...work, eat, sleep, and repeat...

The new new, and the old new

Līvu akvaparks This morning most of us went to the Aquapark near Jurmala. Not sure what else to say about it really, it was a water park, it was fun, and it had high-tech funky bracelet things. New Riga Ignoring advise that there was very little worth seeing in 'New' Riga, I caught a train into the city with a few people and then wandered off with my guide book. There is definitely lots to see in the New Town and a lot of walking to be done if you want to see much of it. I think I did as well as is possible in an afternoon. First I got quite excited about some brick architecture - Most notably the University of Riga and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral (pictured). Nearby is also the Latvian Society and the Soviet-built Hotel Latvijā, which I quite liked (but then I do like most of Lasdun's buildings). Riga has a very large Jugendstil (art nouveau) district, which I would have loved to have seen more of. Some of the best buildings were designed by Mikhail Eisenstein, including the pictured one at 10b Elizabetes iela. My last stop of the afternoon was to find a modern building that had caught my eye during the boat tour on Saturday. Centra Nams is a mixed-use development designed by Latvian and Finnish architects Uģis Šēnbergs and Martinus Schuurman. The building is almost complete, it's not really special, but it looks to be the kind of well designed building that any modern city ought to be happy with.

posted by Paul @ 8:00 pm

This must be Tuesday, I never could get the hang of Tuesdays...

		You could say that today didn't quite go to plan. First the boardwalk at Ķemari National Park was closed, so we made do with a walk along a track through the woods to a lake (probably Lake Sloka), which turned out to be quite picturesque.
		We travelled on west to Kuldīga for lunch. There was quite a mixed reception from the group, as finding enough places for everyone to eat lunch proved difficult. Some of us managed to grab a quick bite and see a little more of the town though. We were rewarded with a mix of interesting architectural styles, a workshop selling traditional rugs and a Laima chocolate shop. I was particularly taken by this building, with its staircase that cantilevers out over the lawn
		Then things started to veer off course again. We didn't have enough time to visit the open air art museum in Sabile and get back to Riga in time for dinner (you'd think that would be an easy choice, open air art museum wins out over dinner every time). Oh, and the summer toboggan run turned out to be at the end of a long road signposted "no coaches". For the benefit of those who were particularly disappointed by this, I've found a photo, and it does look like we missed out on quite a bit of fun.

posted by Paul @ 10:14 pm

A tale of two Annas

Rundāle Palace Rundāle is a magnificent palace both inside and out and the hardest part is deciding which photos not to post. The palace was designed by Rastrelli (the architect of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg) as a summer residence for Ernst Johann Biron, the Duke of Courland (now western Latvia) and an advisor to Anna Ivanovna, the then empress of Russia. Much of the palace has been faithfully restored, including some intricate stucco ceiling decorations, the gilding in the throne room (right), wood inlaid floors and the unusual porcelain room stoves. I particularly enjoyed the simple vaulted colonnades around the ground floor of the palace.
Tērvete Nature Park The nature park is (in part) a museum to Anna Brigadere, a 19th century Latvian children's author. The Rūķīšu mežs (Dwarf Forest) is full of carved sculptures and cabins, depicting Anna Brigadere's fairy stories. Finding the Dwarf Forest is difficult, unless you are able to find a couple of young locals who are willing to act as guides.

posted by Paul @ 7:00 pm

Friday - Sunday

		Friday - Jūrmala We spent the morning on the beach being far too energetic with a football. Two Russian boys joined us and their dad refereed the second half (though turning up at the beach with red and yellow cards and a whistle seemed a little over the top). After lunch in a nearby cafe, there was just enough time for a more leasurely afternoon stroll through Majori.
		Saturday - Daugava Boat Tour Our tour along the river allowed us to take in some picturesque views of the Old Town, part of new Riga to the North and the central market to the South, as well as introducing us to the ports that export Latvian timber (much of which ends up in the UK) and Russian coal.
		Sunday - Bauska We spent the day with the Baptist church in Bauska. Their church building is too small to accomodate us all, so we met for worship in a restored part of Bauska Castle. We shared lunch at the church building. Outside of the main cities, wages are low, and the church in Bauska is struggling to keep it's building dry and structurally sound, but we were made to feel very welcome by the hospitality of the local Christians.

posted by Paul @ 6:00 pm

Tour of Riga's Old Town

Well, the first thing to note from yesterday is that most people are a little older than I expected - There, I said it. Everyone seems really great though, so I think I can cope with it. Hmm, that should probably have been the second thing to note, the first should have been that Ian from my secondary school is on the trip too. How strange it is to bump into familiar people in passport control, especially people you haven't seen for 10 years. Today we had a guided tour of Old Riga. Our guide was very knowledgeable, and could easily have kept going well into next week. Riga is a fascinating city, with such a diverse history and mix of architecture. My highlight was the Latvian Parliament Building, beautifully detailed, and designed by Robert Pflug and Jānis Baumanis (Latvia's first native professional architect).		Bastejkalns Park: Nymph of Riga & National Opera
		Rozengrals Restaurant; Formerly the City Council Wine-Vaults
The Scars of Occupation Remain on Kungu Iela		Latvia Saeima (Parliament) Building

posted by Paul @ 7:00 pm

Plane different

Ever feel like going somewhere a little unusual?
I figure that for someone who hasn't spent a single night in mainland Europe*, Latvia is as good a place to start as any.

Okay, so my travel-happy family may have had something to do with it. It's nice to find somewhere where none of them have been.

So Latvia it is. One of Europe's newest states, a blend of local tradition and foreign intervention. A country just coming to terms with it's freedom, and as yet unspoilt by tourism.

I'm going with Oak Hall, a Christian travel company. I'm really looking forward to having a friendly group of people to go with, it's quite exciting not to know who's going with me, but it's a relief to know that I won't be the only one on my own.

Heathrow here I come.
*Spanish islands definitely do NOT count!

posted by Paul @ 2:00 pm

Elvis - Alive and well...

...and living in East London

I popped down to Fruitstock at Regents Park this afternoon and was all shook up by the sight of Elvis, and his friend, erm, Elvis. He's currently living somewhere in East London and is semi-retired, although, if you're lucky, you may be able to find him on the fringe of a smoothie-sponsored free music festival near you.

Other unusual highlights that will not surprise regular smoothie drinkers included the odd banners around the park, a farmers market, the grass and daisy covered ice cream vans and a 'flirting area' where you could have a polaroid taken, scrawl your number on the bottom, pin it up, and then peruse the boards of other singletons.

There was also of course some excellent music from:

London Community Gospel Choir,	Hal,
the dance tent,	and an amazing set from US3.

posted by Paul @ 11:07 pm