The Orthodox Church of Kuldiga

7 May, 2015 | Churches and Monasteries | 21 seen

I have been lately a lot in church photography. Perhaps Georgia as an Orthodox country has learned me this lesson. Churches are interesting for photography, I believe it's pretty hard to take a decent image of a church by not using some good lenses and a tripod. Churches looks great from a distance, they are majestic and impressive. 

Kuldiga Orthodox Church

As I have been taught and have find many times - a tripod is a must have for the landscape photography, unfortunately I haven't yet get a decent one, so this is a shot I made by hand. Actually I made some 20 other,but just this picture survived till the end.

Kuldiga Orthodox Church Tower

Some nice perspective. Those crosses on brick wall looks amazing, right?

Servings at Kuldiga Orthodox Church

Yellow church cupola 

Ahh, just another attempt of creating art

Kuldīga Orthodox Church and park

Doesn't it looks like a mini Kremlin for you? I believe in wintertime around Christmas this park around orthodox church is decorated and a real Christmas atmosphere is created here. Maybe I'm wrong - but looking from this perspective it looks like an amazing place.

Unfortunately this church were closed, what I found a bit strange - as I have always thought - there should always been open door to worship our Good. I was not able to get into, so I cannot show you as I believe fantastic icons they have inside. Maybe that's for good - I should get that tripod next time.

About Kuldīga Orthodox Church

The Church of the Holy Virgin Sanctuary was built in year 1871 and it is the smallest parish in the city. The dome frescoes, as well as the gates forged by Tsar depicting the Holy Mary, the Archangel Gabriel and evangelists are worth seeing.

Daigas Bakery In Kuldiga

6 May, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 52 seen

Daigas Bakery (Daigas beķereja) is one of my favourite bakery places in Kuldiga. The reason is plain simple - the pastries Daiga and her team is baking here are one of the best in the whole region and I'm not afraid to say - they are among the best in Latvia.

Discovered by accident in the summer of 2014, Daigas Bakery has found its way to my heart instantly. When I'm visiting the town of Kuldīga - Daigas bakery is a must-have. And I mean it!

The bakery is located on Liepājas street 26 in a small courtyard

Inside bakery it's a really tiny though cosy place. There are 2 tables and maximum 8 people can sit around them

Although a sklandrausis is a part of traditional Latvian cuisine I first tried it just a year ago, and indeed it happened at Daigas bakery. It's filling is made from grated carrots. Here is a bit better explanation of what Sklandrausis actually is:

Sklandrausis is a traditional dish in Latvian cuisine which has a Livonian origin, but it is known by Latvians for many years. It is a sweet pie, made of rye dough and filled with potato and carrot paste and seasoned with a caraway. Read: Sklandrausis

I'm not a huge fan of them. But if you are up for trying something authentic try a sklandrausis.

Daigas Bakery indeed is one of my favourite places in Kuldīga, it's budget-friendly, and prices here are really democratic. Best of all - there is a great chance that you will be served by the baker Daiga herself. Enjoy!

Confectionery 'Kukulītis' in Kuldīga

5 May, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 24 seen

One thing I really enjoy at small Latvian towns - they offer a charm and a personal touch. And you will find a lot of from both in the town of Kuldīga located in Western Latvia.

On a lovely Wednesday morning I was doing some random photography around Kuldīga Old Town when I noticed this lovely confectionery shop 'Kukulītis' - literally meaning "a loaf" located on Liepajas street 35.

I was so impressed of it, that I went straight in, asked for permission to do a few shots, so I can share this lovely place to you:

Building in which "Kukulītis" is located in

Lovely right?

Buns and pastry at Kukulītis store

Ahh, those are pretty typical Latvian buns and pastries. I find them a bit unhealthy, but hell they are tasting also.

Latvian bread for sale at "Kukulītis" store

Simple yet effective corner to enjoy a bun and cup of coffee

Soda and water for sale at Kukulitis store

I didn't try anything here, so I cannot tell did I enjoyed or not. But I'm sure everything here is tasty, the prices seems reasonable. If you are walking around Kuldīga Old Town and are thirsty for a can of Coke - Kukulītis might be your choice. Enjoy!

Blog Monthly Online Income Report - April 2015 - $362.53

3 May, 2015 | Blogging | 34 seen

Welcome to my monthly blog income report. This is the 16th report so far.

