Liepāja Resident After Ukraine News: 'Yeah, But Do They Have a Tram?'

Yesterday evening, when the latest news from Ukraine about Russian attacks that killed three people was being discussed at Liepāja's café 'Pie Jūras', local pensioner Vilnis Bērziņš expressed thoughts that perhaps characterize the entire Liepāja mentality: 'Yes, it's bad there, but do they at least have a tram?'

As it turns out, Odesa, where five people were injured in a drone strike, has no tram. Zaporizhzhia, where a 33-year-old man died, doesn't have one either. Even Kharkiv, where two people were wounded, only has a metro. 'You see,' Vilnis philosophically observes, 'here we have both a tram running and can go to the beach. There they only have wars and problems.'

Local vendor Ausma Liepiņa adds: 'I saw on TV - their cities are so gray and colorless. Where's their beautiful Karosta? Where's the beach? No wonder they have such a situation there.' Ausma believes that if Ukraine had Liepāja's cultural life and rock music traditions, no wars would have started.

In Riga, of course, such discussions don't happen because people there are too busy trying to look important on the metro. But in Liepāja we understand - it's not that we don't have problems, it's just that ours are much more interesting than war. For example, whether the Central Market will be open on Wednesday or not.