Restaurants and Shopping

We haven't yet mentioned how bright it is outside at nighttime.  Because Latvia is so far north, the days are quite long in the summer and rather short in the winter.  As an example, here is a picture taken of the Latvian National Opera House last night (June 2, 2010) at 10:00 p.m.!

So this is the consumer-related portion of our blog.  Our Latvia residence is on Merkela iela, and there is a large mall close by called Origo.  The malls here have a variety of shops, including clothing, alterations, hair salon, grocery store, and restaurants.  Although we have done a great deal of our own cooking, a great way to experience a new culture is to actually get-out and grab a meal somewhere.  With this in mind, we offer some of our favorite restaurant chains for your enjoyment.

• Lido - Latvian traditional food restaurants that is cafeteria-style.  We are fond of kartupeli (potatoes), vistas (chicken) stroganoff, and pankukas ar sieru (crepe-like pancakes with cheese), in addition to other items.  The prices at Lido are quite reasonable.
• Cili Pica - This pizza joint has really good Italian-style thin-crust pizza.  We decided early-on to purchase a "friends" discount card for this place, and we're hoping to learn how to replicate the thin, yet soft, crust on the pizza when we set-up the pizzeria at home in Marvyille.  Card-holders can feed a family of 4 for quite cheap during the hours of 2-6 p.m.
• Gan bei - A Chinese restaurant that is excellent.  One is located in Origo.
• Double Coffee - There are 80-million DCs in Riga alone!  We like it because it is conveniently located close to our apartment and the JVLMA, and the kids enjoyed eating the crepes.

There are numerous cafes and mom-and-pop restaurants throughout Riga which are excellent as well.

Most eating establishments here have outdoor eating opportunities when the weather is nice.  There are a variety of really great pubs (especially the outdoor beer gardens in Old-Town as seen in the pictures below), but Bill's favorite is Alus Ordenis, located close to the Music Academy.  It's a basement establishment that serves Uzavas Tumsais, a really fantastic dark alus (beer).  BTW, Bill's list of tasty barley-pop continues to grow, but here's the top-3 thus far: Valmiermuzias, Uzavas Tumsais, and Bauskas Alus.

We have enjoyed meeting with Mike Johnson, owner of the Patricia Tourist Office (http://www.rigaguide.com/).  He is incredibly helpful with information, guidance, electrical equipment, linen items, and packing tape, among other things!  His office is located at Elizabetes iela 22.

Several of our friends at the Riga Reformed Church work in a small handmade art and clothing shop called Pumpa.  It's located at Brivibas iela 166 and a short description can be found here (Pumpa).  They are open weekdays from 11:00-7:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 11:00-4:00 p.m.  They have really interesting clothing, accessories, and hand-crafted items...Pumpa is highly recommended if you have a chance to visit Riga!

Riga's Central Market is basically a set of airplane-hangar buildings that is truly a one-of-a-kind experience.  Here's a picture taken from the top of St. Peter's Church.

The Richardson ladies are back in the United States and have recovered from jet-lag, which is a good thing.  Ciao for now!

Open-Air Ethnographic Museum and Good-Byes...

This just in...Niki, Sarah, and Leah made it back to Maryville, Missouri, EARLY this morning!  Things happen so quickly; it seems like yesterday that we arrived in freezing-cold Riga with no coats...

Happy Birthday to Ms. Sarah Richardson, who turned "devini-gadi" (9 years-old) today!

Last week we visited the Latvian Open-Air Ethnographic Museum with Becky and Carl Chaplin, American missionaries affiliated with the church we've been attending.  The outdoor exhibition showcased the four main geographic regions of the country (Vidzeme, Latgale, Kurzeme, and Zemgale).  It was really interesting to see the different buildings from each area, and everyone had fun wearing Bill's hat at some point in the day.

Here's a picture of the ladies in an historic chapel.

They REALLY know how to build a swing here!

Sunday, May 23, marked Niki, Sarah, and Leah's final service at the Riga Reformed Church, so the Sunday School threw them a party!  Many thanks to Anete and all the other Sunday School teachers who have been so wonderful (and bilingual!) over the past several months.  We have all enjoyed our time with this congregation!

Good friends!

Niki's cousin, Anna Nichols, joined us at the end of her Eastern-European vacation to help escort Niki and the girls home.  There's nothing like having a seasoned world-traveler (plus a second pair of hands) to ease any anxieties about travel "details;" plus, she brought presents for the little ladies!

Of course, we said good-bye to Dzemma, the daytime security guard at our apartment.  She (and the other guards) have been so helpful in so many ways.

We also traveled to the Music Academy for a last visit with Maija Sipola, Vice-Rector for International Relations.  In addition to helping Bill out with TONS of details regarding his teaching at the JVLMA, Maija was a wonderful resource for keeping us "in the know" about childrens' concerts in Riga.  With 4 ballets, 1 children's opera, and numerous other performances attended, we were most definitely not starved for artistic activity here!

Sarah's birthday actually occured today when she traveled back to Maryville, but we had to have a celebration with dad!

We also said good-bye to Liga, our favorite waitress at the Double Coffee next to the JVLMA.

Finally, here's a picture of Niki, Anna, Leah, and Sarah at the Riga airport.  More to come in the next few days.

Springtime in Latvia!

We have really enjoyed the warm, sunny weather here.  It was especially nice as the family Ričardsoni took the train to the seaside city of Jurmala!

