Tu esi mana Jūrmala!

  

Lucky to be invited to celebrate the first birthday of our Costa Rica co-conspirator, we headed to Rīgas Central Station and bought tickets to Jūrmala on Saturday. The Latvian word for seaside, Jūrmala incorporates the beach resort towns that stretch 20 miles along the Baltic Sea between Lielupe River, the Gulf of Latvia, and Ķemeri National Park to the west. Only 16 miles west of Rīga, it is a popular summer destination for the city-dwellers and contains many summer homes for those escaping the city heat.  Famous for beautiful old Art Nouveau houses and beaches of fine, white sand and rather safe swimming conditions, specific areas of Jūrmala have century old reputations as spa destinations.

The trip started here, in Rīga's Central Station

We hopped off the train at the Lielupe station, which is the easternmost of the more than dozen small resorts together comprising Jūrmala. From the railway we headed north into a pine forest, with sandy paths crisscrossing the forest floor and emerging onto tranquil residential streets. The waves were audible almost from the moment the noise of the departing train had faded, and other than an occasional car or voice the woods were peaceful and quiet.

Although in more recent years large McMansion-type houses have sprung up throughout Jūrmala, the more modest family-style homes still remain, with scrupulously tended gardens and several generations of family coming together in the summers. We joined our friends to celebrate the first year of a beautiful little girl: plenty of good food, good friends and good times meant that the celebrating lasted throughout the day.

It was afternoon when we first headed to the sea. A short stroll through the pine forest that separates the beach from the houses and cars and then our shoes were off, the sand soft and cool underfoot. A strong wind meant the waves were choppier than usual, and the air was a little too cool for three little boys to spend too much time in the water. However they enjoyed their time in the sand and surf, and once lips began to turn blue we hurried back inland.

It was a beautiful day spent with friends, and as daylight started to fade we made the return trip to the beach to watch the sun set. There aren’t many things more romantic than a sunset over the Baltic Sea, and this is why I would add a trip to Jūrmala to every Rīga traveler’s itinerary. We waited until the last bit of sun dropped into the Baltic and then hurried back indoors, where we sang into the night to ward off the chill. 

Burtiski burvīgs burziņš - the Latvian craft fair of the year

On our previous visit to Latvia during the National Song and Dance Festival we dared to attend the grand dance performance and the final concert with Lauris and Mikus. Both were extraordinary experiences that I will forever associate with the land of my forefathers, my heritage, my identity. However, the boys were not old enough to remember the historic events, other than a few vague impressions and what they remember from pictures and video. I am not brave enough to repeat the experience this summer with three boys, and so we have been content to explore the various peripheral fêtes occurring around the city, including the Burtiski burvīgs burziņš Vērmanes dārzā, a giant crafts and design fair.

Not your run of the mill craft fair, the burziņš is a showcase of the rich cultural legacy of Latvian artisans. The Latvians book publishers and music companies were represented, however the majority of vendors featured handmade goods: carved wooden spoons, woven clothes, linen tablecloths, amber jewelry, traditional (and more modern) pottery, leather billfolds, glassware and more. Mixed in with the expensive, one-of-a-kind quality items are more affordable souvenirs, such as the Upe music box that plays Rīga dimd, or the linen bags from Alūksne that the boys picked out for themselves. We also chose an amazing wooden calendar to help the children learn the seasons, months and days; the bonus is the prominent display of the Latvian traditional seasons such as Ūsiņi, Jumji and Mārtiņi. Coasters seemingly made of woven tautiskas jostas, ceramic magnets and leather keychains featuring the traditional symbols, paper dolls with the national costumes and even pastalas, the customary footwear – it could all be found in Vērmanes dārzs.

Also to be found within the winding pathways – friends, old and new. One day we met up with our soon-to-be-relatives that we hadn’t seen since Costa Rica, another day we bumped into (almost literally) our friend Maksīts from France who we last saw in Chicago at Christmastime more than two years ago! Some days we had company in the form of vecmamma Aija, other days dad joined us for our excursions.

It wasn’t only shopping, as there were various stations set up throughout the park that provided free entertainment for the kids. The earth science/environmental booth offered a variety of interesting hands-on activities, including the chance to “hold fire” (Lauris chose not to participate, even after mom did) and explore various household chemical reactions.

On several stages were an intriguing mix of performances, from traditional folk songs to new medleys, improve comedy and theatre productions. My favorite was the instrumental rendition of “Popcorn.” Of course the playground and bounce house/slide proved to be appealing attractions, giving some valuable down time for goofing off.

We spent a little time in the activity tent where kids could try their hand at one of the many traditional art forms: ceramics, weaving and rotkalšana (jewelry making) among them. Lauris and Mikus were deemed too young for the pottery wheel but made a couple of pinch pots that hopefully will be fired in the kiln next Saturday. They also helped make a few of the tiny metal baubles that would get affixed to one of the versions of folk costume crowns. I regret not sitting down at the loom, and dream of the day when I’ll have time to take up weaving, a talent my great-grandfather excelled at.

The song and dance festival has ended, but the spirit lives on here in Rīga. As the 37,400 participants return to their summer routines and the thousands of spectators slowly empty from the city, the festival feeling continues to resonate – ŠODIENA ATSKANĒS RĪT!

