Birthday and Some Quiet Days

My birthday is a Sunday. We get up fairly early because I want to go to church and my brother has set the breakfast table with flowers and a typically Latvian chocolate cake he bought for his last money. It is delicious and very nourishing… Between breakfast and church the Riga’s Heating repair guy who doesn’t speak Latvian turns up. Then Gunnar and I walk the few meters to the Old St. Gertrude’s Church and as the sermon gets long and longer I feel a little bad about making him listen to such a long service in Latvian, but he is nice enough not to complain. Although this service is Lutheran and we are Lutherans, too, there are some differences to German services. More standing and much more kneeling than in Germany and you get communion given into the mouth, not into the hand.

 

After church my parents call and I get my stuff packed because I move to my host family today. We walk there to have a late lunch. By lucky coincidence my younger host sister who lives in England is there, too and my older host sister, her boyfriend and their little son are there, too. It’s a complete family reunion and I am really happy to be back again.

My host parents’ place is my longest stay on this trip. I walk around in Riga a lot (see the current head picture of the blog) and here, too, I get the impression that Latvia is recovering from grim years of crisis that forced many people to emigrate to Western Europe. There are hardly any unoccupied shops and I even see more expensive stores than before, Finnish, German, American and British brands, new shops selling art works and decoration made in Latvia and a lot of organic food stores that haven’t been around two years ago.  I know it’s not yet back to as good as it was, but the worst, hopefully, may be over. The atmosphere in the old town, at least, is cheerful with many people in the street and a band in funny dress up playing loudly and happily.

 

The closest I get to visiting our old home in Limbaži is a short visit at my host aunt’s place in the county side. I really like the green hills covered in forests, fields and some gardens. Apart from that I read, play with the cats and meet some German friends who also spent their exchange year in Latvia, one of them returned after high school and studies here now and my best friend also came to visit her host family just now. It’s a connecting of worlds to have lunch with her and my host father and to visit my brother together. After all, we know the world IS small…