Our stay in Latvia has included many "firsts" for the little ladies, including seeing the first beach and lots of first public transportation experiences (tram, train, trolley bus, taxi...you name it).  May 15 was the opening day of tourist season, complete with a parade and lots of activities at the beach.

We also took a fun trip to Bauska with the Retenais family (Iveta, Janis, and Krists) to see Bauska Castle and the automobile museum.

We also spent some time checking-out the Rundale Palace Garden, just a few kilometers away from Bauska.

For May, Bill's Fulbright-related activity included a trumpet/organ recital at the historic Lutheran Church in Jelgava with organist Kristine Adamaite, a repeat performance of Bob Chilcott's "Peace Mass" at a Baptist Church in Riga, a performance at the Anglican Church service, and brass-playing master classes (sponsored by the Latvian Ministry of Culture) in the towns of Cesis, Rezekne, Riga, and Ventspils.  Of course, this is in addition to teaching trumpet students at the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music and the Jazeps Medins Riga Music School.  Congratulations to JVLMA trumpet student Janis Ivuskans, who successfully completed his trumpet exam this week!

Here are some pictures:

Kristine Adamaite and Viljams Ričardsons in Jelgava

Sarah's first game of Solitaire...SHE WON!!!!

Riga's Saint Peter's Cathedral

Stylin' and Profilin'

Visiting the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum with Becky and Carl Chaplin

Vacation!

Because there were several Latvian holidays that conveniently lined-up at the end of April, the Richardsons decided to take a vacation to Austria!

We stayed with our "host family," longtime family friends Heidi and Wolfgang Roessler, in Vienna.  Here are some pictures of our first outdoor picnic at their home:

The Roesslers' two children, Bettina and Bernie, are both physicians in Vienna.  Bernie and his wife, Lucia, have a little boy named Moritz.  Bettina and her husband, Herbert, have three children: Josh, Jekab, and Emma.  They also have a trampoline!

Somehow we left Vienna without pictures of some Roessler extended family members, but here's Bettina hanging-out at her folks' house.

On Friday, April 30, we traveled downtown and, like tourists (it takes one to know one!) we took a horse-drawn carriage ride to check-out all the sights.  Heidi and Emma joined us, and Helmut was our driver.

Each of the ladies (those under the age of 9) got to ride "up-top" for a brief time!

Big fun...

Heidi and Emma left us to our own devices that afternoon, so we toured the Vienna Hofburg, residence of the Habsburg ruling family for over six centuries.  The location featured an extensive display of the Imperial Silver Collection, a museum exploring the life of Empress Elisabeth, and a tour of the 19 state and private rooms of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth.

The hand-held recordings were a big hit for the whole family, and we learned a LOT!  Of course, it helped to sit and take some time to digest the material...

The Richardsons tend to take a bit more time than the average museum-goer.  Afterward, we saw some street entertainers.

Next, we visited St. Stephan's Cathedral, including a nice elevator ride to the very top.  One of us was almost ill from vertigo, but we'll never reveal her identity!

Our next adventure was experiencing Vienna's public transportation system (subway, train, and bus) to get back to the Roessler's home.  With detailed written instructions from Heidi, we experienced no problems.

Saturday we traveled to Hallstatt, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the shadow of the Austrian Alps (http://www.hallstatt.net/).  With historical artifacts dating back to 12,000 BCE, this is home to the first known salt mines in the world.

With Heidi, Jekab, and Emma, we traveled up a very steep lift on rails and put on some very stylish protective clothing, followed by a tour inside one of the mines.  It was really interesting learning about the importance of salt from a historical perspective, and this was a very interactive way to do it!

On Sunday, we traveled to the the ice caves at Dachstein (http://www.dachsteinwelterbe.at).  After taking a long cable-car ride through the clouds towards the top of the mountain, we took a short hike to the entrance of the cave.

We learned how limestone is more easily influenced by water and ice than other types of rock, which is one of the main reasons these caves exist.  Spending time inside these natural structures certainly gives one a sense of something bigger than one's self!  Honestly, pictures don't do it justice, but here's one anyway.

We had a great weekend in the Alps!  On Monday, Leah joined Emma at her kindergarten class while Bill, Niki, and Sarah visited the "Haus der Musik" (http://www.hausdermusik.com).  Monday afternoon Leah joined us as we visited the summer home of the Habsburgs, Schoenbrunn Palace (http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/).  While the palace itself was amazing, this site has the most incredible exterior, complete with numerous gardens, mazes, and pathways.

Monday evening we attended a performance by the "Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra" performing music by Haydn, Mozart, and Strauss.  The concert was outstanding and we had a great time.

Tuesday we visited an apartment house designed by Austrian artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who had some very original ideas about bold colors, non-symmetrical forms, and environmentalism in his designs and artwork.

We then visited his museum (http://www.kunsthauswien.com) and were impressed with his original ideas and use of color.

On Wednesday, Sarah joined Jekab at his school for a few hours while Leah attended kindergarten with Emma.

Bill attended a master class by Norwegian trumpeter Odd Lund at the University of Vienna and was reminded that the brass-playing world is incredibly small...

We left Vienna on Thursday, May 6, and made it back to Riga.  Our vacation was fantastic and action-packed with lots of great company.  Many thanks to the Roesslers and their family for a great time!