Return to Latvia pt. 6: covering lost ground

After having slept at the bus station in Kaunas I headed towards Rumšiškės, to cover the lost ground that I did not cycle. It was very, very, hard to find the way. Trying to find the way on hunches  and hoping to get lucky did not work, at all. Went wrong in all wind directions. On the upside, I had seen great things that I would not have seen otherwise if not getting lost a couple of times. And I haven't been as happy the whole cycling trip when I finally found out the right way in the end! I made it back to Rumšiškės!

next up: cycling in and around Kaunas

Return to Latvia pt. 5: sleeping at the bus station

After the Granatos Live festival I wanted to go back to Vilnius to change my bike. That is, it was likely that I crashed in Vilnius because my back tire had no profile on it.

It took some time (even when asking different people at the festival) to find the station but then after a manager looked on Google Maps I managed to get to the station in Pravieniškės I.

I, however, took the wrong train and ended up in Kaunas. When I arrived I bought a simcard so I could call a family member which then could look online to see if there were still any hostels available in Vilnius. Unfortunately there was no reception, I could call to Lithuanian numbers only.
A pay phone did not made reference to call to Dutch numbers. The operator couldn't help me.
And as the last train from Kaunas to Vilnius just left, it not even being that late, I was stranded in Kaunas. Not wanting to cycle kilometers outside Kaunas to go to a camping or camping out in the wild, I chose the bus station as an alternative.

It was modern in the sense that it had power sockets that I used to charge my phones and battery pack. And it was warm so I decided to sleep there. In retrospect, it does not come recommended sleeping at a bus station on a chair.

Next up: covering lost ground

Return to Latvia pt. 4: cycling to the Granatos Live 2018 festival

On thursday the 2nd of August it was the first day to get on the road and to start cycling towards Kaunas. My destination for the day was the Granatos Live 2018 festival, held at an open-air museum in Rumšiškės. I would stay there for 4 nights. From pre-party to finish.

Already within the first 6 km I had a bicycle crash. A middle-aged woman stood on the bicycle path and did not move when I was coming. Avoiding her and passing over a sewer lid made my bike slip. Result: broken smartphone and having to re-adjust the chain of my bike. After some outside help via phone I managed to fix the chain. And luckily I had paper maps that I got from a Dutch girl back in the Netherlands to replace the navigation on my phone. The most mind boggling thing was that the women had not moved an inch, not even after my crash.

The ride after the crash was really something!
Despite having a map it was hard to get out of Vilnius in the direction of Rumšiškės.
At the end of the afternoon I still had to cycle 75 km. Eventually, I found a guy who advocated I take the A1 in the direction of Kauanas (which in the end, I found out, is actually not allowed).

The ride was really something. It was mind bogglig to look over my shoulder and not see any car for 1,5 km. Due to the warm weather I also drunk close to 8 liters of water. It was a relief when I saw the sign Rumšiškės 1 km. Just before 22:00 PM I talked to the first festival staff. At this time it was also dark, made it off the A1 just in time!

Before I could set up my tent I already had a flat tire. I would deal with that at the end of the festival, making my bike less likely to be stolen in the meantime.

Despite having gone to the festival alone, I had plenty of company.
At the festival I was lucky enough to have kind Lithuanian neighbours to have a chat with. Along the same token, I met the friend of my friend, her sister and other members of the gang she was with. To top things of, I even met complete 'strangers' whom I had a shared meal and Taxify ride with.

At the festival I saw the american artists (Rita Ora and Duke Dumont) that I wanted to see but missed out on lithuanian artists Monique and Beatrich that I wanted to see. In the end, I slept on average only 5 hours each night, which is a fair indicator that I had a good time. Apart from the last day I burned out of my tent at 7:30 in the morning in true summer style. Refreshment was there doing dives or water bombs at the water side. The festival ended with massive rain, which led catering staff to make raincoats out of garbage bags when breaking things down. Luckily I packed 99% of my tent during the heavy rainfall, others weren't as lucky.

