Basking in my post ‘Visitor From Home’ glow, having eaten my own body weight in bacon and with enough Irish sausages in my fridge to open my own butcher’s, it seems like the right time for a more mellow, feel-good post.
My previous posts have focused on stony Latvian faces, dodgy Latvian fashions, ‘interesting’ Latvian pastimes and bleak Latvian winters. All of which my Visitor From Home was warned about well in advance. But as I should have expected, the one weekend I really wanted Latvia to live up to its reputation, Latvia didn’t co-operate.
The sun shone and the temperature rose to a balmy 3 degrees. The Latvians we met were charm personified – waiters smiled, bar staff cracked jokes and nobody tried to run us over. We even managed to meet some Latvians whose pastimes seemed to be drinking and talking to random Irish people in bars. Amazing. Could it be that I’d been mistaken all along?
Of course not. In our last bar, we met a Latvian who groped me and punched my Visitor From Home. And today I saw a woman whose idea of style was a matching purple bouffant and scarf.
And so, with a brow wipe and a sigh of relief, I can happily report that all is right with the world again. I might celebrate with some sausages…
Expat Eye on Latvia 
“In our last bar, we met a Latvian who groped me and punched my Visitor From Home.” I’m not sure bars anywhere are the best place to expect the goodness of mankind to be on display, especially later at night. But maybe this was a Latvian massage studio?
Hmm, maybe you’re right and I had more to drink than I thought… 🙂
it seems that your previous blog entry ‘went straight to heaven’, and someone over there made a call to Latvian Tourism department and OK-ed some smiles and charm to be given to your Visitor 😉
It was obviously a temporary thing! They couldn’t keep up the smiles and politeness for more than 2 days!! 😉
It sounds like your Visitor had a nice, well rounded experience of all things Latvian.
Sorry to hear the punching was part of the package, I hope that is strictly optional on any future trips:)
We were lucky – normally you have to pay extra for that kind of treatment 🙂 But yes, it was a really good weekend!