I woke up to a very foggy morning in London and tidied up the flat in anticipation of my first AirBnB guests. Bogdan and his girlfriend (and another couple arriving later) from Romania. Feels a little strange to leave your place to strangers, but they appeared decent. So off I went to Gatwick airport with bags full of xmas presents and my Russian tourist visa, which I secured one day earlier. Next stop Riga (or so I thought).
Since I left the flat a tad early, I had loads of time. Time which was pleasantly filled by whatsapp-ing with the hardcore part of my Spanish class (‘Dipsomaniacs’ though the name varies depending on the mood of the administrator ;o). Fun group of people.
The time at the airport turned out to be lengthy. Fog across Europe caused huge selays. For that meant that my 5.30pm flight was delayed and only departed midnight. Connection to St Petersburg only 8am. Great! Beers, burgers and a wagamama followed. At least I had a good book ro read (first ascent of Lhotse by a Swiss team in 1956).
I arrived in Riga 4.30am and after a little morning toilet that left me 3h to the connecting flight to St. Petersburg. Last time in Riga had been with my dear friends Aldo and Walter – at the time both colleagues at Keefe Bruyette. The flight to St. Petersburg left (for a change) on time at 8am and we landed in St. Petersburg around 10am. A short cab ride later I made it to Nika’s & Yura’s place and more or less jumped straight into bed. New Years celebration can start now. C Novim Godom!