Šodiena atskanēs rīt!

Pašlaik Rīgā notiek XI Latvijas skolu jaunatnes dziesmu un deju svētki! Pilsēta uzposta, tāpat kā pirms gadiem diviem Dziesmu un deju svētkos… Varbūt tās ir tās pašas laiviņas no iepriekšējiem svētkiem (tikai ar jauniem karodziņiem), kuŗas par Daugavu atpeldējušas šurp?

Parkā pie Brīvības pieminekļa atradām šīs bērniem piemērotas nodarbības – milžiem piemēroti mūzikas instrumenti. Tomēr puišiem arī izdevās tos skandināt.

Kaut šoreiz neiznāk izbaudīt dziesmu un dejas svētkus līdz pēdejam, mūs tomēr ir atradusi svētku labsajūta. ŠODIENA ATSKANĒS RĪT!

Right now the XI Latvian youth song and dance festival is occurring in Rīga. Just as during the Latvian National Song and Dance Festival two years ago, the city is festively polished and adorned. It seems as if the same boats have made a return trip from the past to ornament the canal, only bearing new flags…

In the park next to the Freedom Monument we found this activity perfectly suited for the boys, although sized for giants. Laughter and excitement echoed through the gardens in addition to lyrical musical notes.

Although we aren’t attending as many events as we might like to, the festive mood has still found us. As the motto says, TODAY WILL REVERBERATE TOMORROW!

Laima Chocolate

We could smell the chocolate from several blocks away – immediate motivation for the kids to keep walking! Our visit to Latvia’s largest chocolate producer Laima’s museum was by chance, as we were on Miera Street on other business. However, once we caught a whiff of chocolate there was no passing by the Laima Chocolate Museum, a new addition to the Laima complex.

The Miera Street factory has been operating since 1939, with an adjacent shop and café having opened in 2014. We followed our noses through the museum’s doors, and after paying our entrance fee got our first taste of Laima…  a few chocolates later the boys were ready to roll.

We followed a guide into the museum where we were offered cups of liquid chocolate to sip while contemplating Laima’s history, which dates back to 1921 (although its roots are in Teodors Rigert’s confectionary which opened its doors on Zaļā Street in 1870). There is nothing like a cup of chocolate to make learning palatable…

An interactive exhibit allowed us to have personalized messages printed on a chocolate bar, and soon we proceeded into the next room where the story of the cocoa bean was relayed through videos and signage. Lauris and Mikus were fascinated with the video of how Laima’s marzipan, truffles and zephyr are made; the stretching and rolling process is quite long and complicated, completely different from what I had pictured.

The photo and video booths were a big hit, as you can have your photo taken and shown on an in-house Laima clock (and emailed to your personal email address) or create your own chocolate video with large chocolate props and even a Laimas pulkstenis, the famous meeting spot located in Vecrīga.

On display were a few national treasures: glass guards the first dark chocolate made in Latvia, and a 100-year-old doll made of chocolate. I can’t imagine how these pieces survived a day, not to mention a century! We stopped in the gift shop for a few more souvenirs before heading back towards the center of the city, Lauris and Mikus excitedly picking out a couple of new varieties to try. Although I’m always interesting in trying out new candy, the dark chocolate is still my favorite, and even he lacks a sweet tooth, Roberts consumed his share of chocolate today also. The Laima museum is truly a tour of the senses; a sweet experience for any chocolate lover!

G50

The summer of 2015 is a momentous time for Latvian-Americans, especially those living in the Midwest; this past weekend was the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Latvian Center Gaŗezers in Michigan. In 1965 a group of forward-thinking leaders found and purchased property near Three Rivers that used to be a YMCA camp, and therefore had some of the amenities in place to form the foundation of what would 50 years later be a summer camp, high school, cultural and spiritual center, a hub of sports activity including the infamous volleyball weekend, as well as the heart of Latvian activity in the Midwest. It was where I first met Roberts and where I married him. We were wed by one of the visionaries who founded Gaŗezers, Vilis Vārsbergs, who also christened me when I was a baby, and thirty years later christened Lauris (on the shore of Gaŗezers) and Mikus. There’s an interesting article on Gaŗezers from the perspective of a writer living in Latvia (Tatjana Žagare-Vītiņā) in this week’s edition of Ir – “Satikušies” – which features a picture of a much younger Roberts with a few of his summer co-conspirators as a centerfold!

From all the pictures and reports coming out of Mazā Latvija (Little Latvia) it seems to have been a successful event, complete with “Gaŗezers-palooza” featuring musical acts the like of which haven’t been heard from in over twenty years such as Frikadeļu Zupa & Bob and the Latvians, as well as ones still rocking in Latvia today, like Pērkons and Čikāgas Piecīši. With an art fair specially curated for the occasion, a golf tournament, 4^th of July fireworks, “Taste of Gaŗezers,” food trucks, a screening of Māra Pelēcis’ documentary on Gaŗezers and a variety of other events, this was a not-to-be missed once-in-a-lifetime affair.

Garezera 50 gadu jubilejai from Mara Pelecis on Vimeo.

Of course we missed it. It just so happened that we were in lielā (as opposed to little) Latvia, although I guess that’s a better excuse than many, and a story for another time…