At the start of August at the weekend we made a detour through Zemgale, stopping to see a few noteworthy places. The route in broad strokes: Rīga – Jelgava – Tērvete – Bauska – Iecava – Rīga. Below, more detail on a few of the stopping points and some interesting facts we learned along the way.
Yesterday was a truly lovely day - sunny and warm. Good reason to leave the computer at home and head off on a longer walk along the seashore. This time we drove to the Vidzeme seashore and spent about four hours there, walking along the coast and swimming in the now-warmed sea water. We covered a stretch from Tūja to Ķurmrags (approximately 7 km one way). The sea views were worth capturing in photographs.
Each of us has our own cherished little things we would never want to part with - things we always look upon with warmth or happily pick up, use, and take pride in. It must be said that these things are usually not the most practical or the most necessary in everyday life. Moreover, they are usually well-worn, handled, and crumpled, and so a little scuffed - despite the owner's very best care for them. I invite you not to hide your light under a bushel - send in your stories of five cherished possessions!
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An idea for next weekend – on August 23rd in Ķekava near the Sky&More shopping centre, the First Herb Festival in Latvia will be held. A herb and medicinal plant market is planned, along with a wide informative and entertaining programme. Sounds like an interesting event - probably worth a visit to see what's on offer and perhaps pick up a bunch of herbs! You can find out about the participants and programme here
It was a genuine discovery for me and a real pleasure to splash about at the foot of the Aiviekste Hydroelectric dam this summer and to stand under the powerful waterfall created by the water pressure. The Aiviekste River caters for water fun of all depths, from "water up to your ankle" to "no longer standing." The Aiviekste Hydroelectric Station turns out to be not only a picturesque spot but also once the largest power station in Latvia.
For the second year running, the exotic dance festival was held at the Madona Culture House. The concert consisted of modern belly dance performances with certain show elements, khaleeji, saidi, and oriental. Šarma had taken care to include the Hawaiian dance style in the programme. However, compared to last year, a certain uniformity was noticeable; Indian dances, tribal dance, and Andalusian dance rhythms were lacking.
Just as Freud once made a great fuss about slips of the tongue - which are never accidental and reveal something about a person's inner state of mind - so too doodles and scribbles in the margins of paper are not accidental. Psychologists have for a long time studied the connection between unconsciously drawn lines and a person's inner experiences. I will try to summarise a few findings briefly.
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A genuinely jolly pub song in Irish rhythms in the Russian tongue. Driving along in the car I happened to tune into the radio - it caught my attention for its catchy rhythm and folk tonality. Back at the computer I typed the lines into a search engine - well of course, the good old Boris Grebenshchikov.
Spring people are egocentric, concentrating all joys and sorrows, successes and misfortunes solely upon themselves. At times they are naive as children, capable of wonder, of displaying indignation or confusion, great enthusiasm or deep disappointment. A spring person's mood must be guessed, otherwise one may unwittingly get hurt. That is why spring people are mostly admired but not loved. Relationships are complicated by sudden mood swings and whims.
Like a proper person, I signed up for the personalised e-ticket at the end of last year, because, given my obsession with living online, I was delighted that I would finally be able to purchase a travel card that I could top up online from my bank account. In other words, we'd finally be like Europe. I wait one month, two, three, now the fourth is coming - they're still testing. Well, never mind - this evening I get behind the wheel and go looking for the much-talked-about e-ticket top-up machine. But there...