Hobble on the Cobble

Today, June 12th, marks our 1 month anniversary of being on our "real life sabbatical" (actually Jekabs is having many productive days of working on his dissertation....so that is going very well) and we are still going strong. Everyone is still healthy and happy.

Jekabs and I went on an evening "Hobble on the Cobble" the other night. We strolled thru Old Riga. Want to know the reason we now call it a "Hobble on the Cobble"? Well, we had been to the market early in the day and I found a pair of 1.5 inch heels I liked, so I bought them. I thought, "If all these women can walk so smoothly on these cobblestone streets with 4 and 5 inch skinny heels, surely I can handle a pair of 1.5" inch heeled sandals." Hehehehehe......HARDLY! I have had shin splints for the past 2 days over 1 afternoon of "hobbling on the cobble in my wacky heels." Those will be special occasion shoes and I will resume wearing my flip flops for the majority of time!

Largest market in the Baltic region

Market

Flashing my money before buying my heels at the market! Some might call me foolish, but I could only get away with this because I have a Super Hero Husband who can be both American tourist AND Latvian local at the same time!

He gets surprised looks all the time now because he chats away with me in English (He's an American tourist!) and then abruptly switches to Latvian (whoa.....he's a local!)....keeping the unsuspecting shopkeeper or waitress on their toes! 

More from our "Hobble on the Cobble"........

Outside of a knit shop.....do you see the knitted pipe cover? 

This series of buildings is affectionately known as "The Three Brothers"

Awwwwwwwwwwww

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 On top of Hotel Latvia with a great view below

This is what we ordered to have the privilege of being there

I REALLY don't like trying new foods, so this was actually not something I was looking forward to putting in my mouth.  But, it tasted really good! 

View from the window

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On to visit Omama and Opops

This is how we visit Jekabs' parents. We board this train, sit back and enjoy the ride. 

Jekabs had a flash back memory of selling newspapers on the train, long ago, after a lady passed thru selling ice cream. This hot and toasty train ride just got a little better with cold, soothing ice cream. 

We had gone, that afternoon on the train, to Salaspils to join Jekabs' parents on the beach of the Daugava River for a swim. While there, I collected river rocks! I love these rocks! I am completely infatuated with them (doesn't take much to impress me!). I originally had coasters in mind for the large flat rocks (which still may work out if I smooth them out a bit more), but then I created this lovely cross out of  my collection and plan on devising a (probably somewhat sloppy) scheme to get them permanently glued together so I can hang it on my wall at home for a memorable souvenir. If I had hundreds of dollars to spare I would ship home boxes of these rocks. Please, let me know if YOU have the spare money to sponsor this for me.......hehehehehe! LOL! 

 

We have a little indoor garden of plants from Jekabs' Aunt Kristine's garden.

Our cute little strawberry patch!

Isaac had a sad little accident with a bike this week. A lot of bikes travel so fast thru the parks. He had a brief moment where he wouldn't listen to Jekabs' command to STOP (because he saw the bike heading straight for Isaac) and our little dude crashed into the bike. Fortunately, the biker had seen Isaac and slowed down (in anticipation of running into him). It could have been a lot worse than just a scraped up knee.

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Hanging out with Jekabs' cousin, Ieva, last night at the Flying Frog cafe! Fun time, good conversation (late night for her!!!!) It had been 6 years since the last time we saw her.

 She lives in Athens, Greece (8 years+) and became fluent in Greek during her University studies there. These European folks sure are impressive with their language skills. 

Random fisherman mug Jekabs picked up with someone special in mind. Hmmmmm.....who could that be? 

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I am ending this post with something fun! A little contest!!! I have 2 items that I purchased from my very favorite local store, Medus Istaba.....Honey Room. To win one of the two souvenirs, just answer the questions below by posting your answer in the comment section. After 3 days I will put all the names of participants in a hat and draw out the winners! Contrary to the name of the store being "Honey Room", the prizes are NOT honey! After the contest is over I will post pictures of the prizes so you can all see (and if anyone wants to place an order for me to bring home for you, I can do that, too). 

Prizes hidden in a baggie! Will be revealed soon!

Brown bag mystery

Ok......So HERE IS HOW YOU ENTER TO WIN!!!!!

If you want your name to be entered TWICE, answer BOTH questions. If you are satisfied with your name being in the hat just ONCE, just answer ONE question!

Have Fun!!!!! I look forward to your comments and answers!

Question 1: What type of stone are my earrings made of?

Hint: This natural stone is found in abundance along the Baltic shore and is very popular among Latvian tourists. It is fossilized tree resin. (Jekabs bought these for me on our 1st trip together to Latvia 8 years ago.)

Question 2: What local attraction would YOU visit if you were in Latvia?

Advice: Browse the internet for a minute or two to see the many wonderful sites in Latvia...and choose one that catches your eye! 

Loving Living in Latvia,

April

Apartment in Riga

We are very excited to introduce the newest member of our Extended Stay Residences...

Master Bedroom

Really nice, spacious kitchen. Although, VERY few furnishings for cooking. 

Hallway from the front door....kitchen on left, bedroom on right, funny Christian front and center.

Living Room.....also very spacious. 

Boy's Room

Bathroom

View from Living Room window

We think we did fairly decent with this apartment.....Ok, we think we did GREAT! We are very grateful for this apartment, Praise God! Sorry some of the pics were on the dark side. 

