Groningen, Riga and Spring Running!

Spring has finally arrived to Vilnius…and yes; I think it’s for real this time! Never mind that its timing is late….I leave in a week! But never the less it is a welcome sight for sure. Despite the previous deplorable weather, Charlie and I still managed to have our share of fun the past few weeks. First and foremost, at the begging of May, Gerben had a birthday! Happy Birthday Geb! Unfortunately, over that weekend, he was up to his eyeballs in schoolwork for the end of the semester, so we made a last minute decision that I would come to Holland for a short visit! 

            Of course, as usual we had a ball and the weather (unlike Vilnius) was great! To celebrate his birthday we went out for Mexican food and to the movies which was really fun and the following day visited his parents for some nice family time and dinner. I got to hear stories about when he was a tiny kid (apparently he hasn’t changed too much! Haha), and we all spent the evening eating cake and chatting. Good times. There was also a May fair going on and the whole center of the city was filled with people, food stalls and carnival festivities. We took advantage of that by riding on the Farris wheel, which I haven’t done in ages! What a treat!! We also glorified our sunny days by walking in the park and adoring all the spring-time baby ducks…at least that’s what I did ;)

            Of course the visit seemed too short, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye I was headed back to Vilnius. To be honest, the week I returned was a quick one in which I had just enough time to attend my classes, keep up with my assignments and attend to those pesky life responsibilities before leaving again for the weekend, this time to Riga, Latvia!

            Man oh man is that a cool city! , So much so, that I regretted my decision to stay only for a weekend almost immediately. The old town and city center are really lovely and the city has a nice promenade walk along the river, which goes right by the edge of downtown. It was the European Cultural Capital in 2014 and I can really see why.  The central market is spectacular and consists of 4 large tube-like buildings divided into sections according to what is being sold. Along with countless stall outside selling fruits and veggies you can find just about anything you can imagine! Needless to say I spent quite some time wandering around there stocking up on snacks for later!

  

            The reason for my visit however, was not to sight see but to participate in the 25^th Annual Riga Half Marathon! I had made reservations at a hostel right in the middle of the old town and a ten-minute walk to the race start/finish, which was perfect because it was a huge event! By far the largest and most well put together run I have participated in so far, boasting around 25,000 participants.  There was a parade of nations the day before and a pasta party to fuel up for all the runners. I found some fellow Americans who were also running and we had a nice time in the sun marching around the city with our flag and many others. 

            Sadly our nice sunny weather didn’t last and when we all lined up at 8:30am Sunday morning for the race, it was pouring rain, which continued mercilessly the entire 21km. The central streets were closed to traffic and runner friends and family were huddled under umbrellas all along route. The puddles were hard to miss but the support was incredible. To be fair, I didn’t actually mind the rain too much at the time. Running has really become such a culture these days and it really packs some serious motivation. There is a distinct runners vibe that fills me all the way to the tiptop when I take part in these kinds of events. It makes me feel proud and excited and nervous all that same time. We cheer each other through the race and high-five people we don’t eve n know at the end because although our times greatly differ, we all just pushed our bodies over the same pavement to the same finish line and that makes us part of each other, armature or professional regardless.

So although it was such horrible weather, I was mostly just pleased to be a part of the mob and loop along side thousands of other runners just as excited as me to be there. Maybe we are all just crazy, but my my, it is truly a spectacular experience. Honestly. (However, what I DID NOT enjoy, was coming back on the bus to Vilnius with a backpack full of soaking wet running gear! But that’s a minor detail really…)

When I arrived back in Vilnius, I had yet another week of classes and life as usual. We had our last community yoga class, which was great! Thanks to everyone who participated! You were amazing yogis and I will miss our Friday sessions and all of you! Special thanks to Miriam for filling in for me when I was out of town adventuring; I couldn’t have done without you dear! :D That Saturday a group of us had a nice picnic at the park, until we got rained out (crazy crazy Lithuanian weather!!), but it was fun while it lasted! We all brought snacks and talked about the semester flying by and about our exams and all kinds of other things. Thanks everyone!

On Sunday I participated in the Vilnius Half Marathon! It was a much smaller event than Riga, but the weather was considerably better so I was happy as a clam. I even had to put on sunscreen! What fun!  

On that note I would like to add that for the past four months, Vilnius has been good to me. I have really enjoyed my stint in the Baltic region and would come back for a visit in a heartbeat; however, I now feel that familiar rumble inside. Soon it’s time to move on (again!) and I am anxious to return to Holland. As you all know by now, it is my oyster. My Zen. The bee’s knees if you will, and it is where I feel I can conquer the world and submit to it equally. My heart is there. Of course this may change over time, but for now I find myself dreaming of tulips and windmills and wooden shoes. Yes, I would like to get back to that now.  J Love and miss you all as usual! xoxo