Friday - July 21 - Riga, Latvia
Set close to the mouth of the Daugava River, which travels from the Baltic Sea into Russia, Riga was historically an important trade port. Its prosperity also made it a target for conquest. Before Latvia declared itself an independent nation in 1918, Riga was claimed by Russia, Sweden, Lithuania, and Germany.
As a diverse, thriving city with a prominent upper class, Riga experienced radical change under occupation by the Soviets and Nazis. Buildings from Riga's most prosperous eras still stand throughout the city.
In the morning we explored Riga by bus and on foot. There is a district rich with facades from the early 20th century, during which architecture took a romantic turn, favoring natural and mythological embellishments. Lots of art nouveau styles.
Each of the four groups were given a list of items to purchase from a local market, all spelled in Latvian, of course. So we didn't know what we were supposed to get unless we talked with the local people. They would point each of us to various parts of the market to get the food we needed.
We had 30 minutes to complete the task, and it was quite funny sometimes to see the people look at us quizzically as we tried to use English to tell that we needed to find the item. We found that the older citizens don't speak English easily, but the younger ones do because they are not only taught Latvian and Russian, but also English in school.
When we got back to the ship later in the day, all the food that the four groups had gathered earlier was used as appetizers for Happy Hour! We had all come back with different breads, crackers, cheeses, sausage, etc. We did quite well, I would say!
After lunch, a few of us went to see one of the facilities where the KGB operated, and to discover the painful history of Soviet occupation in Latvia. We visited a facility where Latvians suspected of opposing the Soviet regime were tortured and killed from 1940 to 1991, and met with a local whose relatives were kept in the prison. She was very young when her mother was taken and put in the facility we saw. Her story of how she and her sister survived was compelling.
Her mother was finally released and not executed; however, we did see the room where executions took place, photos of some of the occupants of the cells, and how they jammed 28 people to a cell, were not allowed to sleep well because bright lights were kept on, and they had no space to lay down.
Many survivors have come back to the building and showed which rooms they were in and what it was like. Others have said they could not enter the building after the torture they went thru. Some of the equipment is still there to see. And one photo showed seven men being hanged and left that way for three days, for the town to see what would happen if they did not cooperate. But mostly they were simply shot in the head.
Here are some things I learned about Latvia today:
- About 1,941,300 people live in Latvia. 61% are Latvians and 25% are Russians. One third of the population lives in Riga.
- Life expectancy - women 77 years; men 66 years.
- Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It was previously known in English as Lettish, which remains the standard today in various forms in most other Germanic languages. Latvian is a Baltic language and is most closely related to Lithuanian.
- Official state religion is Evangelic Lutheran; Roman Catholic Church is 24.1%; Russian Orthodox is 17.8%.
- They use the Euro, as did Estonia.
- Unemployment rate is 9.8%; income tax is a flat 23%; and property tax is 1.5%.
- The lowest salary is $4,908; the highest salary is $977,438.
- The climate for winter is from -22 to 21 Fahrenheit. Summer is from 66 to 95.
- Over 50% of Latvia is covered by forest, and it is one of the most environmentally friendly countries on the planet ranking 2nd in the Environmental Performance Index (and no, I do not know who is ranked #1).
- Latvia has one of the highest rates of fashion models per capital in the world!
- Latvia is the smallest nation to ever become a colonial power, as the Duchy of Courland set up a number of colonies in Tobago, Trinidad, and Gambia in the 17th century.
- Latvia has the 5th fastest internet speed in the world, ranking between Hong Kong and the Netherlands.
- A Latvian-Jewish tailor named Jakobs Jufess invented the jeans (Levi Strauss backed him financially).
- Latvia holds one of the largest song and dance festivals in the world with over 40,000 participants, while singers and conductors are celebrities. it also has one of the largest collections of traditional folk songs in the world, numbering over 300,000.
- Latvia is one of only three countries in the world (Canada and Finland are the other two) where ice hockey is the most popular type of sport.
- Latvian is one of the most archaic/oldest European languages, and it has conserved many features of the over 5,000 year old Proto-Indo-European, which is the ancestral language to all European languages.
- The country's flag, red and white strips, is one of the oldest in the world, dating all the way back to the 13th century. It is said to have originated when a Latvian chief was wrapped in a white sheet after being wounded in battle, and the sides of the sheet became stained with blood, while the central stripe remained white, and the stained sheet was used as a battle flag.
- The capital city of Riga is well known for its Art Nouveau architecture. Its old town is filled with such buildings, and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its architecture, much of which dates back to the late 1800s and early 1900s.
- The House of the Blackheads is a beautiful, ornately decorated building in the Old Town of Riga that was built as a guild house in the 14th century. It was bombed by the Germans in World War II and Destroyed by the Russians a few years later. It wasn't until the mid-1990s that the current structure was rebuilt.
- For a delicious local pastry, there is Ptragi. Each is a crescent shaped pastry stuffed with cubed meat, often bacon, and onions. The process of making them is often very involved, and as a result they are usually only eaten for special occasions.
- Riga is the largest city in Latvia with just over 600,000 residents. The city is the only major population center in an otherwise rural nation, and one third of Latvians live there.
Here are some Latvian words:
Sveiki = hello
Laipni aicinaati = welcome
Labriit = good morning
Jaa = yes
Nee = no
There are a few foods that stand out in this country. Skabu Kapostu Zupa translates to sour cabbage soup, so naturally the key ingredient in this dish is sauerkraut. Cabbage is a large part of Latvia's food intake. Meats are used with it, like pork, to enhance the flavor and texture.
Pilditi Pipari is usually prepared with bell peppers stuffed with ground meat, rice, onion, and other vegetables and spices, and then boiled in a sauce made from cream, tomatoes, and spices.
Vareniky are made by wrapping pockets of unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling, and cooked in boiling water. These dumplings are popular in Slavic, Baltic, and other Eastern European cuisines where they are known under local names.
Latvian cuisine is based around a few key ingredients, including dill, black bead, sauerkraut, and pork. However, the national dish strays from the ingredients mentioned above. Grey peas and speck is a beloved dish, which is a stew made with peas, onions, and pork belly.
Tonight after dinner, we will have a festive performance featuring traditional Riga folk music and dancing.
We stay night here in Latvia and will spend another day in this country. I am not sure if I am going to join everyone or just do my own thing tomorrow. Perhaps take a day off and stay on board the ship, since I have been gone almost five weeks including the trip to England, Wales, and Scotland. Would be nice to kick back and go up on deck to enjoy the great weather they have been having here. It topped off at 69 degrees. Sun sets around 10:00pm and rises around 5:00am.
Blogs & Forums