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I shopped at this once a year outdoor market in Riga today. I could have stayed for hours! Their were potters, jewelry artists, knitters, bow makers, woodcrafters, and many others. Latvia has a large range of crafting artists. The emphasis of this market is that the product comes straight from the maker. 

I started making hair bows and accessory flower pins before we came to Latvia. It is so funny because I SEE THEM EVERYWHERE HERE! Everyone is making them and selling them. I must say, they are much more exotic then the ones I was crafting! I shall bring home new ideas! 

Loads of shoppers....and endless trails of booths, winding in so many different directions. We went early so we could leave by the time the large crowds gathered. 

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Night out at the Latvian National Opera

Getting fancy in a....a....WHAT....A DRESS? I don't wear them often. But, when in Rome.........(and when it's necessary to wear something other than leggings and blue jeans...)

Pretty Opera. Much smaller than I expected, but very beautiful and royal in light blue and gold trimmings. 

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We took a fun little Row Boat ride yesterday with the boys. 

Russian Orthodox Cathedral

The Opera (again)

Strolling thru the park. We live within 5 minutes of 4 large parks. It's wonderful! Today when we walked to one there was an event of Russian performances. 

Crish cruising around Old Riga

Locks of Love. Jekabs' aunt told me this is more of a Russian thing. When 2 people get married they come and put a lock on the bridge for everlasting love. Interesting to walk by and see. There are several bridges that have them, but none as much as this series. 

Pretty building across the street from our apartment.

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We are looking forward to seeing familiar faces throughout this month. Several people we know in Dallas are visiting Latvia on mission trips. There are many Latvian Baptist Churches that are well connected in the DFW area (afterall, that is how Jekabs made it to the U.S. some 15 years ago!) We are even possibly going to host one good friend, Dr. Dale Sims, who works with Jekabs at DBU. Dr. Sims was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship 5 years ago to teach in a Latvian University for 6 months. We happened to be here on one of our past trips during that time and had the opportunity to see him, so it will be wonderful to get that opportunity to be here while he visits. Dr. Sims has a great passion for Latvia! 

It feels so long ago that we drove off and left home for the airport (3 weeks ago). We continue to feel incredibly blessed by our ability to be here this summer. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers towards us. 

Love,

April, Jekabs, Isaac and Christian

News over Coffee

Bag O'Milk

Milk came in bag. Had to cut hole in Bag O'Milk so we can drink of it's goodness.

Putting Bag O'Milk in box so Bag O'Milk can stand on it's own and not spill

Pouring Bag O'Milk in cup from a box :)

End of the "Bag O'Milk" short story

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That's funny isn't it? It gets better though! We are now getting our milk by taking old water bottles into the milk store and having them fill it up! It is much cheaper this way. To buy a liter of milk in a carton at the store costs us about $2. The prices are so deceiving to me! I think I am buy something for a decent price and them BAM.....I forget that I have to double it to realize our actual cost. 1 Lat = $2  Not very friendly on our pocketbook. 

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Janis' Portion of the Wild Woods

Janis is Jekabs' cousin. Actually, their fathers are twins! The boys grew up roaming around together in their youthful days and we always enjoy visiting with him when we are in town. A couple of years ago Janis purchased a place in the woods and traded life in the big city (Riga) for the quiet and peace of the country. He and his wife, Zane, love it! They are renovating a house on the property. Even the mile long drive from the main road to the house is enchanting! When you drive on the small dirt road with towering pine trees on both sides, you are entering a new world of quiet and stillness. As a former-country girl, I know this experience (minus the trees!). It's not a foreign concept to me, but still intriguing that they (Janis and Zane) made such a drastic life change by moving to the country.

Here are some pictures showing Janis and Zane's part of the woods.

Ahhhhhhhh

Janis and Zane's personal forest

BBQing

I LOVE the mossy floor of this forest ground.

Magnificent Meal! Isn't Zane a Beauty! They are expecting their 1st baby in 4.5 months. 

Cousin Janis found the boys something fun and interesting to do. Saw and Hammer!

Oh, and just in case you think this is all they've got......there is also a river but I didn't get a picture of that. It's a pretty cool place that will be even better after they finish their renovations (he is an architect). 

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Here are a few photos we snapped a couple of days ago in the field. Aren't they breathtaking (the fields, not the people...hehehehe! ) The scent of these little flowers is wonderful (well, it's actually a crop that is harvested for it's plant oil and .....ummmm....I think something for biofuel oil??????? Don't remember....I'm only interested in the how pretty they are and how good they smell!

Mommy and Daddy rekindling :)

Picture with Jekabs' mom....aka "Omamma"

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Jekabs and I cooking in the kitchen

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Other Info:

I recently said in a comment reply that the water in the Baltic Sea was chilly but not terribly cold.......WRONG.....it's FREEZING!  I know this because I actually tried it yesterday (well....my toes did). FREEZING.  Must make a note that Jekabs DID fully submerge into the water! What a brave man, full of life and energy!

We spent the day at the beach yesterday. It was terribly hot. Uncommon for Latvia. What....it was like 86 degrees. Dreadful. I hated it. Sorry people in Texas. You are suffering so much. But that was just the heat. The actual beach was very fun, full of people and activity and the boys had a blast! 

We did play beach volleyball. Lost all 3 games, but did pretty decent for not playing for 3 years. 

Heading to the Latvian National Opera tonight on some free tickets. Thank you, Uncle Peteris!

See it here: Latvian National Opera

We move into our new apartment tomorrow! Will be documenting our new adventure of living in the Center of Riga! 

Hope to hear from you sometime!

Love,

April