Latvia

LATVIA
Spring 2013

I don’t know anything about this country.  I am not really sure I even know how to pronounce it.  I am not sure where it is on the map. I am surprised and embarrassed when other people talk about this country with some degree of familiarity.  How do people know all of these small areas of the once powerful USSR?

 We only have one day at port.  Our ship leaves 6PM tonight. That’s not enough time to get to know this place, not enough time to explore beyond the old city.  But I do have a full agenda for the day: the Centre Market, the Latvia Museum of Suppression, a tasting of Balzmar and Kvass and a search and acquisition of a mink hat.

The Centre Market is massive. Three old zeppelin hangers connect and make up the interior of the market.  Street kiosks line the roads around every entrance.  Most of the things on sale don’t interest me, except the flower market.  It is filled with lily bulbs and seeds of flowers that I have never seen before.  I would love to add them to my garden. I run the thoughts through my head on how I can get these goods on board the ship and then through US Customs.

I dismiss the idea in frustrating defeat and head to the Olde City, just a half-mile away.  I don’t know how much of this area suffered from any bombing during the wars and long periods of suppression.  But the Olde City is still quaint, sweet and a lovely place to stroll and linger at any of the too numerous, large, outdoor cafes.

The day is beautiful and begs all of us to sit and drink beer, which I do.  I also try the kvass and the Balzmar, both drinks worth trying once but not necessarily again.

The Museum of Suppression is free and very well displayed.  However, the main characters are all unfamiliar to me.  So it is difficult to follow the story.

I can’t keep the good guys and the bad guys straight. I can’t figure out the oppression.

So now I more on to my real challenge of the day: can I find a mink hat to buy?

I find one woman at the market who is selling bomber hats with fur trim. She has fox and wolf only.  The hats are great but not what I want. So to purchase these hats would be settling for second best. I walk away without a hat but with a nagging thought poking at me to surrender to second best.

I find a mink store but it is closed for the season.  As I peer through the window, I am relieved they are not open.  They look too expensive and this potential extravagance probably would have just forced me t go back the market and get the hat I really didn’t want.

I find a street merchant who is selling mink hats.  She has my exact mink hat that I have at home.  But this hat fits me better, just so slightly better and I think I should buy this hat and give my old hat away. How absurd I can be in my overconsumption!

Ship time is approaching quickly so I surrender my quest and head back to the port. Once there, I step in the terminal to see if there is any last minute item I have to pick up. I run into a friend and ask, “”What’s in the terminal, anything interesting?”

”No, no.  There’s nothing in here but fur hats,” She responds without breaking her stride.  She is headed back to he ship.

I pick up my pace and charge through the door, in search of the hat merchants.  There is only one merchant.  But that is enough because I really don’t have time to look beyond this one store.

The merchant has a variety of hats.  I find one big ass Russian Czar hat with earmuffs.  This hat speaks to me.  It is larger than what I had in mind.  But I remember seeing this hat in Mongolia and liking it.  I barter with the woman and she reduces the hat a few bucks, just enough to cinch the deal.  I give her my money and she needs to give me change.  She runs to the next merchant and waits in line to exchange money with him.

I am watching my clock and figuring out how much I longer I can wait. The wait is no longer in my best interest.  I cannot afford to miss my ship.  So I use sign language to tell her that I am leaving.  She insists that I wait it but I have got to get back to the ship.  So I wave to her, leaving happily with my new big ass mink hat.  And off I go. All of the sudden, some pulls on my arm.  It’s the merchant. She is out of breath but she has my meager change.  She gleams with pride that she is honoring our deal.  And I stroll back to the ship, suppressing my urge to do a little Irish jig.