I'm doing those report since start of 2014 and they (reports) help me track my online success or failures. I hope they can inspire you as well. Now, if you are a person reading just titles then I must steal another second or minute of your precious time. The thing is - I made a bit more than just $362.53 but to learn more about that you should continue reading.

About Online income in month of April 2015

In total I earned $733.53 what is a increase of  18.47% if compared to previous month

$733.53 in a month equals to $26.54 per day

So far so good, right?

Although blogging is not my full time profession (Drupal Development is) it makes a pretty decent money for me, so I decided to compare how would my earnings would stand against minimum and average salaries in European Union.

It turns out in April I earned about a minimum wage in Portugal and a bit more than average salary in Latvia

About blog traffic in April 2015

Blog traffic report April 2015 (Data source: Google Analytics)

April was a little bit slower month than March and in total generated 17,865 unique users. I'm pretty satisfied with these numbers so far. In fact I didn't use any promotion last month at all.

About income streams

There were 3 streams which generated some money last month - I prefer to divide them into two subgroups - Affiliate marketing and Display Ads:

Affiliate marketing

Amazon Associates -  $716.08

Display ADs

Amazon CPM - $4.52

Google Adsense - $12.93

About expenses in April

Linode VPS: $60.00

Canon 1200D camera: $311.00

Total: $371.00

I bought a backup service plan for my existing Linode VPS and deployed another test VPS.

I made another investment for my blog by buying my first DSLR camera, you can see first results in Photos section. Actually pretty much of the content I produced last month were photo stories made with that camera. A really good investment. You can read my first impressions of this camera here: First Impressions Of Canon EOS 1200D Camera With 18-55mm Lens. I believe in coming months I will spend some extra on tripods, glasses (lens) and similar things. 

April 2015 VS April 2014

A year ago my blog was just seven months old, back then in April I created my fourth online income report and earned very modest $7.86 (actually I was loosing some $30.00 per month back then, because  I didn't counted expenses in.)

So what has changed a year latter?

My traffic is up from 941 to 17,865 and affiliate marketing is my top earning channel, simple.

Goals/Forecasts for May

I still have this feeling that this spring/summer season I won't crack $1,000 per month milestone. It's hard to tell. I would be happy with anything above $500 next month. But in reality I fear that it could drop somewhere between $250-$400.  I have no plans of  promoting my blog posts this month.

Blog Traffic Report - April 2015 - 17,865 Users

2 May, 2015 | Blogging | 14 seen

Welcome to the already 19th my blog's traffic report. I'm doing both traffic and online income report at the start of each month, to learn, discover and compare how did it go for the last month.

Those reports keep me track my progress (or bounces) and hopefully can give a lesson to you as well.

What Have I done in the month of April

In short - nothing. After a negative experience last month (see my report about March) I decided not to use any promotion for my blog and indeed I didn't.

Well, that doesn't mean I didn't produce any article. In fact, I did 31 articles last month. You might find it's much and I can only agree on that. But hey it's already the 19 months in a row I'm not missing a single day of blogging.

Again, in April I decided to slow down a bit - prior to this April I produced even 2 and 3 articles per day, but then I found the quality of those articles just sucks. So I decided to slow down this month. 

Visitors

This April comes with a -12.85% traffic dip if compared to the previous month (March) and totaled in 17,865 unique visitors. Although there is a dip, I'm not sad about that, because for the last month I used Facebook ads to drive traffic and this month didn't. In fact, I tested how my blog runs on a free run and I'm pretty satisfied with results.

Blog traffic report April 2015 (Data source: Google Analytics)

Where I was a year ago

This is another interesting trend I like to measure. My blog now is 19 months old and since I have been doing monthly traffic reports from the first blogging month, it's easy to compare where I was a year ago.

Blog Traffic Report: April 2015 vs April 2014 (Data source: Google Analytics)

A year ago my blog was already 7 months old, back then I managed to attract modest 941 users, which back then seemed almost a decent traffic (I was looking for 1,000 back then),  now a year after, I have attracted 17,865 users what is almost 17 times more than year ago - pretty impressive growth, right!? 

ROAD TO 100K USERS IN A MONTH

Starting last summer, I have been measuring my success (or failures) to reach 100,000 unique visitors in a month.

