Ahh, Latvia! Part 1

I had the extremely good fortune to go to Latvia with my dad and mom. the moment our feet hit the ground we were in the very hospitable and gracious hands of my dad's (and my) cousins. It was so exciting to meet new family members and to see a country that I was so curious about. My dad was so happy to be speaking Latvian, to family, to store clerks, to strangers on the street. It was so much fun to watch. The family are so great - so kind and loving and welcoming. I hope to go back soon, with my parents, and this time Dave too. I might even try to learn a few phrases of Latvian. At least I can say "thank you" and "good morning" , which is a start. I just need to learn how to say "Thank you but I have eaten so much already". That would come in handy for sure. 

An interesting tidbit that I just read: Riga, Latvia was believed to be the site of the first Christmas Tree, around 1510! 

NOTE: these photos are totally out of order, and most likely the whole set are pretty much backwards. It's been a while since I posted anything so I wasn't careful enough.

This is the "Laima Clock". It's somewhat of a landmark in Riga and is a popular meeting spot. Laima is a well-known chocolate company in Latvia.

Here is a view of the "old city" of Riga, from the top of St Peter's cathedral.

Some funky building in the "old town".

The canal that runs through one of the major parks. 

One night we went to the Riga Opera House to see a ballet exhibition. Dancers from all over the world performed pieces. One of the best dancers (not shown here, though these two were excellent) was from American. Her name is Whitney Jensen, and she's only 17 yrs. old. if you see her name on a scheduled event - go see her. She's amazing. She's won several international dance awards and it's amazing that she's only 17!

The grand chandelier in the opera house. 

Elizabete, my dad's cousin and her husband Guntis (he was taking the photo) got us the tkts and they had a table set up with champagne for us during intermission. The bar there was very very elegant and they served lovely pastries, cocktails, wine and champagne and you could walk around on the veranda overlooking the park. it was such a festive place. 

Guntis, my parents, and Elizabete, on the Veranda. 

Here is where the photos being backwards is annoying - sorry. Anyway, this is an artist we saw earlier in teh day, painting some famous buildings in the old city. He had packed up his things and was riding off. That's the painting on the back of his bike. 

His bike, with a stool and supply bag on the back.

The artist at work. The buildings he's painting are called "The 3 Brothers" They are the oldest stone bldgs. in Riga. This confuses me a bit because there are other bldgs that are from the 1200's in the city, but maybe they are not considered to be stone. hmm....

Here are "the 3 bros". the white one on the far right is the oldest - built in the 1400's. 

The "cat house". Legend says that the original owner of the bldg was not allowed to join the "great guild" so in protest he had the cat turned around so its butt faced the guild house. Eventually an agreement was reached and the man was allowed to join and the cat was turned around. 

Here we are in Cesis, a really pretty smaller city about an hour away from Riga. 

Guntis and Dad standing in front of an old bomb shelter. the rectangular shapes are parts of air venting system. 

Part of a castle in Cesis.

This means "love will overcome all" or something like that. 

Some stained glass that showed the classic, traditional Latvian clothing and motifs like birch trees, pine boughs, wheat stalks, etc. 

Another castle, in Segulda, a smaller town outside of Latvia. This castle was built during the Christian crusades, and it housed some sort of Christian Knights. 

Some random Soviet-era architecture. It was fascinating to see this kind of thing. SO much of it was just crumbling away. Most of it was really harsh and inhumane looking. this bldg actually had some interest because of all the glass and windows. BUt most of the architecture was very very bleak. 

Some beautiful Art Nouveau architecture in the Riga center. Many of the bldgs had been restored. 

A very very yummy dessert - Elizabete made it - it's a cake made with cottage cheese. They served it with sour cream and berry preserves. i have to get the recipe!

Dad, Mom, Elizabete and Guntis in E & G's house.

Mom and Dad enjoying some Latvian spirits. 

Dad drinking some Birch sap drink. It was very very refreshing. IT's basically like maple tree sap but it's from birch trees. you cut a small branch, tie a bottle to the end of it and give it a few days to fill up. 

The birch sap drink. i loved the milky white but still clear color. 

I think the CCCP means this bucket was soviet-issued. Somehow I found this very interesting.

Cousin Valdemars, Elizabete's brother. Here he's showing us a part of his immense gardens in his back yard. The plants are garlic. 

An old photo, circa 1940 or so, of my grandparents, my would-be aunt, Irmina (who died as a young child), my Uncle Lenny, and Dad.

My grandfather, grandmother (on the left) and my great aunt.

Gunas, one of my dad's other cousins, and Rudis, her nephew (?). 

One of my plates of food. everything was typical Latvian food. It was great. We had about 4 full meals in one afternoon-evening. I ate so much! The food just kept coming! and everything was authentically Latvian. So much fun!!!

Some gladiola bulbs that Gunas was drying in the window. Gunas has an amazing garden (didn't get to see it, unfortunately) and she grew most everything we ate. 

A delicious and beautiful beet soup - the Latvian national soup called "soupa" or something like that. It's made from beets, cukes, dill, hard boiled egg, chives and sour cream and it's served cold. Another recipe i want to get. 

Gunas serving up her soupa!

The classic birch trees that were so prevalent there. 

This lock was on a bridge near a supposed "healing spring". Lovers place locks on the bridge to give luck to their relationship, and/or when they get married. I saw lots of these on a bridge in Rome and I wonder if there were there for the same reason?

A really nice couple who showed us how to properly drink from the spring. We all drank from it. It's supposed to make you healthy, and 10 yrs younger. It smelled so much of sulphur. 

Dad drinking from the spring.

The map, on our way to Jurmala, a beach town on the Baltic sea, and then to the countryside where we met up with Gunas (from a few photos back- sorry pics out of order!).

An old fishing boat on the coast, just outside of Jurmala. 

One of the ladies selling smoked fish in a little complex of fish stands near the beach.

Another fish vendor. My mom told her she had beautiful eyes and she walked way and cried for a moment. She said at her age nobody tells her things like that. It was very sweet and sad at the same time. 

This woman is selling dried fish egg sacks. we tried one and i nearly gagged. it was one thing i just couldn't eat.