There’s a no shoes policy in Estonia. I don’t mean that people just wander the streets barefoot, of course, as that would be completely insane in these temperatures. You’re allowed shoes for that. No, the shoeless requirement applies to houses and apartments. It’s a cultural law. I have never yet seen anyone wearing shoes in [...]
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Just because I’m sooooo in the mood for a good rant, and I haven’t done that for ages. Can’t be good for me, all this pleasant, positive and inspired blogging. I need to take a leaf out of Ed‘s book and start complaining a bit more often. Just maybe not that often. Anyway, here are [...]
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Hannah has been having fun giving out letters upon which we must base our blog posts. My letter is P. It’s very straightforward: this post is about ten things that I like beginning with the letter P. 1. Poetry. I love poetry, whether it’s beautiful love poetry or clever wordplay and silly rhymes. I love [...]
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As I idly scanned the list of my friends’ status updates on Facebook, I noticed that one friend’s announcement that she was “really tired now, and going to bed” was immediately followed by another friend informing me that he was “trying to work, but [had] a sore head”. Intrigued by the thought of Facebook status [...]
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I’m having issues with my bedding. It’s not that we disagree on major political issues or anything, it’s just that it keeps attacking me. I do not think that “aggressive” is a adjective that should be applied to bedding. Soft, yes. Warm, certainly. But not aggressive. Or sharp, for that matter. I know I have [...]
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You really can attract them! So said my mother in an email the other day. Although this statement could have applied to any one of midges, cold germs and mosquitos (amongst other things), she was actually referring to my incident with the Russian-speaking woman in Latvia. I mulled this over, for I had not looked [...]
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I wasn’t sure if they’d celebrate Valentine’s Day in Eesti, but the somewhat alarming invasion of the giant heart-shape balloons et al into all the shops and malls recently made it clear that this is a widespread celebration. It’s the only “celebration” I know of that seems to unfailingly make more people miserable than happy, [...]
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I am standing in the queue at the kiosk, hopping impatiently from foot to foot, clutching my newspapers in one sweaty hand and my money in the other. Tere! says the cashier, looking confused as I thrust everything at her in a rather over-excited manner. Tere! I reply with great enthusiasm. She peels apart the [...]
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I was a little confused by the presence of armed guards at the Freedom Monument in Riga. The monument is quite big. Actually, it is very very big. It’s been there since 1935, in memory of soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence (1918-1920)and it’s 138 feet tall. You can’t miss it. Which is [...]
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The prettiest part of Riga is not – if you ask me – the Old Town, but the series of tree-filled parks bordering the New Town. I imagine that they’d be even more lovely in the summer time, when apparently it’s the done thing to hire pedal boats and drift lazily along the canals, but [...]
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You Say Goodbye, I Say… Historical Snapshots It Just Makes Me Happy