Since there is nothing much I can analyze (just actual traffic results) - at end of the April 2015 - I stand at 17,86% level of eventual 100,000 unique visitors. I doubt I will reach 100 K any time soon, but I believe it might happen in next 2 or 3 years (Last summer I was concerned that it should take at least 5 years)

IN CONCLUSION: FORECAST FOR May

I have pretty good feelings regarding this May, Google has updated its algorithm giving a significant boost for mobile-ready websites, since my blog qualifies as mobile-ready I'm expecting some boost next month. Read: How Google 'Mobile-Friendly' Ranking Factor Will Affect SEO

It would be awesome to crack 20,000 user milestone this month, but as usual, I will stick with the more humble forecast saying 18, 000 users for May and I will be happy.

Skrunda-1 Abandoned Soviet Military Ghost Town In Latvia

30 April, 2015 | Military Heritage | 290 seen

Update: Originally I visited Skrunda - 1 in Summer 2015, Skrunda -1 is closed for public visitors in 2022

Skrunda-1, also known as Skrunda-2, is a ghost town and former Soviet and later Russian radar station located 5 km (3 mi) to the north of Skrunda, in Raņķi Parish, Kuldīga Municipality in Courland region of Latvia. It was the site of two Dnepr radar (NATO designation "Hen House") installations constructed in the 1960s. A Daryal radar was being built there before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Skrunda was strategically important to the Soviet Union as its radars covered Western Europe. The two barn-like radars were one of the most important Soviet early warning radar stations for listening to objects in space and for tracking possible incoming ICBMs.

I have always been interested in a digger's stuff. Latvia is an amazing country for diggers. Speaking of this object - Skrunda-1 ghost town, in fact, I was just eager to find a place where more than 20 years ago Latvian Government blasted a mighty Soviet Military radar system, I didn't find that place,  but instead, I found an abandoned ghost town - Skrunda-1. 

Concrete slab road heading to Skrunda - 1

Look at the quality of that road even after 25 years since collapse of Soviet Union. It's in a pretty good shape. 

On 4 May 1995 US demolition experts blew up a 19-story tower in Skrunda-1. It housed a former Soviet Daryal radar system, one of the most advanced bistatic early-warning radars in the world. It served as one of the USSR's most important radar stations as it was responsible for scanning skies to the west for incoming bombers or nuclear missiles before the USSR disintegrated. The event spilled tens of thousands of Latvian people onto country roads and fields to watch the early morning spectacle, which was also televised nationwide. Latvian leaders, diplomats and other officials toasted the blast with champagne. The demolition was sponsored by the US, the Soviet Union's main nuclear rival, as they paid 7 million US dollars for the destruction, while the US-based firm Controlled Demolition, Inc. was hired for the destruction job.

Bogged vicinity

How less time is needed so Mother Nature can beat a human?

Road to Skrunda -1 Ghost town

We parked our car here and continued by foot

Ruined boiler house

The only reason I could find why some should ruin a boiler house is simple - it's all because of metal. 

All materials of value were removed from the site and carried back to Russia when the last Russian troops left in 1998; the 60 buildings that comprised the former complex and town, including apartment blocks, a school, barracks and an officers club, remained

Warning in Russian

A chair and abandoned block house at Skrunda Ghost Town

Again just tried to add some drama to this story.

Abandoned block houses

Nobody has lived here since last troops of Russian army left this site on 1999

Demolished sink at Skrunda 1 Ghost town

Either vandals and thieves cannot get any decent money for them, either it's just some lame act of vandalism

Abandoned block house

A book about USA 1992 Edition

Now this is a book I found most fascinating at this place - a guide book on US, it's about a New World Order, Middle East and US-Russia relationships, Great Designer of America, Military doctrines of US and Russia and other interesting topics. A wise man have lived in this remote and now God forgotten place, right?

Call for Voters (1984)

Abandoned and demolished flat at Skrunda Ghost Town

Vandals and thieves have stolen almost everything from here

A bottle of aiva juice

Written both in Russian and German, so probably produced in Democratic Republic of Germany?

A former post office at Skrunda

One could send a telegram from this booth

A doll head

Oh, I wanted to be just like those pro photographers, once I found a doll head I did my best to add a drama to this story. Doll heads are always a bit scary, right?

