If you read my previous post, you’ll know that today was my first ‘blouting’ with a guy called Jānis. And yes, that really is his name.
We’d arranged to meet at 6pm as we both had stuff to do in the afternoon, and also because at 6, it’s still bright. As my good buddy ever so comfortingly put it, ‘you can see concealed axes much better with the sun’s help’.
And so, in jeans and a red jacket (to camouflage any blood stains), I started to make my way to Old Town. At around 5.50, my phone started ringing. ‘Great, here we go…’, I thought. Any time I’ve ever arranged to meet a Latvian, they’ve been anywhere between 10 minutes and 2 hours late, so you’ll forgive me for thinking that history was repeating itself. To my amazement, he was already at the designated meeting point. Gold star for punctuality.
As I rounded the corner into Rātslaukums and headed for the House of the Blackheads, I was relieved to see that there was only one guy standing by himself. The thought of approaching 20 guys and asking each one ‘Are you Jānis?’, in a country where there are almost 58,000 men of that name was a little daunting.
I approached the tall, blond, broad-shouldered young man and thankfully, things went more like this:
Me: Hi. Are you Jānis?
Jānis: Yes. Linda?
Me: Vigorous nodding
Jānis: Nice to meet you!
Me: Nice to meet you, too!
Jānis: So, let’s get started?
It turns out that when a Latvian guy says ‘I’d like to offer you an excursion in Old Riga’, he really means it. It’s not a euphemism for something else.
Small talk out of the way, we embarked on our tour. He’d brought notes and everything. A second gold star for meticulousness.
It was actually really interesting and made a change from just going to Old Town for the bar scene. I realised how much I’d forgotten in the three years I’ve lived here. When I first arrived, naturally, I read up on the city, took a guided tour and walked the length and breadth of the place.
Now, I find I’m so focused on getting somewhere by a particular time, I forget to look up, down and all around me. Some of the sculptures, and even streets, he pointed out, I’d been walking past several times a week for the last couple of years and never even noticed. Embarrassing really.
He even threw in a few quiz questions he’d obviously prepared earlier. I failed miserably at almost all of them. The only question I was able to answer in the affirmative was ‘Have you been to that bar?’
So, what did I learn? Well, basically, everywhere you walk in Riga, you’re walking on dead bodies, as cemeteries used to surround all of the cathedrals. There are even some dead bodies in the walls. (Here, I also came across the word ‘immurement’ for the first time – thank you, Google Translate.)
There are two covered streets in Riga, one of which is called ‘Virgin Street’, and is where the prostitutes hung out in olden times. Riga used to have canals everywhere, which have long since been filled in. The stories behind the most impressive buildings in Riga, the reason Tornu Kalns exists, the story of the little mouse in Dom Cathedral, and overall, more about the history of Riga than most guidebooks could ever tell you.
All in all, it was a really interesting, very different (for me) way to spend an evening, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was, however, very glad that I’d chosen to wear relatively sensible footwear and not ‘gone Latvian’. An hour and a half walking around cobbled streets is not stiletto-friendly.
Luckily, Jānis was about to earn his third gold star of the evening. For lift-giving abilities. In a rather strange coincidence, it turns out that he lives just around the corner from me so he offered to drive me home. Convinced at this stage that he was not a crazed axe-murderer, but mainly just in need of the loo (OK, I admit it, I’d had a teeny glass of wine before leaving to calm my nerves), I accepted.
Conclusion: Three gold stars for my inaugural blouting with a Latvian was beyond all expectations. Liels paldies, Jānis!
Yay, Janis was lovely! Haha, the axe comments are a little disconcerting I have to admit, glad there was no blood (or indeed axes) to be concealed! 🙂
Yes, nothing ruins a perfectly lovely excursion like an axe-murdering. 🙂
That is so awesome, especially after such a long time waiting! So happy for you, and a little jealous as well! On a personal note, would you be interested in previewing a blog for me? I would love to have your opinion. 🙂
Wow, I’d be honoured! Do you need my email? It’s linda_ogrady@hotmail.com if so!
Thanks so very much, I will email you when I have it finished.:)
What a thoroughly lovely blouting! And so educational. This looks promising! 🙂 ~Terri
Don’t buy your hat just yet, Terri 😉
Oh, my, glad you had your blouting before reading my horror story 😉
I wouldn’t have gone!
lol 😉
Huzzah! Glad to see you made it out alive.
Me too!
yaayhhhh!
Indeed! 🙂
Congratulations on the successful blouting! And when are we going to get to see the poem you mentioned above!?
I may have built it up too much 😉 It will probably be a big letdown now!
Sounds like it was such a lovely excursion! I would’ve had a glass of wine too!
Ha ha! Good! I’m getting stick for that on FB!
You’re on fb? Like your blog or personally?
Just personally so far! Was thinking about creating a page for the blog – do you have one?
I do! And a twitter. I was really anti-twitter but its helped my blog for sure. My fb isn’t growing that fast but it’s moving right along.
http://www.facebook.com/FromCasinosToCastles
I think you should! You have some really funny things to post! I like it because it adds to the blog. You can post things that are just random instead only writing topics. If you get one let me know. 🙂
Yeah, sounds good actually. Sometimes something stupid happens but it doesn’t really merit a whole post! That will be my task for this week 😉 And I’m still anti-twitter 😉
Yay! Looking forward to it.
And if you decide to come over to the dark side, look me up. 😉
Will do! Don’t think it will happen any time soon though!
Maybe, if you have a word with the prostitutes in your new street about the historical value of going back to Virgin street, they will all leave and your property values will soar?
Nah, they can stay where they are. That would just push up my rent 😉
Yay! So glad your blouting went well 🙂 So you’ve met yet another surprisingly normal, friendly and all Latvian, a few more and I’ll have to tell you a golden rule of Lithuanian grammar – exception confirms the rule, but since there are so many exceptions you start thinking whether the rule should not be changed 😉
Hmm, we’ll see! He was a good one anyway!
I’m glad it turned out well!
Me too! And that I lived to tell the tale!
Woo hoo! Safe, sound and with a sweet story to boot! Nice to have you not killed by an axe-murderer! 🙂
Feels good this end too! 🙂
You’re alive and well? That doesn’t make for a good story. Please make sure this doesn’t happen next time.
Maybe I should go out with you next time? You sound suitably psychotic 😉
Blouting – what a big and crazy step to take. Well done!
Thanks! I was a bit worried about the crazy part 😉
Wow, so normal and delightful! I have been bracing myself for way more Latvian insanity 🙂
Me too 😉 See? Latvia – it never fails to surprise you!
So, all your limbs are still intact? Even the head’s still on…? I got my popcorn out for nothing!!!
Cheers for a good read, now I can finally go to bed, satisfied 🙂
The obit will have to wait! I’ll try to engage in some more high-risk activities for your entertainment in the future 😉
I’ve got it safely filed away…
Can’t decide what to post tomorrow. Crushes or pants?
Um, both sound interesting! I think I’ll go for crushes – as long as they’re not a type of bloody flower I just haven’t heard of 😉
Nope, it’s 70’s flashbacks childhood crushes 😉
Oh, yes to that! 🙂 PS. I’ve written a poem about Latvian men that might just get me killed so I wouldn’t file that obit too deeply… 🙂
No worries, I’m adding bits to it every week, so it’s under ‘recent’ documents, and instantly retrievable.
Poetry??? How very Irish…
I had a couple of pints of Guinness, put on my leprechaun hat and felt inspired 😉
Janis the Rigaführer will protect you!
🙂