Vacationing in the U.P.

As a child growing up in urban southern Wisconsin, I often wondered about the enormous peninsula which was strangely attached to the northeastern part of the state, yet belonged to Michigan. My summers were spent in far southern Michigan, which I always enjoyed, but all of northern Michigan and its Upper Peninsula remained a mystery to me for many years. Finally as an adult I journeyed to the northwestern part of the state, visiting well-known vacation destinations such as Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Traverse City, Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas. And I was smitten. However, given the plethora of places around the world I'm interested in visiting, going further north just had not happened. Then this winter I decided I finally needed to make concrete plans see at least part of the Upper Peninsula. 

Fortunately, Jennifer, a friend who lives in the Lower Peninsula, had also not visited the UP and was keen on joining me. We spent some time in February mapping out our trip for five days around Memorial Day weekend -- we would leave Grand Rapids on Friday morning, spend two nights in Munising with the goals of visiting Tahquamenon Falls State Park and Pictured Rocks National Seashore, then spend another two nights in the town of St. Ignace with the goal of spending a day on Mackinac Island (which we had both visited before: she about 20 years ago, and I at age three - not surprising I don't remember that!), and drive back to Grand Rapids on Tuesday. Word to the wise: if planning a trip to these areas, advanced planning is certainly recommended, as we were able to reserve hotel rooms are quite reasonable rates, while anyone trying to do so closer to a trip around a long weekend would have found sold-out hotels and much higher prices for lodging.

After much anticipation our trip finally arrived, and we steered northward. Soon we were surrounded by forests or occasionally fields, both of which we would appreciate throughout our trip, particularly given that it was late spring and the many different shades of green were breathtaking. Our last stop in the Lower Peninsula was a roadside rest area, which also featured a scenic overlook -- we had lucked out with wonderful driving weather.

We crossed the famous Mackinac Bridge. Otherwise known as the Mighty Mac, it is the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world. The toll was a mere $4, and a number of minutes later we were - at long last - on the Upper Peninsula.

Our first stop involved lunch at a fish market and restaurant recommended by a friend -- what a perfect way to kick off the trip! King's has two locations; we stopped at the store in Moran, where we enjoyed what would be the first of many whitefish meals. Jennifer loved her whitefish basket, which contained three relatively large pieces of very lightly breaded whitefish, a generous mound of french fries, and a cup of zesty coleslaw -- which she declared to be some of the best she's ever had. I constructed my own basket with the same fries and coleslaw, as well as whitefish dip, which I scooped up with the lentil crackers purchased back on the Lower Peninsula. A word of caution to anyone who must adhere to (or attempts to) any special diet such as gluten-free, dairy-free, or - god forbid! - vegetarian or vegan: you will have a difficult time dining in restaurants on the U.P. This is the land of fish, meat, and potatoes. I ate more french fries in four days than I had in the previous four months! Vegetables and fruit were few and far between on any restaurant menus.

Our next destination was the famous Tahquamenon Falls, which is well known for its color and the size of the Upper Falls. Due to it being in a state park, visitor fees are assessed -- we paid $9 for the day due to having out-of-state license plates on our rental car. We first visited the Upper Falls, which are truly impressive given the size -- one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. The walk to the viewing area is quite short, though the descending to the viewing platform does require about 90 steps, but this platform allows for some fantastic close-up views of the falls (lower photo). However, lovely views can be had even from a couple of areas off the walkway, which doesn't require any stair climbing. The falls' brown color is visible even from far away, and is due to tannins.

The weather had turned overcast and gray, and toward the end of our Upper Falls visit it began raining, so we hurried back to the car to drive over to the Lower Falls, which consist of several much smaller falls and rapids. The Lower Falls are less impressive, but the area is beautiful and well worth a visit, particularly given the boardwalk which takes you through the woods, and which during our visit was surrounded by lush green colors and several different wildflowers. The park encompasses 46,000 acres, has numerous camp sites, hiking trails, etc, but our trip needed to continue, so we hit the road just as the rain began falling more heavily.

On the Road to...Arkansas!

