The Estonian Song Festival

I am so excited!  When we visited Tallinn, I found out that the Estonian Song Festival is going to be held there this year on July 5th and 6th, and I get to go!  I don't know about the Estonian festival, but the Latvian Song Festival happens every five years. Their most recent one was last year, so it won't happen again until 2018.  I was really bummed when I heard that.

Now, a song festival may not sound too exciting, but a song festival here is unlike anything you have probably ever experienced.  For one thing, they have been going on for decades, so it holds a lot of tradition.  It's also a very unifying event, which helped a lot when Latvia was under the rule of other countries. The most amazing thing about it, though, is the number of singers that participate.  In Riga, it is typical to have over 20,000 people participate in the choir.  That doesn't include the number of people who are there to watch and listen, which can number around 100,000.  Here is a picture of a recent song festival in Riga.

I don't know about Estonia's song festival, but I imagine that it is similar to Latvia's.  While we were in Tallinn, we visited the song festival grounds.  Here is what we found.

This is what you see as you walk up to it.

This is the area where the singers sit.  I wouldn't be surprised if they add chairs along the front of it.

Here is a picture of the grounds.  It's really big, and I imagine that my ticket will put me about as far away as possible.  That's okay, though.  I just want to be able to experience 20,000 people in a choir all singing together.  I imagine there will be songs where the audience sings along.  When that happens, I know I will get goose bumps!

Here we are sitting on the stage area.  I didn't count how many rows or seats there were, but I know that there were a lot of them!

We will take the bus to Tallinn on Saturday, July 5th, in the morning.  We will get there around 1:30. There is a concert that night at 8:00 and one the next day at 2:00.  Then we will head back home again. It will be a quick trip, but I'm sure it will be worth every penny we spent on it.

I just wanted to share with you this amazing opportunity.  I am so excited!

Happy Jāni!

Jāni is a national holiday in Latvia celebrating the summer solstice.  It is held on two days -- the day before the shortest night and the day after.  Although the actual summer solstice happens on June 21st and 22nd, Latvia has shifted the celebration to June 23rd and 24th to coincide with John the Baptist's feast day, which falls on June 24th.  Jāni is an ancient fertility festival originally celebrated in honor of the Latvian pagan deity Jānis, who is mentioned in ancient Latvian folk songs. It is celebrated everywhere, but people usually spend the days in the countryside.

During Jāni, you will see tree branches and flowers everywhere.  Originally, tree branches were put on homes and fences to ward off evil spirits.  That tradition continues, and tree branches are put on everything.  Wreaths are made of flowers and leaves and are worn on the head.  A well-known part of this celebration is the search for the mythical fern flower, though some suggest that at one time the fern flower was a symbol of secret knowledge; today is it almost always synonymous with having sexual relations.  Young couples traditionally wander away from the main bonfire in search of the flower, and there is a subsequent increase in births nine months later.  (Some of that info came from Wikipedia, in case you are wondering.)

While a lot of people go to the countryside, we had nowhere in the country to go, so we stayed in town. One of the major roads that runs by the river was closed to traffic, and everyone gathered there for the celebration.  There had to be thousands of people there.  Two big stages were set up, and large screens were set up in various spots.  Lots of folk dancing and folk singing took place on the stage.  It was fun to see the people in the crowd sing along on the folk songs.  I guess they are taught these songs all the way from early childhood, so everyone knows them.  While we have a lot of celebrations in the US, I don't think we have anything that compares to this.

Because the celebration goes all night long, everything is shut down on the 24th so that people can catch up on their sleep.  Don and I stayed at the festival until around 10:00, but then we decided to head for our apartment.  It was strange, but last night was the first night that I felt as though I didn't belong.  I hadn't felt that way at all before, but seeing all of these people having fun celebrating this holiday together with all of these old traditions made me feel out of place.

Here are some pictures of the event.  They really don't do a good job of showing how big the crowd is, but you can get an idea, anyway.

    Here is the sign advertising the festival.  We've seen them all over town.  The word on the sign can                                                   be pronounced as Lee-go or as Lee-gwah.

Here are some examples of the flowers at the event.  They were all over the place.  Latvians love their flowers.  You can see people carrying bunches of them all the time.

Whenever you see a Latvian woman or girl in an authentic folk costume, you will more than likely see a flower wreath on her head.  There was a booth at the festival that was selling the floral wreaths, and, of course, I had to get one.  You know, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.  Anyway, here is a picture of my flower wreath.

Here are some pictures of people performing on stage.  Notice that there are tree branches 

covering everything.

Here are some pictures of the crowd.  They really can't begin to show how crowded it was.

