The Hipster Capital of the World

Changes of Occupation

It took an hour to walk from our apartment in Āgenskalns to my new co-working space in Rīga. That might prove tiresome at some point, but for now I appreciate the opportunity to empty my mind and just walk. (Sometimes I walks and thinks, and sometimes I just walks. Which is an improvement on my previous occupation.)

Besides it’s a pleasant walk. I walked down Slokas Iela to Uzvaras Parks (Victory Park) which is home to a rather controversial monument honoring the Soviet Army’s victory over Nazi Germany - which was certainly a good thing, except that it also marks the beginning of the Soviet occupation of Latvia.) My route to work didn’t go near the monument, but instead followed the Mārupīte River (more of a creek, really) that flows into the Daugava.

From there, I walked across the old bridge over the Daugava River that divides Āgenskans from Old Rīga…

And through the touristy, but still rather charming, old town…

Then up along Brivibas Iela (Freedom Street) to Miera Iela (Peace Street) which is, allegedly, the most hipster neighborhood, not just in Latvia, but the entire world. And Tallinas Kvartals, where The Mill is located, is, as far as I can tell, the epicenter of all that hipsterdom. So maybe I will finally find out what “hipster” means.

The Ezitis Migla cafe was all closed up this morning, so I got a chance to see the whole mural that I posted a bit of yesterday.

Mindful of my person brand, I brought a flip top bottle of home-brewed kombucha with me, with my custom “Booch du Rhône” sticker on it, which I plunked conspicuously beside my monitor to forestall any challenges to my hipster cred, though I fear I may be bringing the quotient down a notch or two all the same.

I didn't bother to bring coffee, because, for the rest of the summer anyway, Miit Coffee has set up a popup shop right inside the door of The Mill. I had a flat white with quinoa milk and a slice of vegan banana bread for lunch. (I went with espresso because it was too stressful to chose between the brewing methods for “straight” coffee: V60, Aeropress, French Press, and Chemex.)

I googled V60 and it appears to be diesel-electric hybrid manufactured by Volvo, presumably re-engineered to brew coffee. I couldn’t find an image of the V60 version, but I did find this V12 version, which is probably pretty similar, albeit more compact.

Tomorrow, for comparison, I may visit Rocket Bean Roastery, located around the corner on Miera Iela, and try out their “Rocket Fuel” specialty blend made in (I kid you not) a Japanese coffee syphon.