Random Photos of Riga

Riga, a city of contrast, pigeons and flowers

Strange city this..... I went into a beautiful and spiritual Orthodox Church this morning. It was filled with icons and golden ornaments, decorated in blue and gold and white. Paintings of saints decorated various pillars and were lit by small candles , placed carefully in front of the pictures in candle holders.Small candles for large requests, heralded by a the sign of the cross. Incense hung throught he atmosphere, colouring my senses and heightening the emotion of awe and maybe some sadness. It was a short time of utter beauty striking my emotions.........

We walked through the city.... such buildings ! Some streets had ornate decorations across entrances, windows and arches.... angels, dragons, female faces.... even a monkey. The detail was picked carefully out in contrasting colours..... yellows and cream, peach and cream, blue, burgundy, terracotta..... all designed to impress with the importance of whoever owned that building..... The house next to it is derilict, broken, dirty, decaying....... you can look through the doorway that leads to a courtyard and see the dirt, the sad remonders of what once was.... and it is grey, brown and dark,  and across the walls are words, names, graffitti..... someone's home

There is wealth and there is poverty... I would prefer to beon the side of wealth in this city. The access for the wealthy is to everything- health, education, culture, food entertainment, holidays............. the poor don't get that. It is the same in any city where there is a level of corrupt very important people. Which side would we want to be on though?

The parks are beautiful - birch trees gradually coming in to leaf, green grass, flowers....

There are flower stalls of the most exquisite types of flower- tulips, roses, lillies...... eveyrthing.... very very beautiful

And the beer is good.... and the food is good... potatoes, bacon, meat.... beetroot ... and the pastries entice and seduce.... ah! heaven! I love the coffee... invigorating, scintillating............ bam!

But I am going into the church again..... I want to see if I still see it the same way tomorrow......

Walking on the cobbled streets is hard.. but there is not ice at this time.... it could be a nasty sight in winter....

Sweden...... one day, Latvia the next

Yes I am in Riga,,, Latvia. I feel slightly overwhelmed as I was in Norway, then Sweden and now..... Latvia... zoooooommmmmm. It feels like that!
Great to be in Sweden again... and in Bullsang- country Sweden. Will put up a pic when I develop some energy.

i haven't really caught the idea of flying into Riga this afternoon but I am here. The streets are cobbled and the buildings are old. We are staying in the Old City of Riga... the part built by the Hanseatic Group many years ago and tomorrow I am going to get a full idea of just how this city is.

It is raining and the walking in the rain is cold....

More on this tomorrow..... need a little nanna nap

Islands Born and that Volcanic Ash still is there

On Monday morning , it was my one and only chance to get to Vestermaijyer. Everyone knows of these islands so I am sure I don't need to explain their importance.........
These islands are about 100km off the mainland and are in line with the volcano that is still growing... and with Katla...... in fact, there is a direct line here of volcanic activity and it is all situated on the Icelandic Rift... where two continents are moving ...... same as Rift Valley....
I was supposed to leave at 8.15, but due to the volcanic ash blowing again... an update woud be announced at 8.15. Well, I wasn't going to miss out, If the plane f;ew at 8.20, I would be there so caught a cab before 8 . Fortunately the plane flew at 9.15.

What a sight as we approached the island !
The isalnd seemed to be a tiny collection of craters... will put the pics up and that way you can actually see what it was like.
Turns out, that I was the only one booked on this llittle trip so, modified it a bit but suited me.... personal guided tour..... until two german men joined us. They make documentaries and advertising material for world tours etc, and theye were in Vestman Islands to make one there................ so the trip had them.......... and had to star as one does.

Anyway, it was fascinating ot hear the stories of the eruptions that made the island... last one was 1973, when 400 houses were buried and the harbour almost destroyed due to the volcanic eruption..

I walked up the volcano, over the lava fields... and stood gazing down upon the town..... and imagined the fear that night when suddenly the earth developed a fissure, 2km long and spewing hot rocks and fire, it began its reign of terror.....
Ten years earlier Surtsey had risen from the sea... I could see her in the distance, in a direct line with all the other volcanic islands that had risen on the rift.....................
I heard the stories of the survivors... it is a tough life on such an island

I stood on huge cliffs, seeking the puffins..... those funny faced birds that migrate for winter and spend their time floating on the sea..... bizzare birdies.....

Iwas awed, by the power of the earth and by the calibre of person who would return to this place, to rebuild, never knowing when it would happen again and whether next time, the whole island could be blown up.
Standing on the cliffs, my fear of heights came full blown and I felt as if I would fall right off..... so I stepped way away form them. The filming men, wanted repeat actions often..... walk there again, and again............... I should have been paid!
Walking on a volcano isn't much fun... beside there still being hot rocks, the actual volcano is a huge spewed out pile of miniature scoria rocks.... very difficult to walk on, believe me......
Then the volcanic ash started again........
So my flight off the island was cancelled............................
BUT..... there is a ferry.... so 3 hours later, I sailed in to the harour on the mainland... and finally back to Reykjavik. Was quite late and was pretty tired. Knew I had to get up at 3.45 next morning to catch the 7.50. plane to Oslo from Keflavik Airport...

