Greettings from Latvia!!!

AND--just to prove to you that the Western World has invaded--here is a Baskin Robind ice cream stand.....

There was also a painters exhibit--with all the paintings hung along a fence. They were truly beautiful! BUT--as soon as you stopped to look at one--the artist(s) (sitting nearby) would jump up and try to convince you to buy any, or many, of them.

My sister really wanted one--but it cost 30 Lats (about $ 70). She talked the guy down to 20 Lats--and bought the painting minus the frame. Cheap frame--I tell you! BUT--she saves a lot of money. EVERYONE wants to make a buck there! I don't blame them! The paintings--big or small--were all beautiful!

That's my Sister, Valda, in the front.....

AND--to end this series of Posts--I want to show you the cobblestone streets we had to walk on.
This one is really "rough"!

This kind was more typical. Still hard on the feet. I don't know how all the stylish, young girls could walk on these in their spiked heels all day????? I am convinced, that it was all for the image!

Last one!!!!

Here is a bunch of Pigeons.....All you have to do is sit down on a bench in a Park, and they will be there.....
We had some stale bread with us, and--instead of throwing it in the trash, we took it along to our walk in the Park on our way to "Old Riga"......

I thought that these pigeons were more diverse and pretty than the ones we have here.....
Call it PREJUDICE!!!!

That's All for tonight, Folks!!!!!

Love, Gita

OOOPs! Where did the pigeons go?????? Must have flown away!

gita - you're doing a great job with your commentary and your pictures. i am getting a real feel for the country. keep up the good work.

I also am enjoying this interesting journey.
I am intrigued by old cemetaries too.
What a beauitful country.
Thank you Gita.

The first picture of the church entrance if very beautiful! Such craftsmanship. it was really worth going through the barricades to get that shot. Your home country is a very proud one and it shows. Every thing is so neat and clean. I am really enjoying your tour.

Thanks a lot!

Thank you so much Gita for all these beautiful photos and narration.
Now I know more of Latvia through your eyes.
~Jaye

Jaye,

Thank you for your interest.....

To really "know" these 3 small Countries, next time you want to take a trip to Europe, consider one of the three Baltic Counties. Small--BUT, they pack a wallop!

Estonia--maybe a bit fast pace.....more Westernized....Beautiful language! Nice music!
Lithuania--more laid back--ALL Catholic--more farm/agriculture oriented. Lots of Amber!
Latvia---JUST RIGHT! ......in ALL respects.........:o)

Gita

Think you sold me on Latvia!
If everything goes well..we are supposed to be in Nice, France if not in August 2009 then it will be November. Be a different climate altogether, but the buildings and the cemeteries will still be there!
Thanks Gita.

Jaye,

Summer is so much better there! November may be all winter already! Who wants to walk miles and miles in snow to go see anything? The Parks will be bare.....Rivers may be frozen over....It may be cold--and then it may not. They are victim, just like us, to unpredictable weahter in the winter. Like in 2007-2008, we hardly had a Winter here. Neither did they.
Besides--you won't see any of the beautiful flowers and flower-stands that time of year.

End of June/July is the time to go!!!! Maybe even July and August.....

Gita

That's what my sister says! She lives in Nice. In that case, I might go alone as summer is the busiest time for Kel.

You can Google latviatourism.com and read up on it--or just Google Latvia.

Stay in touch when, and if you go. It may be best if you go with a Tourist Group--as they have guides that tell you all about things and you can be on the buses that take you to places to see. Also Hotels and meals are included.

Personally--I am not too fond of these Tourist packages. You are on such a set schedule! No free time to just wander----sit in some Pub and shoot some bull and ask where to go, etc....

Of course, if you are the adventurous type, go alone and "wing it". Most all places and almost all the younger generation all speak English there.

Gita

Time to continue posting some pictures........Anyone out there still interested??????
This Posting will be a bit Hodge-Podge and cover a couple of different locations and visits. Still--in the category of "Beautiful Sights" to behold.....

One of our day trips was about an hour and a half outside Riga to see the "Rundales Palace". Our cousin, Zenta, and her hubby Egils took us.

