Mmm, European Rye Bread

Living in the Washington area, I'm fortunate in that I can purchase both Storye Latvian rye bread and Black Rooster Latvian-style rye bread locally. Many other folks around the U.S. are not so lucky. Thus I was intrigued when I heard about the Kickstarter campagn to bring European rye bread to a wider audience. The very cool thing is if I you back this campaign with a donation of $20 or more, your reward -- if the project is fully funded -- is bread shipped to your house! I backed the campaign, but it needs quite a few more backers in a very short period of time, as it will expire on Saturday May 14 at 8pm Eastern time. Knowing my readers are fans of quality cuisine, I figured I may as well spread the news.  So, follow this link and contribute. Remember -- with Kickstarter, your credit card will be charged only if the project is fully funded!

Latvia & Lithuania Vacation Overview

While looking at photos from last year's two-week vacation to Latvia and Lithuania, I remembered the trip had been so full of adventures that it took me a couple of months to write about it all. Due to the popularity of a year-old post that I recently tweeted, I decided to list all the posts about the trip in one spot, and even share some new photos.

• First post about the trip
• Day 1: Arrive in Riga, rent car, wait for delayed baggage, head to Kandava

• Day 2: Chocolate, art, mini-waterfall, and also the Gulf of Riga, salmon & hockey, all in Kurzeme
• Day 3: Cape of Kolka and a hike in Slitere National Park, plus also stops in Ventspils  & Uzavas brewery & the Baltic Sea shore, plus dinner and sunset in Liepaja.
• Day 4: Visiting Karaosta in Liepaja, plus Grobina, and the Cold War Museum at the Plokstine Missile Base in Lithuania (Note: This is one of my most popular posts ever, as the museum had come across it and posted it on their Facebook page, thus my blog has received many visitors from Lithuania.)
• Day 5: Exploring Lithuania - a visit to the Curonian Spit
• Day 6: A summery day in Palanga, Lithuania with visits to the Amber Museum and beach
• Day 7: Last day in Lithuania, with some somber stops, and arriving back in Riga
• Life in the big city: A very busy week in Riga
• One particular event in Riga: Visiting the former KGB house 

First coffee in Latvia - Double Coffee

Latvian see-saw!

The bright shades of green in Slitere National Park were unreal...

On the Curonian Spit in Lithuania

Baltic Countries Advance to Eurovision Final

May has been a busy month (at least one post coming up about that). In the meantime, I am very excited that the entries from all three Baltic countries advanced from their respective semi-finals to the Eurovision Song Contest final, which will take place on Saturday, May 23. Even if you are not in Europe, you can watch the concert online, which will be broadcast from Vienna, Austria beginning at 9pm Central European Time. From what I hear, it is only the third time the three Baltics have been in the final together, and the first time since 2002.

You can see more about how each contestant is doing here:

• Aminata, Latvia
• Monika Linktye & Vaidas Baumila, Lithuania
• Elina Born & Stig Rasta, Estonia

Aminata singing her heart out! (Source: Facebook)

I actually like all three songs, but (unsurprisingly, probably!) I will be rooting for Aminata. The bookies are saying Sweden will win, but it seems that Latvia has a real chance. A friend and I will be attending a Eurovision-viewing party, which we greatly enjoyed last year; if nothing else, I predict it will be a fun and entertaining afternoon!

Book Recommendation: "White Field, Black Sheep"

Being Latvian is a funny thing sometimes. Earlier this month I was reading a book titled "Bad Feminist: Essays" by Roxane Gay, who spent time on the faculty of Eastern Illinois University. In one essay she mentions her colleague and friend Daiva. Naturally, I know Daiva to be a Lithuanian name, so I immediately wonder who this person could be and search for "Daiva Eastern Illinois University" online. Quickly discovering that the woman's last name is Markelis and that she is also on faculty at the college, I also find out that she is the author of a memoir called "White Field, Black Sheep: A Lithuanian-American Life." The title seems vaguely familiar - maybe I'd heard of it somewhere previously. Regardless, I add it to my "must read" list. While looking for books to take on a trip, I remembered this one, and bought it for my e-reader. From the moment I began reading it, the memoir resonated with me and my experiences of growing up in the Latvian-American community.

(Source: Amazon.com)

Markelis' parents fled Lithuania at the end of World War II, spent time in Displaced Persons camps in Germany, and eventually ended up in Chicago, a city with the largest number of Lithuanians outside of Lithuania. Her parents spoke only Lithuanian to Daiva and her younger sister Rita, and tried to instill in them pride in their heritage. She grew up in a Lithuanian neighborhood, was friends with many other Lithuanian-American children, attended a Lithuanian Saturday school, and so on.

