Looking Back to 2015, Looking Forward to 2016

2015 will soon be seen only in the rear view mirror, and recalled in memories and via photographs.

Washington Monument at sunset

Highlights from my year include:

- A fantastic long weekend (way back in January!) in Charleston, South Carolina, which you can read about in this post, as well as in this one.
- I love having visitors! In the spring, my blogging (and real-life!) friend Liene and her family were in the Washington area, so we checked out the enormous Udvar-Hazy Center.
- For Easter, family members visited and much fun was had.
- Spring included an amazing several days in New York City, enjoying a variety of culture - such as the State Choir of Latvia and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as exploring Brooklyn in detail.
- Summer's biggest event was Garezers' 50th anniversary, which was so rich and full of experiences, that several posts were necessary to describe it all: intro and art exhibit, an evening movie and nighttime fireworks display, a daylong music festival called Garezers-Palooza (with a second post about that in Latvian), and the closing event, as well as a bit about the church service and market.
- Other summer activities included a wonderful weekend in Boston, visiting Havre de Grace for the first time, checking out the new Japanese Garden at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, and celebrating mom's birthday with an outing to Grand Haven.
- A fall visitor for several days meant that there was more time for adventures: a cider brewery, a visit to Mount Vernon, wine, history and autumnal delights in Winchester, as well as a foliage drive and hike in Shenandoah National Park.
- At the beginning of the year I had made the decision to read more, and to make more arts and culture related outings. I did quite well on this resolutions. According to Goodreads, this year I read 39 books, far surpassing my original goal of 21. Honestly, a few them were barely books - more like essays - but given how little the average American (though I certainly never claimed to be an average American, ha!) reads nowadays, 35 or so is still a sizable number. Only one did I write a review about here, and in another post I mentioned a few others I had read. Among books that I enjoyed this fall were Elizabeth Gilbert's "Big Magic" and Moises Velasquez-Manoff's "An Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Undestanding Allergies and Autoimmune Disorders," as well as Iris Carmon's "Notorious RBG: The Life and Time of Ruth Bader Ginsburg."

Washington Monument after sunset.

While there are many more memories I could mention and blog posts I could link to, I will stop now so that I can devote time to writing new posts, and planning for 2016!

May your New Year be full of love, friendship, successes and many adventures!

The Met: A Mega Museum

Among the absolute "must sees" in New York City is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. By chance  we visited precisely on the museums' 145th anniversary, as it was incorporated on April 13, 1870! Housed in a two-million-square-foot building on the southeastern edge of Central Park, the museum is so expansive that one could easily spend several days here.

New fountains at the front entrance!

With this being at least my third visit to the museum and knowing that a coffee break will likely be necessary, I made sure to quiz my cousin's wife about the best cafe in the museum, then wandered off to explore.

One of the special exhibits was "The Plains Indians: Artist of Earth and Sky," so I made sure to stop by that. The beadwork on various items was particularly impressive and lovely.

Men's moccasins and - in the back - a bear claw necklace!

Gorgeous color and detail on this men's jacket

Then I mostly meandered rather aimlessly - popping in and out of rooms if something struck my fancy or if I became uninterested. The museum truly has something for everyone. Below are just a few random items I photographed to share with you.

Van Gogh, The Flowering Orchard (1888)

Gold necklace with amethyst & glass (6th/7th century)

Silver peacock, Hungary (1787)

They even have baseball cards!

Washington Crossing the Delaware, Emanuel Gotlieb Leutze

Two areas in which I spent more time were the galleries of 19th century European paintings, as the Met has an amazing collection, and the American Wing. Among other things, the American Wing features a bright and airy courtyard/atrium, in the middle of which are several statues, on one side a small cafe overlooking a corner of Central Park, and on two sides various artwork by Tiffany and other stained glass artists.

Autumn Landscape, Tiffany (1923-1924)

Garden Lanscape, Tiffany, (ca. 1905-1915)

Loggia from Tiffany's Oyster Bay, NY home (ca. 1905)

With that I wrap up mini-tour of the Met for you, my dear readers, and implore you to visit the museum yourself whenever you are in New York City!

