The sun is shining! Which means, the snow is melting. Finally!! I am, as we speak, on a ferry with Lena, on our way to spend an afternoon in Helsinki. But more on that later :).

It was the weekend before my birthday! As I’ve told you before, Mila was supposed to be visiting me. But this stupid Russian guy put a temporary stop to that plan. Friends and family and Mila herself didn’t feel very comfortable flying on Friday, with the invasion of Ukraine starting the day before and the whole situation being too unknown and unpredictable. Which of course made a lot of sense, but I was a bit bummed out. I was so looking forward to seeing her and spending those days with her. We decided to see how the situation would be on Friday, and if it would be possible for Mila to come on Saturday or Sunday instead.

I took the bus to Rīga and enjoyed the AirBnB we booked for the weekend. I needed some time for myself anyways and this was the perfect way to relax and get back some energy.

On Friday, I met up with Rasa in the evening, to go to this protest concert. It was on the square in front of the congress center, and it also happened to be across the Russian embassy. It couldn’t have been more perfect to protest the current war.

Sunday early afternoon, Mila arrived at the airport in Rīga! I obviously picked her up, and we took the public transport back to the flat.

It meant a lot for the both of us for her to be here, and for her to see where I have been spending time, since people back home don’t really know what it is like. We were both kinda tired, so we just ordered food for dinner and spend the evening with Netflix.

When I woke up the next morning, I officially made my way around the sun 26 times. Mila took some decorations from home to make it feel like a proper birthday party.

We went outside to go on our sightseeing tour, showing how lovely Rīga is. We had to have cake today, and then off we were to continue our stroll, to end up with another birthday cake, Stalin’s this time. It’s funny though, because I remember learning about this building back in school in history class. I didn’t remember it was in Latvia, but seeing this building every time I arrive or leave Rīga, and wondering what it actually is. Turns out, it is the Academy of Sciences, and you can take the lift to the 16th floor to take some extra stairs and admire the amazing view of the city.

After our big walk, we needed some screen time, so we booked tickets for the cinema. I think I’ve said this before, but we always go to the cinema on holidays. It’s so interesting to see how it is in different countries, and this one might be one of our favourites. Afterwards, we met up with Lena for my birthday dinner. Rasa was supposed to come too, but unfortunately she had to work a little late, so she wasn’t able to make it in time.

On Tuesday, Mila and I went to the zoo, and thankfully it was a tiny bit warmer than when I was there with my brother. I don’t know how she did it, but within two hours, she made more than 170 pictures.

At the end of the day, we took the bus back to Preiļi. Instead of Mila to go back home, she came with me, since she could work from home, and it meant we had some extra days to be together. I had to go to school anyways, so it was a perfect combination.

Wednesday on my big break, I showed her around town. We took a walk through the park, well, Mila slided her way through. I thought I was having it badly with my previous shoes, being slippery, but hers were even worse. Glad to be back home, I went back to school, to treat the kids and teachers with some stroopwafels, a typical Dutch cookie, or waffle with caramel. I was surprised in the morning by 1st and 2nd grade and Dace, with a birthday song and their traditional drawing book, as a present. During lunch, the other pre-school teachers and kitchen staff sang for me as well, and gave me some flowers and a really nice Latvian sweater. It was of course a little strange to be away from home on your birthday, but with these people, I felt loved and celebrated anyways!

When our short workweek was over, Mila and I went back to Rīga on Friday evening. After dropping our stuff at the hotel, we were on our way to the old town center, to wait for Rasa and start our celebrations. It was the first weekend with the restrictions being eased, meaning clubs and bars were back to their original closing times.

And you could tell, it was like everyone was back to partying. After a couple too many shots, it was time to go home. Not according to Rasa, but us being grandma’s now, we were done. We had fun, but we needed our beds.

Surprisingly, we were quite okay the next morning. So, we searched for some breakfast and made our way to, for me again, the KGB museum. We both love history, so this was a must this weekend. Slightly hangover still, we went back to the hotel to chill in their spa and have an easy dinner. The next day would be our last together, so naturally we spend it in the cinema.

Meanwhile at school, we celebrated International Women’s Day, by receiving flowers and eating cake. Like, what else. Cake is always a good idea!

It had been the perfect week, and it made me realise I have been missing home more than I thought. I love being at school with the kids, but I also realised, this type of work is not for me. I miss the unexpectedness of the day ahead of you, and besides that, living in a rural place is definitely not my destiny. So this might come as a little shock, but I will be going home sooner than what the original plan was. I will finish this month here, but then I will be flying home on March 31st.

For now, I will enjoy this week in multiple countries and cities, as we have a little spring break. I will tell about those adventures later! Let’s explore Helsinki first 🙂