(Too many photos to post without serious editing - hope to get them up soon)
We resisted the temptation to keep working and took Spring Break. It would have been easy to continue rehearsing and teaching – each of the three schools have different schedules and the one Academy that has the Break at this time doesn’t really adhere to it – but, at the last minute, we cancelled rehearsal and decided to take the full week.
We rented a VW Up. Tiny, though surprisingly roomy inside – in the front – but little space for luggage. Manual transmission, last time we had one of those was with “Beastie”, Jo’s ’75 Westphalia VW camper van. Jo still misses the old car but it’s nice to have a vehicle with good air conditioning/heat, little road noise, power enough to go up Teton Pass at full speed, and is reliable. The Up tells you when to shift for maximum fuel economy – earlier than I am comfortable with but, if the car tells me it is time to shift I listen to it.
Stopped in Sigulda for pastries and coffee. Had to take a side trip to the Walking Stick Park.
We stayed at the Karlamuiza Country Hotel in Karli, a tiny town outside of Cēsis inside Gauja National Park. It is amazing how much a full day can encompass. After picking up our rental car in Riga, we arrived here on Monday afternoon. Only about 80km from Riga, Guaja is rolling hills, birch and pine dotted with ponds fed by mild rivers. Although an early spring for Latvia, trees and flowers are just starting to bloom. Grass has greened; bird song throughout the day.
Currently, I (Jo) am drinking plum, fig and ginger herb tea while P and I wait for the wood burning sauna to heat up. Presently, we are in Gauja National Park staying at the most sublime KarlaMuiza Country Hotel - hotel is not an accurate description - KarlaMuiza is most definitely a Guest House where the lovely hostess Beeba treats her guests with such care (She is now just walking out to the bathhouse to check the heat of the sauna). It is out of season here (which provided a very discounted rate for our suite with a lovely balcony – less than a Motel 6 standard room), we were the only guests at the hotel for our 3 night stay.
As we pulled up we noted a massive crane’s nest atop a ten foot pole being tended by a nesting pair, a sight repeated many times throughout the park.
The estate is beautiful - and sacred. "Latvian history is complicated" Beeba remarked while we were shuttling back form dropping off our car at the end of a hike for later pick-up. Many of the country roads are lined with towering old oaks. One, we were told, is the old Roma road that sustained a fair amount of traffic 9th century.
[One of the cranes just flew past my window carrying grass back to its nest. Cranes are quite abundant here; massive nests with nesting pairs are perched everywhere.]
After settling into the Elisabeth Suite, perhaps the largest and loveliest room we have ever stayed in, we headed into town for dinner. Based upon our hosts’ recommendations we sought out Café 2 Locals on the square looking at St. John’s Church. The restaurant was out of many of our first choices, didn’t even have any Cēsu on tap, though the menu promised a taste of the oldest brewery in northern Europe. Our meal was OK, though it seemed that the dishes didn’t include all of the promised ingredients and were cobbled together based upon their meager stores. The soup of the day – cream of vegetable – was quite lovely.
Our waitress informed us that the credit card machine was broken, fortunately we brought cash. Even so, the bill was quite reasonable and tipping is optional so it doesn’t have to be a full 15-20% of the already over-priced bill from American restaurants. The cost of living is cheap in Latvia so, even with the exchange rate killing the US dollar, we haven’t had to dip into the bank accounts to fund the trip.
After nosh, we strolled. Cesis is a beautiful medieval town, the 13th century Cesis castle its centerpiece. It was raining but that made for beautiful lighting conditions to shoot pics. A quick photo-shooting walk and back to the car as we wanted to navigate the dirt road back to the hotel before it got dark. The sun was rapidly descending and with no street lights on dirt country roads, our route back to KarlaMuiza, we opted to go. After a little uncertainty about which way to go, we arrived in enough time to stroll the grounds as the sun was setting. Our hostess warned us that it was easy to get into Cēsis but difficult to get out and she was right, one way and dead end streets made our exit rather interesting.