The Borough of Brooklyn, Part II

Another day began with brunch, as a Sunday in the city should. In looking around online, I had found a restaurant that sounded perfect to me, and - indeed - it was. L'Albero dei Gelati is a cozy spot with wonderful food, superior coffee, a great selection of cakes and cookies that appeal to those of us who prefer desserts which aren't overly sweet, and luscious gelato. I also appreciated that the cafe offered almond milk in its espresso drinks for those who prefer that to cow's milk.

We all savored our meals and coffee, plus the gluten-free almond chocolate cake I needed to have for dessert. Afterward we hit the pavement, checking out cute neighborhood shops while walking to DUMBO (aka "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass"). 

Brooklyn street corner

At one point on our walk we passed a large Brooklyn Heights office building outside of which we noticed a number of reporters and news vans; upon asking, it turned out that Hillary Clinton had recently rented an office in that building, and the media was waiting to see whether she might announce her candidacy for President that day. In the end, she did it via video, thus those reporters were waiting in vain.

Once we reached the East River, we sat down to rest our feet, to soak up the spring sunshine, and to enjoy the view. With the Statue of Liberty on our far left, the Manhattan heliport (incredibly busy!) to the left, Manhattan right in front of us, and the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges to our right, and many people out soaking up some vitamin D in the spring sunshine, there was plenty to observe.

We continued on our way to a chocolate shop, Jacques Torre. I was still stuffed from brunch, so I ordered only a single chocolate truffle, while the relatives gained sustenance from the very rich and slightly spicy hot chocolate. After stopping in a bookshop named The Powerhouse Arena, we headed  to the closest subway stop, yet were sidetracked when we noticed a vintage Danish furniture store, where we stared and gasped at many of the price tags.

Spotted at The Powerhouse Arena

Spotted on a wall somewhere on the streets of Dumbo

Upon returning home, clearly a tad tired from two days of walking and city touring, I took a nap - one that was meant to be a half-hour long, yet stretched to several hours. I cannot recall the last time I'd napped for such a long time, but must confess it was incredibly relaxing. And good thing, as my trip was not yet over!

The Borough of Brooklyn, Part I

While the impetus for my long weekend in New York City was the concert, I was also looking forward to spending time with extended family and doing some leisurely city exploring. While most tourists and visitors spend the vast majority of or all of their time in Manhattan, I knew Brooklyn would be my main stomping ground, as that is where my cousin lives and also because this was far from my first NYC visit. (In case you didn't know, NYC is made up of five boroughs: in addition to Brooklyn and Manhattan, the others are Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.)

The last time I traveled to NYC, my adventures included walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (which has now become an incredibly popular tourist activity), experiencing the unique High Line Park, and seeing colorful bluebells, lilacs, rhododendrons, and tulips bloom in the lovely Brooklyn Botanic Garden, as well as visiting the impressive Brooklyn Museum, where I particularly enjoyed viewing Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party.

On this visit one afternoon was spent strolling through a corner of Prospect Park on our way to Green-Wood Cemetery, a sprawling graveyard with National Historic Landmark status, and which is the final resting place for a number of well-known individuals. It also boasts many impressive and interesting gravestones and great views, as well as an interesting history.

Can you spot the Statue of Liberty?

Green-wood was founded in 1838, and thus was one of the first rural cemeteries in this country. In just a couple of decades it had become well known for its beauty and as a prestigious location to be buried. The cemetery was so popular that it attracted a half-million visitors a year, and helped inspire creation of city parks such as New York's Central and Prospect Parks.

The entrance gate of the cemetery is stunning. Interestingly, a flock of parrots has lived its spires for many years. My camera could not do them justice, but for better photos of the bright green cuties, see this site.

The nests are easy to spot. Do you see two green parrots as well?

The cemetery's chapel is also beautiful, with many gorgeous stained glass windows. My cousin mentioned that he has even seen weddings take place there.