Next up: sleeping at the bus station

Return to Latvia pt. 3: cycling tour in Vilnius

On the second day of my trip I did a guided cyling tour in Vilnius. As part of the tour we got a bike, which me, american couple and the tour guide itself used to get around. Picture of the bike was taken outside Vilnius.

Cycling uphill we saw street art where Putin and Trump "make everything great again" (written).  Afterwards, we saw the only Russian Orthodox Church in baroc style. Going on, we saw a place where the tour guide told us here "young people see the sun go down" (maybe made up).


Later we entered the  "Republic Uznavas" which you need to smile to enter.A tour guide let us choose which rule of the republic we preferred most. Some made sense as a rule, others less so and seemed to be more like a joke.
A grasp of the collection:
3. Everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation.
4. Everyone has the right to make mistakes.
12. A dog has the right to be a dog.
24. Everyone has the right to understand nothing.

We ended the tour seeing both old and modern buildings, and not to forget, great scenery on the Swedbank terrace. Total tour time about 5,5 hours in which we saw quite a lot.

Next up: cycling to the Grantos Live 2018 festival

Return to Latvia pt. 2: arrival in Vilnius

In the previous post I mentioned that I would go back to Latvia by bike.
Before actually hopping on a bike I first took the plane, my legs and the bus for the first day. My bus had a bright yellow colour with a robust appeal, just how I remember these "beasts". It did a great job bringing me from A to the B&B&B&B&B hostel where I stayed. 

After I met the awesome staff at the hostel I met with my ERASMUS friend Agnė in the evening. We went to the cafés Peronas and to Snekutis. At Snekutis I asked for a drink that wasn't a beer and I received Gira. I told the bartender it tasted a bit like Kvass after which he enlightened me that it was Kvass, it just being called differently in Lithuania. First Lithuanian word learned! :D At Snekutis I also had grated pancakes which turned out to be the best I tried in the whole of Lithuania and Latvia. All in all, I had a very good first day.

Next up: Cycling tour in Vilnius

Second return to Latvia: this time by bike! - pt 1: packing

From July 31st untill August 26 I took a holiday abroad. A second time to Latvia. But this time by bike.
Starting point: Vilnius, Lithuania.
End point: Riga, Latvia
Means to get there: Bike (not cycling all days)

In the Netherlands there is a game that is called "I go on vacation and I take with me... [fill in the blank]" in which you keep on adding packing items to the list. This is what I took with me for a cycling trip which should last no more than 2 weeks:

The total measured weight was about 13,5 kg. This is within the 12-15 kg that was prescribed during the "my first cycling trip"course that I took in April of this year. Now that I have completed the trip I estimate I could cut down on (hopefully) 2 kg for any future trip.

Next up: Arrival in Vilnius (by plane)

Return to Latvia

Two days after my last exam in Groningen I went back to Latvia (July 11-25). After having suffered from Erasmus depression and a hard time at Uni there was nothing better to go back to the place where I spent such great times to just chill out... Seeing both my friends from Latvia and even some ex-Erasmus (!) was very cool. I  got to know my friends a little better and realised they are even more special than I already thought they were…  Being able to see and speak with them again was great!
Also, I got to know many new and interesting people.

I stayed in the flat of my 1^st ex-roommate from Reznas, even though he was in Norway… He arranged with his friendly Finnish flatmates that I could stay in his room for my entire stay. I don’t know what to say, rather than this being extremely generous of him! We will definitely meet and catch up when I come back to Riga for the 3^rd time. The flat is great, just like the view from the window.
After having explored the immediate surroundings I walked from the Centre to Old Town to see how much green and flowers I would find during summer times.

