2024.10 East of Meaning

There are still places in the world where people live a normal life. Away from the hyper-optimized capitalism of the west, where every cafe, teashop, concept book-store, or an unusual localeof any kind needs to face the same kind of economic pressures as a branch of a bank.

Riga is a breath of fresh air, feels like a place out of time, on the Eastern outskirts of Europe. Somehow, a capital that hasn’t been transformed into a touristic Disneyland like the rest of them. A city with a rich history buried under the rubble of war and occupation.

To me, it is a journey into a cityscape comfortingly familiar from Poland. Of market stalls, and churches, and crumbling facades. Of harassed-looking adults, but also youths optimistic for their future.

The light so far north is different too. It’s sharper, with a yellow tinge unseen here in Berlin.