The Palace is grandiose and all the rooms are still furnished like in "those" days....with amazing art-deco decorations, cherubs over doorways, painted gold "things" on the ceilings, very antique furniture, the big, wide, winding stairways, etc. etc.....

This Palace is square-shaped, with a beautiful courtyard in the middle. It is most know for the elegant Rose Gardens out back. Very well manicured and sectioned off with a big fountain near the building.

We went inside (had to buy a ticket, of course) and milled around--room to room with various tourist groups with their guides explaining everything in whatever languages. The two I heard most often were German and Spanish.
We had to, kind of, weave our way through all the people, as we were there just on out own. Now and then--we "lost" each other...
The Roses in the garden were, sort of, in between blooming. Still some color--but not at the prime any more.

SO! Here is the Palace as it looks when you approach it.


This message was edited Aug 3, 2008 3:36 PM

Here we are inside---one of the main rooms.
Funny thing--at the entrance it said you may nor photograph anything--BUT---if you paid 1Lat, you could. Being the rebel I am against rules, I had my digital in hand. Many other people were taking pictures and no one seemed to check, or ask, if you had paid your 1Lat for the privilege.
They just want to take in as much money as they can--and lets face it, with an extra 100,000 tourists in the Country for the Festival--they sure collected every penny (oops! Santims) they could!
So--Here is one of the grand rooms.

Here's some over-the-door Cherubs....

In an alcove, there was this beautiful, pedestal wall display of blue vases. I am sure THESE cost a bit of money!

Every room in the Palace had this corner heater/oven/furnace...whatever.....to keep the residents and the rooms warm..Not having a Guide to ask for details, I am not sure just how they worked.....or what other functions they had.

Here is a room with some really beautiful, antique (of course!) furniture.

And here is a shot I took from inside the Palace, through a window, of the Rose Garden.
I just put the lens smack against the pane of the glass and it worked like a charm. Nice view--as we were at least on the 2nd or 3rd floor of the Palace.

Walking out of the Palace--we noticed a Stork Nest on top of one of the chimneys.....SO typical! That's where they build their nests.
In the countryside--where all the farms are, there are many Storks around. To have one build a nest on top of one of yopur chimneys is considered Good Luck.

It took my zoom-lens to the max to get this close....

Near this palace--in another area (Bauska) are the Bauska's castle ruins. OLD!!!! Very Old!
But--there is beauty in the crumbling walls, of anything, also.
You could walk up to the very top going up these narrow, one person wide, stone stairways until you saw daylight. Steep to boot!

Here's one facade of the ruins.

Here's another---

I like this shot the best! It has such character.....

One more from here.....
This is our cousin, Zenta, at the very top--in a very pensive mood. The sights from the top are of the beautiful countryside and the river flowing nearby.

This is now the next day-----------------We are back in Riga and have stopped at another poignant place on our way to visit our other side of the Family--My Aunt and Uncles relatives. We just consider them ALL OUR relatives and v.v.

This stop was at a railroad station. Why? Because here, in rememberence of that horrible night on June 14, 1941, when 1000's and 1000' of men, women and children were taken from their homes in the middle of the night--put into cattle cars--and taken to Siberia (see my previous picture of the plaque in the Occupation Museum that explains what happened) in these kind of RR cars.
They have made this RR Station a small, commemorative Park.
Here is a picture of the RR car--for REAL! This is what the people spent 3 weeks or more in on the trip.

Many young and old died along the way.....Many men, with families left behind, jumped the cars and tried to make their way back home on foot--hiding in the woods for weeks and subsisting on leaves from trees for food. Had they been spotted, they would have been shot to death on the spot!
My Uncle was one of these men. He DID survive and make his way back to his wife (My Aunt--my Mom's sister) and family. Maybe he had to--as on that horrible night, his first-born son was born. What a legacy!!!!

Here's a picture of the RR car....

Here is a Plaque near it that explains, very briefly, why the car is there.

Returning to Riga--no matter what road, or side you are approaching it, is this HUGE sign.
I think--it is VERY NEAT!!!!!

Before all this gets too out-of-context, I want to show you the apartment we stayed in--thanks to our Cousin, Zenta, who owns it and her daughter, Anna, who gave it up for 3 weeks and went to stay with her boy-friend.
Somehow----me thinks it was NOT too much of a sacrifice.....