As I walked on and hours passed, at times, everything felt to be a bit overly familiar. In a sense this felt disappointing. That is, when I came back to my student city Groningen everything felt ‘new’ to me. Shortly after I realised that this just shows how much Riga is my 2nd home. In Riga I have lived, in Groningen I have not. Frankly, I probably have seen more from Riga in half a year than I saw from Groningen after 3,5 years. Luckily, not any sense of boredom when hanging out with friends, showing me there is always fun to be found and things to see, do or experience in- and outside Riga.

Thursday July 11

In the evening Riga Good Times VI (July 11-14) was starting, being the longest annual Couchsurfing event in Riga. We had a nice dinner at Taverna  (Torņa iela 4-2a) and then went to party in Pulkvedis (Peldu iela 26). Some people were making remarks that it was like a sauna. All I can say is that if you come to Groningen and go to ‘’De negende cirkel’’ (The ninth circle) you will experience real sauna… stuffed with students in a small place. The fact that (popular) bars in Riga are not as crowded as in Groningen is what always appealed to me very much.

Friday July 12
On Friday morning I skipped the City Exploring Time as I already did three guided tours in the past. Instead, I went to Mežaparks and Riga Zoo (taking tram 11 from the Centre), being completely new for me. Because I arrived before the Zoo opened, I first walked around in Mežaparks. Now I know why I read and heard about Mežaparks several times before, it is peaceful, very green and well… big.

Just like many other places in Latvia, you can also enjoy a pretty water scenery in Mežaparks.

After having walked around for some 40 minutes it was past 10 o’clock, which meant that the Zoo was open for visitors, let’s go!. When I saw the giraffes and goats it reminded me of 1) A giraffe licking the window of the tourist bus in Zoo Beekse Bergen in NL, when I was in the bus… and  2) mountain goats in wadi’s (dry riverbeds) in Oman (where I was born, grew up and lived for 7 years) as part of the natural environment. Good times relived. :)

What surprised me at the Zoo was that Riga Zoo actually has a contract with Beekse Bergen and two other Zoo’s in the Netherlands. Hence, there is even more export (I saw many Dutch products in Riga) from my country to Latvia than things such as vegetables and fruits… apparently also elephants… :))

After the Zoo I went back to Maskacka (!) to see how things were rolling at the student canteen of PRIMA. Somewhat unsurprising, I was the only student there (vacation time, no school, international students having gone back to their home universities). I can say that the food is still good and that Maskacka still feels the same… Before I knew it, I was chatting too long with the new canteen worker that I missed the planned boat cruise on the Daugava river with the CS group. That is why I made sure I was in time for the dinner at LIDO Recreation Centre (Krasta iela 76), scheduled at 19:00. However, nobody was showing up, me being the only one from CS there. The irony. After having called the organisers I learned that there were some troubles with, well… something. Luckily, just as I wanted to leave around  20:00, everybody showed up, people telling me the boat cruise was delayed. Patience is key. :P

Later that night there was the sauna place in Baloži. I got lost on the way there, but luckily two Latvian chaps were so kind to walk me to the place. It was a long time ago that I went into sauna, which was maybe why I forgot that you shouldn’t stay in too long. ^^ It was good fun. I came back to the flat after 8 o’clock in the morning…

Saturday July 13
Even though I wanted to go to the Go Blonde Parade in Jurmala, I was sleeping instead….
I joined in again for the party with sauna in the evening, already having met fellow CSers at the bus stop, heading the same way. As they didn’t know exactly how to get to the sauna place I showed them, me now knowing exactly how to get there, hehe. Again, I came back late, now at 8 AM…
When waiting for the 2^nd bus from Stockmann, I happened to notice an old man was doing morning stretches with his arms, also having seen this same movement at festivals for people to get in the mood for party. :)))

Sunday July 14
I woke up at about 14:20, had a quick 1^st breakfast and rushed to get myself at RIMI in Galerija Centrs at 15:00, our meeting point and time for going to the newly-built Ķīpsala beach. This time I skipped the Open Air Museum in the morning, which I also went to three times before. 2^nd breakfast, sun and sleep at the beach, I enjoyed!
In the evening there was the finale time at No Problems (Nekadu Problemu) at Doma Laukums.
To my surprise, new people joined in and many CSers turned up, there being 40+ people there in total, wow. Later we moved with a group to Shot Bar, which was unexpectedly empty without loud music. Then I realised it was a Sunday, which explained everything. :P The female bartender also did not expect that I would order hot chocolate, instead of a shot, resulting in a priceless surprised face. :) Shot bar was a good place to end Riga Good Times VI.

