No I haven't suddenly become an emotional wreck, it refers to our little adventure on the snow ravaged dirt roads of Latvia to see our friends Steve, Natalija and Samuel. As you can see from the picture they are a little rough in places.Our trip to get the process of getting a residence permit was quite painless though, oh the joy of being EU residents! One copy of our passports and a bank statement was all that was required to at least start the process and we can hand in the completed form that we were given on Friday along with two passport photos and a copy of the health insurance and we are sorted. At least it is supposed to be that easy so we will wait and see.
Our apartment is still not quite ready for habitation as it is lacking an attached toilet, shower and sink - mind you the tiles are looking really nice and our shower once installed comes with a radio. Why do we need a radio I hear you ask, I have no idea either it is just that model came with one. Anyway we have to suffer further hardship of staying in a little hotel with friendly staff and wonderful food for two more nights, can you hear the tears of
consternation already? (Not!). It is great to see that our Swedish workman is teaching his Latvian apprentice good techniques as they work on the bathroom together - as you can see from the picture of the radiator not all Latvian workmanship is particularly well done (this was not done by the same guy who is doing our bathroom thank goodness!)
Last night we were sat in the restaurant in the hotel when a couple came up to us because we were speaking English and introduced themselves, turns out they already knew about us from the friends we had visited earlier on in the day. It is really strange to meet people you don't know and they already know about you.
The last two pictures are views from our apartment here in Latvia.
Sounds like you've already become somewhat of a celebrity in Ergli?
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see the view from your new home (though there's WAY too much snow on the ground) :)
Liz
Our plumber was telling me that we are likely to be known over the whole of Ergli by now. We were in a builders merchants today and he apparently was trying to ask if we were the English couple from America.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have so much snow now as it has been raining - you can guess what Ian thinks of that!
I am pleased to hear that you are settling in. It is always a comfort to have all things in order so that one night you sit down on your comfy couch, put in your favorite CD, and suddenly realize you did all that without having to find anything or go to any trouble. I hope that happens soon for you two. Blessings to you both! love, Kimberly (from Doug and Liz's small group)
ReplyDeleteGetting our residence permit was as easy as you describe so thanks for the prayers
ReplyDelete'The English Couple from America'.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, that really made me chuckle. Miss you guys!
-db-