A beaver gnawing

The only inhabitants at this place, what once was a mighty Soviet military personnel base, seems are just beavers. Mother Nature doesn't loves emptiness. 

Pursuant to an agreement On the Legal Status of the Skrunda Radar Station During its temporary Operation and Dismantling, signed by Latvia and the Russian Federation on 30 April 1994, the Russian Federation had been allowed to run the radar station for four years, after which it was obliged to dismantle the station within eighteen months. The deadline for dismantling was 29 February 2000. Russia asked Latvia to extend the lease on the Dnepr station at Skrunda for at least two years, until the new Volga station under construction near Baranovichy in Belarus became operational. Riga rejected these requests, and the radar was verified closed on 4 September 1998 by an inspection team from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

In a joint New Year 1998 statement, the presidents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania urged Russian President Boris Yeltsin to complete the pullout of all Russian troops from the region, as Russia had promised four years prior in 1994.

Snēpele Manor

29 April, 2015 | Tourism objects | 19 seen

Latvia is a land of old manor houses and palaces, they dates back from the times when German nobles ruled this territory. A lot of manors one (perhaps you) can find in a historical region of Courland. I found this interesting Snēpele manor during a trip back from Kuldīga town. Since I'm eager to improve my photography skills, I did find just another reason to add a new post on my blog. 

Snepele manor 

I made a lot of shots of this manor by hand (not using a tripod) and just this one made it to you. 

The outhouse near Snepele manor

Road Sign to Snepele Manor

As well a bus stop  - probably you can take a bus from Kuldīga here

View to the Snepele village

That tall building on the left is a water tower not some old Soviet monument.

About Snēpele manor

Snēpele Palace (Latvian: Snēpeles muižas pils) is a palace in the historical region of Courland, in western Latvia. It was originally built at the beginning of the 19th century as a baronial hunting lodge with two room apartments for guests on the second floor. The building has housed the Snēpele primary school since 1924.

The building has decorated columns on both sides of the portico, and the wrought iron railing dates from the first half of the 19th century. The exterior doors are from the second half of the 19th century. The first floor has a hall with a beautiful painting on the ceiling. The second floor has a guest lounge with large rooms.

Preserved in the palace are three fireplaces, four columns and four furnaces. The corridors on both ends of the second floor remain with large semi-circular windows decorated with impressive ornaments. In the basement is the kitchen with auxiliary rooms where the school cafeteria is now located. Meals are taken to the dining room floor through an elevator.

Bangert's Restaurant Review in Kuldiga

28 April, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 33 seen

Bangert's restaurant is kinda a new restaurant located on the banks of river Venta between Old Brick Bridge and the Venta Waterfall on Pils street 1 in Kuldīga.

I first visited this restaurant last summer and found it a really great. So on the lovely Springs Sunday when I was doing some photo-shooting near Venta river banks I insisted we should visit this restaurant again so just I can add it to my blog and show it for you.

Restaurant Bangert's in Kuldīga

Wood carved naked lady at Bangert's restaurant

Interior at Bangert's Restaurant

Working hours for Bangert's Restaurant

Interior at Bangert's Restaurant

Bar counter at Bangert's restaurant

Menu at Restaurant Bangert's

Bar counter at Bangert's restaurant

Restaurant is located in two floors, I was egaer to make as much photos as possible so I went upstairs

Interior at Restaurant Bangert's second floor

Coffee latte at Bangert's Restaurant

While I was exploring all premises of this lovely restaurant our coffee were served. A really good one.

Crème Brulee served with berries 

Chocolate fondant with ice cream

Restrooms at Restaurant Bangert's

I was so impressed of those wood artefacts, that I went to the restrooms three times

Interior at Restaurant Bangert's in Kuldīga

Well, I played a bit with my Canon camera here

Coffee machine at Bangert's

Bangert's Restaurant club

The bottom line

Restaurant Bangert's is a lovely place located very close to Venta waterfall and that lovely Old Brick Bridge. It's pretty European, the interior is nice, stuff speaks English (and probably even German). For two coffee latte's and two deserts we paid EUR 13.00. Definitely a must have place once in Kuldīga.

About Bangert's restaurant

Restaurant BANGERT'S – joy for the eyes, tastebuds and soul.