There were several of these on the boulevard.  Bonfires are a big part of the Jāni festival.  They light them at sundown and have to keep them lit until sunrise.

Here's a picture of Don holding one of the favorite snacks of the area.  It's a potato that has been sliced on a spiral slicer, put on a skewer, stretched out, and then deep fried.  It is very popular around town.  We had to stand in line for quite some time to get one.  I may try and fix them and see how popular they are in our area.

These pictures can't begin to tell you what a big event this is around Latvia.  There isn't a holiday in the US that can even compare.  As I mentioned, everything shuts down for those two days, and the people party hearty!  It was so much fun to watch the people enjoy themselves while singing, and it was great to see some of the awesome folk dancing groups perform.  While I am looking forward to coming home, there are many things about Latvia that I will miss, and the people's love of folk music and dance is one of them.

Until next time...

We're Famous

It's a cool day in Riga today.  The temperature is only 57 degrees, and it's quite breezy out.  We didn't go to church this morning.  I'm not sure why we didn't go, but we didn't.  I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of Sundays that I have missed church in the last several years, so it was strange to not go.  Of all the things back in Indiana, church is the thing I miss the most.

We ran out to one of the shopping centers on the outskirts of Riga this afternoon.  It's a big shopping center, and lots of people were there shopping.  I still can't believe the number of women's clothing and shoe stores that there are here.  All I have to say is that the women here must really enjoy shopping and have lots of money to spend!  I think I mentioned before that Latvian women seem to be tall and thin -- especially the younger women.  Well, I have decided that European clothing sizes are a heck of a lot different than American.  I went and tried on some jackets today, and it was sad.  In addition, narrow-width shoes are nowhere to be found here.  I'm just really out of luck!

I didn't buy any clothes today, but we got something even better -- chocolate!  There is a very well-known candy store here called Laima.  However, I think it's kind of "lame-a."  (I know, not funny.) Anyway, in this particular shopping center, there is another chocolate store called "Emils Gustavs." We've sampled some of their chocolates before, and they are excellent.  Truffles are the big thing here, so I purchased some today.  I ended up getting quite a few of them, because my daughter and her husband are going to come and visit this week, and she's like her mother -- she loves chocolate. Anyway, here is a picture of the candy I bought:

The first one is not a truffle.  It is simply milk chocolate with chopped nuts.  The second one is a creme truffle, the next two are berry truffles, and the last one is a caramel truffle.  I haven't tasted them all yet, but the berry truffles are excellent, and the milk chocolate with nuts is my favorite.  They're good, but they don't come close to Lowry's.

Did you know that I'm famous in Riga?  I even have my own website.  I have some pictures to prove it, too.  Here they are:

For those of you who don't know, my nickname as a child was "Lulu."  Actually, my dad called me that until the day he died, when I was 49.  I guess, when I was little, I had a Little Lulu doll that I loved so much I carried it everywhere.  (I don't remember it, but that's the story I've heard.)  Anyway, this Lulu Pizza restaurant is in Old Town, and I couldn't resist taking the picture.  We haven't eaten there yet, but we definitely will before we leave.  I looked up the website.  It has the following statement on it:  "The best remedy for wrinkles -- 6 bottles of beer.  Effect the next morning."  I guess I'd better get to drinking some beer.  The problem is that I don't care for it at all.  From what we have seen, I definitely would have problems fitting in here in Riga.  Beer drinking is quite the norm, and, boy, does it ever get drunk out!

Don is famous, too, but not as famous as I am.  Here is his proof:

If you look closely, you will see the name "Don" under the chef's picture.  However, I think it's funny that the bigger word you see first starts with the word "gas."  Gee, "Don" and "Gas" in the same name. Fancy that...

Well, I have a concert to go to, so I'll close for now.  We're going to hear the Latvia Radio Chorus, supposedly one of the best adult choirs in the country.  Can't wait to hear them.

Until next time, keep singing!

Music and Motorcycles and Museums, Oh My!

I'm lying in bed blogging, listening to a recording of the Latvia State Choir.  It's supposedly the best choir in Latvia.  I haven't been able to hear them yet, but they have a couple of concerts in the next week, so I'm hoping to attend at least one of them, if not both.

All of the choirs I have heard so far have been excellent.  We went to a concert a few nights ago that included a choir from Germany.  They had at least 80 men in the group, as well as 80 or more women. The men performed first, and then the women sang a few songs.  They never performed together, which I thought was a bit strange.  When the men came forward to sing, I was amazed at how many there were.  I was expecting them to start singing and to blow me away.  Unfortunately, they never quite got there.  They were good, but they never produced the amount of sound that I expected.  I was a bit disappointed in the women, too.  They had a very shallow, immature sound.  Oh, if only I could have gotten hold of them for an hour or so!

