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Latvia is a country of rivers. Supposedly about 12,000 rivers are to be found here. Only 17 of them are longer than 100 km. Riga, the capitol, is a witness of the colorful history of the whole country. It became the first free Hanseatic city, then it became Polish, later Swedish and for 200 years it was under Russian influence; finally in 1918 it became the capitol of the Latvian Republic. Riga is a mirror of these different times displaying in its building styles and way of life of the people. For about 700 years the German-Baltic bourgeoisie formed the town.
Outside of Riga Latvia offers a lot of beautiful nature. There are for example fine sand beaches, steep dunes, picturesque fishing villages and the gigantic pine forests in Kurland.
A ride though the landscapes of hills and forests along the Abava Valley, the Kurländische Schweiz” is adventurous. The Kuldiga (Goldingen), a town founded by a German Middle Age order, is located in the center of the valley. The town is known to be one of the most beautiful towns in Latvia until today. In no other place one will find traditional wooden houses from the 18th and 19th century which are still in a good shape.
The land of the blue lakes stretches to the east. Between hills and forests one finds one lake next to the other. Equally fascinating is the rocky coast in the north of Latvia. The Ice Age has left a few reminders in form of a large quantity of rocks. Not too far away from the Baltic coast one finds charming small villages which invite to rest.
There one can stop to eat some typical Latvian dish, for example grey pies with bacon, Pirogi (yeast dough pockets filled with bacon and onions), sorrel soup (with cooked pork, onions, potatoes, grain, hard-boiled eggs and sour cream) and Akroshka (milk soup with onions, herbs, cucumbers and sour cream). To satisfy one’s thirst one should try Miestins (lemonade with honey) and birch juice.
Some geography:
Latvia stretches over an area of about 65,000 square kilometers and has 2.3 million inhabitants. About half of them are Latvians; 32 percent are Russians. Language of the country is Latvian; Russian is well known. The inhabitants belong to different religions: Evangelical-Lutheran, Roman-Catholic, Russian-Orthodox or Jewish.
Latvians celebrate their national holiday on November 18th. On this day in 1918 the Latvian Republic was proclaimed. |
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