RigaMapNovember 2–3, 2007 Over the course of my various trips to Latvia the country has spent time as a post-Soviet backwater, was then transformed into a Russophobic freezer, and is currently thawing slowly, now sat within Europe. They’ve hung up new postboxes.  And brought in pink wheel clamps.  They’ve also introduced crates full of sand — they look a bit like the ones in Vilnius, except they’re green.  Running tracks sponsored by Adidas.  Previously, the only thing Riga could boast about was having the widest zebra crossing in the world.  In Latvia you can order short licence plates for your vehicle. None of the locals were able to explain the principle governing the choice of numbers.  Unbelievably audacious by Latvian standards — a word in Russian in the old town.  Utterly unthinkable audacity — a restored pre-revolutionary sign. Either I didn’t notice it before (highly unlikely), or they’ve only now plucked up the courage to uncover it.  What I definitely hadn’t noticed was that they don’t have ventilation windows in Riga. None at all.  You certainly do notice a great deal the 27th time around. A delightful detail: the road to the airport has an airplane pictogram on it.  |
