't matter whether you were in fact drunk or not (sometimes people think you have achieved ''party success'' when you are drunk - I don't understand why?!), since the water swell made you feel drunken even if you didn't have a drop. It also forced people to move, even when they were sitting down on a chair.

Having surpassed the stage of fun and entering the stage of simply being tired, I realised that that I could set my watch and cellphone back to 3 o'clock (Swedish time, one hour more sleep!). Then I woke up around 9 to still have breakfast before we would arrive at ''Vārtahamnen Stockholm'' just after 10. Unfortunately, this also meant missing the opportunity to make some nice photo's of our arrival at Stockholm (the only one I took was from the harbour at arrival - see picture). But then again, I also wanted to eat to not be out of energy for the only few hours that we would be there.

Surprisingly, I was the only exchange student at the breakfast buffet (???). Perhaps the others thought 11 EUR was too much to pay. There was quite many food to choose from, so it was also already a semi-dinner for me.
I can say that the black bread (combined with vegetables), fresh orange juice and deserts were delicious! Most others ate at fastfood places later in Stockholm, to still find themselve hungry late in the afternoon. For me a snack from the supermarket sufficed.

Upon arrival it was maybe 10 minutes to walk to the Metro Station. The tickets on the boat for the metro were 36 SEK, already stating that they would be more expensive when you had to buy them later on. I was a bit ignorant in thinking that I could join the walking group, but not contacting/ keeping track of them. As a result, paying 44 SEK (~5.1 EUR) for just a small ride with the metro. It was also not that I had much of a choice, as there was only half an hour left before I had to be at 'Sergels Torg' in Old Town. At 11 o'clock the Old Town Tour (provided by ESN Sweden/ Stockholm) would start here. Having signed up for it I didn't want to be late.

At the start of the tour one person of each group was giving a viking helmet, he/she had to keep track of the group not falling apart. Whilst the helmet was put on the head of one of my friends, he quickly put it on mine! I was okay with it, so I kept it on. I could even keep it! (I wasn't able to find a Viking outfit in Riga, and that evening we would have the Pirates vs Vikings theme party on the boat, so this was just perfect).



During the tour we were able to see a few things. First of all, the only liquor chain that is allowed to sell more than 3.5% alcohol in Sweden (Systembolaget, also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Systembolaget.


Moreover, we saw the changing of the guards. I was also able to ''see'' my ex-roommate Gustavus from REZNAS dorm (who left me 1 day before the start of Seabattle) on monument(s) in Stockholm, he is a big celebrity here! (picture bottom right)

The most photographed street in Stockholm and another monument of my ex-roommate.

Unfortunately shortly after this part of the tour my DSLR camera did not function properly anymore. As later turned out, by the help of a friend, my AF (auto focus) stopped working.
Luckily she was able to point out that the MF (manual focus) was still working! I will have to sort with this problem soon, as AF really is much more easy and gives more guarantee for clear pictures. If it turns out that my objective is a goner, I was ''happy'' to find out that a new one is ''only'' 75 EUR in the cheapest webshop in the Netherlands. I don't know about the prices here, but I'm guessing it is much more. I will see what to do.

Anyway, since I could still use the MF function I could still make pictures, which was enough satisfaction at the time. From The Katarina Elevator (Swedish: Katarinahissen) I could still make the following shots.






To my surprise, there were a few girls there who asked me to take a picture of them, which I did. When I asked whether they were from Sweden they said they were from Latvia! Later, from my CLP buddy, I heard that more Latvians have visited Stockholm by taking the ferry. Somehow it makes sense to visit places when they are close. All Erasmus are also doing it.

In my few hours of free time I still took some more pictures, including that of some nice (street) art. During this time there were also people
laughing at me, because I was still wearing my viking hat. :D

However, not much time for this as we had to return quite soon to the (return)ferry to Tallinn.
In total we were no more than 5 hours in Stockholm, of which roughly 4 hours in Old Town.