This memoir of growing up in the Chicago Lithuanian community is a must-read for any Baltic American! However, the book is also a worthwhile choice for anyone who grew up in the U.S. in the 60s and 70s or in the Chicago area, or who has experienced misunderstanding their parents' actions and motivations, as well as readers interested in immigrant experiences in the U.S. 

Being the child of Latvian immigrants who also arrived after WWII, I was familiar with many of the themes the author addressed and explored including: a patriotic upbringing, pride in one's language/culture/history, the vast yet often silent disappointment and frustration of dreams and futures deferred or stolen, longing for home and familiarity, a deep love of all things cultural, the misunderstandings and confusion brought on by a new culture and country, the ubiquity of alcohol as a social lubricant and drowner of sorrows, lack of understanding about mental health, and the fear of disappointing one's family. 

The 1960s and 70s were a vibrant period in the Baltic American communities, and we can be grateful that at least one person has crafted a well-written memoir which does an excellent job of describing that period.

DC's Latvian Christmas Bazaar

One of the biggest annual events at the Washington, D.C. Latvian Lutheran Church is the Christmas bazaar (or as we call it in Latvian: "tirdziņš" aka little market), which typically takes place the first weekend of December. The market was so well attended that the ladies serving lunch ran out of the main entree, hearty sausages, before everyone who wanted to eat had a chance to do so. The available Latvian tortes in the cafe also quickly disappeared - but not as quickly as the piparkūkas at the hugely popular baked goods stand.

Vendors included my good friend Andris Rūtiņš of BalticSmith with his handmade jewelry....

and BalticShop with a plethora of books, CDs, T-shirts, DVDs, greeting cards, edible gifts, calendars, etc...

and even a table of donated Latvian pottery and jewelry organized by the church ladies. It was at this stand that I purchased something for myself - my very own "zaļā krūze" or green mug (well, actually it's more a small pitcher). For a mere $3 donation, it was clearly calling my name.

While on the topic of the upcoming holiday, please do check out my friend Liene's "24 Days of a Baltic Christmas" project on her blog, Femme au Foyer. It features guest posts from different bloggers and writers on topics ranging from "Latvian Santa" to crafts and baking to music. Liene asked me to write a guest post, and that should be posted today!

In my next post I'll fill you in on the European movies - great and terrible alike - that I have watched during European Union Film Showcase at AFI.

The Power of Song: Celebrating Latvia's Independence Day

Latvian communities in cities around the world gather in mid-November to celebrate Latvia's Independence Day. In many North American cities, the "recipe" for such an event still follows protocol established decades ago when the Baltic countries were Soviet occupied, and the events were somber occasions, calling for serious political speeches and the like. It can be difficult to deviate from established rituals and traditions, yet at the same time finding engaging speakers can be a challenge. I was excited to learn that the speaker at the DC area celebration would be Dr. Guntis Šmidchens, professor of Baltic Studies at the University of Washington. Being Latvian-American, he already spoke Latvian, yet later learned both Estonian and Lithuanian, and earned a PhD from Indiana University with a dissertation titled "A Baltic Music: The Folklore Movement in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, 1968-1991." Professor Šmidchens has done extensive research on the role of singing in the Baltic independence movements, and has studied the culture of song festivals in all three Baltic countries.

However, a speech alone does not constitute a celebration! We began the day by raising the Latvian flag and singing the Latvian national anthem. Each school child then lay flowers at the base of the flagpole.

 

After a church service, we gathered for the main event. To begin, the school children entertained us with a folk song and two dances. While the group in the photo might look quite large, a number of students were actually missing, as the total number of Latvian school students in the kindergarten through eighth grade this year is 56 (and that does not include the litte kids' playgroup, which has an additional ten children).

Latvian school kids getting ready to delight the audience!

The short performance was followed by Dr. Šmidchens' keynote speech, titled: Three Nations, One Desire: Song Festivals in the Baltic, Summer 2013 and 2014. His talk was nicely illustrated with historic photographs, and even more so with video he recorded as a participant in the 2013 Latvian song festival, and in the 2014 Estonian and Lithuanian festivals. He spoke of the similarities among the festivals - for example, pleas from conductors for the choirs to enunciate certain song texts more forcefully and more emotionally. Highlighting a couple of songs from each festival, from Latvia's event he mentioned Lūgšana and Gaismas Pils, while one of the Estonian songs he pointed out was "Mu isamaa on minu arm," which figures heavily in the fantastic documentary "The Singing Revolution" and which had left an impression on me when I saw the movies several years ago.