We went to an instrumental concert last evening.  Peter Erskine, a legendary jazz drummer, was going to be performing, and Don wanted to go and hear him.  I think we both kind of expected a night of jazz.  When we got there, we noticed an orchestra all set up on stage.  There was a drum set in front of them in the middle of it all.  I thought, Jazz music with an orchestra and a drum set.  This is going to be interesting.  I sat back and looked forward to some great music.

Well, I'm not sure what we heard.  I guess it was music, but it certainly wasn't jazz.  While Erskine played with the group, he didn't have any solo licks or anything like that.  His own group that is comprised of a bass guitar, an electric guitar, and a saxophone was with him playing along, also.  The entire program was comprised of one piece of music.  It was entitled "Blood on the Floor." There were around 8 movements, and it probably lasted 80-90 minutes.  It was some of the strangest music I have ever heard.  Don found it quite fascinating.  Don't tell him, but I think I slept through most of it.  That's pretty bad -- paying $15 for a ticket to take a nap.  Oh, well, it's just money, right?

We took a trip to the Harley Davidson store in Riga the other day.  My daughter and her husband are Harley Davidson riders, and we wanted to get them both a HD T-shirt that said Riga or Latvia.  The store was way over on the other side of the city, and the scenery was certainly different than it is in Old Town.  There were a lot of rundown buildings as well as a lot of graffiti.  Graffiti is a real problem over here.  I haven't seen much in Old Town, but once you get into Central Riga, you see a lot of it.  You know what?  Graffiti in Latvian looks about the same as it does in English.  It's so sad to see these old buildings that have stood for hundreds of years covered with graffiti.

We visited the second Occupation Museum here in Riga yesterday.  We visited the other one a week ago or so.  I'm not sure why there are two of them.  They have some of the same things, but the one we went to yesterday had a lot more.  It's unbelievable what Latvia has gone through to get to this place of independence that it enjoys today.  The Germans and the Soviets treated the Latvian people in unimaginable ways.  Just this May, the city of Riga opened up a building that had been used by the KGB during the Soviet occupation.  For years it had remained closed, because no one wanted to acknowledge the atrocities that took place there.  However, the city decided that it was time to open it so that people could see the inside of this horrible, horrible place.  During the occupation, if you were taken into that building, chances were high that you would never come out.  Don and I have not gone there yet, but we plan to.  I think we will come out of there truly appreciating the freedom that we have enjoyed as Americans.  Here is a picture of the KGB building.  At one time, it was a magnificent building.  Now it stands there representing unspeakable evil and terror.  If I get some pictures of the inside when we go, I'll make sure and post some of them.

We went and did our laundry again today.  We didn't take a taxi this time.  We took the bus and then walked home.  It saved us a little money that way.  We had two loads of dirty clothes, but we crammed everything into one dryer.  It cost us less money, which is always a good thing, but when we pulled the clothes from the dryer, everything was wrinkled something awful.  Luckily, I had purchased an iron right after we got here, so I spent the evening ironing clothes.  Sounds exciting, huh?

Well, I'll go for now.  I'll try not to wait so long to blog the next time.  May the music of your life lift your heart and soul.

The City of Riga, Latvia

I want to show you some pictures that I have taken since we have gotten here.  I hope they give you an idea of what the city is like.

Riga is split into two parts -- Old Town and New Town.  "New" Town really isn't an appropriate word, because the buildings in that part of the city are still very old -- they are just not as old as the ones in Old Town.  Some of the buildings in Old Town have been there since the 15th century.

Here is the view of the street from the window of the hotel where we stayed the first night.  We were on the 5th floor, so we got a really good view.

Here is a view of one of the narrow streets.  Cars actually drive down these streets, and you'd better get out of their way!

Here is a view of another street.  Notice the cobblestones.  They make walking difficult, though a lot of Latvian women do it in spike heels.

Riga is known as the "City of 1,000 Faces" because of all of their Art Nouveau architecture.  Here are some examples of the faces that you see.  Some of them are okay, but some of them are downright scary.

Here is what is called the "Cat House."  The story is that the man who originally built the house was angry about not getting into some type of organization, so he put the cats on the top of the house and turned their tails toward the organization's building.  However, city authorities eventually made him turn the cats the other direction so they'd be less offensive.