When going back by metro my viking hat led even street artists to stop singing for a second, as they also couldn't help to laugh about it. ^^

Then, when waiting in line for our second boarding, I saw and heard how Scandinavian exchange students were forced to hand in food and drinks. Even their lunch and water bottles, from what I heard! From Tallinn to Stockholm there was no such control, policies seem to be different!! (Eventhough officially we were also not allowed to bring own foods & drinks on board). Later on the boat Scandinavian exchange students were waiting 20 minutes in line before the supermarket even opened. I thought ''we didn't do that..'. Tax free must have been seen as something coming straight from heaven.

Back on board I also joined the second Information Meeting. After having a small chat with exchange students from Sweden, they asked me where my (Latvian Erasmus) friends were. When I looked around I saw none!, only hundreds of new faces. Indeed, now it was also made clear that the boat had more than 2000 students on board. However, most of the Latvian exchange students were already resting in their cabin. :') I did the same later on, to prevent any total breakdown. During my attempt to sleep I already heard on the television that we had the opportunity to do various things, such as treasure hunt, sex quiz, speed dating and tango classes.

I did the treasure hunt, which was a list of tasks you had to compete.
My friends asked me to join, when I asked them ''Do I have a choice?'', they of course said no.
Since we had limited time it was time to get to work.  Whilst we didn't (or didn't want to do - shaving of one eyebrow? - no way) do all, we still gained 96 points in the end (each activity being between 5-15 points), a great team effort.
One of the tasks we had to perform was ''as many sex positions as possible''. But because the girls in our team didn't want to help, we had to help ourselves.... It must have looked funny, guys doing the 69 position and (Swedish) doggystyle. Maybe good that I didn't view the video (that acted as proof) clearly later on...We also sang the national anthem of Sweden, a Swedish (childsong?) about frogs, found out that a few words in Swedish means ''six salmons in a box'' and that walking as a wheelbarrow in front of the reception made them question what we were doing (they were like 'wtf?'). We also taped the asking for a condom at a random cabin and acted as we met a celebrity. The poor guy thought we were serious, and later he frowned his eyebrows when he saw we ticked it off from our to do list, hah!

Later that night there was the Pirates vs. Vikings Party, ESN Glow Party and Latin Party.
Not many people were dressed up like Pirates or Vikings, I myself didn't even wear my hat.
But it really didn't matter, everybody was having fun. Normally when nobody is adhering to the dresscode the atmosphere is less than optimal, I feel. However, during this trip the atmosphere had been great on the boat the whole time. Sleeping late on both the first and second day, simply because there was no wish to sleep yet.

My 2nd night in fact ended with doing Yoga in the corridor at 6 in the morning. Whilst the morning is the best time to do Yoga, it is assumed that you at least slept before...  It is good memories like these that I will take with me from this trip.


Once back in Tallinn we had a 2nd chance to explore the city. The time was shorter than before,
but still I saw some new things. I was surprised how some Estonian (?) words share similarities with Dutch words? (kelder en kloostriait). Also, I noticed once again how in both Tallinn and in Riga TNT is still driving around in their vans, me in the past always thinking of it being mostly a Dutch company.... (especially since they have changed their name to Post NL in The Netherlands).

The building behind the TNT van also reminds me of the Karosta Prison, Russian influence of architecture maybe?

Things to wonder about when dreaming on the way back to Riga, as it was time to regain some sleep in the bus once more! Even in the two days that have past, I remained a bit tired from this trip, but a good trip it was!

Staro Rīga 2012

During 15-18 November 2012 there was the Staro Rīga '12 festival (www.staroriga.lv/)
You could basically call it the festival of light, as various objects/ buildings lit up during the evening.
Mostly in Old Town, but also in- and outside the City Centre. At the 15th I stayed in to do homework (there are benefits of doing your homework as soon as possible - not missing these kind of events!). On the 16th I went to have a look, as part of a (replacement) meeting for Riga Language Exchange. Together we did a small tour in- and just outside Old Town. Because it was quite chilly we found usself warming up in bars sooner than expected.

Whilst having heard from a Latvian that the festival was better last year, I heard from another that each year the artists change. I guess you have to get lucky with that. Maybe there was even a budget cut, who knows these days. Either way, I enjoyed my time.