Dr. Šmidchens also touched upon the formal speeches given at the song festivals' main concerts. Last summer Estonian President Toomas Ilves, well known for his solid grasp of the power of modern technology, gave a brief speech, but immediately afterward took a selfie of himself and part of the giant choir behind him. As you can see from the President's Facebook page and the photo's 37,000+ likes, it was a popular move.

With Dr. Smidchens

Last year Dr. Šmidchens published "The Power of Song: Nonviolent National Culture in the Baltic Singing Revolution," and this year it was released in paperback. All nineteen copies available at our event were quickly snapped up - I also purchased one for myself, and began reading it that same evening. The University of Washington Press has a short interview with the author in which he speaks about the book available on YouTube.

Dr.Šmidchens ' presentation was very well-received, and certainly one of the most interesting I've heard at such an event. After the formal portion of the event, once the reception (i.e. champagne and lots of fancy hors d'oeuvres) had begun, people lined up to chat with Professor Šmidchens and to request that he sign their copies of his book. 

The Latvian community being as small as it is, my parents knew Dr. Šmidchens when he was a teenager and attended Garezers. I'd had some interesting conversations with him years ago at a Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies conference here in D.C., when he tried to convince me I should further my education with a Master's in Baltic Studies (maybe I should have done that!). 

On a separate note, this week marks my one-year anniversary of blogging. It has been interesting to get to know other bloggers, and I have enjoyed sharing some of my adventures and opinions. For the coming year I am planning what I foresee to be an engaging guest post series on a topic that is near and dear to my heart. A couple of people have already agreed to write posts -- look for those beginning in January. In the meantime, please do leave a comment, as I am intrigued to learn more about the people who read my posts!

Two Fun June Weekends

Last weekend I flew to Michigan to take care of my niece and nephew. This was a team effort together with my mom; the kids love Omīte, but they are at an age where they are a handful! My sister and brother-in-law were on a well-deserved mini-vacation. So I fed the kids goats' milk yogurt (which they loved!) and scrambled eggs and lots of fruit, and played with them, read to them, went on outings with them, and - in 21 moth old niece's case - changed quite a few diapers. We were blessed with amazing weather, so a fair amount of time was spent outside. My nephews loves sports, and he and I played football several times and basketball once. Two walks were also taken, as well as a field trip to the beautiful Meijer Gardens. In my quest to experience something new each week this summer, I had the opportunity to visit Clique Coffee Bar, located  quite close to Meijer Gardens. The drinks and cookies we had were excellent, meaning I will need to incorporate stops here into our family's regular visits to the Gardens.

This bear guards the entrance to the wonderful children's garden.

Just one of the many fun and interesting sculptures at Meijer Gardens

These are the Great Lakes!

This weekend was full of social activities. Friday night four friends and I went to a concert at the Artisphere in Arlington. The group I was interested in seeing was San Francisco's The Family Crest, which was the opening act for Mother Falcon. The Family Crest was fantastic, and afterwards I met a few of the band members, all of whom were very nice (of course, they might have been so friendly just because they were hoping to sell me a t-shirt or two!).

My favorite TFC song is "Love Don't Go" - I could listen to that several times a day, and the video is just fun. Earlier in the day TFC had recorded a "Tiny Desk Concert" at NPR, and I am looking forward to seeing that. Mother Falcon had recorded such a concert at NPR last summer. 

Thanks to B,C,K, and R for joining me - it was a very fun night! And thank you to B and C for the photos!

Very cool poster for this concert!

With B & C

The Family Crest performing

Saturday afternoon a friend from work hosted a housewarming party and cook-out. Given that this time of year the weather is typically hot and humid, it was bizarre to put on a cute summer dress for the party - and promptly freeze. The weather was unseasonably fall-like. I had a good time at the party, but was happy to return home and change into warm clothes! 

Sunday turned out to be a very busy day. After going to yoga in the morning, and having a friend over for brunch, it was time for the biggest Latvian party of the year - summer solstice/Midsummer's Eve/St. John's - whatever you'd like to call it. I celebrated with Baltic friends in a lovely location in Northern Virginia, thanks to the generosity and hospitality of some Estonian hosts. I will probably post some photos and write a bit more about it later, but in the meantime - Priecīgus Jāņus!