Segulda 

Latvia

August 26, 2014

Cool.  Rain.

“Latvia” is printed on a sign of deep blue with a circle of gold stars.  It is the only indication that I driven across the boundary of the sovereign nation of Estonia and into the sovereign nation of Latvia, both members of the European Union.  

Barriers?   Uniforms?  Questions?  Paperwork?  None of the above.

No anger.  No fear.  No fences between good neighbors. 

How civil.  How civilized. 

Unfortunately, unlike the “Union,” the weather is not cooperating.

For two days, I must forcibly eject myself from the comfort of the Villa Alberta to see the local castles.

Salaspils

Latvia

August 25, 2014

Dear Family and Friends

“Is it a mitzvah to recite the Kaddish?”

Here’s why I ask: 

Twenty kilometers southeast of Riga, off the main highway, at the end of a narrow road, I park my car in an empty lot.

A dense forest of tall silent trees lines both sides of a broad gravel walkway.  Except for an elderly couple off in the woods gathering mushrooms, I am alone as I make my way down the long path to the distant monument. 

An enormous recumbent slab of grey stone marks the dramatic entrance.  It appears to have fallen on its side to an angular position.  The black inscription reads, “AIZ SIEM VARTIEM VAID ZEME.”  I walk under the slab and enter the site.

Villa Leonardo

Ventspils

Latvia

August 29, 2014

Dear Friends,

Leonardo serves me a breakfast that could feed a small army.

A pitcher of both orange juice and tomato juice, eggs, chicken, smoked fish, assorted cheeses, salad, fresh fruit, bread, butter, jam, pastry and Bodum French Press coffee.

My “apartment” is twice the size and much more elegant than my flat in Bangkok.  The kitchen and bathroom have every gadget needed for a lengthy stay.

The grounds of the Villa are seductive.

Why leave?

Riga

Latvia

August 31, 2014

Dear Friends,

“What is your favorite city?” 

I am frequently asked this question and like other travelers, I am tempted to answer, “My favorite city is the city where I am now!”

Of course that is an unsatisfactory answer, even when it might be true.

At the moment I am in Riga, the capital of Latvia.  And if I were to give an honest answer, it would be: “If I make a list of my ten favorite cities, Riga would be on the list, perhaps even in the top five.”

             A Stroll Today?  Chess Anyone?

Riga

Republic of Latvia

Sunday

August 31, 2014

On this sunny weekend afternoon, family and friends and friends and neighbors get out of the house and promenade, play, perform and pose in the public park.  What could be more civilized? 

Not counting the pointillist masterpiece by the French painter Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884), I first encountered this civil and civilizing world-wide phenomenon in Greece fifteen years ago.   

Riga

Latvia

September 4, 2014

To buy or not to buy? 

As the American actress Mae West (1893-1980) once remarked, “I never let anything tempt me, unless I can’t resist it.”

On Alberta Street, I couldn’t resist the book Art Nouveau in Riga.*

Despite my protestations, my pleadings , my sob stories and my best negotiating and bargaining skills, the Latvian (or was she Russian?) saleslady did not budge from the asking price of ten Euros for the book.  Honestly?  It is worth every penny.