Saturday 9th November 2024, 10.40: 

The first thing I’d like to say is that I’ve now travelled from London Stansted Airport three times in the last twelve months, and I have come to the unquestionable conclusion that it is a horrible, disgusting shit hole that is too hot and has a uniquely horrible layout for an airport. 

Yes, I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I am going on holiday again, so welcome to another Harold holiday blog. I’m currently queuing at Gate 56 for the 11.15 flight to Riga, Latvia. I’ve already been asked several times “why Latvia?”, so to preempt your question, because I’ve always wanted to visit one of the Baltic states because their history is super interesting and their architecture is stunning. Naturally, that rules out most of my normal friends because I haven’t mentioned alcohol, so I’m joined by my very good, and possibly my only cultured friend, Elia Finocchio. We’ve got tickets to the opera tonight, which I’m genuinely super excited about, because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Sometimes I’m so interesting it actually hurts. 

I’ve purchased a book to read on the plane, but I only had five hours sleep last night as I attended the birthday party of my brothers girlfriend, so I imagine I’ll probably nod off to the sound of Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter instead. I’ll check in with you upon landing. 

H x

Sunday 10th November 2024, 09.35: 

Good morning! Now, I’d love to tell you about the opera, how amazing it was, what a great experience, how much we enjoyed it, but I can’t, because we didn’t go. I know, what a wasted opportunity, but let me explain. Elia and I are both extremely busy people, and we both really struggle to relax. Our minds run at 100mph and we both feel like we constantly need to be doing something, otherwise we feel bad. So, as we were both tired, I said fuck it, we’re on holiday, let’s just chill out and do nothing, we can find another opera to go to at some point. 

So that’s what we did! We drank wine, ate cheese, bread & chocolate, listened to some shit Latvian pop music and planned our itinerary for today. I somehow still feel tired, despite having about 78 hours of sleep, but I have no regrets and I’m raring to go. 

Check in later. H x

Sunday 10th November 2024, 11.15: 

We’ve just walked into a convenience store for a bottle of water and Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter is playing. Next to the convenience store is a McDonald’s, and then opposite both of these is the Latvian Freedom Monument. God bless Western Democracy, god bless our troops and god bless America. 

H x

Sunday 10th November 2024, 16.20: 

Well, we have had a lovely day. We started at the House of the Black Heads, which was, quite literally, a museum full of Black Heads. Apparently it comes from the Brotherhood of Blackheads, founded in the 15th century, which used it as their base, although it was damaged in World War Two and then destroyed completely by the Soviet Government, so it’s actually a replica which was built in the late 1990’s. Nonetheless, it was absolutely stunning. My favourite part was the downstairs cellar, which was apparently used to hold meetings of the Brotherhood in the Middle Ages, and had a big long table with a chess board – my kind of vibes. 

After that we went for a wander around the city, past the Freedom Monument, around the Central Park, before stopping at an Italian restaurant for lunch. We then headed to The Corner House, the former headquarters of the KGB, which gave a shocking but unsurprising account of the atrocities committed by the Soviets in post-war Latvia. After that we stopped at a couple of cathedrals, which reinforced my belief that once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, excluding the Cathedral of Milan, of course – did I mention I’d been to Milan by myself? 

Then it was on to the Latvian National Museum of Art, which was breathtaking. Several of the pieces really caught my eye, and there were some super interesting exhibitions. Our final stop was the Riga Central Market, which Elia had me believe was a bazaar sort of place selling lots of interesting things, but turned out to be closer to the Eagle Market in Derby – it was damp, dingy and stank of fish. Surprising, really, considering Sian is still at home in England. 

By this point my feet were hurting, so we popped to the supermarket for more wine and cigarettes before coming back to the apartment to decompress and assess our options for this evening. A 10/10 day for me. 

Catch you later. H x

Monday 11th November 2024, 11.10: 

Good morning! I’ve just had potato pancakes with bacon, egg and lettuce, and it was actually surprisingly nice. We’ve already been to the viewing platform at St Peter’s Church, from which you can see the entire city, and it was mightily impressive. Elia pointed out a building she thought was “very Soviet”, so we googled it and discovered it was built in 1961 in a “Stalinist style”, so she was very pleased with herself. 

We spent last night the same way we spent the night before; drinking wine, eating cheese and discussing the intricacies of modern life. Honestly, I can’t think of a better way to spend the evening. I have no interesting or funny stories to regale you with, but I have a sense of happiness and fulfilment that I still find difficult to comprehend, and that’s is more important than stories of one of my friends being sick in a bar. 

Right, we’re off to the Latvian National Library. Speak later. H x

Monday 11th November 2024, 15.25: 

So, a quick overview of the day so far. We walked to the Latvian National Library, but it was closed for maintenance. We then walked to the Holy Trinity Church, a magnificently beautiful building, which was closed to the public. We then got a taxi to the Museum of Architecture, which is closed on Mondays. A somewhat less than ideal start to the day. 

However, we pressed on and headed to the Museum of Occupation, which was simultaneously fascinating and horrifying, as well as quite poignant considering the current conflict in Ukraine. Despite having read about it extensively, the brutality of Soviet Russia still never ceases to shock me, especially under Stalin, and it really puts into perspective how rapidly & impressively the Baltic States have embraced Western democracy following the fall of the USSR. I don’t really know why, but a picture of a man staring directly into the camera lens particularly caught my eye, which I will attach below.  

Anyway, after that we went for lunch. Elia had Ravioli and I had Carbonara, and we were both thoroughly impressed. I’m now back at the apartment, resting my weary legs, having left Elia to peruse the plethora of souvenir shops that seem to domineer the streets of Riga. All in all, it has been the exact kind of day you’d expect us to have. 

I think we’re going to a few bars later on, so I’ll probably catch up with you tomorrow. Ciao. H x

Tuesday 12th November 2024, 08.25: 

I tried traditional Latvian garlic bread last night, which is basically deep fried garlic rye bread. It was absolutely delicious, but it was very heavy, although nothing a couple of glasses of white couldn’t sort. Elia tried some sort of traditional rye bread dish with salad, which looked disgusting (no offence Latvia), followed by a meringue type dessert with, shockingly, some rye bread. Are you getting the idea here? I also tried a lager platter, but they were fucking rank. I mean, at least I tried, right?

Well, we’re on the way to the airport now. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in Riga, and I’d definitely recommend it. Tallinn and Vilnius have definitely moved up my priority list after this trip. But that, ladies and gents, concludes my holidays for 2024. I think six is enough, don’t you? 

Lots of love. H. X