The Restaurant is located in the picturesque Kuldīga. The location is particularly romantic – on the bank of the River Venta, amid the Kuldīga Regional Museum and the newly renovated City Garden. The Restaurant has been named after Captain Bangerts. According to local legend, Captain Bangert brought a house from Paris to this spot in Kuldīga, as a wedding present for his fiancée. The Restaurant you see today is a replica of Mr. Bangerts’ former residency – a cosy place suited for relaxation in the Latvian countryside. 

BANGERT'S interior is designed to produce that intimate feeling of home –highlighted by antique furniture, cosy sofas, tapestries, calm colouring of the walls and lampshades that create soft lighting and warmth on both storeys. The Restaurant has two terraces and a balcony that features a breathtaking view of the Venta Rapids and Kuldīga’s historic Brick Bridge. Both the bridge and the waterfall are widely known venues that attract a significant amount of tourists to the city. On the weekends the open-air “Goldingen Knight Cinema” takes place on the terraces of the restaurant. 

The Restaurant BANGERT'S offers the ideal venue for banquets, off-site seminars, corporate events, weddings etc. During the winter, musical events, gourmands’, sommeliers’ and other interest group gatherings will take place. Premises are suitable for up to 100 guests and are equipped with a proper sound system. 

Everyone is warmly welcomed to BANGERT'S to make their wishes come true.
P.S. It is forbidden to smoke in the restaurant and on the terraces.

Visit official website: www.bangerts.lv

The Venta Waterfall (Rapid) - Widest In Europe

27 April, 2015 | Tourism objects | 82 seen

The Venta rapid forms a widest waterfall in Europe. It's located very close to Kuldīga town centre in Latvia.

See: Flying Fish over Venta Rapid in Kuldīga

I took my DSLR camera and decided to master my photography skills, couldn't say it improved drastic, but here is the thing I was told by a good friend a professional photographer: 

If I may say try and get lower angles on the waterfall. Popular idea is to stand in the water if its shallow and not too cold. And if you don't mind to get wet

I didn't listened this time to this advice 

View to the Venta Waterfall through the Brick Bridge

Kuldīga is a very interesting town from tourism point of view - you have a great access both to the widest waterfall in Europe and to the kind of (!sic) longest bridge in Europe. The Old Brick bridge across the Venta river is located just 240 meter distance from the Venta waterfall and you can have a great views to the rapid from the bridge. Read: The Old Brick Bridge Across The Venta River In Kuldīga 

View to the Venta Waterfall from the Brick Bridge

The Venta waterfall

Folks gathering to observe flying fish over Venta rapid

In the Spring time one (perhaps you) can observe fishes trying actually jump over that rapid. If you are up here for that moment, make sure you have your best glass attached to your camera. I even didn't try to catch a moment here with my kit lenses. But look at the queue in above picture, they are people looking for that exciting moment.

The Venta waterfall

According to sources - It is the widest rapid in Europe – 249 metres (817 ft) and up to 270 metres (886 ft) during spring floods. Its height is 1.80–2.20 metres (5.9–7.2 ft) and it changes depending on the water level in the river.

A lovely summer cafeteria with moss on it

The Venta waterfall

Just couldn't resist to take another shot of this place

About Venta Waterfall

Ventas Rumba and the bridge create an impression of idyllic, calm provincial town. Even though Ventas Rumba is the widest waterfall (249 metres) in Europe, it is not typical of wild, exciting beauty of world’s big waterfalls. Its real prettiness one can evaluate giving attention to it at least 10 minutes and go down to it on one bank or another. The general impression of surrounding nature will give different effect in every season of the year. It is eternal and changeable forever.

Waters of the river Venta fall here over the hard layers of dolomite, where under them the more fragile layers of dolomite are situated, which the river erodes easier. Now and then the existing hard blocks of dolomite over them fall down and in this way the waterfall moves against the stream.

To lengthen the waterway to the south, Jacob, the Duke of Kurzeme and Zemgale (ruled from 1642 to 1682) ordered to blast the waterfall. After the first test blast the big stone blocks splitted away however also the cracks in the walls of Duke’s castle close by, notifying about the danger of this intention.