The next morning we hiked a lovely trail along the Amata River. We dropped the car off at the end and our hostess ferried us back to the starting point at the hotel where she lent us some hiking poles which were very useful for some extremely steep sections of the trail. Three and a half hours later we took a quick shower and drove back into Cēsis for the walking tour outlined on the tourist map.
Paul was getting grumpy due to low blood sugar so we stopped at a picērija to share a cream of pumpkin/shrimp soup and a Funghi pizza (“pica”) with mushroom and curry sauce on a very thin, soft crust – definitely not American pizza, nor Italian – Latvian pica. The only Cēsu on tap was a Light, rather than their tasty, unfiltered buckwheat alus Nefiltrētais Griķu, so we settled for some Brengulu Tumšais. Curious about the Russian beer our waitress told us about, we tried a small Zelta, it was OK but too light in flavor for out taste buds which crave big beers.
Refueled, we stepped out into the light rain (it seems to have started to rain every time we commence a new activity) and slowly took the walk, stopping multiple times for photo opportunities. This is old Europe with architecture and streets dating from medieval times.
Back to Hotel for a wood-fired sauna at the end of a tree-lined path. Thoroughly relaxed after an hour, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset under a soft rain on the short walk back to our suite. Our hostess, who was just locking up to leave for the night (we were completely by ourselves in the hotel as we slept), was rather surprised that we took such a “short” sauna, saying that we should enjoy the heat and the ritual for 2 to 3 hours. She wanted to set us up for a real Latvian sauna experience with a sauna master but we are far too American to devote such a long time to relaxing (and Paul is a little too shy to share the sauna with another woman), so we declined.
This land is permeated with pagan past(s). Our holiday agenda was determined, in part, by consulting maps identifying ancient sacred sites. Atop the hill outside the hotel’s sauna are eight lines of hammered in wooden spikes radiating out in east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest, north and northeast to form eight concentric circles corresponding the chakras for ritual celebration around the Midsummer’s bonfire.
The next morning we set out to find a ancient spring near two ski resorts(!) complete with chair lifts for very short runs in a country that doesn’t have a native word for “mountain”. Ultimately unsuccessful (it is hard to navigate when you don’t read the language the signs and maps are using) we left for Cēsis in a slight snow/rain for a tour of the castle museums. Erection of the old castle began in 1209 by the Vends’ Livonian Brothers of the Sword (love those ancient Christian warrior/monk cults!). The castle was destroyed during one of the largest mass suicide in Europe during the 1703 Great Northern War when, rather than surrender to Ivan the Terrible’s troups, the Livonians set fire to the gunpowder in the armory.
First stop was down a very steep ladder illuminated by the candle-lit lanterns we were provided with. Clearly Latvia is not as litigious as the US is as there were several looming dangers that could injure the unwary tourist. The dungeon is just an unlit cavern. The stone walls, ceiling and floor would keep you very cool in the summer but not a humane place to house one’s “guests”. Back into the sun (it had stopped snowing/raining) to explore the ramparts’ remnants and then up the steep spiral staircase of the tower where the flickering candlelight showed enough of each step to allow proper footing. There were large chambers every 15 feet up with multiple windows to allow for spying out in all directions (and firing weapons). Graffiti dated from the 1800s seemed historical but the 21st century signature on the wall felt blasphemous. Climbing to the top was a bit vertiginous; the trip down was slow and cautious.
Throughout are a few contemporary sculptures made from brick and stone that, while clearly anachronistic, make sense in their settings. A large wooden bridge crosses the dry moat and provides a view to the beautiful amphitheater facing the lake below the castle. The walled in land surrounding the castle held a stack of rounded boulders once used as ammunition for the Russians’ cannons to lay siege to the castle. Ruins of the massive buildings that once housed the artisans and workers of the community showed that this was a well-developed community.
A toppled statue of Lenin, in an open-faced box ensured that Lenin’s remains, with a defiant fist protruding in revolution, could still be viewed. As we were shooting pictures a Latvian man came up on the stone corpse and chided in pure chuckle – a perfect response.