In my quest to see something in each of the fifty states, a while back I convinced a friend (who happens to be an artist, as well as Latvian) that we needed to visit Bentonville, Arkansas. Fortunately she agreed, and we quickly planned our trip for the beginning of June. Why did I pick the small city of Bentonville as our destination? Because it is home of the less-than-five-year-old art museum Crystal Bridges, which boasts an impressive collection of American art housed in an interesting new building located on beautiful wooded grounds featuring trails and sculptures. The museum was founded by Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton. The Walton Family Foundation has provided a great deal of funding for the museum, which is an independent non-profit organization, while Walmart itself sponsors general public admission -- meaning the museum is free to visit.

My friend L lives in Houston, Texas, and our plans entailed me flying into Dallas while she drove there from Houston. Incredibly fortunately, my flight was on time, my suitcase also arrived, and we were on our way! When I'd left the DC area, the weather had been overcast and gray, but in Dallas I was greeted by blue skies and dense white clouds. There's a saying that everything's bigger in Texas -- and even these clouds looked big!

From the airport we drove north through the eastern side of Oklahoma. The drive lasted approximately 5 1/2 hours, and our way we stopped for a roadside picnic that L had lovingly prepared. 

A well-rounded meal: sandwich, potato salad, mango, tomatoes.

Oklahoma was not the most exciting state to drive through, though the eastern side was not that terrible either (I have heard from people who have driven through the state from West to East or vice versa that such a route is quite dull). The vista was enhanced by a very large man-made body of water called Lake Eufaula, though the terrain was generally quite flat. Thus, arriving into Arkansas was a welcome surprise -- it was hilly and incredibly green.

After checking into our hotel near Bentonville, we drove to the museum with the intention of eating dinner at its restaurant and getting our first glimpse of the collection. Our meal took so long that it was closing time when we were done eating, but we were glad to have visited in the evening, as not only was our dinner memorable, but the museum looked stunning at night.

Photo credit: L.

More posts to follow about our fun trip!

Frankenmuth - Michigan's Little Bavaria

When I visit Michigan, most of my time is spent in the southwestern area -- either in Grand Rapids or at our Latvian camp, Garezers. While I've made a few trips to northern Michigan (such as this one), there are many areas of Michigan I have yet to explore. One was the town of Frankenuth, which is known as Michigan's Little Bavaria. Because my sister and I both speak German and we as a family lived in Germany for a year at one point, we have a love of most things German. So, we a short family trip to Frankenmuth was planned. (Our mom did point out that we had both visited it a few years ago -- when we were about 3 and 4 years old!)

Located in the eastern part of the state, about half-way between Flint and Saginaw, Frankenmuth was settled in 1845 by immigrants from southern Germany. We arrived at lunchtime, and immediately headed to the Frankenmuth Brewery to eat. Having been founded in 1862, it happens to be the oldest brewery in the entire state.However, the building in which the brewery is located is relatively new, as the previous building was destroyed by a powerful tornado in June 1996. We all enjoyed our meals (enormous portions!), though the sauerkraut which came with the bratwurst dinner was underwhelming.

The brewery

The bratwurst

After lunch our plan had been to walk along the town's Main Street, but the uncomfortably chilly temperatures and off-and-on precipitation put a damper on our plans, so instead we headed to Bronner's, which bills itself as the world's largest Christmas store. This does not seem to be an understatement. We drove over in two cars, then had difficulties finding one another in the store itself -- even with entrances marked "The Southeast Entrance", etc. As I later learned from the website, the store is the size of one-and-a-half football fields. 

Welcome sign: Latvian is in 2nd column from left, Lithuanian in 2nd from right.

The store's thousands of Christmas tree ornaments are categorized into rather specific categories. Whether you are looking for something sports-related, or maybe a food or beverage-related ornament, you have plenty to choose from here! And to help orient you, store maps are available!

Every nook and cranny of the store is Christmas-themed, whether it's a choir of caroling teddy bears...

or Santa Claus himself...