You see these type of openings everywhere.  They are called "gates."  At one time, there was a wall around the city to protect it from invaders.  The wall is still there, but buildings have been built onto the front and the back of the wall.  This opening was one way that people could cross through the wall.  Now they add a picturesque effect to the city.

This is the Riga Dome Church.  It is one of the largest churches in the city.  Its structure is once again very old.  It is a Lutheran Church, and I want to attend it this Sunday.  It is right in the center of the town.  There are organ concerts held here all the time.  I hope to get to one of them.

Notice how there are lots of people in the picture above?  Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating areas, and people definitely take advantage of them.  Here are two more pictures that illustrate the popularity of the restaurants and their outdoor seating.

The Freedom Monument is a special monument in the city.  It was opened in 1935 and honors the soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence. It is considered an important symbol of the freedom, independence, and sovereignty.  It is truly a sight to see.  You can't tell it from the picture, but it is a very tall structure that really reaches into the sky.

Although it's not the same as being here, I hope these pictures give you a feel for what the city is like.  It's a beautiful place.

I'll add more pictures later!

We made it!

It's May 22, we've been here three days -- and what an eventful three days it's been.  It started even before we came:

We got a call on Saturday morning from Mike, our landlord in Riga.  He started out the conversation with, "Hi, Chris.  Do you know Murphy's Law?"  I knew right then and there that something was up. The water heater in our soon-to-be apartment had caught fire that morning, so the apartment was not going to be available for a week.  Fine, no problem -- we'll just go to a hotel for the first week.  I made the reservations without a hitch.  We got to the airport, Mike met us and took us to the hotel.  After checking things out, Mike discovered that the fire was caused by a problem in the chimney, not in the water heater.  Consequently, his apartment wasn't going to be available for two to three months -- a real problem for us.  He was able to find us another apartment (a lot cheaper than his!), and we moved in yesterday.

It's a nice, roomy apartment that is located in "Old Town,"which is the oldest part of Riga. it is a lot different from American apartments.  It's not "cozy" -- there are wood floors, three bedrooms (although one has a love seat in it), and no true sitting room -- but it's big and roomy.  I'd like to take the bed out of the biggest bedroom (it would make a great sitting room!) that has a TV in it to the room with the loveseat and take the loveseat into the other room.   I'm hoping it will fit and that the landlord won't mind.  Now we just need to find a way to come up with some chairs so that we can have seats for everyone.

Our adventure continued this morning when I decided to take a shower.  When I stepped out, there was water all over the floor.  I had some clothes laying out to put on, and they were dripping wet.  We threw some towels down and got the water dried up.  Don contacted the landlord, and she got a plumber over here right away.  Nothing major was wrong -- just a hose that had come unhooked. Hopefully, my shower tomorrow morning will be rather uneventful.

Then, to top things off, we did not have wireless internet in the apartment.  We can't function without it, because we need to be able to get to our email and contact our kids.  I also can't do this blog!  I finally ended up calling Deanna on the mobile phone that was provided by our contact and given to us when we first got here.  I'm sure it was expensive, but, at that point, I didn't care.  I needed to contact them and let them know that our living situation had changed.  Our contact came over last night and installed the wireless internet for us, so we are going strong at this point.

I visited a secondary school today.  It covers grades 6-12.  I observed a couple of choirs, a music history class, and a couple of other classes.  I don't know what I expected -- things looked about the same as they do in any American school.  They sure didn't sound the same, though.  The 5th through 9th grade girls' choir I heard was wonderful!  They had full, mature voices and sang 3- to 4-part literature.  I was really impressed.  When the Soviets were in control of Latvia, they instituted an excellent music education program in the schools.  The high quality of music education today is largely due to that fact.  The students all know how to sight-sing, which helps immensely when it comes to learning new music.  That's something that I want to really work on next year -- teaching sight-singing techniques to my choir students.  I'm not sure how to go about it, because I have beginning students up to advanced students, but I need to come up with a plan of some kind.

I like adventure, but I really hope that tomorrow is a boring, uneventful day.  I am visiting a music publishing house tomorrow morning, and then Don and I are going on a tour of the area with a great guide tomorrow afternoon.  We are truly enjoying ourselves.  Don is itching to get some fishing done -- our landlord absolutely loves fishing, so he may end up going with her sometime.  There is nowhere in Riga to fish, but there are a lot of places throughout the rest of the country.  I'm sure he'll find them before we leave.

I have some pictures, but I haven't figured out how to add them here yet.  I will try and do that before long so that you can see what we see every day.   Well, I'll sign off for now.  I think we'll go out and take a walk and try and find some ice cream.  It won't be Graeter's, but at least it will be ice cream!