Onto the more contemporary castle, built in 1777 by Count Sievers atop the foundations of the old ruins. In the basement the skeleton of one of the victims of the mass suicide were found and the museum has reconstructed her head. [Quite moving, really - JG]. Climbing the tower past two gorgeous libraries, we got to the roof that provided a stunning view of the entire city.
Stopped in Café Popular for lunch. We opted for the buffet-style Latvian food (as is true elsewhere, your bill is determined by weight of the food) rather than their “Italian” pica. Jo had a lovely cabbage soup and two salads, Paul had a breaded fish (lovely), roasted potatoes and tomato salad – our bill was just over 6 euros.
Back to the hotel to pick up rented mountain bikes. The bikes were definitely better than the scary things we rode in Finland but could have done with a pre-season overhaul as the derailleurs were a little sticky. We rode to the Āraiši lake, past the windmill down to the archeological site. Since we had spent the morning exploring castles we skipped the ruins and, instead, went across the road to explore a cemetery. We continued on to an early church and pastor’s manor and Hill of Hallows (or Witches’ Hallow), site of medieval torture and mass murder of an enormous scale. We continued on the old Roman road, lined with ancient oaks before finishing our loop and then another sauna at the hotel.
The following morning we were in a bit of sticker shock as we hadn’t seen the charges for the saunas on the website. Though it was completely our fault our hostess only charged for one sauna, saying that we had taken such short saunas it should only count as one.
Going back, through Riga, we stopped in the tiny town of Līgatne to explore the many, many caves dug into the sandstone for winter food storage. Jo commented that the Mormons would be jealous of their set-up. Ruins of the old paper mill dominate the walking tour.
As we drove through Riga we noted that we have developed affection for the city. Continuing on to our next stop in Kuldīga, we stopped off at Mara’s Chambers along the Abava River. This ancient sacred site features four very yonnic caves and was the location of Wiccan rituals. Unfortunately, the soft sand stone proved to be too much temptation to tourists through the ages and the walls of the caves have been etched with graffiti dating back centuries.
We resisted the temptation to keep working and took Spring Break. It would have been easy to continue rehearsing and teaching – each of the three schools have different schedules and the one Academy that has the Break at this time doesn’t really adhere to it – but, at the last minute, we cancelled rehearsal and decided to take the full week.
We rented a VW Up. Tiny, though surprisingly roomy inside – in the front – but little space for luggage. Manual transmission, last time we had one of those was with “Beastie”, Jo’s ’75 Westphalia VW camper van. Jo still misses the old car but it’s nice to have a vehicle with good air conditioning/heat, little road noise, power enough to go up Teton Pass at full speed, and is reliable. The Up tells you when to shift for maximum fuel economy – earlier than I am comfortable with but, if the car tells me it is time to shift I listen to it.
Stopped in Sigulda for pastries and coffee. Had to take a side trip to the Walking Stick Park.
We stayed at the Karlamuiza Country Hotel in Karli, a tiny town outside of Cēsis inside Gauja National Park. It is amazing how much a full day can encompass. After picking up our rental car in Riga, we arrived here on Monday afternoon. Only about 80km from Riga, Guaja is rolling hills, birch and pine dotted with ponds fed by mild rivers. Although an early spring for Latvia, trees and flowers are just starting to bloom. Grass has greened; bird song throughout the day.
Currently, I (Jo) am drinking plum, fig and ginger herb tea while P and I wait for the wood burning sauna to heat up. Presently, we are in Gauja National Park staying at the most sublime KarlaMuiza Country Hotel - hotel is not an accurate description - KarlaMuiza is most definitely a Guest House where the lovely hostess Beeba treats her guests with such care (She is now just walking out to the bathhouse to check the heat of the sauna). It is out of season here (which provided a very discounted rate for our suite with a lovely balcony – less than a Motel 6 standard room), we were the only guests at the hotel for our 3 night stay.
As we pulled up we noted a massive crane’s nest atop a ten foot pole being tended by a nesting pair, a sight repeated many times throughout the park.
