Easter! Spring! Oh my!

 (Apaļš kā pūpols!)

It's been a while since I last updated... the semester is well under way, classes are thankfully much more interesting this time around.  I'm also proud to announce that I will be participating in exchange next fall to Turku University in Turku, Finland!  Yes, I will be venturing even further north (am I crazy?!).  I don't know anything yet of the details, etc, but am very excited for the opportunity to see yet another corner of our world (and to blog to you about it).

Otherwise, the days are finally getting longer, the air is warmer that it even smells like spring!  In honor of Spring Equinox, which is today, I took a quick trip to the Open Air Museum to celebrate Easter.  I colored my egg with onion peels and rice, it turned out quite cool looking!  Folk groups were singing, kids were running around in the mud, there was ceramic breaking for good luck, egg rolling races, and most importantly swinging on a beautiful swing set to make sure you don't sleep away the summer and that the mosquitoes don't chomp away at you!  It was the perfect way to mark the passing of time, spring is here, I've been in Latvia for 6 and a half months now, a moment of reflection for everything that has happened so far and all of the wonderful things that are yet to come.

(Egg preparing station)

(Egg boiling station)

(All boiled and cooling before opening it up!)

(Et, voila! A beautiful Easter egg!)

(Easter egg rolling races!)

Upcoming referendum

Next week Latvians will be taking to the voting booths to share their voice on the language question in Latvia.  The referendum is to decide whether or not Russian should receive second language status in Latvia.  For many reasons this is an intensely sensitive issue for Latvians and for Russians living within the borders of this country.  However, I'm not going to hide the fact that I believe Latvian should be the only official language of this country.

There have been many campaigns set forth to make people aware of the issues involved and warn of the potential outcomes.  Here's a video I found today, which brings pop culture together with these issues. (It's in Latvian)

Here's another campaign Celies un Ej! (Get up and go!), which has the backing of many important people in society to encourage the general voting public to express their vote!

Tallinn Backpackers!

(Tallinn Backpackers- great hostel!)

January has really been dragging on...  (and now it's finally February!) As much as I've enjoyed relaxing and not doing anything, I'm ready to get back to work on school things and regain a normal schedule!  To fill the time I decided to take a quick trip to Tallinn to visit the brothers and sisters of the North.  I had not been to Tallinn before and in my guilt to take advantage of my geographical closeness I bit the bullet, packed my backpack and took the bus to the city!  Such a quick and easy trip- four hours on the bus, pretty much the same kind of drive from PA to the Catskills.  Why hadn't I done this sooner?!

(Square in Old Town, Tallinn)

(View of Old Town and the harbor in the distance)

I arrived in Tallinn with the goal to put my camera to good use because I had been falling behind in my photography hobby.  I stayed in a great hostel in Old Town.  Tallinn Backpackers was the top rated hostel on hostelworld.com.  Staying in a hostel was not new to me, I had done it before with friends while traveling to Barcelona, Amsterdam, Brussels, etc.  But somehow this time I felt more confident about the situation and took to the atmosphere with more ease than before.  It also helped that this hostel was full of entertaining and ready-to-party employees, mostly Australian, who really opened everybody up to a fun time.  Not only did the hostel have its own cheap happy hour, but the guys introduced us to some great bars to continue the evening festivities.  So that's what I did in Tallinn, walked around the city taking in the beautiful architecture, freezing because it is finally cold in Europe and relaxing in my last weeks of study-freedom!

 (Old Town at night)

I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to put into words the differences between Tallinn and Riga.  Seemingly similar, but somehow so different. A certain air of maturity among the inhabitants, in the city.  Obvious differences include language and the use of the Euro, but some things were completely the same- like going to Rimi for groceries.  Old Town was noticeably quieter, as my friend Julija pointed out, it's not as handy for the everyday person living in Tallinn compared to Rīga, which has a mall, supermarket, etc.  But I thoroughly enjoyed the hills and the views overlooking Tallinn from the top of Old Town were beautiful (even if I was freezing while taking them in!).  Noticeably more colorful in its architecture, Tallinn's Old Town does pride itself on its preservation of its medieval past.

(Entrance into Old Town... and getting attacked by pigeons)

Unfortunately, this was short a joy trip to get my grips on the city.  Next time I head up will be to do more official sight-seeing, going to museums and definitely checking out the stadium, which hosts the Estonian song festivals.  But that's okay! You've always got to leave a reason to come back!

(Retrofuturism... maybe the best way to describe Tallinn)

The Doors of Tallinn:

 

Pīrāg' Crawl

Ko mēs bērni ēdīsim,

Ziemassvētku vakarā:

Pīrāgam, nabagam,

Abi gali apdeguši!

