Comments - or Lack Thereof

I've heard from a couple of readers that they have been unable to comment on my posts. Naturally, this makes me horrendously sad, as I see from Blogger's helpful statistics that quite a few people from many different countries have accessed the blog, but thus far very few have commented. (Liels paldies to those who have!) All I can say at the moment is that I, too, have had problems commenting on both WordPress and Blogger based blogs, but that after a couple of tries I have usually been successful. Additionally, I will try to look into the problem (i.e. I will Google it and see if that yields anything!).

Thank goodness it's Friday! And that we might be one day closer to spring. To help us all (especially anyone in the Midwest, Northeast or Latvia) remember what less harsh seasons are like, I leave you with a photograph from a warmer time of the year.

Sunset somewhere on Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Thanks also to those who have not commented directly on the blog, but have let me know that they are enjoying reading my ramblings and checking out my snapshots. Your comments are also very much appreciated!

Enjoy your weekends, and look for another exciting post soon!!

Best Ever Note to Tooth Fairy

Thank goodness my mom saved and even dated this!

Translation:
Dear Fairy,
Because this is one of my last teeth, I would like more than 25 cents (75 cents would be good).
Thank you very much,
Daina (fake middle initial and real last name - more on that later)

Observations:
1. Clearly, handwriting has never been my strong suit.
2. I have loved parentheses from an early age. (And - really - who wouldn't? Such a great tool for those of us who are wordy!)
3. For a child born in the United States, I had damn good Latvian skills. Paldies, mamma un tēti!
4. Although, unlike my father, my mother does not save many papers and mementos, she made an awfully good choice with this one. She and I actually cracked up with laughter when she gave me this little note to me about a year ago.
5. I need to find the note again to see what (if anything) is written on the backside, as the many arrows on the right seem to indicate that the reader needs to flip the paper to check out the back!

Latvian Connections and Digging into the Past, Part IID

The last couple of days of my vacation were spent further exploring the Netherlands. Groningen is a lively university town with plenty of history.

Goudkantoor - built in 1653 for the tax collector

The university was founded in 1614, and has 27,000 students. That, of course, means plenty of bicycles. Few students can afford cars, and there is precious little place to park them in the city.

Main university building - with hundreds of bicycles parked out front

Naturally, university students move frequently. What is one to do if one does not have a car, and most motorized vehicles can barely navigate the narrow old streets, particularly in the center of town? Well, then one can rent a bicycle/pick-up truck hybrid! These were some of the cleverest things I'd seen in a long time.

It being the Netherlands, there is also plenty of cheese in Groningen...

And, it being Europe, good coffee...

Upon leaving Groningen, on our way back to Belgium, we stopped in Giethorn, known as the Venice of the Netherlands. The vast majority of the town is only accessible via canals.

We did spot some wildlife here. Both a stork and two adorable dogs were patiently sitting at the side of the canal, apparently waiting for something - lunch, maybe?

As in most Dutch towns and villages, the homes in Giethorn are very well cared for - manicured lawns and hedges, beds of spring flowers.

In all, my vacation in Belgium and the Netherlands was absolutely wonderful - chilly weather notwithstanding! Luckily, the adventure we had on the very last evening - almost getting locked out of the parking garage in 's-Hertogenbosch (yes, that's the actual name of the city where we'd stopped for a late dinner; it is typically referred to as Den Bosch) - ended the way it needed to, and the next day I was on my way back to the States. As always, I was so grateful for the kind hospitality of friends, the opportunity to see new places and meet new people.

Valoda

This post will be relevant only to Latvian speakers. :-)

Someone I follow on Twitter retweeted the graphic below. I found it quite interesting and informative, and thought maybe three of my five readers would, as well! The original source is here.

Latvian Connections and Digging up the Past, Part IIC

After several days of exploring Belgium, a trip to the Netherlands was in order. My friend's cousin lives in Groningen, and she was celebrating her 30th birthday, which required a trip north to help celebrate. Thanks to having lived close to the Dutch border while in 7th grade, and also to my sister having lived in the Netherlands for two years, I have seen a fair amount of the country. However, I'd never been as far north as the university city of Groningen.

View of Groningen

We arrived late, but were then up until 2am helping the birthday girl celebrate. The following day the locals had work to do, so we needed to make ourselves scare, which was not a problem - we had planned an outing to the Dutch countryside. The daughter of one of my co-worker's was spending the month working in a glass blowing studio in a small museum in Orvelte, not far from Groningen. This was a off-the-beaten track type of place probably never visited by American tourists (the museum's website is only in Dutch!), but we enjoyed our visit and particularly learning about the art of glass blowing.

