Latvia

I am home again. It is a bit strange feeling... actually all kinds of feelings. And I am tired, so I should go to sleep soon and don't write too much of tiredness bullshit.
The travel went quite perfect. Yesterday morning I still woke up in the new apartment in Skopje, had my coffees with Aurelie and Rajah (uuh, miss you guys...). Took the 9 o'clock bus to Prishtina. Packed my bags, some nostalgic shivers on my lonely heart, could not find some bags but already had too much stuff...so who cares about the stuff. I went to pick up a taxi because I did not have any credits to call, but it was not a long walk. I left my luggage in the apartment and came back there with the taxi guy, loaded the trunk and the back seat and off I go... through Fushe Kosove, with Albanian music, a conversation in my clumsy Albanian, mountains in the distance...huh, Latvia is as flat as a pancake.
The flight went fine. In Istanbul I left my big suitcase in the Left Luggage and went to check out the Big Apple hostel in Sultanahmet. Unfortunately, it was full but I used their wireless Internet and saw that one girl had agreed to host me. We exchange some sms and was on my way... but I was late and tired of carrying 3 heavy bags so what's the hell, I took a taxi. I got in in a nasty mood, but the taxi driver was not giving up and in the middle of the ride managed to change my mood and make me laugh.
I had met the girl before, but when I met her I was not so sure I would have recognized her just on the street... Yes, hair changes girls. We took the train, which looked more Turkey than the modern Istanbul metro/tram. I had a delicious meal by her mom and some girls' talk in the new shiny apartment. And I slept like a baby.
In the morning had a long breakfast and her dad's work colleague took us to the airport. Somehow I did not pay for my overweight luggage though the lady first said I will have to pay. But I used the doggy eyes and 'I don't have money. I am a poor volunteer returning home after a year in Macedonia...Please' And she did not say anything more, just gave me the boarding pass. And this time surprisingly there were much less queue at the passport control, so I had a time to walk in the Duty Free and read my book.
It was a full plane but just a few Latvians on it, or people whose final destination is Riga. The small Riga airport is really pushing the number of transit passangers up. There was even one monk in orange.
And now I am at home. We had a nice meal of auksta zupa and torte with mom, brother and bro's girlfriend. And Made. And the granny somewhere around. And the mint tea from our garden...mmm. But there are some problems to be solved about the land around our house. And it sucks. I hope it is possible to solve them.
And here I am. Should go to bed. Feeling a bit like Rajah, desoriented after all this traveling, changing of places, waking up each day in a different country and visiting yet another country during the day... And my Northern nostalgia is back stronger than ever.