Latvia

Latvia was a pagan country right into the 12th century. Traces of that paganism remain today as evidenced by the wide practice of herbal medicinal remedies, water divination, and summer solstice celebrations. Latvians have an attitude to nature that expresses a belief that there is life in all things that come from nature. For instance, a wooden whistle bears the spirit life of the tree. Latvian cemeteries are in forrests because the decaying body gives life to the tree and the tree gives life to the whistle, which embodies the life in the tree and the spirit of the body. There are many songs played on the whistle that tell of the death usually of a young girl, whose spirit comes to life in the song played by the whistle made from the tree from which it was formed. Rather nice, don't you think?

Latvia is a country that has been repeatedly occupied throughout the centuries first by the Germans, then the Poles, the Swedes, the Germans again, the Tzars of Russia. Finally Latvia declared itself to be an independent country which lasted only until the Bolsheviks took over after WWI. Then in WWII, first the Nazis arrived, staying for three years or so, setting up a labor camp that claimed thousancds of lives, not through extermination, but through hard labor and starvation. Then the Russians came in and "liberated" Latvia from the Nazis, deporting many thousands of intellectuals and dissidants to Siberia, where few survived the harsh conditions. Finally, on May 4, 1991, Latvia declared itself an independent state. The Germans were the first to recognize Latvia as an independent country, the Russians the second.

One day we went to the site of the Nazi labor camp outside of Riga. The camp was burned down as news came to the Nazis that the Russians would soon be there. In place of the former camp structures, there is a large field with massive concrete abstract sculptures depicting the agonies of the people in the concentration camp. In the photo above, the men in line are helping to support fellow prisoners. The man with the raised arm at last declares victory over inhumanity.

We enjoyed an excellent presentation by a professor of music at a university in Riga. He talked about what can be learned about a culture through music and song. He demonstrated various instruments typical to Latvian folk music: the whistle, the flute, the kokles (a stringed instrument resembling an autoharp) and the bagpipe. Bagpipes in Latvia??!! Yep! Some of the folk song lyrics are hysterically sexually explicit. It was a fascinating lecture as well as the lecture on Latvian history.

We toured Riga its markets and museums, attended an organ recital played on the largest pipe organ in the world, a musical program at a school for the arts, and a cello recital. I liked the physical layout of the town and would liked to have spent more time there. Oh...and I waded in the Baltic Sea!

Photos from left to right, top to bottom: By the Baltic Sea; sculpture at the Nazi labor camp; a view of Riga Old Town; the Hanseatic League building in Old Town Riga.

Lithuania

We visited the rare book room at Vilnius University established by the Jesuits in 1570. There was an amazing exhibit of rare important books: Vesalius' anatomy drawings from the 16th century, Copernicus' notes, illuminated Gregorian chant songbooks. Upstairs from the library in the observatory were globes from the 13th century depicting wolves and scorpions in the underworld.

Following this, we visited the Baroque Vilnius Cathedral and its chapel to St. Casimir, a revered Polish saint. During the Russian occupation following WWII, the plan was for the cathedral to be used as an automobile repair shop for German army vehicles. The mayor of Vilnius stalled long enough for that idea to be dropped. The cathedral was then converted into an art gallery. Many religious buildings were converted into storage facilities, granaries, art galleries, shops, and so on during that period. After Lithuania declared independence from Russia in 1990, the churches reverted into places of worship. Lithuanians are 84% Roman Catholic and about 10% Lutheran, the rest being Russian Orthodox Catholics and Jews.

Just when I was having negative thoughts over the downside of group travel, up comes a musical dance and instrument performance at a school for the arts in Vilnius. The students in this music program are selected and trained beginning in the 5th grade and participate until graduation at 18 or 19. They gave a very impressive performance of Lithuanian folk music. The best part was they invited us to dance! This is the kind of thing an independent traveler would never be able to experience and what a treat it was!

Before we departed Vilnius to bus it to Riga, Latvia, we spent an afternoon touring the castle at Trakai, a medieval structure on an island in a lake where kings would come to celebrate conquests over the Crusaders. Interesting that the Crusaders came to Lithuanian long after it was completely converted to Christianity. We think to plunder and pillage? Yes we do.

(Obviously I haven't figured out the picture position thing. Castle at Trakai top center, University reading room left, student musicians right.)

Errata: In a previous post Kronenborg castle should have been correctly named Kronborg Castle. Oops.

Vilnius, Lithuania

Arriving in Vilnius, we strolled down toward the activity in the main plaza and were delighted to discover that it was a Lithuanian cultural weekend. What a treat to see the native costumes and dancing and hear folk songs and instruments! We gawked until our jaws were sore, then returned to the hotel for the dreaded meet and greet introductions of our group members. More on group travel later.

The next morning we took a walking tour of the city and after lunch we went to a "wooden house" village where we learned about old Lithuanian customs and living. Our guide was a sweet woman who interjected Lithuanian folk songs into her delivery. Lovely!

Yesterday began with a lecture by an adviser to the Lithuanian President. (The current President is a single woman in her early 40s, the Minister of Defense is a woman, and there are many other women in high political posts.)

Some Lithuanian factoids: The notion of "Baltic States" is a current controversy, since the 3 nations--Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia--have different languages, different currencies, different prejudices. The population of Lithuania is dwindling due to emigration (few good jobs available here and low salaries), and low birth rate. During WWII and subsequent to it, many, many Lithuanians were either exterminated or deported to Siberia, over 100,000 in all. Many Lithuanian Mafia types have landed in Chicago, shaking down illegal Lithuanians for protection money to the extent that Chicago cops are learning to speak Lithuanian.