Tā ir viena no lielākām debatēm starp latviešiem: šo lietu mēs nosveram tik nopietni un ar augstu vērtību, ka to nekad nevar uzdot. Tas ir pīrāgs. Un, ja prasa, kam ir visgaršīgākie pīrāgi, taču atbilde bieži vien mēdz būt: „Manas vecmāmiņas pīrāgi ir visgaršīgākie!“ Laimīgs ir tas, kam ir vecmāmiņa, kas cep pīrāgus! Bet kā garšo tie pīrāgi, ko cep latvijas beķeri? Dzīvojot Rīgā jau vairākus mēnešus esmu atjēgusies cik pieejami ir pīrāgi. Tie nav vairs specialitāte, ko vecmāmiņa uzcep īpašiem svētkiem, tā ir uzkoda; kautkas, ko paķert līdzi. Katrā veikaliņā, pat lielākos pārtikas veikalos, vienmēr var svaigus pīrādziņus nopirkt. Tā nolēmu, ka vajadzētu atrast visgaršīgākos pīrāgus
Vecrīgā- salīdzinot garšu, gaļas pildījumu, mīklu, un cenu.

Šī gada ziema Latvijā ir bijusi īpaši silta un bez sniega. Visi vietējie mani jau biedēja par Latvijas bargām ziemām, bet kautkā līdz šim tas nav gadījies. Tomēr janvāra aukstās, tumšās dienās vajag taču turēties silti un kā labāk to izdarīt kā ar pīrāgiem vēderā! Vienā slapjā svētdienas pēcpusdienā es uzņēmos šo uzdevumu… kur mēs atradīsim garšīgākos pīrāgus? Sāku no viena Vecrīgas gala un gāju cauri, piestājos katrā beķerejā, konditorijā, kuru sastapu un uzprasīju divus pīrādziņus, līdzi. „Līdzi“ ir latviski izteiciens „to go,“ lai pārdevējs sapako jeb ietin ēdienu vai dzērienu, lai to varētu ņemt sev līdzi.  Laikam jau prasiet, ko es atradu? Pīrāgi ir daudz un dažādi, ar citiem pildījumiem, un ik pa reizei varbūt ne tik tradicionālos izskatos. Dažās vietās pīrāgus cepa kā kruasānus („croissants“), un varēja pildījumu redzēt ārpusē. Vai tas taču ir pīrāgs? Nu, garša jau bija tāda pati- pat, ja dažos gadījumos ķimenes („caraway seeds“) bija ieceptas mīklā. Latvijā vārds „pīrāgs“ arī nozīmē kautko līdzīgu mūsu Amērikas „pie.“ Tātad, ja McDonaldā uzprasa to, ko mēs saprotam kā „apple pie,“ tas latviski būtu „ābolu pīrāgs.“ Latviešiem pašiem pīrāgu nozīme ir atšķirīga!


 

Es laikam nepadomāju par laiku, kad būtu labāk iet pīrāgu garšošanā, jo visi pīrāgi, kurus sastapu bija auksti! Silti iesaku iet dienas sākumā, jeb kautkad pie pusdienām, lai nogaršotu pavisam svaigus pīrāgus. (Turpretīm, bija jauki, ka pie V.Ķuzes konditorijas piedāvāja uzsildīt pīrādziņu, diemžēl tas nebija īpaši garšīgs!)

Katrā gadījumā biju pati pārstiegta, ka manas garšas kārpiņām visvairāk iepatikās Rimi pārtikas veikala pīrāgi! Varbūt tie nebija ar visvairāk mīlestību izcepti, bet gardi gan.

Pīrāgi ar „vislabāko skatu“ noteikti bija Līvu laukuma „Konditoreja,“ jo skatoties ārā no mazās būdiņas bija neticams skats uz Pētera baznīcas torni un citiem Vecrīgas brīnumiem.

Katram būs savs mīļākais pīrāgs… es pati vēl turpinu meklēt to pīrāgu, kas ir garšīgāks par manas vecmāmiņas pīrāgiem. Esmu laimīga, ka Vecrīga ir tik bagāta ar visādiem pīrādziņiem, kurus varu atrast katrā kārošanas brīdī.  Aicinu visus ciemos uz Latviju, lai arī Jūs varētu novērtēt tos garšīgākos!

(Šis raksts arī būs redzams šī mēneša ALJA Ziņās! www.alja.org)

Winter travels

Ah, as much as I love life in Riga, it takes a trip away to refresh one's soul and to appreciate life outside of Riga.  I decided to celebrate Christmas with my good friend Dāvid who is currently living in Brussels.  Brussels is one of my favorite cities I've traveled to in the past year and I was so excited to return to the land of waffles, fries, chocolate and beer!  It's a city to indulge in holiday cheer for sure.

A quick and easy RyanAir flight from Riga and I had arrived!  Christmas Eve Day we spent cooking and baking- Davids and I were in charge of pīrāgi, rosols and piparkūkas (dough brought specially from Latvia- yes, we cheated and didn't make our own dough, but the rolling was all our work!)  Dāvids roommate, Lāsma was the head of the kitchen, cooking up a delicious and lush Latvian meal of kotletes, karbonāde, pupiņas, zirnīši and a bacon cream sauce to top it all.  We spent the evening eating, enjoying each others company!  Santa even paid us a visit... hehe... we topped the night off by watching Home Alone- one of the best holiday movies out there!