The estate is beautiful - and sacred. "Latvian history is complicated" Beeba remarked while we were shuttling back form dropping off our car at the end of a hike for later pick-up. Many of the country roads are lined with towering old oaks. One, we were told, is the old Roma road that sustained a fair amount of traffic 9th century.
[One of the cranes just flew past my window carrying grass back to its nest. Cranes are quite abundant here; massive nests with nesting pairs are perched everywhere.]
After settling into the Elisabeth Suite, perhaps the largest and loveliest room we have ever stayed in, we headed into town for dinner. Based upon our hosts’ recommendations we sought out Café 2 Locals on the square looking at St. John’s Church. The restaurant was out of many of our first choices, didn’t even have any Cēsu on tap, though the menu promised a taste of the oldest brewery in northern Europe. Our meal was OK, though it seemed that the dishes didn’t include all of the promised ingredients and were cobbled together based upon their meager stores. The soup of the day – cream of vegetable – was quite lovely.
Our waitress informed us that the credit card machine was broken, fortunately we brought cash. Even so, the bill was quite reasonable and tipping is optional so it doesn’t have to be a full 15-20% of the already over-priced bill from American restaurants. The cost of living is cheap in Latvia so, even with the exchange rate killing the US dollar, we haven’t had to dip into the bank accounts to fund the trip.
After nosh, we strolled. Cesis is a beautiful medieval town, the 13th century Cesis castle its centerpiece. It was raining but that made for beautiful lighting conditions to shoot pics. A quick photo-shooting walk and back to the car as we wanted to navigate the dirt road back to the hotel before it got dark. The sun was rapidly descending and with no street lights on dirt country roads, our route back to KarlaMuiza, we opted to go. After a little uncertainty about which way to go, we arrived in enough time to stroll the grounds as the sun was setting. Our hostess warned us that it was easy to get into Cēsis but difficult to get out and she was right, one way and dead end streets made our exit rather interesting.
The next morning we hiked a lovely trail along the Amata River. We dropped the car off at the end and our hostess ferried us back to the starting point at the hotel where she lent us some hiking poles which were very useful for some extremely steep sections of the trail. Three and a half hours later we took a quick shower and drove back into Cēsis for the walking tour outlined on the tourist map.
Paul was getting grumpy due to low blood sugar so we stopped at a picērija to share a cream of pumpkin/shrimp soup and a Funghi pizza (“pica”) with mushroom and curry sauce on a very thin, soft crust – definitely not American pizza, nor Italian – Latvian pica. The only Cēsu on tap was a Light, rather than their tasty, unfiltered buckwheat alus Nefiltrētais Griķu, so we settled for some Brengulu Tumšais. Curious about the Russian beer our waitress told us about, we tried a small Zelta, it was OK but too light in flavor for out taste buds which crave big beers.
Refueled, we stepped out into the light rain (it seems to have started to rain every time we commence a new activity) and slowly took the walk, stopping multiple times for photo opportunities. This is old Europe with architecture and streets dating from medieval times.
Back to Hotel for a wood-fired sauna at the end of a tree-lined path. Thoroughly relaxed after an hour, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset under a soft rain on the short walk back to our suite. Our hostess, who was just locking up to leave for the night (we were completely by ourselves in the hotel as we slept), was rather surprised that we took such a “short” sauna, saying that we should enjoy the heat and the ritual for 2 to 3 hours. She wanted to set us up for a real Latvian sauna experience with a sauna master but we are far too American to devote such a long time to relaxing (and Paul is a little too shy to share the sauna with another woman), so we declined.
This land is permeated with pagan past(s). Our holiday agenda was determined, in part, by consulting maps identifying ancient sacred sites. Atop the hill outside the hotel’s sauna are eight lines of hammered in wooden spikes radiating out in east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest, north and northeast to form eight concentric circles corresponding the chakras for ritual celebration around the Midsummer’s bonfire.
