June in Riga

I was in Riga and I cycled! Two lovely things to do. I don’t have my own bike there, so I borrowed one from my friend. It was a challenging thing to do because his bike was pretty large as it was purchased for a 1.90 m tall man. And I’m only 1.60 m tall. Can you feel the difference? 😀 Nevertheless, it was an unusual experience. But at least I felt safe cause I cycled with my friend who was leading and supporting me all the way.

First we cycled from Mežciems (G) to Berģi (B). It was raining so we got us raincoats. And here we go – two ladies with yellow raincoats. As it was also windy, we looked like two big balloons on bicycles. Next point was Čiekurkalns (C), then Teika (D), followed by a ride through the Biķernieki forest (E). Eventually, we ended at the Biķernieki race track where contestants trained for the Eastern European Drift Championship 2nd stage. That day we cycled about three hours and accomplished a distance of 26 km. Pretty good for a rainy city ride!

As the next day was sunny, we decided to have a second ride to Berģi. This time we cycled only 15 km. We enjoyed the sunny day in a garden. And also mosquito did so.

Altogether I spent three lovely weeks in Latvia. I met my friends and family. Enjoyed being home and also celebrated Midsummer.

93rd anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia

This Friday Latvian people celebrated their independence, the birthday of Latvia. Usually celebration includes fireworks, speeches and singing. This time I missed the fireworks by the River Daugava in Riga. But thanks to social media it is possible to get the feeling of being there. Latvians know how to blow up their money!

I celebrated the birthday of Latvia by singing choir songs. The feeling of festive atmosphere strengthened the fact that first time in my life I had a chance to wear an authentic national costume of Zemgale (a region in the mid-south of Latvia).

Folk dress in Latvia has played and still plays an important symbolic role in the preservation of national values and cultural heritage and in the creation of a feeling of unity of the people.

Latvian national costume of Zemgale

Here is a fun animation of the history of Latvia. It give an overview through what our nation went through to be free. The territory of Latvia was a “frequent focal point for conflict and conquest between at least four major powers, Prussia (later Germany), Poland, Sweden and Russia”. Enjoy!

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If you are keen on learning more about the history of Latvia here is an informative video with a subtitles in English:

My fourth and fifth day in Riga

It’s always nice to feel that you’re welcomed home. On Sunday I visited my family in Ādaži (25 km from Riga) and also we tried to see the seaside of Skulte (40 km from Ādaži), but unfortunately this idea was doomed. Our car got stacked in mud just shortly before we reached the destination.

Car stacked in mud

Luckily a tractor driver helped us to get out of mud. But the car got damaged, so we needed to return. At least I managed to get one shot of the seaside.

Seaside of Skulte

The evening ended really nice – I met my friend, we had a talk and also a movie night.

Today I managed to print a poster for the 10th Congress of Latvian Librarians. Some complications encountered me concerned with file formats, but luckily now everything is OK.

This day was really interesting because my colleague of the Riga City Library and I had an opportunity to show our city to a special guest from United States. Not every day there is a chance to have a talk with a member of the American Library Association. So we guided a 3-hour Old City tour, including a tour to a really famous street of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) architecture – Alberta Street.

And of course a perfect ending of the day followed – a meeting with my friends. Tomorrow is the first day of congress. Hope it’s going to be exciting.