Typical tidy Dutch home in Orvelte

Glass blowing studio in Orvelte, with artwork by resident master

Glass blowing master at work

Traditional building in Orvelte

We also decided to make a quick stop in a lovely town called Kampen. Unfortunately it was too late in the day, and most everything was closed, but I loved the many well-preserved historic buildings here.

One of many gorgeous old buildings in Kampen

Kampen street scene

A number of buildings in Kampen were in the Art Nouveau style

That night I had decided to book a hotel room for myself. My Brussels friend and her Groningen cousin needed time to catch up, and I needed time to sleep. If you are ever in need of a place to stay in the center of Groningen, I can highly recommend the Asgard Boutique Hotel. Although breakfast is not provided in the price of the room, the hotel is quite new, very clean and comfortable. The next morning I was grateful for my decision, as it turned out that the party had essentially continued - everyone in the cousin's apartment had been up until the wee hours of the morning, while I had peacefully slept in the quiet hotel room for a good nine hours. As I was checking out and signing the guest book at the front desk, I noticed that a couple who'd signed the book the previous day was from Latvia. Upon further inspection, it turned out I knew them! Yes, it is a VERY small world when one is Latvian!

Rīga - Capital of Culture 2014

This year is an important one for Latvia. The country joined the euro zone on January 1, meaning that Latvia is now one of eighteen European Union countries using the euro as their common currency. 2014 is also the year in which Latvia's capital and largest city, Rīga, is one of two European cities selected to be a Capital of Culture. The Wikipedia entry provides a nice history of the source of this idea, and a list of cities which have participated thus far. Interestingly, this is the last year in which cities will hold the title for an entire calendar year. Beginning in 2015, a city will be Capital of Culture only for three months. Liene at Femme au Foyer did an excellent job of describing one of the weekend's big events, the Chain of Booklovers, and I will not attempt to one-up her!

Other than the book chain, many other events took place over the weekend - from famous pianists performing on a grand piano in the city's bus station to one of the country's best choirs breaking out in song in the Central Market's Fish Pavilion, from the world fire sculpture championship to various exhibit openings, it seems there really was something for everyone on this cold winter weekend. The Riga 2014 website has a 6 minute video with an overview.

I was fortunate in that I managed to catch about ten or fifteen minutes of the online broadcast on Saturday; specifically I saw the fantastic fireworks show. Set on the river Daugava, with the new National Library building in the background, this carefully choreographed show was absolutely breathtaking.

If any city can pull off a fantastic series of cultural events, it is Rīga. The city has a long history of organizing and hosting large events such as the Song and Dance Festivals and Rīga's 800th anniversary celebration. Riga and Latvia are wonderful places to visit at any time, but it seems this year will be a particularly good choice. That's just one of the reasons I'm so excited to have purchased a flight to fly to Riga in May!

Latvian connections, and Digging up the Past, Part IIB

The following day was Sunday, and we did what most Europeans do on the weekends - we went to the market. How I love a European market! So many fresh delicacies to purchase, and so much people watching to do! I was particularly impressed by the enormous stand that sold nuts and dried fruit. I purchased a small bag of raw almonds; upon later tasting them I immediately realized I should have bought many more - they were by far the freshest and most delicious almonds ever eaten.

Our main goal for the day was to spend time with yet other Latvian friends, so we drove out to the suburbs, and enjoyed an afternoon cookout with them. In the evening, on the way back to the city center, we stopped at one of Brussels' most recognizable landmarks. The Atomium was constructed for the 1958 World's Fair. I had already seen it in the distance during daylights, but the scene is much more interesting and impressive at night! However, Mini Europe, which is right next to the Atomium, is sadly not open at night in the spring, so that is something I will need to see another time.

Atomium and the moon

The following day I got a kick out of Latvian signage at European Union headquarters. Although I did not make the time for a tour, there is a nice information center where one can pick up a plethora of brochures, pamphlets and maps about the EU in all of its languages.

I also visited the Musical Instrument Museum, which in and of itself is quite interesting. Additionally, it is located in a stunning old Art Nouveau building, which in a previous life had housed a department store.

 After learning about, looking at and listening to many different instruments, I made my way to the top floor cafe, from where one has a scenic hilltop view of Brussels. There I drank a leisurely cup of coffee, which led to my question of the day: why do Americans never serve coffee this elegantly?

My final stop for the day was back at Grand Place, where I toured the Museum of the City of Brussels, probably best known for its collection of outfits that have been sent for Mannequin Pis.

The Little Man himself - sans an outfit

The Latvian folk costume sent on the occasion of Riga's 800th anniversary