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!
Arrival at industrial area
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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