Today the town of Frankenmuth is home to about 5,000 people and offers wholesome (maybe because the original founders were conservative Lutherans who apparently came to the U.S. to try to convert others) family fun. My sister, brother-in-law, and the kids stayed at Zehnder's Splash Village, which is popular with families as it has a two large indoor water parks. Because we didn't need a water park, my mom and I stayed at the Marv Herzog Hotel, which I can highly recommend. Each room has a balcony - with either a view of the river or of Main Street, plus amenities include parking underneath the hotel (nice bonus on this visit as it did ice overnight), an evening happy hour, and an enormous breakfast buffet in the morning.

After enjoying our wine, cheese, and other snacks during happy hour, mom and I met up with the rest of the family for dinner. Frankenmuth has two large competing restaurants, both supposedly famous for their fried chicken dinner. Confusingly - or helpfully - they are located across the street from another. We chose to eat at the Bavarian Inn. 

All of the portions were gigantic - whether for the kids' meals, appetizers, or dinners. My broiled chicken was surprisingly moist and flavorful, and my sister and I both particularly enjoyed the cranberry relish side dish, which was a mixture of cranberries and apples. With its German heritage, the restaurant does offer some German dishes as well -- the apple strudel dessert was absolutely delectable.

The next morning I was happy to discover Harvest CoffeeHouse, which certainly has the best caffeinated beverages in town. Soon it was time for me to head to the airport for my flight home, but I certainly would not mind returning to Frankenmuth in warmer weather!

Music & Food in Boston

Boston is an iconic American city, and one that I enjoy greatly. With having family there and with the availability of relatively inexpensive and short flights from the DC area, I visit quite frequently. My most recent trip coincided with a Latvian concert I wanted to attend. It ended up being a low-key, relaxing weekend, with a heavy emphasis on good food.

Arriving mid-day on a Thursday, I took the T into the city (great travel tip: taking the Silver Line from the airport to any end-point in the T system is free!), and met a friend of a friend. Carla and I had been Twitter friends for a while; a friend and colleague of mine knew Carla from college and had mentioned Carla's love and study of chocolate.. Being a chocoholic, I was intrigued, so I looked her up and we began following one another on Twitter. Naturally, I brought her a few local DC area chocolates, Undone (my absolute favorite - the sea salt bar is amazingly good) and Salazon, to sample. She had plans to take me to a chocolate cafe, but it was lunchtime, and before we could enjoy chocolate, I needed savory sustenance, for which Carla chosen a wonderful little place called Sofra. The day's special was a chili with coffee and chocolate--clearly that had my name written all over it. The chili was flavorful, and the salad I ordered was incredibly fresh. 

Then we proceeded to L.A. Burdick, which is best known for its adorable chocolate mice and penguins, but it also has a small cafe. There we each sipped a decadent hot chocolate or mocha and a piece of cake (they only had one option that was relatively gluten-free, and it was average - the other desserts looked far more decadent). Much of the cafe had a European feel to it, but I found the uncomfortable seats to be a bit disappointing, although it might be their way of discouraging long-term sitting. On our way out, I picked up a few small truffles to take with me. We still had time to check out Harvard Coop, which is one of the more attractive American bookstores I've visited. Naturally, I found a book to purchase, but also nicer than average postcards to send to a Twitter friend and my youngest niece and nephew, who probably receive more postcards in a year than many people do in a lifetime. During our entire visit Carla and I were so busy chatting that I ended up not taking any photos. However - if you've never been to Cambridge and Harvard Square particularly, I can assure you it's a fun and rather photogenic part of Boston, and one I am always happy to re-visit. Carla and I eventally parted ways, but before getting back on the T, I stopped in at the very entertaining Curious George Store.

In the evening, I joined my family members in heading to the Latvian Lutheran church, which is located in a lovely part of Brookline. The Boston Latvian Choir has recently been an ad hoc group, under the leadership of the supremely talented Krissy Skare. A group of singer and musicians had come together late last fall, and held a Christmas concert to rave reviews. I only saw short video clips, but was duly impressed. Earlier this year, I received an email asking what Latvian songs about the sun I know. I shared a fair amount of information, and thus found out that the choir was planning a spring concert, and promptly booked a flight (yay for frequent flyer miles!).