Since Ventas Rumba was still standing in its place, Duke Jacob directed to dig the canal to go round it. The digging works were started on the right bank of the river Venta but due to hard layers of dolomite the canal didn’t succeed in its finish, only during spring flood the water flows in it. In such a way the Mārtiņsala (Martin’s isle) was made.

In old times Kuldīga was famous for fish caught in the air here. In autumn the salmon come back to the river Venta from the sea, to spawn. They go against the stream and try to get over the waterfall. Already in Duke Jacob’s time the interesting method was invented for salmon catching which successfully was used for three hundred years. During the salmon spawn special baskets were placed along Ventas Rumba where fish which couldn‘t jump over the waterfall, fell back and got to these baskets. In a daytime it was possible to catch 80 to 100 salmons. Like salmons in spring time – at the beginning of May the vimbas jump over Ventas Rumba.

The Old Brick Bridge Across The Venta River In Kuldīga

26 April, 2015 | Tourism objects | 47 seen

Brick bridge in Kuldīga over the river of Venta according to some sources is the longest of its kind bridge in Europe.

I believe nobody actually pays attention to the lengths of this bridge instead I believe the reason everyone enjoys it - it just looks great. Since it looks great I spent some time here to improve my DSLR photography, I actually made here some 180 photos, but just 5 have made it to you. 

Brick bridge over Venta River in Kuldīga

Turns out river Venta is a kind of popular place for local fisherman, I met many of them today.

Bridge over Venta River

This bridge is opened both for motorized vehicles and pedestrians. 

According to the road building standards of its time, the bridge has been built wide enough for two carriages to pass each other. The 'race of the naked' over the bridge has become an annual tradition for Midsummer nights. Read: Kuldīga

The Brick Bridge in Kuldīga

I was not lazy and made a small walk to make another shot from another side of this bridge.

Palace guards house near this brick bridge

I didn't find any palace somewhere near yet, either there is no more palace in Kuldīga, either it's called something else

Palace of Kuldīga guards house 

According to written on this table, this house is an Architectural monument, built in 1735 and is protected by State. This plate might be actually from 1930-ties, but I might be wrong.

About Brick Bridge in Kuldīga

The old brick bridge across the Venta river was built in 1874 and is the longest bridge of this kind of road bridge in Europe – 164 m.

These were restored in 1926, but concrete was used instead of bricks. In 1958 the cobbled road was covered with tarmac, but the old-style lamp-posts were restored in 2005.

The brick bridge across the Venta has been serving the people of Kuldīga since 1874. It was according to 19th century standards. The 164 metre long arched bridge with seven spans of brick arches with boulder abutments was not only the largest and most ornate in the territory of Latvia, but also one of the most modern in Europe.

The bridge was lit by lamps on 6 ornate cast iron lampposts with fish-shaped bases. The width of the bridge was a sure sign of achievements in bridge construction since it was wide enough to allow two carriages going in the opposite directions to pass each other.

Bistro 'Elvi' In Skrunda

25 April, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 10 seen

Seems this place is out of the business in 2021, instead there is a liquor store

Bistro Elvi is a restaurant-style catering place offering a home-style cuisine, today I will speak about one located in the town of Skrunda. 

Bistro Elvi in Skrunda town is located in a local shopping centre also called Elvi and actually is part of Elvi chain. Close to this bistro is located Skrunda bus station, were buses from Rīga and Liepāja makes a stop.

Elvi Bistro in Skrunda

Solyanka at Elvi Bistro

Solyanka which actually is a traditional Russian soup, is one of the most popular soups at Latvian Bistro places. Once I red it was called a hotch-potch soup. Well, I would call this soup actually more hotch-potch than solyanka, because I don't find a soup made from leftover sausages and a tomato sauce anything close to Russian Solyanka. But it tasted good.

A Royal Pork Chop at Bistro Elvi

I messed with my camera settings unfortunately and didn't make any decent photo of this food.

Desert at Elvi Bistro

It was some apple based cream in a jelly, the jelly was way too much synthetic.

Salads at Elvi Bistro

Now I played a bit with aperture here, and got a pretty decent image.

Bun and a apple cream in a jelly

Table at Elvi Bistro

The Bottom Line

Bistro Elvi serves a traditional Latvian home style cuisine, unfortunately they keep their food in fridge and just warms it up here. The food is tasty, but I wouldn't call it healthy. If you are driving Rīga - Liepāja, you can make a stop here and try something :) The price is not too highy here - we paid around EUR 18.00 for all above seen food and 3 extra coffees.