We started our small tour at the National Art Museum. Here you could play keyboard. This meant not only making music, but also changing the lights in front of you. :-)
I did not opt to volunteer, as the only real song I know by heart is CanCan, and only right handed. Still it was fun to see other people play, especially if it is people that you know.





On the way to Old Town, we find a newly created bridge between Alexander Bridge and Timm's Bridge. Somehow the puzzleblocks fit into place after have seen preparatory work taking place here in the days just before. The end result, quite remarkable.

Not far from there and near the Freedom Monument, the Latvian flag is accompanied by some light sticks.

In Old Town itself there were some nice moving graphics to see on buildings. On the building at the right (see picture) there was even a game to be played with live commentary. Since it was simple Latvian I was able understand the simple words such as ''beigas'', which means ''the end''. Or perhaps, ''game over''?






Unfortunately that were the all succesful pictures from my side. I have made shots from a few more objects, but they were unsuccesful due to a lack of light. Shooting photo's in the dark remains difficult, I feel. In my belief a videocamera is easier to handle in such conditions.

On the 17th of November I also was in the city centre, but very shortly, and did not see more than I already had seen. However, I remember the slamming beat played at speakers near the National Opera combined with fancy visual graphics on its walls. Even nicer than that of the day before.
I would have loved to view the city a bit more in this light scene but ESN Seabattle (starting early on the 18th of November) preparations were calling. After having exchanged money for SEK and ''theme-party-shopping'' I returned back to the dorm to think of what to pack.

Tractors in Riga!

To my great surprise, I was able to see tractors in the city centre of Riga.
It was just when I left the faculty of Economics & Management after class that I noticed how there seemed to be a whole parade of tractors passing by. I must have counted at least 8 of them, being accompanied by one more vehicle with alarm lights as to ensure a secure flow of 'tractor traffic'.
Despite the fact that it took me a long time to whoop my camera out of my bag, I was still able to capture the following shot:

Somehow I simply love it when I see tractors driving in city centres, no matter where in the world. Supposedly so because you don't see them there so often, making it a small 'adventure'.

Adventures being either large or small, they are all special in their own way. 

Latvian Pop Songs

Somehow I thought it would be nice to show two Latvian pop songs. See how it compares to 'Gangnam' style of South Korea maybe? I prefer other music being blasted through the radio. ;)  

The first song below seems to be a quite well-known one here and perhaps can be best described as a typical commercial song from Latvian soil? Music artist/ group 'Gacho' might also be a popular one, as together with the two listed below, are the only ones I have heard about so far.

Title: Rassell & Sabīne Berezina - Dzīvo brīvi.
Lyrics: http://lyrics.ac/rassell-and-sabine-berezina-dzivo-brivi.

As for the second one, it was shown to me by my CLP buddy, because the singer sings about the district I live in (of which parts are shown in the video) and how despite its reputation and problems it is still her district. My buddy also mentioned that 'legendary' bus 15 is part of the lyrics.

Title: Astro'n'out - Ta dala Rigas.
Lyrics: http://artists.letssingit.com/astronout-lyrics-dala-rigas-hnsl72g

Mūkusalas 41 & Rīga Plaza

On the way to Mūkusalas iela 41 
Yesterday I tried to find the office of an internetshop (to resolve an unsolved issue) in Mūkusalas iela 41. Whilst I did not find it, my day was not lost.

For one, on the way there I got to meet a Latvian girl named Elsa.
She smiled when an old man splashed through a puddle of water to join us in waiting for our bus. When she turned her face to me I smiled as well,
I had to admit that was funny. Sometimes body language is enough to communicate!

Unfortunately, my language skills are still lacking in having any idea in what the man and what was supposedly his wife, were saying afterwards.
I believe they took it as a joke as well, at least if I had to judge from their smiling faces. Elsa also smiled again, so it must have been funny. Such a shame that I did not understand what they were saying!

After a similar funny event I could not bear not talking to her and started talking to her in English. As turned out, she loves the English language (a lucky hit for me this time) and just came back from London, having worked there for 60 hours per week. They say that many Latvians flee their country and go to places such as the UK to live and work there.