The concert was titled "Lec, Saulīte!" or "Rise, Sun!", and featured a variety of sun and summer solstice-themed pieces, performed by the choir and ensembles/soloists/instrumentalists in varying combinations. The program was  entertaining, moving, and certainly one of the most fun Latvian choir concerts I've ever attended. I will mention just some of the highlights.

"Ģērbies, saule, sudrabota," a folksong arranged for mixed choir by Anita Kupriss, is a much-loved piece often heard at concerts and festivals, including the final concert of the Latvian National Song Festival in 2008. Anita lives in the Boston area, and sings with the choir, thus it was particularly touching to hear this song performed by a choir of which she is a part.

A performance that surprised me with its beauty was a viola solo by Silvija Kristapsone - it was a medley of summer solstice songs, arranged by her father, Māris Kristapsons. When one is accustomed to singing these songs or hearing them sung, an instrumental performance can show the melodies in a different light. Another lovely  solo, this one vocal, was Krissy Skare's interpretation of the well-known folksong "Saulīt' vēlu vakarā."

Krissy preparing to sing - accompanied by pianist Bret Silverman

The Latgallian folk song "Aizalaida sauļeite" as arranged by Iļģi but interpreted by the choir, was perfomed by the women, with instrumentals by several performers, was a huge hit. Anita Kupriss played the trompet, and while that's an instrument one doesn't typically associate with Latvian music, it worked incredibly well. I managed to record about a minute and a half of the song, and you can view that here. You'll notice how much fun the performers are having!

The biggest hit of the night was "Lec, saulīte!" by Raimonds Tiguls and Rasa Bugavičute. I wish I'd been able to record some of it, but I was too busy listening to and appreciating the gorgeous music. The audience loved the song so much that there were very Latvian requests of "Atkārtot!" (Repeat!) coming from the row behind me. Because the song is a bit lengthy, Krissy had the choir repeat only the second part. However, this song is so beautiful, and it was so movingly performed that the American woman who doesn't understand a word of Latvian sitting next to me - who doesn't understand a word of Latvian - was wiping away tears. For a version of the song as performed by a much larger group, you can check out this video of the grand finale of a 2014 summer solstice dance and music performance in Riga. (The composer Tiguls is the same one whom I saw in New York City when he performed with the choir Latvija. In the previous video he can be seen with a plaid scarf around his neck, and flowers in his hands. If you'd like to learn the words to "Lec, saulīte!" see this karaoke-style video.)

For the final piece, the choir had chosen a folksong called "Noriet saule vakarā," as arranged by Folkvakars. We were asked to sing and even dance along. I'm hoping no one has a photo of me singing and dancing in the aisle, but - boy - that was enjoyable!

Like I said - a fun concert!

The next couple of days were spent relaxing and eating. I had the chance to try out the Roslindale restaurant Redd's in Rozzie, the amazing Jamaica Plains dessert heaven FoMu, as well as Inna's Kitchen in Newton, all of which I would return to in a heartbeat! The paella at Redd's, the purple mu ice cream and mini gluten-free sandwich cookies at FoMu, and the buckwheat blintzes, iced coffee, and freshly squeeze orange juice at Inna's were - essentially - perfect. Also, service in all three spots was friendly and helpful (something which all to frequently cannot be found at DC area dining establishments).

My flight back to the DC area was on Saturday evening, as I wanted to be at the DC Latvian school's graduation on Sunday (the students graduating had been my students a number of years ago). And because clearly I'd not eaten enough during my visit, I made time to enjoy a crabmeat roll (on gluten-free bun!) at the airport's Legal Sea Foods before getting on the plane.

It might be a while before I get back to Boston, and I'm grateful I had this opportunity to visit - to spend time with family, and experience that fantastic concert!

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 Indignity of Winter, Mary Todd Lincoln, & Two Chocolate Cakes

This month is one of ridiculously freezing temperatures, too much snow and ice, too much stress at work, but fortunately it is also a month of celebrations.

