Alternative energy sources that use the natural power of the wind, waves and sun are too expensive and complicated to replace the coal, oil, and gas that we use to power our cities and transport. Agree or disagree?

Nearly two weeks ago, my friends encouraged me to go to

Riga

. I was thrilled by

this

idea because I wanted to see my friend Vitalik, who is living in

Riga

and whom I haven'

t

seen for almost a year.

Besides

that, it was the

last

opportunity for me to go to an EU country using my current visa, which expires on May 23. Our trip started on May 7 (Monday) at 12 a.m. We crossed the border without any issues. By 10 p.m., I was in Vitalik's apartment. First and foremost, he prepared a delicious dinner: he had cooked lasagna and had bought a bottle of fine Italian semi-dry wine.

Finally

, I felt secure because I realized that I'm not in Belarus. What do I like about

Riga

? In short,

Riga

is a compact, well-run city. Downtown, where Vitalik lives, is built up with buildings that are 300-400 years old, and each of them looks like a masterpiece with its own charm. It's

also

crowded with cozy restaurants, spotless, and people aren'

t

rushing anywhere. Peace and quiet at its best. Almost every day, I went for a walk for 2-3 hours, and that made me happy. Every evening, I went somewhere new: a restaurant, a museum, or a new part of the city where I hadn'

t

been before. Here and there, I saw run-down buildings that should be demolished.

Nevertheless

,

this

didn'

t

spoil my impression of

Riga

at all. I was in

Riga

for six days, and on Saturday, I was already in Minsk.