Through the handmade glass vol.1

I took an out bound train from Riga Central Station. And now it's passing the Bridge over the River Daugava. The cabin is so much roomy as a waiting room. The passengers sit on the bench seats. The faces are expressionless. The window glass beside me looks like handmade. The city view of Riga in backward is distorted through the window. I see a steeple top of the Science Academy building. Four giant arched roofs next to is Riga Central Market which used to be a hangar for German zeppelins.

Estonia where I had been until yesterday is a neighborhood to Latvia. But I see a big difference between them. In Estonia, towns are neatly renovated like a showcase. To the contrary, in Riga an old heritage building in brown stone and Gothic cathedral are conserved as they used be. Old wooden houses remain between the valley of brown stone buildings. A security camera is settled almost each street corner. People's face is more serious than the Estonian. Well, this is a typical picture of big city now a days. If I describe Estonia is a big country for holiday, I can say Latvia is the place for everyday life.

Riga's antique buildings and warehouses in brown stone makes me remember picture of New York. They look alike each other. There is an island in the river where I'm crossing. It's also resemble to Roosevelt Island in the East River. On the other hand, a tramway, gigantic market, Stalinist architecture and the people's expressionless face make me recall the name of "Former Eastern Bloc". I've never felt like that in Estonia.
So how about my study of people's feature? Well, it's some mixture between German and Russian while I saw an essence of Scandinavian in the Estonian. I found more differences than I had expected between the two countries. I asked somebody when I should threw the glass bottle. I was told. "I'm sorry we don't have a recycling system. Just leave it in the trash box together" "Oh, really?"

Latvia has been the member of the EU for twelve years. The Euro currency was introduced two years ago. Latvia experienced financial crisis and tighten finance. And now it's recovering. Well, with my evaluation Latvia isn't a poor country. But some how it has a sort of melancholic air.