Here is the LR--with a small walk-out balcony behind those double doors with the sheer curtains in front.

Here is the dining room area.

And here is the kitchen--a bit out of focus....sorry!

I want you all to know that this is considered very "deluxe" by normal standards.
Most people do not live in this kind of luxury, but since Zenta is a "wheeler-dealer" of sorts, she has been able to have the funds to upgrade every place she has lived in--and then sell it--to buy the next one.
Her dream is to settle in their country home and sell all her apartments--leaving 2 of them for her spoiled, indulged kids to live in--rent-free.

I'm having such fun traveling through Latvia with you! Thanks for taking the time to upload all these photos and share the stories of your trip with us... :-)

Continuing with the Hodge-Podge topics here......

We took another day trip about 2 hrs. away to partake of a HUGE street Festival and a WONDERFUL, outdoor concert at night. This was to a town called Cesis. It is also very historic, and the Cesis Castle ruins are right in the town. There were a zillion vendor booths all along the streets in this small town and a lot of performances by singers, folk-dancers, ancient crafters and re-enactors of Medieval sword battles, etc. We spent hours enjoying all the sights and sounds by people dressed in that period clothing.

At night, was the REAL reason we were there. An outdoor concert to celebrate the music of THE greatest composer of popular, Latvian music and song---Raimonds Pauls. (ALL Latvian men's names have an "s" on the end....). So--Paul--is Pauls. Peter--is Peteris. Karl--is Karlis.
This is because the Latvian language has male and female genders that apply to all nouns--and names. They feminize last names--if you are a woman, even though the males keep it the way it is. So--My cousins last name is Barkans, but if she writes her name--it is written as Barkane. My last name is Veskimets--but if I lived in Latvia, it would be Veskimete. NOT unusual in some European languages.....

Anyway--I digressed again.....ALL for the sake of history.....

So--this was the big, open square outside the St. John's Church in the Cesis town.
This church, by the way, is where the Oriental Day Lily exhibit was. I posted some pictures of all the Lilies in a Post.

Here's a bit of history about this Town, just so you can appreciate how OLD everything is here.

The St. John's Church, which sits alongside of the Cesis Medieval Castle , is one of the oldest in Latvia. It was built in the beginning of the 13th Century when Christianity was spreading into the Baltic's and it was meant to serve the needs of the Livonian Order. It is believed that this Church was built between the years 1237 and 1561.

Anyway--I am sure you "get it" that this is a very old town.

Anyway--it was a HUGE, yearly Festival all over Town. We killed a lot of time cruising all the booths and the streets and the open areas, where the Medieval times were being re-enacted. Of course--we also took a break to enjoy some of the famous Cesis Beer, brewed right there....and rest our feet.

Then we made our way down about 10 sets of stone steps, which took us into the "bowl" where the evening's Concert was about to begin. It was so neat! Right alongside the castle's ruins--where there once was (surely!) the moat--was the seating area.

The 3-part Concert went on until 12:30 AM. Mind you--we still had an almost 2hr, drive back to Riga!!!! It was just a WONDERFUL Concert!!!! People singing along.....Standing up and swaying to certain songs....EVERYTHING digs deep into the Heart here! I was SOOOO happy to realize that--no matter how many years had passed--all the same songs I grew up with, and I thought were forgotten, everyone still knew anyway. Man! We are talking3 generations here!

OH! Did I say I had some pictures as well of this place????? Dah! I SO digress.......

Here is the Flower arranging competition in the main square....
Please note the unusual, tall, cone-shaped flower plantings they have everywhere in Latvia. They are constructed on a bee-hive sort of a framework. VERY pretty!



This message was edited Aug 3, 2008 5:44 PM

Here's another picture of a slightly different tower design a bit more "free flowing"....

Here is the OLD St. Johns Church itself--kind of dominating the whole town--as it is a very small town....

And here is the entrance to the Church....where, in the entry hall was the Lily exhibit.

I posted pictures of all the Lilies from this exhibit in the Mid Atlantic Forum's July, or August flowers Post.

And--here is an unusual stone sculpture in the Church's Courtyard.

WHO was this person????? The Hunchback of St. Johns Church--in Latvia?????