A sheet of ice: great if you are ice skating or bobsledding, but if you are driving a car, then it is less than ideal. On a recent Saturday night I had taken Metro into downtown DC to see the play "The Widow Lincoln" at Ford's Theater. The theater is best known as the location of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865, which was 150 years ago. To mark the occasion, Ford's Theater and museum are organizing a variety of special events, one of which was commissioning the play about Pres. Lincoln's widow in the aftermath of his murder.

While my friend and I were relishing this new work and the superb acting by the all-female cast, a short but intense snow squall moved through the area - followed by arctic temperatures. When I returned to my car parked at the Metro station and proceeded to drive home, I was unpleasantly surprised to find roads in terrible condition - some were pure ice. Many smaller cars or those with older tires were having trouble - tires spinning, rear ends fishtailing (I particularly had to chuckle at the expensive sporty BMW convertible which might be fun on a sunny summer's day, but was clearly outmatched by the conditions), and I, too, had a few scary moments.

That experience led me to avoid driving on Sunday morning, when I should have traveled to my favorite bakery to pick up a chocolate cake. Having spent a few too many moments deciding which cake to order, then finally choosing the luscious sounding 'Chocolate Decadence' torte (five layers of flourless chocolate cake and four layers of chocolate mousse with a chocolate ganache glaze!), I was quite upset that my investment might go to waste. However, I did not think it was a wise idea to risk life and limb just to retrieve a small cake! Instead I stopped at a grocery store for a replacement dessert -- also chocolate cake, of course -- and then met seven girlfriends for a lovely birthday brunch at a wonderful restaurant, Mon Ami Gabi. After brunch we enjoyed cake and coffee at a friend's apartment. Luckily I'd been able to contact yet another friend who lives close to said bakery, and she was kind enough to run over to pick up my cake before the store closed. I then drove to her home, where she, her husband, and I enjoyed some of the torte, which indeed was decadent.

Thus ends the tale of two cakes, although the indignity of winter just continues... However, many areas (hello, Boston!) are even harder hit than the DC area, but thoughts of moving to San Diego definitely surface in my consciousness with some regularity.

Another weekend consisted of more celebrating (again interrupted by weather, so plans had to be altered somewhat) at a cabin in Virginia wine country thanks to another friend whose birthday is this month. The weekend consisted of much food, wine, mimosas, laughter, games, music, and watching the Academy Awards.

Apologies for the text-heavy post--clearly photographing hasn't been high on my list of priorities!

Long Weekend in Charleston, South Carolina

A federal holiday, and a $112 round-trip fare. A city I've never visited, and a travel buddy able to come along. These four factors combined to create a fun and necessary winter excursion to Charleston, South Carolina. It is a beautiful historic city, and fortunately also offered a brief respite from winter weather.

When I told people that I was going to Charleston due to a $112 flight, every single person's reaction was, "Round trip?!" Yes, thanks to the lull in travel in January and February, a number of airlines were having tempting sales, and this fare was found on JetBlue, one of the better (read: more comfortable and customer service oriented) airlines. Travel itself was smooth and without incident, and I wish JetBlue flew to more destinations, as their planes are quite comfortable for us tall folk.

On our first afternoon we wandered the gardens and mini zoo at Magnolia Plantation...

 

I can recommend all of the restaurants at which we ate, which were: Old Village Post House for Sunday brunch; Home Team and Swig & Swine (get the beans and brisket side dish!) for barbeque; Hom for burgers. Sweet treats included Jeni's Ice Cream (amazing - worth price and the wait in line!) and a pecan praline from a shop whose name escapes me.

More photos and info to follow in the next post!

Looking Back at 2014, Ringing in 2015

My apologies for the longer silence! The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of busy. Without further ado, I present a quick review of 2014.

Best Family Event

• Christmas in Michgan: A total of 17 people, two cats and one dog at its busiest, this extended family Christmas celebration was a wonderful opportunity to get together. A big thanks goes to my sister and brother-in-law for hosting this large and sometimes rowdy gang!

\

Almost everyone!

Best Non-Family Event

• Garezers Summer High School 50th anniversary celebration in July was So. Much. Fun.