(The spread of delicious-ness!)

(Lāsma and I at the dinner table- incidentally we share the exact same birthday!)

(Christmas at the Palace!)

(Hey, Santa! Thanks for stopping by!)

While in Belgium, Davids and I had decided to take a few day trips.  First trip was to Luxembourg.  I had visited the peaceful and whimsical city while living in France and this time it was just as enchanting.  Although the city was quite deserted, we filled it with joy and, by a stroke of luck, Peter and his mom were free to meet us as well!  It was great to catch up, even for the short amount of time, with old friends.

(Peter and I overlooking "lower" Luxembourg)

The next day my goal was to take to the stores for some much needed shopping.  Needed not so much, but I had been craving my favorite H&M and was happily surprised to see that Belgium also has Forever21!  So I took to the hustle and bustle of post-Christmas shopping madness and came out with some great deals.  Success.

After a day of intense shopping, David and I headed to Bruges.  So quaint!  Architecture that I hadn't seen before, heavily influenced by brick buildings.  The canals were very nice and I could not believe the amount of horse carriages riding around town! Although very cold and windy that day, we braved the weather and took a general walking tour of the city, ate some fries and tried not to get too annoyed with the huge amounts of people trying to do the same...

(At the train station in Brugge!)

(Always have to stop for some hot wine!)

(Wall of beer!?! YES, PLEASE!)

The end of the trip had arrived and our last night in Brussels before heading back to Riga was spent at Celtica.  This bar was suggested to me last year by my friend Christine, who had spent a semester abroad living in Brussels.  Happy hour is from 1pm-midnight... and most delicious Belgian beers are at very reasonable prices!  Even better that our friend Patricia had arrived from Portugal and was also on her way back to Riga.  Cheers!

(Patricia and I outside of Celtica)

Winter videos

There are many perks to living in Latvia, like, I can buy pīrāgi at the grocery store. WHENEVER I WANT.  Or, how my aerobics classes are in latvian, which makes it so much more enjoyable...

But, I've got to say, it's being able to go to small events to boost my folk-loving soul with some folk traditions and awesomeness.... last week I went to a "Ringing in Christmas" celebration, which aimed to teach about how Latvians traditionally celebrated the holidays...  it involves dressing up in costumes, eating beans (with your hands), singing and dancing, and having a darn good time!

Here are two videos of holiday traditions:

1. Skandinieki is a folklore group, which really knows how to rock it.  Creme de la creme of groups in my opinion, upholding traditions and not infusing them with new-age arrangements of songs.  Purity.  Wholesome goodness.

2. A clip from tonight's festivities...  While we were in the process of dragging the logs around Old Town, we stopped for a bit to listen to some music and dance!  Mostly to warm up in the cold!

Happy Winter Solstice!

(Getting rid of the bad, bringing in the good!)

Happy Winter Solstice!

The Holiday season is upon us.  It's officially the shortest day, longest night of the year... that means it's only going to get brighter from here on, folks!  I'm ready for the sun to make it's way back (although I know it won't be for a while...), it was completely dark by 4pm today... that's a bit early for me!  Rīga has been rainy... very, very rainy this year and we're experiencing a unusually warm winter.  Today, thankfully, it was not raining and a wonderful winter chill was in the air- it wasn't even as windy as it has been.

School is over... for now... I have one exam to complete in January, but have completed/handed in/presented everything else for my remaining classes.  Feels good!  1/4 Grad school semesters under my belt... I'd love to take some time and tell you about all of my complaints and head aches concerning classes and day to day etiquette at the University, but that would surely ruin the holiday spirit in this post, so I'll leave that for another time...

Tonight we celebrated Winter Solstice in Rīga.  Folk groups and folk-enthusiasts came together to drag the log around Old Town.  This tradition helps us get rid of the junk we've piled onto our souls the past year, the bad things that may have happened to us, the bad things we may have done ourselves... by burning the log after reflecting on the past year and saying out loud your hopes for the coming year, we bring in the good, fresh, clean slate that a new year symbolizes.  Singing and dancing are a big part of the entertainment on such a dark night as this, but I must say, with all of the lanterns and Christmas decorations in Old Town, Rīga is glowing!  Here are some pictures of the Log celebration, followed by some Rīga sights as they were on this evening, December 21, 2011.

(Such a rush of people!)

 (En route!)

(There's one of the few logs!)

(Young and old joined in, at Doma Laukums)

(The tree in Doma Laukums)

(Bundled up in the cold)

(Budēļi arī bija klāt!)

(Burning the past year's wreathes)

(Musicians and dancers)

*****

(Is this Disney Land?)

(The market in Līvu Laukums)

 (The tree by the Opera and Milda)

(The market in Doma Laukums)

 (Remember to clean up after yourself!)

(Holidays in Rāts Laukums)

(My favorite subject... Milda 21/12/2011)