Sept 30 – Oct 3, 2022: I went from the Balkans to the Baltics. Latvia is a small country sandwiched between Lithuania and Estonia. I’d visited both in the past, and Tallinn, Estonia is one of my favorite European cities. I had high expectations and had been looking forward to cool weather, a small historic center, and my own Airbnb apartment. Travel is lovely, but sometimes I crave the simple pleasures of a well-stocked kitchen and washing machine.

Riga was an easy, relaxing break. My flight arrived in the evening which is sometimes an issue but the bus to the city ran frequently, was €2 (payable with a tap of my credit card), had announcements in English, and dropped me off 2 minutes from my Airbnb. Just about perfect. Checking in to the Airbnb was simple since the host provided very clear instructions. The whole thing just went well.

The next morning, I went to the well-stocked supermarket and bought food for breakfast. Again, I loved the simple pleasures of having milk with my tea and European style muesli. It rained most of the day so I read a lot. Because the kitchen was well equipped, I went back to the store and bought groceries to make lunch and dinner. I was feeling such fall vibes that I made pumpkin and lentil soup. Yum 🙂

I explored the old town but didn’t do anything that touristy. Sunday, I attended mass in English. I try to do this since you get an insight into the local expat scene. In Riga, most of the Catholic foreigners seemed to be Vietnamese. It was a lot of fun. Sunday school was just starting so there were many children running around during mass, with announcements in English and Vietnamese for the parents. It was unexpected but very nice to be part of.

Somehow, my time just flew by. Between travel planning and chores like laundry, I was heading to the airport before I knew it. Thank you Riga for giving me the rest I needed!