Monday July 15
On Monday morning  I picked up my ordered tent for the Positivus festival (July 19-21) from the 1a.lv office. The last time I went there I had to wait for three hours in the afternoon… Luckily, this time I only had to wait for 10 minutes, amazing! :))
Rather than buying a cheap throw-away tent like many others, I decided to drop some more cash and get something of better quality with more durability. I left it at the apartment for my ex-roommate to use, not at the camping site… Wouldn’t take it back to NL either as I was only carrying hand luggage, no room for a tent. Also, prior to the festival I read an article how annoying it is for festival organisers to deal with tents being left behind and how you are basically trashing the environment by using it one time only. With being less than 55 EUR on discount for a 3-person tent, I don’t feel like I spent that much. And by having bought a 2-layer tent with some quality, I knew I would be good for 4 days of camping (and many more in the future). The rest of the day I didn’t do anything special, I mostly rested to recovered from Riga Good Times and a lack of sleep.

Tuesday July 16
On Tuesdays I went out for lunch with international coordinators of the University of Latvia.
When I passed by to simply say ‘’hi’’ the week before I was invited for lunch, by university staff, who would have guessed!! I don’t see this happening at my university, ever. I always have loved the personal approach at LU, teachers at my home university could learn a lot from this… most of them not even knowing your name… Then I walked around a bit more in Old Town where I stumbled upon this statue.

Of course, I can’t tell you my wish, else it will not come true. ;) 

I also went up in the St. Peters Church and the Academy of Science Building, viewing Riga from great heights for the first time. 

View from Academy of Science Building over Maskacka.

View from St. Peters Church over Old Town.


In the evening I went to the weekly CS Tuesday meeting. Afterwards I figured that I should have brought a  sweater, as we were sitting outside instead of inside. It just shows, expect the unexpected. I got a severe cold the day after, lasting for about 10 days…

Wednesday July 17

On Wednesday I went to Tukums by train. I knew one of my Latvian friends is from there, but that is all I knew about the place before going there, really. :D One of my other Latvian friends told me once that she was talking to a Latvian friends of her how adventurous it would be to just go to the train station and take the first train, wherever it would go.
I basically was thinking about doing the same , only I looked which train rides wouldn’t take extremely long, Tukums fitting the bill! Upon arrival I learned that Tukums is famous for its flowers. I must say, I haven’t seen such a beautiful flower garden at any train station! 

Also, other parts of the centre of Tukums have proven to be nice sights.

After having wandered around for several hours I took the train back to Riga. There I bought some plasters, mosquito repellent and other stuff for the Positivus festival at a Drogas store in Origo. I figured I’d better be prepared for my first multi-day festival. I was a bit surprised when the girl at check-out started talking to me in Russian, I think the first time ever I experienced this… !!
I talked back in English and she seemed a bit shocked as well. :P I paid and left..

Positivus festival, camping site (July 18-22), festival site (July 19-21)
On Thursday afternoon (July 18) I was going with the Positivus shuttle bus to Salacgrīva, the location of the Positivus festival.  It didn’t take long to realise I wasn’t the only Dutch person going. I already noticed there were at least 6 other Dutch. I started talking with two Dutch girls. I was curious how they liked Riga and they seemed to have enjoyed themselves thus far. :)) Soon I also spotted two German guys, who loaded two cardboard boxes with beer… no surprise there. Not particularly smart though, as even after arrival on the camping site we had to wait for 2 more hours in burning sun before the camping site would be opened at 17:00. There beers must have tasted real good. :)))
When waiting for the camping site to be opened also got to meet and talk to two Latvian girls who were volunteers at the camping site. I think I should sign up for something like that as well in the near future! I was thinking about doing this before but I never followed through..

