Kakava (Pronounced Checkeva) Just outside of Riga, Ansis and Monta found an old property with a farmhouse on it. Their dream was to take the old house, fix it up, and create a place for their family of five to live and thrive. They were very successful in their endeavor. Ansis drove us out of …
Abragciems Abragciems is a tiny Latvian village on the coast of the Gulf of Riga which is part of the Baltic Sea. Many Latvians have summer homes across the coast. They finish work for the week, and then drive to their cottage on the seaside. Bruno and Maruta have just such a cottage, but it is …
Talsi and Arnolds Grinbergs After Kuldiga, we drove to Talsi to spend the night. We found out that Ansis wanted us to visit Talsi because that is where our Uncle Arnolds lived after World War II. He was a soldier in the Latvian Army fighting for the German side when the Russians began to move in. …
July 9, 2016 Continued… The Bruno Breakfast of Champions Bruno’s arrival at 8 a.m. was a bit of a surprise. He owns the flat we are staying in as well as his own adjacent apartment. He can freely walk from room to room as they are connected by a shared storage space. He reminds me …
July 9, 2016 The Coffee Shop Spoiler: There is no coffee shop at the end of this story. And I apologize for not using Latvian diacritics for the Latvian names. Forgive me. As Susan, Glen and I were walking back to the flat on Friday night, we saw a coffee shop that was only a …