Best Trips

• The two weeks I spent in Latvia and Lithuania in May were just fantastic: seeing lovely nature, visiting new and already beloved places, meeting family and friends, experiencing culture, and commemorating history. I was particularly happy to visit Riga while it was European Capital of Culture. The time was so full of wonderful experiences that it took me weeks and many posts to write about it.
• A long weekend on the Outer Banks, North Carolina in October was a welcome respite from daily life, and an excellent opportunity to finally visit that state, my 35th.

Biggest Purchase

• In the closing days of 2014, after much researching, hunting, and test driving, I finally bought a new set of wheels! Now I have plenty of room to ferry tall (or short) family and friends, plus I'm ready to start planning some road trips in the new year. Any suggestions?

Best Book Read

Best Restaurant Meals Enjoyed

• High Cotton BBQ on the Outer Banks 
• Terra in Grand Rapids

Best Wine Enjoyed 

• Chardonnay Sur Lie from Zephaniah Farm Vineyard

While 2014 had many ups, it certainly had its share of downs. I'm looking forward to 2015 and what it brings, hoping it will be a more peaceful and happy year for our world. May your new year be filled with health, happiness, and fun adventures!

Riga: A Busy Week in the Big City

The week in Riga was very busy and full, but much of it involved meeting friends and relatives, so I will not write up a day-by-day account. Instead here I will mention a few of those meetings and events, and will write a couple of separate posts about touristy thing.

To visit some old friends from North America who have lived in Latvia for several years now, Bryan and I ventured a bit outside of Riga to the lovely area near Babites ezers, and enjoyed a fun cook-out and bonfire at their home at the edge of a peaceful forest.

Dinner with K & D (adorable son A barely visible in the right corner)

One evening I met former co-workers from the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. I spent the summer of 2005 there, doing English language editing and translation. Only one of the three women still works at the Museum, and due to her travels to the United States to record interviews with older Latvians about their life experiences, I've kept in closer touch with her. She was able to corral the other two, and we had a very enjoyable dinner in a good restaurant called Cidonija in Berga Bazars. The waitress we had was amazingly friendly and chipper - very American in many ways - but she will not win any photography awards.

Dinner with I, D, and L

That same night I visited a couple of old Latvian-American friends who moved to Riga about seven years ago; we spent a long time chatting and catching up. They had many interesting stories to share.

Another afternoon I met some diplomat friends for coffee; they are the ones who lived in Cairo when I visited. We even managed to catch an important art exhibit: in conjunction with Riga being Culture Capital for the year, an exhibit of the works of Vija Celmins, the best known Latvian-American and one of the most successful living female artists, was being shown. She is best known for her sea and starry sky paintings, both of which I had seen in Washington and New York. The exhibit was interesting in its range, as included were much older works that were quite different. We did not have time to watch the documentary film about her, which is too bad, as afterward I heard from at least two people that it was well done and quite moving. The exhibit closed in June, thus I am happy I was in Riga to see it. I recently read that 20,000 people - or 1% of Latvia's population - had visited the exhibit.

Coffee with M & M

That same evening another friend and I attended a play at the National Theatre. It was a brand new play, having opened just the night before. Written by a young playwright, the play, Pieaugusie, (The Adults) was performed in the theatre's New Hall. Between the topic (30 year olds remembering their last year of high school) and the space, the experience had an off-off Broadway feel to it. I enjoyed the play, but was not keen on the fact that the space itself was very hot and seemed to lack any type of ventilation. Afterward we enjoyed drinks at the restaurant Fazenda. I forgot to ask the waitress to take our photo, so I have no documentation of having met up with M, but I can assure you it happened and we had lots of fun. We walked back to our respective apartments together, and then even stood on the street continuing our conversation. One of the great things about so many of my Latvian friends is that even if nine years have passed since we've seen another, we somehow manage to pick up almost where we'd left off. M and I could not remember exactly which summer it was that we met while working at Garezers, but once she got home she couldn't sleep until she unearthed that summer's camp high school yearbook. It turns out we met back in 2002!

The National Theatre

Yet another evening found me hosting three of my second cousins and their families in my rental apartment. We had fun reminiscing about previous times we've met (the first time being in 1988, when my mom, younger sis, and I took the train from West Germany to Riga and visited for a week), and comparing life in the United States and Latvia. We also discussed hockey and travel, with me sharing some photos of what real waterfalls look like.