Bakery Lāči

24 April, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 33 seen

Some Latvians prefer to call Bakery Lāči a top notch place for foreigners to visit. So I decided to visit this place and make some short review of it.

This bakery is located outside the capital Riga and you can reach it by driving route A9 (which is a highway connecting Riga to Liepāja) - in case you are up for a Courland tour, you can make a stop here and enjoy some local brunch/lunch and/or to buy Lāči bread. And don't be surprised if a Latvian brings you a gift from Latvia exactly the Lāči bread. This is the phenomena I never could understood truly, but hey this article is not about that, right?

Bakery Lāči

Parking lot near Bakery Lāči

Parking lot is located just near route A9

Lunch menu at Bakery Lāči

Exterior at Bakery Lāči

Interior at Bakery Lāči

Shop at Bakery Lāči

You can buy here some smoked sausages, cheese, sprats e.t.c.

Simple table at Lāči bakery

Coffee at this place

Coffee tasted good, the price for a cup of coffee here - EUR 1.80

Sorrel soup with pearl barley

This soup was fine but it completely missed two major ingredients - a sour cream and meat

Smoked meat and sausages

While we were waiting for our entrée being prepared I took my camera and did some photography around this place

Latvian style desserts at Bakery Lāči

Maizes zupa literally meaning Bread Soup which by my understanding is one of the most popular Latvian desserts is the sweet soup made from rye bread and fruits. I actually bought here one cup of Maizes zupa and was a bit disappointed when learnt about ingredients in it. In short - only chemistry here. So don't get fooled of traditional heritage, those guys will sell you a traditional chemistry here.

Interior at Lāči bakery

Potatoes, chicken wings and white sauce

Well despite pretty decent photo I managed to take care - potatoes were almost cold, chicken wings looked some 2-3 days old and white sauce was made on either chicken or pork fat - it was white-fat sauce. You can eat it - and probably it's fine - well - I could rate this food here bellow average.

Cookies and Buns for sale at Lāči bakery

Cakes and tarts for sale at Bakery Lāči

At this point personnel at Lāči bakery noticed me taking photographies and they did mind me doing that, so I had no chance to take a photo of a bread. But at least I have given you some opinion of this place.

The Bottom Line

Well - I'm not sure if I could recommend this place if you are here for authentic Latvian Cuisine (better try Lido on Krasta street), but they serve here some decent foods, rye bread is delicious. We spent here around EUR 20.00  and no regrets for that. If you are on your way to Courland, sure take a stop here.

About Lāči bakery

Things happen a bit differently here. More thoroughly. If the people here do something, then they do it like it was done centuries ago – for real and sincerely. With their hearts, souls, minds and their own hands. When a Lāči master gets ready to bake bread, he spends a long time preparing because you need inspiration to bake bread. It's like raising a child – you have to get a hold of yourself and step back from yourself a bit. And you have to put everything into one thing. Into creation. At Lāči, dough is leavened in real wooden troughs; it's kneaded by hand and formed into loaves which are patted to see if they're ready.

Each bump is felt and each grain is inspected to see if the farmers have put their all into growing them. Lāči bread is baked in a real wood-stove. The wood is arranged so each loaf of bread has its sides warmed, its crust loved and its centre attended to. The masters sit and watch like hawks and wait – wait for the mouth of the oven to be exactly as hot as it needs to be. For the bread to be baked, for it to be aromatic and delicious enough to be brought to you. The recipe used to bake bread was searched for far and wide. The master who bakes bread is chosen for his big heart and skilled hands. Everything is natural and real. From the heart. This truly is a place for happy loaves. And when you eat them, you become happy, too. Because those feelings, love and care cannot be hidden. And that's that.

Visit www.laci.lv to learn more

Neighbourhoods of Riga: Iļģuciems

23 April, 2015 | Tourism objects | 57 seen

Iļģuciems is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Riga. History of this neighborhood dates back to the early 13th century. Back in 1236 a small manor was built here and given the name of Hiligen geest hove (Heiligen Geist Hof) in English meaning - "Holy Spirit Convent", from which latter originated name Iļģuciems in Latvian - at first Hilgzeem, then Ilgezeem and finally Iļģuciems.

