Sigulda and Gauja…
Greetings from Freiburg im Breisgau, perhaps my favorite location on our beautiful planet. As I am sitting here writing on this most lovely of Sunday mornings, I am sipping on a light and crisp Gutedel and listening to the centuries-old sound of the church bells. It is quite simply one of the best experiences of my life. I recorded a video, in the hopes that you will be able to share this experience, so I will post it on my next entry…Yeah, sorry it’s been so long. I’ve been working like a mad fool this past month, both because I wanted to try to make up for the time that I am going to miss while we are on holiday in Germany and also because we only have two months left!, meaning that I am beginning to feel a bit of angst about whether or not I am going to get a chance to look at all of the documents that I think I need for my dissertation. It’s becoming evermore obvious that maybe I am trying to do a bit much, but nonetheless I am stubbornly going to try and see if I can pull it off. Anyway, because I’ve been working so much, often times until 8:00 p.m., I haven’t really had a chance to work on the blog. But now that we are on vacation, I am trying to catch up. So, in this post I am going to share with you some photos from our trip to the Gauja River and National Park, which is about an 80 minute train ride northeast of Riga. Let’s begin, then, with the above photo of the best klingeritis that we have ever had. We bought it at a local bakery in Sigulda, one of the two largest towns adjacent to the national park. After eating it, I now have the goal of trying to learn how to make these, because they are so uniquely delicious.
Here we are on the bridge over the Guaja River. That day we walked from the train station in Sigulda to Turaida castle. It was a very picturesque walk, but it was rather hot and humid that day, so we were rather tired by the time we made it back to Riga.
Here is a photo from the other side of the river, from a bluff that overlooks the valley and the distant castle.
Along the way to the castle we stopped to check out the famous sandstone caves, which were first made famous by the Baltic German traders who used them for shelter during their trips up and down the river, though of course the local Latvians had always known about the caves.
Inside the caves, which extend maybe 30 yards into the hill, one can find numerous carvings dating back to the 18th century, and sometimes even older. The main carving at the center of this photo has the date of 1813. It was incredible to look at because it seems like it was only carved yesterday.
The southwest side of Turaida castle.
Here is one view from the main tower. The castle dates back, if my memory serves me correctly, to the 14th century, though what one sees today is in fact a reconstruction, since the castle was repeatedly destroyed during the various wars that ravaged the region, and in this case, particularly during the Great Northern War.
A panorama of the Gauja River valley from the castle tower.
A photo from inside the tower. This was the guards’ dinning/beer hall.
Finally, here is a picture of the sky when we got home that evening. I don’t know if you can tell from this shot, but the sky in Latvia is for some reason so much more vividly blue than back home. I don’t know if it is the horrible pollution in the U.S., as we don’t really seem to care much about environmental policies, or if it is perhaps simply because we are so far north, but whatever the reason it is so enjoyable to be outside and look up at the sky. Well, sorry for the somewhat abridged version. We are about to leave for a short trip up into the Black Forest. Hopefully I will get around to posting some photos of Freiburg. Take care, everyone.
crookedtimberofhumanity 