Dziękuję! I am from Latvia and I have recently visited Poland and it was a perfect trip. I visited Warszawa, Krakow and Zakopane. I really liked polish people (maybe because my grandmother is polish XD). I try to learn some polish too, because it seems like in countryside most people don't speak English
There is a lot of free land where you can walk in nature in comparison to Western europe with higher population density. The prices on farmers' market are high, or they have the same imported fruit as in supermarkets. Few people go to open air markets these days. An increasing proportion of the area is occupied by tourist shops with worthless trinkets or food courts. I think people are insincere when they engage with traditions. They may say that they eat some ancient foods or drink herbal teas or dance in traditional peasant garb on holidays. But nobody really does that unless they are paid to appear as a cultural ambassador. On holidays it's about having a bbq cookout and eating a lot of (contemporary) food and drinking alcohol. It's a good thing that you usually don't need to speak while shopping. You might need to say "good morning" on the farmers' market, but in a city story you can just hand the cash or use a credit card at a self-checkout.
Latvian ethicity do not exist at least Latvia goverment financed genetic research of local population did not find any Latvian specific genomes ... They find Swedish/German/Estonian/Polish/Lithaunian and many other ones but not any Latvian specific ... Latvian traditions is recent ones mostly developed in the late 19th centuary. Most famous one "Jāņi " - summer solstice celebration which consider today as national in fact was created in Riga in the midle of 19th centuary ... About Central market ... it is finacially bancrupt and depend on city council dotations to keep it allive ... Right now is discussions how to develop it ... I strongly think that this market need to be sold to private hands ...Any goverment poorly manage any comercial real estate for rent (require regular public fund donations to keep it over water) ... Other big comercial real estate is fine in Riga except this one ... or in case of finacial issues change hands to company who can handle it ... About fresh produce majority of it even if You buy it from farmers is from Poland/Lithuania/Greece/Spain/... and other imports ... (I live in outside of Riga and local sellers are honest about produce origin, Riga sellers are notorious about faking decalration of origin of fresh produce to charge more. All is Latvia produce.😂🤣). Local fresh produce is very rare ... Riga right now is empty and people continue leave... To get perspective Latvia form 1991 to 2022 lose almost the same amount of population as Poland ... (Inital around 3 million and around 30 miilion accordingly) ... it is not great place to visit unless like nature without much people and can live with high humidity (Latvia is swamp country and Riga is build over swamps and small rivers which was put under ground during German times 13 centuary till 1917) ...