In a sense you can say Elsa did the same. However, she also said that she was glad to be back and mentioned that partying in Riga was cheaper. I also heard once more from her that in the world not many people know where Latvia is and what it is famous for. Elsa mentioned a few things where Latvia is not famous for, taking an entirely different, but very bright and funny point of view! Unfortunately, not much later I reached my destination and had to say goodbye too this genuine friendly & ambitious Latvian girl. 

Arrival at industrial area 

Having arrived at the stop Celtniecības pasaule I found out that Mūkusalas iela 41 & 42 are industrial areas (and/or business centre) for several companies and not just the address of the one office I was looking for. Despite not being able to find the office, I noticed that there were also a big Duni and a Canon shop located here. I visited both and noticed that the Duni here is different than the one in City Centre in the sense that it is both bigger and cheaper if you buy in bulk (yet a minimum spending of 5Ls is required). As for the Canon shop, here I tried to find a Lenon Hood for my EOS 450D. This might come in handy when snow returns to Riga and wanting to make pictures.

 The first question I posed when in the shop was whether the salesperson speaks English (shame on me, I know). The answer was ''no'' and then I asked  ''does anybody in this room speak English?'', acting funny about it (but actually should feel sad about it). Luckily someone did, and he helped me with translating. Unfortunately the product was not on sale there. Then I asked whether the salesperson knew any place where I could get it. He suggested City Centre or Rīga Plaza. The guy that translated for me offered me to go with him and his friend to this Riga Plaza, saying that it was only 1km from there and if I had time and could wait 5 minutes that I could go with them. I was happily surprised by his offer and gladly took it. Walking outside with them I found out that they were by car and that I could get in. We had a small talk on the way there, being asking where I was from. After saying that I was from Holland he said ''Hoe gaat het?'' with excellent pronunciation. I asked whether he had been in Holland and he replied that he had been at Schiphol (airport in Amsterdam). I think already knowing how to say ''Hoe gaat het?'' after only being at the airport is impressive. Other then that, when I told him where I live he said that paying 60 Ls for a double room (120 Ls for the total of the room) in Maskavas (or [Maskatske] as Latvians call it) is still quite a lot. However, for exchange students it seems hard to find anything cheaper, without having to be scared to live in some kind of dump. Also, some rumours go that locals in REZNAS dorm pay less, indicating that there is a possible tendency to rip-off exchange students. I heard the same happened to others not living in dorms. It seems that we cannot do much about it (after having signed the contract) and that you just have to deal with it. But it also indicates that you should always be careful in another country than your own, as you do not know how things work in practice and as such are an easy target to take advantage of.

Rīga Plaza

When the two Latvian guys dropped me off at Rīga Plaza  (Mūkusalas iela 71, Rīga, www.rigaplaza.lv) they gave me best wishes in hoping to find what I was looking for and me wishing them a nice day and thanking them for the ride. In It turned out that in Riga Plaza I also did not find the product I was looking for. Yet I enjoyed simply wandering around there and trying to take in what this ''Modes un Izklaides Centrs'' has to offer, which has an interesting design on the outside (photo taken from back).

Once inside you can grab a map which gives you an overview of all the shops on the two floors of the Plaza. It also shows the 4 different entrances, A (New York), B (London), C (Milan) and D (Paris) and the accompanying shops. It includes some famous stores such as Birkenstock, Bershka, Ecco, Napapijri, Hugo Boss and Zara. It also was my first encounter with Baby City, Multikino (a cinema) and Fantasy Park Riga. I also saw a cafe named Garuda! I know the ''Sound of Garuda'' from albums from Gareth Emery. Perhaps I will try the ''taste of Garuda'' in the near future as well, just for fun. ;)

The most striking in Rīga Plaza, for me, was the size of  PRISMA (which I first visited in St. Petersburg) hipermārkets ģimenei, which also has a lot of clothes up for sale, including those for the colder days or wintersport. I will definitely go back there to check it once more. Other then that, I noticed that here some of the products of food & drinks are more expensive in RIMI hypermarket, whereas others identical products are cheaper. As such, if you are going to buy bulk for a party, checking out different supermarkets wouldn't be a bad idea. Directly outside PRISMA there are also tables and chairs, so if you like you can even have your party right there. Dining in a supermarket setting would be new for most I guess!