The land on which the cemetery is located played an important part in American history, as the Battle of Brooklyn was fought here. It was the first battle of the American Revolution after the Declaration of Independence, and also the largest battle in that war. Years later a wealthy businessman named Charles Higgins purchased lots on Battle Hill in Green-wood for his family tomb. He also had a plan for a monument to the Battle of Brooklyn, as he felt the battle was generally overlooked by historians. Thus, in front of his tomb stands the Altar of Liberty and a statue of Minerva, which salutes the Statue of Liberty. 

Minerva and the Altar of Liberty

The variety of tombs, monuments and gravestones in the cemetery was mind-boggling. From the simple to the over-the-top, it's all here.

Unremarkable marker for a remarkable man.

This one is a tad over-the-top by my definition.

A Latvian Choir and Mikhail Baryshnikov

Latvia has many outstanding choirs, but one of the absolute best is the State Choir Latvija (aka The Latvian National Choir) with artistic director and conductor Maris Sirmais at its helm. When I heard they would be performing two concerts in New York City, I knew it was a great excuse to get back to that city. After consulting with extended family in NYC, I bought a ticket for the performance at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, and made travel plans.

On the evening of the performance my cousin, his wife, and I took the subway into Manhattan from their home in Brooklyn, then walked about a half-mile until the BAC, it being located a bit off the beaten path in the area known as Hell's Kitchen. Upon walking into the entrance of the center, much to my delight I immediately spotted my friend Līvija, who had traveled Philadelphia for the concert. We had not seen one another in quite a while, so it was an incredibly pleasant surprise to meet her.

As many people know, Baryshnikov was born in Riga. In his role of founder of the arts center that bears his name, he has been supportive of Latvian artists, thus was not surprising to see him and his wife in the audience of the relatively intimate theater where the concert took place.

The choir was comprised of slightly more than fifty singers, and filled the space with their incredible voices. The program contained mostly contemporary Baltic composers, and most were pieces I heard for the first time. Although the songs were all listed in the program with English titles, a number were sung in other languages, including Latvian, Estonian and Polish.

Photo credit: Kristine

This review does an excellent job describing the details! I agree that the less familiar composers definitely made an impression. Shall we just point out that Jēkabs Jančevskis was born in 1992, making him college-aged?

The piece that struck me the most was by Raimonds Tiguls, whose work I am somewhat familiar with, in particular the gorgeous Dod, Dievini!, which was sung at the Latvian Song Festival in 2013. Before the concert began I thought I noticed Tiguls sitting in the audience, and - indeed he was, as he participated in the performance of his piece by playing a unique instrument called the hang. Although this video features a different choir performing that piece, I urge you to watch (or at least listen to it), as you might also find it captivating.

Tiguls in white shirt on the right, Sirmais on the left in black shirt

After the end of the program and a standing ovation, the choir performed a rousing version of the folksong Rīga, Dimd!, then - after another insistent standing ovation - the evening was, like many Latvian events, closed with Pūt, Vejiņi!, a folksong that gained hymn-like status during Soviet Occupation. This video is of the performance of Pūt, Vejiņi! that evening - filmed with my not-so-new camera, thus I apologize for the less-than-stellar quality, but it is such a beautiful arrangement of the song, particularly the solo at the end.

My cousin, wife, and I had walked about two blocks back toward the subway stop before my realization that I had left my scarf in the theater. We returned, and I once again running into Līvija in the lobby, who told me that our friend Kristīne was also in attendance. While chatting with Līvija, I also met two other acquaintances, then went to find Kristīne, who was visiting NYC from Minnesota. It was so great to run into her, and as my cousin's wife had said while we were walking back to the center - I'd forgotten my scarf for a reason!

Overall, it was a magical evening, and I am grateful I could attend this performance. If you ever have the chance to see the Latvian National Choir perform, don't miss it!

A few weeks later exciting cultural news from Latvia: Baryshnikov is collaborating with Alvis Hermanis of the New Rīga Theater on a new play based on Nobel prize-winning poet Joseph Brodsky's poetry, with whom Baryshnikov was good friends. The play will run in Rīga in October, then tour the U.S. in 2016. Looks like I have at least one thing on my "to do" list for next year!