The next morning we set out to find a ancient spring near two ski resorts(!) complete with chair lifts for very short runs in a country that doesn’t have a native word for “mountain”. Ultimately unsuccessful (it is hard to navigate when you don’t read the language the signs and maps are using) we left for Cēsis in a slight snow/rain for a tour of the castle museums. Erection of the old castle began in 1209 by the Vends’ Livonian Brothers of the Sword (love those ancient Christian warrior/monk cults!). The castle was destroyed during one of the largest mass suicide in Europe during the 1703 Great Northern War when, rather than surrender to Ivan the Terrible’s troups, the Livonians set fire to the gunpowder in the armory.
First stop was down a very steep ladder illuminated by the candle-lit lanterns we were provided with. Clearly Latvia is not as litigious as the US is as there were several looming dangers that could injure the unwary tourist. The dungeon is just an unlit cavern. The stone walls, ceiling and floor would keep you very cool in the summer but not a humane place to house one’s “guests”. Back into the sun (it had stopped snowing/raining) to explore the ramparts’ remnants and then up the steep spiral staircase of the tower where the flickering candlelight showed enough of each step to allow proper footing. There were large chambers every 15 feet up with multiple windows to allow for spying out in all directions (and firing weapons). Graffiti dated from the 1800s seemed historical but the 21st century signature on the wall felt blasphemous. Climbing to the top was a bit vertiginous; the trip down was slow and cautious.
Throughout are a few contemporary sculptures made from brick and stone that, while clearly anachronistic, make sense in their settings. A large wooden bridge crosses the dry moat and provides a view to the beautiful amphitheater facing the lake below the castle. The walled in land surrounding the castle held a stack of rounded boulders once used as ammunition for the Russians’ cannons to lay siege to the castle. Ruins of the massive buildings that once housed the artisans and workers of the community showed that this was a well-developed community.
A toppled statue of Lenin, in an open-faced box ensured that Lenin’s remains, with a defiant fist protruding in revolution, could still be viewed. As we were shooting pictures a Latvian man came up on the stone corpse and chided in pure chuckle – a perfect response.
Onto the more contemporary castle, built in 1777 by Count Sievers atop the foundations of the old ruins. In the basement the skeleton of one of the victims of the mass suicide were found and the museum has reconstructed her head. [Quite moving, really - JG]. Climbing the tower past two gorgeous libraries, we got to the roof that provided a stunning view of the entire city.
Stopped in Café Popular for lunch. We opted for the buffet-style Latvian food (as is true elsewhere, your bill is determined by weight of the food) rather than their “Italian” pica. Jo had a lovely cabbage soup and two salads, Paul had a breaded fish (lovely), roasted potatoes and tomato salad – our bill was just over 6 euros.
Back to the hotel to pick up rented mountain bikes. The bikes were definitely better than the scary things we rode in Finland but could have done with a pre-season overhaul as the derailleurs were a little sticky. We rode to the Āraiši lake, past the windmill down to the archeological site. Since we had spent the morning exploring castles we skipped the ruins and, instead, went across the road to explore a cemetery. We continued on to an early church and pastor’s manor and Hill of Hallows (or Witches’ Hallow), site of medieval torture and mass murder of an enormous scale. We continued on the old Roman road, lined with ancient oaks before finishing our loop and then another sauna at the hotel.
The following morning we were in a bit of sticker shock as we hadn’t seen the charges for the saunas on the website. Though it was completely our fault our hostess only charged for one sauna, saying that we had taken such short saunas it should only count as one.
Going back, through Riga, we stopped in the tiny town of Līgatne to explore the many, many caves dug into the sandstone for winter food storage. Jo commented that the Mormons would be jealous of their set-up. Ruins of the old paper mill dominate the walking tour.
As we drove through Riga we noted that we have developed affection for the city. Continuing on to our next stop in Kuldīga, we stopped off at Mara’s Chambers along the Abava River. This ancient sacred site features four very yonnic caves and was the location of Wiccan rituals. Unfortunately, the soft sand stone proved to be too much temptation to tourists through the ages and the walls of the caves have been etched with graffiti dating back centuries.