Baltic stuff

It was seventy six degrees when David and I boarded the plane in Birmingham late Tuesday afternoon carrying heavy winter coats over our arms. According to the weather forecast the next time we stepped outside it would be dark, freezing, snow on the ground, and the city would be Riga, Latvia.


The only hitch on the trip was being parked in our plane on the tarmac for an hour or so in London before taking off. We had been in London for four hours already. The wait made the flight from London to Riga seem longer than it was. But all in all a very easy trip. It is just a long way and there is not much one can do about that.

U. S. Air was a pleasant experience. We sat on the two seats in the very back of the plane. I don't think they were even real seats, just extra folding chairs to make up a few bucks on a couple of extra passengers. The plane was full. We sat next to the flight attendant. Her horse had just given birth and she was showing photos of the foal to all around, which was basically David and me. I don't know if she was always that pleasant, or if it was the birth of her horse, but she even made the trip seated across the aisle from the bathroom a positive experience, which, if you have ever had those choice seats, is no small task. Of course, it was only fifty four minutes to Charlotte. To add to the pleasantness of the whole trip, every security person we met from Birmingham to Riga was in an amazingly good mood. We zipped through every line. My favorite was in Riga, where customs amounted to being directed to walk by a large black dog. I suppose that was only a good thing if you were not muling.

U. S Air was deficient in one respect. Their plane did not have one of the monitors that constantly reports your position on the globe, time to destination, airspeed, temperature, altitude, in three languages. It took me a while to get over it, but, I had a window seat so I just shot a couple of azimuths to assure our course was correct, worked a couple of crossword puzzles, read a bit, and finally went to sleep.

Dan met us at the Riga airport. So did my luggage and guitar, which was great. I did sort of miss the free bag of underwear and toiletries AirBaltic gives out when your bags are delayed. But, on balance, it was good to have everything I needed because we were scheduled to head out to Birzai Thursday morning at eleven. Dan chauffeured us in our rental vw van into Riga, once again claiming a prize parking place right in front of the apartment building.

Courtney had made a trip on the train to visit the Hope Center and was not yet back when we arrived. So Dan made us supper. Not as elaborate as the Thanksgiving spread, but perfect for weary travellers coming into town on a cold wet evening. Courtney made it home, we finished eating and continued talking, and before we knew it, it was time for bed. I retired once again on big brown the sofa. David took the newly arranged guest room digs. Sleep came easy. Have I mentioned how great it is to know Dan and Courtney Randall?

We were to leave Riga for Birzai at eleven. But first we needed poster paper and mime make-up. Driving and shopping in Riga is always an adventure. After a couple of missed turns and the resulting lengthy detours, we filled our shopping list. We met other Chrysalis travelers at the Riga first UMC, loaded six of us and our luggage and guitars and one baby stroller into our VW van and headed out of Riga, southward toward Birzai, Lithuania.

It had in fact snowed in Riga all week, and despite the rather moderate mid thirties temperatures, the snow was still several inches deep. Snow in a big city is different than snow in the country. It is nasty and it gets nastier every day that it doesn't melt. It makes sidewalks slippery, curbs insurmountable, and puddles of disgusting muck to be splashed on pedestrians.

But in the country it is beautiful. A smooth sheet of brilliant white, undisturbed except for the occasional farmer or animal footprint. For the moment what lies under the snow does not matter so much. The rough places are made plain.

It was through that country side that we transitioned to our time of Chrysalis.

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