Unfortunately less has left over from those days. In our days much of Iļguciems is dominated by Soviet-style block house architecture, with rare 19th centuries wooden houses. I took my DSLR camera and decided to practice a little bit photography here. Well, speaking of images - I found them rather average, not to say nothing special - a tripod is a must-have for such landscapes, unfortunately, I did all of these photos from hand in a pretty rainy April's day.

Dagmāras street in Iļģuciems

Tram Nr 5 connects Ilģuciems to Vecmilgrāvis passing city Centre near Riga central market

Soviet-style block houses in Iļguciems

Recently built dwelling house in Iļģuciems

Iļģuciema polyclinic

Iļģuciema bakery shop

Iļguciema maize (bread) is a pretty popular brand in Riga. At this bakery shop, you can enjoy really tasty and well-made pastries and ofcourse to buy some bread

Former cinema "Ilga"

Back in Soviet days, they showcased mainly "Bollywood" style films here. After then cinema was reorganized in the bazaar with pretty much useless stuff.

Trolleybus in Iļģuciems

Bakuzi cemetery

22 April, 2015 | Tourism objects | 12 seen

Bakuzi cemetery (Latvian: Bākūžu kapsēta) is located in region of Courland (Latvia) in parish of Rudbarzi, Skrunda Municipality. The history of this cemetery dates back to at least to mid 18th century (I found old grave cross with dates of 176o-ties). I believe back in those dates some German nobles were buried here. In history of Courland and Latvia German nobles plays a major role.  The cemetery is really small - I doubt there are more than 100 burials on this cemetery.

Frankly speaking I was not expecting to ad a cemetery as a tourist object on my blog - but hey - what's wrong with that? As long as you are quiet and still in places like that - and you pay a proper honor to the deceased souls -  it's perfectly fine with me, and cemeteries are great place to do some photography. A bit sad photography, but it's still a photography, right?

So I took my DSLR camera and made a few shots at this cemetery:

Old alley at this cemetery

A lot of moss here

Bakuzi cemetery

Sign in Latvian: Bākūžu kapsēta

Chapel at this cemetery

Grave crosses at Bakuzi cemetery

Well I found this image quite interesting - those are at least 200 years old graves

Lightning taken tree and cross

Moss on the stump at Bakuzi cemetery

Riga Airport

21 April, 2015 | Airports | 23 seen

Riga International Airport, also know as RIX is a largest airport in the Baltic states located in capital of Latvia. Airport is located some 13km distance from city centre of Riga. I was agreeably surprised by noticing it was quiet and still here at Riga airport comparing it to Tbilisi airport. 

I decided to add a few photos taken at Riga airport travelling with two cats on board.

Cat just landed at Riga airport

Two cats just landed at Tbilisi airport

Parking lot at Riga airport

airBaltic banner at Riga Airport

Riga airport is a main hub and base for airBaltic aircraft-carrier.

About Riga International Airport

Riga International Airport is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to over 80 destinations in 30 countries. It serves as a hub for airBaltic, SmartLynx Airlines, RAF-Avia, Vip Avia and Inversija and as one of the base airports for Wizz Air. Latvian national air carrier airBaltic at the biggest in the airport, with Ryanair being the second largest. The airport is located in the Mārupe municipality 5.4 NM (10.0 km; 6.2 mi) west of Riga and is a state-owned joint-stock company, with the owner of all shares being the government of Latvia. The holder of the state capital share is Latvia's Ministry of Transport. In 2014, the airport served 4,814,073 passengers, a 0.4% increase from 2013. The airport handled 32,984 tonnes of cargo in 2014.

The airport was built in 1973 as an alternative to Spilve Airport, which had become outdated. Renovation and modernization of the airport was completed in 2001, coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city. In 2006, the new north terminal extension was opened. The airport has three terminals: A & C for non-Schengen, and B for Schengen departures. Arrivals 1, in terminal A, handles the Schengen arrivals, while Arrivals 2, in terminal C, handles the non-Schengen arrivals. A maintenance, repair and overhaul facility was opened in the autumn of 2006, to be run as a joint venture between two local companies: Concors and SR-Technik. The airport has ILS CAT II.