Just the cousins

All of the photos from the evening feature someone with eyes closed or looking the other way!

Either there is a bird overhead or I found something to be quite ridiculous (hence the eye rolling).

On Friday night I helped organize a big get-together for alumni and former employees of Garezers, the Latvian summer camp and cultural center. The event was held at the Folkklubs Ala Pagrabs in Riga's Old Town, and great music was provided by the band "The Repats," of which two members, Karlis and Imanta, are graduates of the Garezers summer high school. They played many covers of rock songs that were popular at Garezers Saturday evening dances, as well as folk songs and other Latvian songs that were sung around campfires. It was a very fun walk down memory lane. The Garezers high school is in its 50th summer this year, and the occasion will be celebrated with a big party in Garezers at the end of July -- I booked my flight to Michigan for that weekend long ago to make sure I'd be part of the celebration.

Just a handful of the 30 or so attendees

Folkklubs Ala poster featuring our party on 23.05

It was wonderful to spend time with so many people in Riga, yet even with all the scheduled social time and running around, there were a number of individuals I was unable to meet. Clearly, one week is just not enough time to catch up with absolutely everyone!

Local Nature & Finnish Design: Weekend Outings

(Note: in an effort to not spend enormous amounts of time on one post and to get a new post up, this entire post was crafted on a tablet app. I am not sure how it will actually look on the blog. If it looks horrendous, then I will know that for future reference! The app has less flexibility than the Blogger website, so if the post looks strange or just plain bad, my apologies!)

The past weekend was another fantastic one in terms of weather. On Saturday some friends and I took advantage of the warm sunny day by exploring Scotts Run Nature Preserve, a Fairfax County park located in McLean, Virginia. We took a short hike along the creek, which at its end has a waterfall and leads to the Potomac River. The waterfall is popular with local high school and college kids, but being pretty far outside that demographic, we admired it only from afar. However, we did do some wading and rock throwing in a shallow part of the creek.

Sunday was the last day to visit an exhibit at the Embassy of Finland, so I invited my friend N to join me. The Finnish brand Marimekko is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its iconic Unikko (poppy) pattern, and the embassy had organized a small exhibit to commemorate this occasion. As explained by the embassy's website, the pattern "was born in1964 after Marimekko's founder Armi Ratia had publicly announced that Marimekko would never print floral patterns, because she thought that flowers were more beautiful in nature than on fabric. However, designer Maija Isola paid no heed to Ratia's decree and - perhaps inspired by the poppies growing in her yard - painted a red Unikko along with an entire series of floral patterns in protest. Unikko looked new, graphic and distinctive, and once Ratia saw it, she immediately included the design in Marimekko's collection where it has been ever since."

My personal history with the Marimekko brand dates back over thirty years. When my mom visited me in April, she pointed out that she purchased bed sheets with a Marimekko print on them at a Washington, D.C. area Lord & Taylor department store in the late 1970s. Those colorful sheets faithfully served my younger sister and me for a very long time. However, I believe the only Unikko item I own is a small bag I purchased in New York City four years ago when, while visiting, I specifically hunted down the Manhattan Crate & Barrel which contained a Marimekko section.

The embassy itself is interesting to visit, as it is a modern and green building which is located on Massachusetts Avenue (aka Embassy Row), yet also overlooks Rock Creek Park. The exhibit was in the reception hall which contains large windows looking out onto the park. While very small, the exhibit was nicely arranged, and it gave N a chance to see the embassy (I'd been there before). 

Afterward we lunched at Cactus Cantina, a Tex-Mex restaurant which is - honestly - okay. My chicken and beef enchiladas were just average. Next time I'll remember to seek out Guapo's instead. In search of dessert, we hit up Lilit Cafe in Bethesda and greatly enjoyed our gelato choices.

Another fun weekend in the DC area had passed. N commented how fortunate we are to live in this area, but that it takes a bit of effort to go out and actually take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities we have here. This is true, but I find that the effort always pays off!

Have a good week!