So I left... but I have done everything and more that I wanted to...I have seen Surtsey and I have almost been right on the rift................. but I did not eat puffin or whale.

So I flew into Oslo this morning and it was snowing...... and the snow covered the ground and it was cold cold cold... snow???? yes lots of it............................

Gothenburg tomorrow................ I am really looking forward to this

Icelandic Horses and me!

Because of that volcano, I had to change plans..... consequently I went horse riding. The ash cloud was blowing right across Vestamann Island and the airport was closed. I have rebooked for tomorrow so hopefully I get there. Otherwise I will have to miss out on a most amazing opportunity as I have to leave from here at 4.30 on Tuesday morning to get to Keflavik.
That said, I had a great afternoon. After indulgin myself in a little shopping in the morning.... which reminds me! Icelandic fashion is excellent , really individual and very very out there! I am so impressed with what I have seen that I might just have to make a little expedition tomorrow morning before I hopefully go to Vestamann.

So I rode horses... Icelandic Horses.

They are sturdy little horses, long manes and , by many standards, I suppose unkempt. But the wonderful thing is that they are allowed to live as free horses. They have so much freedom to roam within the farm and noone keeps them in stables unless it is for some show which is rare. these horses are beautiful and their genetics are supposedly pure.
And I have the memories...... on my joggers, and the olfactory reminders.......

The riding was a great way to feel a part of Iceland and it would have been good to go for longer rides...... Maybe next time?

Advertising Time

Just need to throw in afew advrts about some wonderful people in this world.
There are some hotels and some companies out there that work hard to make sure that their service is the best and that they really do operate ethically.
Hanoi - Hotel Elegance 2.... in Ma Mai Street. Excellent people, excellent service and great breakfasts
Tourist Info at Schipol Airport.... so helpful and the only problem was me and my navigational skills
Taxis in Edinburgh ---- honest and never felt I was being ripped off. They love a chat but are really good and care for their passengers
Merket Ghost Tours in edinburgh - the guy was very very entertaining and had us enthralled..... it was historically fascinating and quite creepy...............
Plaza Hotel - in Iceland... nothing is too hard........... they have organised my life and made me feel as if I had done it!.... very very reasonable in price

Geothermal Pleasure..... YUMMMMMM

I would love to be feeling excited at the moment but I have a crowd of loud Germans seated next to me.... HAHAHAHAH....HOHOHOHO............ I am not amused!
Today was divine.....all my wishes  fulfilled...........
From the moment I saw the heated clouds issuing from the plains......... I thought at first it was smoke. You can see it in the picture.
Of course, with my luck, I was walking towards the pools , from the bus, and suddenly was surrounded by hooting, singing crowds of school girls, filled with great joie de vivre, as all kids are.................. farewell peace!

Australians are a strange race.... it is rare to have whole groups of females in open showers...................... naked................ justvthought I would throw that one in so  that those who wear their modesty proudly will need to pack it off elsewhere , if you travel to Blue Lagoon in  Iceland.

I also paid for a massage.... in the pool......... I can hear you all groaning!!!!!!!

It was heaven.... Entering the pool was such a contrast from the cold air.... at this stage everyone is wearing bathers( phew, thought i ought to tell you, otherwise the images would be rather unpleasant!!!!!)
For an hour I floated around that pool, placing my feet amongst the soft whoite silica mud and squelched it between my toes................ I picked it up in my hands but it floated away to colour the water......... the closer you got to the vents, where the boiling water came out, the higher the temperature became. It was impossible to stand in some parts.The sides of the rocks were white, coloured by the silca over millenium. Hydrogen Sulphide smells issued forth... I had wondered what the smell assocaited with the water was..... all water on the island smells of sulfur( for obvious reasons)..........
There are huge buckets of this white mud so that you can exfoliate your imperfect self and become invigorated  by having new and better skin.............. So in I went. Painted the face, covered the top part of my body... lovey sight. When I went to rinse it off, of course I heaved  heap of the mud into my eye............ and silica is silica be it in mud or whatever............. sore sore eyes.
The the massage............. this is for the girls!!!! Goodbye boys!

Strekken( probably spelt Schztreckkern) was my masseur.... in the pool.. I lay on a floating mat and was covered by a wet material that kept me warm throughout the process. Strekken, girls, was 6'4'', dark hair, enigmatic Icelandic smile, and deep voice... strong hands...............
If you can imagine floating in a substance more dense than ordinary water, fuelled by the mineralisation from the springs, encompassed by warm warm water and being massaged.................. I nearly fell asleep but am aware that this look is not one of my best so I fought sleep and just relaxed and relaxed and relaxed...........then time was up..............

It was a deeply pleasurable experience.......