If you intend to save (some more) on your spendings I also advise you to take the magazine that is up for grabs in Rīga Plaza. In the back you will find coupons for discount in the several shops. Below I also put a map to indicate how to get to Rīga Plaza from various directions, as shown on the backside of the Rīga Plaza map.

Whilst you can take nr 10 back to the city I walked to the next one as there the bus seems to pass by more frequently. And if you cannot get enough of shopping, you can stay in Albatross viesnīca hotel (streetnr 56), which I noticed is very closeby.

Your view will not be too bad, I would say. Maybe the noise will throw you off though, as Mūkusalas iela has a lot of traffic passing by. So much for now. I will keep on exploring. 

Bored in Riga?

No need! The whole year round there are activities in Riga which you can engage in.
This is illustrated by the sign I read today near the bus stop of janvāra iela.

Whilst some of these festivities already have passed, some are still to come! Also, it can be used as an indicator of what events might likely return for next year.

An overview from this year (2012) can be found below.

August

September 



























October

November 

December

In between the dates listed there is enough to do in Riga as well, simply check one of the numerous tourists guides. If being a tourist is not your cup of tea, then you can always still become a member of a community such as Couchsurfing (www.couchsurfing.com). I signed up for the Couchsurfing Latvia group on Facebook myself. After having joined one meeting I got to know some new faces and
 enjoyed a little chat with the people behind those faces. You can also choose to be a host for other Couchsurfers, e.g. showinga random stranger around the city. Who knows what interesting experiences he/she might be able to share with you?!

[ESN EVENT] Incredible HALLOWEEN Party

Last Friday I went to the Halloween event organised by ESN Riga, named ''Incredible HALLOWEEN Party''. The venue was  Paddy Whelan's (www.pub.lv), an Irish pub in Riga.
Another ESN Event (''Dress like a sir''), meeting up with exchange students from Lithuania, was also held here. Luckily, this time it was less crowded and because of that a bit more comfortable. As for the dress code, maybe not surprising, the best Halloween costume you can get!
Whilst I have tried to shop around in both Old Town (Vecrīga) and City Centre, I was not able to find something extraordinary. I also was a bit late in trying to find a custome, and as such was not able to visit all the shops I intended (as I either could not find them or already being closed).
Either way, here are some places where you can have a look yourself if you ever intend to pursue a similar hunt:

- Tiger (TC "Galleria Riga", Dzirnavu iela 67, Rīga)
- www.kostimi.lv (Ropažu iela 60A, Rīga)
- Duni (Kr. Barona iela 31, Rīga)
- Tiimari (in Origo shopping centre; Stacijas laukums 2, Rīga)

There are also plenty of second and charity shops, see: www.riga-guide.com/guide/second-hand-charity-riga. Whilst I never visited any of the shops listed it seems worthwhile to check them out to see what's on offer. It is places like this where you could possibly find cheap second hand sheets to make a 'DIY (do it yourself) traditional Halloween ghost costume'.

In the end I bought a mask at Duni and some face paint in a kid store (since it seems I lost my previous face-paint set) in Galerija Centrs (a big shopping centre in Old Town). To my surprise, the clowny face paint I bought was a Dutch product. Indeed, they really import a lot in Rīga, more than just foods & drinks from the supermarket (where me and others
 noticed a similar trend).

As time progressed I offered the mask I bought to friend(s) who did not have anything to wear at the party. The mask was intended as back-up plan when my face-paint would turn out to be dreadful. Luckily I did not have to pursue plan B. When I wanted to do my 'make-up' my roommate offered to do it for me. I agreed and we used a picture of Google Images for inspiration. 
I discovered that my roommate has real talent! You can be the judge of that as well, simply look at the picture taken. It was also cool to see that other people at the party also made an attempt to adhere to the dresscode, making it difficult for me to recognise some people! Clearly, one of has done a good job if this is the case. So much for describing this experience, maybe I will try out even more face paint experiments in the future?