Everything has been ticked off.Houston, we have lift off.Inch of Snow Brings London to a StandstillRiga For A DayWe made it to RussiaRussiaAndy V, we thought you might like this!University: Learning Amidst HistoryWedding AnniversarySunday stroll in the sunZa Zdorovie! (Cheers!)Today's explorationsCathedral CentralThe week continued...by JodiBIG Weekend!Russian experiencesLast week in St Pete's(Mis)AdventuresMoscow - Some fun answers to prayerOrphanage visitKremlin+15C!Warning: Rambling AheadSpecial Birthday CelebrationsEaster partyAn afternoon in town.VNDKhOur last visit at the babies home10 girls and snow come to stayAuschwitzWieliczka, PolandZakopane, PolandLwowek Slaski, PolandPrague in SpringFour countries in one day.4 countries cont.Ancient Sea-side CityThe View From the Ferry Split - DubrovnikNothing to do by the seasideRainRome was seen in a dayThe 300km homestretch!Leon, SpainDay OneBloody Hard Work!Up the MountainSnow!Cacabelos Albergue is the best one we have seen yetBrazilian AlberguePerserverence has its rewardsFantastic Lonely ForestsLoooong DayWalking With WalterWet DayPerserverence pays againThe Final Stage
 | tim_godfrey |  | Dosto-prima-chatyel-nosti... |  | Inch of Snow Brings London to a... |
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Jan 25 2007, 10:55 PM
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Riga, Latvia
Thursday 25th of January
Riga, Latvia
Yesterday Jodi and I were woken by the pleasant surprise of an inch of snow over London. Somehow an inch of snow wreaked havoc with the London train and tube system. We had planned to go into the city and do a walk that took in most of the sights. We got to the platform and waited for half an hour or so before a train came. It was funny, I still had to ask someone standing on the platform where the train was going because I didn't understand the PA address. Half the challenge was the accent, the other half was the unfamiliar train station names.
The train conductor had a most interesting manner on the phone. He openly confessed over the PA that he had no idea what was going on, and that he apologised ahead of time for the delay and could everyone please be patient. The train was stopped at a platform and there was another train going in the same direction as ours on a platform over from us. The conductor announced that the other train was going to leave first, so people might as well go on that train if they wanted. There was a mad rush out of our train across the platform and into the other train, but Jodi and I decided to stay put and just wait until our train got going. About 10 secs after the other train left the conductor came on over the PA and mentioned in a casual tone, "Alright we're going now. Mind the doors." It brought to mind, by its contrast, the message that gets played on Brisbane trains: 'doors closing, please stand clear'. They made up for it though by playing stern warnings at the platform that instructed the passengers to 'Mind the Gap! Mind the Gap!...' It was reminiscent of the announcements made to the public in the film 'V for Vendetta'.
After our sociological musings on the public transport we made a start on all the ususal tourist stops: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliment house etc. There are magnificent large statues and monuments everywhere! Parliment house is impressive as well. The arches into some of the entrances must be three stories tall. I figure that there are people out there who know who all the people are who are depicted in the reliefs of the architecture. I don't think I could actually concentrate long enough or be interested enough to find out who the statues are, but I think it is cool that each one is probably a saint or a bishop or someone important from antiquity. I commented to Jodi that in my opinion the British know how to do monuments a whole lot better than us Aussies. When we reached the other side of the Thames and looked back Jodi said, "They know how to do parliment house better too!"
We saw the London eye, The Tower Bridge, and The Tower of London on our travels. One highlight was the Tate Modern Gallery of Art. There was one exhibit that had a lot of abstract work in it, including a few pieces by Jackson Pollock. I am sure modern art is like Jazz, in that I need some education to appreciate it. With that disclaimer, I still reckon that it was a lot like what most people are apprehensive of when they think of modern art. The highlight for us though was a slippery dip that was 5 stories high. That's what Australia needs next to that big tapestry of Blue Poles! That would bring the punters in!
Another highlight for us was a series of faintly abstract pieces depicting important or interesting events in Englands history. They were just on the walls on the way into the Tower Hill Tube Station. Isn't it interesting what things stand out to us.
Today we flew to Riga from London. It is such a relief to be out of London! Riga is cheaper, smaller and a whole lot less overwhelming! It doesn't feel like the capital city of a country. We have spoken with a few people who are very warm and friendly. Walking down the street though, we get a lot of wary looks. We went to the corner store to buy some food for the next two days, and the store keeper followed us around the whole shop! I don't know if she always does that or if I look particularly criminal, who can tell? I wonder as well if people in the street look at us because of our packs (it is the middle of winter here and the only other tourists we have noticed here are a bunch of English men who are presumably on a Buck's night (aka week) bender), the look of us, or because of my hair.
Jodi said that she has read that 50% of Latvians are native Russian speakers. Latvians don't like speaking Russian though, according to the women on the plane. Jodi's Russian has come in handy for us a few times already though. When we were in the grocery store that I mentioned earlier we bought a tin of tuna. There were no tins of tuna in ring pull cans, and we don't a have a tin opener with us, so I was looking around to see if we could buy one. I tried chirades with the checkout woman, which failed miserably, so out came Jodi's Russian. I thought I heard Jodi ask the woman if they had anything we could open the tin with. The woman at the counter called out to another staff member who came and took the tin away. When the tin came back there was no tin opener in sight, but the tin was open for us. How's that for customer service!
Riga looks like a reasonably old city, shabby and beautiful at the same time. It reminds me a bit of Asia, and Jodi has said a few times how similar it feels to Poland. One thing I have noticed is that there are not many tall buildings around. London was the same, and apaprently most of Europe is like that. It makes things feel different,m in a good way. We catch a bus to St Petersburg tomorrow night at 7pm, so we take the chance to have a look around the city before then.
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Hey Guys!!
Written by Genevieve 39 months ago
Hey Tim and Jodi, I'm so happy to hear that your trip has gotten off to a great start!! Go Jodi for using your Russian! How does it feel to finally be using the language after 2 years of study? I hope that the bus trip goes well. Just think tomorrow you will be in Russia!!!! I'm so excited for you :) My only great news is that I received my invitation letter from the University of St Petersburg yesterday and I've started to pull everything together for a student visa. Very exciting!!! I'm seeing Anna on Sunday and I'm going to pick her brain and bombard her with questions about Russia. If I find out anything useful for you guys I will post another comment on this website. Anyway, HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY and I miss you both :) but I love hearing about your travels. God Bless and I'll hear from you soon no doubt! Gen
Were closing in fast... Looking fwd to more snow!
Written by Nathan&Ellie 39 months ago
Hi there Tim and Jodi, Just a quick note to let you know that we have been receiving your mail Tim. We have several post for out blog and have been unable to upload them due to the incredibly snow internet in China (all thanks to an earthquake off the coast of Taiwan that severed an internet backbone... going on 4 weeks now). Am pleased to hear your off to a great start, hope we can still catch up in St Petersburg. The Russia Embessay in China is currently make me jump through hoops so I hope I can get a tourist visa. Fingers crossed. Look forward to hearing more about your travels. Nathan