Within the first hour of having entered the camping site we formed a group of people that just happened to be close to each other with their tents. That’s basically happens what you get when there is a Latvian guy asking everybody ‘’hey, where are you from?’’ and saying ‘’join us!’’. ^^ Two Australian girls had a tarp and our pick nick spot was set. I teamed up with a German and Kiwi girl, who helped me to set up my tent in trade for luggage space. Actually, they didn’t bring their own tent at all, it being delivered the day after. Later they found a place to sleep too, I suppose it is easy when you are a girl. Later my tent was also luggage space for two Estonian girls. 1 person + 5 bags. :’)

I explored the festival site with them, good fun! Overall, I liked the festival, but much more for the atmosphere and the people than the music. Only being 41 Ls was an extremely cheap price for me to pay for 3 day festival + camping site (where I was 4 days) for this experiment. For previous festivals I went to I paid this price for one day festivals. I probably will not go again to Positivus. However, if I would, I would be staying mostly at the dance stage, being the most close to music I normally listen to, also providing a beautiful outlook. 

All in all, I enjoyed the festival, as I met my friend from Lithuania as well as four Latvian friends and got to know new interesting people. In terms of music and entertainment, I found the in between acts of Darwin Deez to be pretty awesome. Footage below:

Monday July 22 
Monday afternoon I went back to Riga and rested afterwards, also drinking some Black Balsam with coffee creamer (instead of hot milk, Latvian friend said coffee creamer was better) and honey to remedy me more quickly from my cold. Since the Friday before I also used medicine from the pharmacy, readily having effect.  In the future I will stop using strong alcohol as medicine all together, as medicine from pharmacy +  a good night’s sleep works better. At least, that is my experience.

Tuesday July 23
On Tuesday I went out for lunch with international coordinators of LU.
When I came by to just say hi the week before, I couldn’t imagine I would be asked out for lunch..!
I don’t see this happening at my university, ever. I was happily surprised! After the lunch I explained how I favour this personal approach. Sadly, many teachers at my university don’t seem to give a rat’s ass, not even knowing your name.

In the evening I had my last Couchsurfing meeting, happy to still being to enjoy one before going back and having visited 4 bars I hadn’t been before. :) I stayed again late, anticipating that I could sleep at least 1,5 hours in the bus to and from Talsi, my destination for the next day.

Wednesday July 24
On what was basically my last day, I went to visit my Latvian friend in Talsi. The last time I left Riga he offered me to show me around his is town Talsi, also known as ‘The Town of Nine Hills’. He showed me around by car, which allowed me to see a lot more than when going by foot. Time passed by quickly, time flies when you are having fun… Before I went back by bus, we passed the tourist centre to see if there were any souvenirs. The funny part here is that Talsi is famous for its rally track, a map showing  ‘’routes for hasty drivers’’. The most exciting part of this day trip was that we entered a closed track where brand new WRC (World Rally Championship) rally cars were tested for the Finland WRC Cup, being at the right place and the right time to see something extraordinary.   

After having returned to Riga, I still had a late night chat with the latest Erasmus I got to know. As a result, just like last time, not much sleep on the last day before returning…

Thursday July 25
Time flies… fifteen days had passed quickly. I would have preferred to stay a little bit longer but I had an event at home I couldn’t miss. Also, I experienced a lot of new things and learned, just like last time, a lot about myself and why I value my international friends so much. This trip was more than worthwhile. :) I reserved bungeejumping in Sigulda, Bauska and other places and things to see and do for another time. ;)

BEIGAS