Jerry's 69th Birthday

On Jerry's 69th birthday we headed up to Malmo, Sweden. Malmo is a city of about 300,000 residents. Tens of thousands of them cross the bridge into Copenhagen daily for work. It has an industrial harbor, and quite a pleasant business/shopping district on large plazas wedged between two canals. Here's Jerry in front of a fountain in the plaza in front of Malmo's city hall. We took a canal boat tour, ate schnitzel at a wonderful outdoor restaurant and walked to the castle and through the beautiful gardens surrounding it.

Kronenborg Castle

On a sunny, rainy, blustery, hailing day, we took a trip up to Helsinger (Elsinore) to visit Kronenborg Castle, the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet. It stands just a few miles across the sea from Sweden, protected by ramparts rising from the earth, canons and double moats. Sitting on a promintory, the castle provided a great vantage point for spotting and combatting enemies from the sea. Like many castles from the 1200s, it was destroyed by fire, then wonderfully restored in the 1600s. It's been home to the earliest Danish kings. Like Hamlet's father, in the 13th century, King Eric VI was killed by his brother Abel, who lusted after the crown. There is no evidence that Shakespeare ever visited the castle at Helsinger. Rather it is thought he learned of the castle intrigues from sailors having brought news to England. It is believed that a play often called "The Original Hamlet" was written by Kyd and that Shakespeare retold the story more dramatically.

P.S.

Scrabble does indeed have the highest game rank, Anna. However...when I tried logging into our game, a message came up saying that Denmark was not an authorized country for Facebook Scrabble. Licensing issues?

Constant rain today, so instead of Tivoli gardens, we're off to explore the castle that was the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet.

From Joy to @#$!@#$^$#@

If anyone is reading this blog, let it be said that blogging is not without its frustrations. I think I should have picked another template and/or tried this out before I left home instead of learning on the fly. Maybe I'd have had better luck if I could have gotten my own computer to connect to this DSL line, but that's another boring story. So here I am unable to post photos for the moment, which was my intention.

We've been busy this past week doing the sights of Copenhagen: canal trip, neighborhood walks, museums, and palaces. The most interesting of the lot was the Museum of Danish Resistance in WWII. Denmark was occupied by the Germans and became the supply station for provisions to the Germans during the war, but there was a very active underground network against the Germans, and almost all the Jews were safely transported into Sweden.

Some observations: We are finding the Danes to be helpful and friendly when we need to find the right train or the place we're looking for, but otherwise fairly reserved. We're told that a Dane never does business at lunch and NEVER takes work home. At 5, the office closes and the Danes are with family. Copenhagen reminds me much of Amsterdam, a canal town, architecturally very similar, art museums nowhere near as interesting. No Vermeer here! Some Danish factoids: Tax on an automobile purchase is 180% of the purchase price. Yes! And when it's sold as used, the new buyer pays 180% of the used price. Driver's licenses cost $2000. As a result, 40% of Danes commute to work by bicycle, the goal being 50% by 2011. Around 10% commute by car, the rest by train. The trains run frequently and are generally crowded. It gets cold here in the winter, but seldom snows.

We went over the bridge by train into Malmo Sweden today. Malmo has an industrial shoreline that's being transformed into expensive waterfront housing like so many coastal areas throughout the world. The town between the canals though, is old and lovely, with large flowered, fountained plazas. There seems to be a big Italian influence in the food. I have to investigate that further. Has there been an Italian migration to Malmo???

Tomorrow it's back into Copenhagen to go to Tivoli Gardens with the children.

First Day Out in Copenhagen

Lara, Tony, Alanna and Rory joined us for our first day out in Copenhagen. First stop: ice cream across from City Hall and the main plaza, dessert before lunch. After lunch we got on the red bus taking the overview narrated tour of Copenhagen's central district.

We stopped at the impressive Rosenborg Castle where we walked the grounds and went down into the National Treasury to view the crown jewels. Copenhagen has a much-loved titular monarchy, one of the oldest in Europe.

From Jetlag to Joy

Two flights later into another day, a 5 hour layover at Heathrow, struggling to stay awake long enough not to miss our final leg to Copenhagen, we sat in the lounge rehydrating and playing cards. Cribbage. I won't divulge how badly I lost. When greeted by the joyful faces at the airport in Denmark, we know immediately why we choose to so abuse our biorhythms. A warm Kohut welcome, dinner, stories and bedtime for the children, then for the grownups, and we are ready for the next adventure.

All Packed

Suitcases packed, open on the floor, still thinking about the contents, adding and subtracting. On Friday, May 21, we leave for Denmark: San Francisco - Chicago, Chicago - London, London - Copenhagen. Already three changes to the itinerary, mostly flight times, one flight change because of strike activity by British Airways. If the winds blow in the right direction putting volcanic ash from Iceland out of our airspace, we'll arrive in Copenhagen around 7 PM on Saturday. We spend a week in Copenhagen with the Kohuts, then fly into Vilnius, Lithuania, where we join an Exploritas tour (formerly Elderhostel) taking us through the Baltics and then St. Petersburg and Moscow by bus and train. From Moscow we fly back to Copenhagen for a couple days, then home on June 16. Extended forecast looks like we're in for lots of rain and we are prepared for everything weather-wise, barring sub-zero temperatures. We're excited about the visit with our nephew's family in Copenhagen, curious about the Baltic States, and wondering what we'll find in Russia!