There we go again and this time: Hello from Riga! The last time I told you that we were going to visit
Laheema National Park in Estonia and we did spent three wonderful days there even though we now also have to suffer from this terrible European summer: we got soaked in our dear tent! Luckily, we had one wonderfully sunny day when we rented bicycles and went exploring the region. How good it felt to
have the fresh air blow into our faces, to smell the see, the pine forests, the flowers and the summer fields! Ah, I just loved it! Of course, we hadn't been on bikes for a very long time, so after 60 km we almost dropped dead and couldn't move or sit for the next two days (especially as we also kept playing basketball and fresbee in our free time at the campground) but it was all good fun.
We saw beautiful old farm houses, had fun
on traditional Estonian village swings, drank locally brewed beer in the middle of the day, watched a family of storks for hours, visited an old manor house with a beaufiful winter-garden,... it was the perfect change from city life! Oh, and no, I did not go for a swim, shame on me, but the beach near our campground was really terrible with tons of algea, and then it got very cold, and then nobody wanted to go with me, and then it started raining, and then it got so cold and uncomfy, and then I was so lazy, ... hehe, well, let us say I prefered the sauna of the campground!
After Laheema, our route took us back to
Tallinn and to Urmo, Liivi, and Kriss. Unfortunately, the rain clouds somehow also followed us and we were rather stuck in the city with three days of rainy weather. I can tell you, if this continues, we'll be experts on Eastern European history and art, well-known in all museums possible, and very up-to-date on the latest blockbusters in the movie-theaters! Ah, and we'll
be able to advise you and the best bars, cafes, and restaurants in the region. My favorite cafe in Tallinn has already been discovered, Kehrwieder is just awesome (Kennst du es, Suse?)! Luckily, we did have some dry periods during the days and so we went out one evening to stroll through the illuninated streets and soak in the fairy-tale atmosphere once more. Tallinn is just the perfect place for all of this, execpt maybe that fact that it doesn't get dark here before midnight right now...
One of the museums we visited when it was a little clear, was the Estonian Open Air museum. They display old Estonian farms and village houses such as
an old chapel, a bourgeois house, fishermen's lodgings, an old fire station, an old school... It was quite an interesting visit because we learnt a lot about building houses and it was fun to see the interiors of lodgings from the last couple of centuries. Unfortunately, we were not there during the weekend when they have all kinds of animations to show how people really lived during that time - but then, it is not that unknow to us as we are back in Europe now. :)
Then we were on the road again, for the astonighingly long journey of 5 hours! I barely had the time to fall asleep in the bus when we were already back in
Riga and our new HC family welcomed us. This time, we would like to
thank you, Edgards, Maruta, and Ernest, for your warm welcome, all the good advice, and the nice trip to Rundales! This time, we were a little better of with the weather and thus spent a great
time out in the city, exploring all the tiny streets of the old town and the flashy new areas. We did find the Bremer Stadtmusikanten this time, we climed up the tower of St. Petri to enjoy the views, we visited the museum of occupations to get a better understanding of Latvian mentality, we enjoyed great food and we found THE perfect medieval restaurant, down in the cellars of an old house. The place was just incredible with astonishingly real decorations, basically only candle light, and perfect to have a beer and to get lost in reveries!
One last story before the end: so, we were strolling leisurely through the streets of Riga, when we bumped into a German dipolmatic car. Looks nice, doesn't it? Well, looking right and left, David was the
first to discover the occupant. Do you also recognise him? Yep, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, our secretary of state, in person. And what was more, he did not only enjoy his diner in that nice restaurant, he also went to exactly the same concert in the cathedral as we did! Apparently, he has good taste!
There we go again and this time: Hello from Riga! The last time I told you that we were going to visit Laheema National Park in Estonia and we did spent three wonderful days there even though we now also have to suffer from this terrible European summer: we got soaked in our dear tent! Luckily, we had one wonderfully sunny day when we rented bicycles and went exploring the region. How good it felt to
have the fresh air blow into our faces, to smell the see, the pine forests, the flowers and the summer fields! Ah, I just loved it! Of course, we hadn't been on bikes for a very long time, so after 60 km we almost dropped dead and couldn't move or sit for the next two days (especially as we also kept playing basketball and fresbee in our free time at the campground) but it was all good fun. 
on traditional Estonian village swings, drank locally brewed beer in the middle of the day, watched a family of storks for hours, visited an old manor house with a beaufiful winter-garden,... it was the perfect change from city life! Oh, and no, I did not go for a swim, shame on me, but the beach near our campground was really terrible with tons of algea, and then it got very cold, and then nobody wanted to go with me, and then it started raining, and then it got so cold and uncomfy, and then I was so lazy, ... hehe, well, let us say I prefered the sauna of the campground!
After Laheema, our route took us back to Tallinn and to Urmo, Liivi, and Kriss. Unfortunately, the rain clouds somehow also followed us and we were rather stuck in the city with three days of rainy weather. I can tell you, if this continues, we'll be experts on Eastern European history and art, well-known in all museums possible, and very up-to-date on the latest blockbusters in the movie-theaters! Ah, and we'll
be able to advise you and the best bars, cafes, and restaurants in the region. My favorite cafe in Tallinn has already been discovered, Kehrwieder is just awesome (Kennst du es, Suse?)! Luckily, we did have some dry periods during the days and so we went out one evening to stroll through the illuninated streets and soak in the fairy-tale atmosphere once more. Tallinn is just the perfect place for all of this, execpt maybe that fact that it doesn't get dark here before midnight right now... 
One of the museums we visited when it was a little clear, was the Estonian Open Air museum. They display old Estonian farms and village houses such as
an old chapel, a bourgeois house, fishermen's lodgings, an old fire station, an old school... It was quite an interesting visit because we learnt a lot about building houses and it was fun to see the interiors of lodgings from the last couple of centuries. Unfortunately, we were not there during the weekend when they have all kinds of animations to show how people really lived during that time - but then, it is not that unknow to us as we are back in Europe now. :) 
Then we were on the road again, for the astonighingly long journey of 5 hours! I barely had the time to fall asleep in the bus when we were already back in Riga and our new HC family welcomed us. This time, we would like to thank you, Edgards, Maruta, and Ernest, for your warm welcome, all the good advice, and the nice trip to Rundales! This time, we were a little better of with the weather and thus spent a great
time out in the city, exploring all the tiny streets of the old town and the flashy new areas. We did find the Bremer Stadtmusikanten this time, we climed up the tower of St. Petri to enjoy the views, we visited the museum of occupations to get a better understanding of Latvian mentality, we enjoyed great food and we found THE perfect medieval restaurant, down in the cellars of an old house. The place was just incredible with astonishingly real decorations, basically only candle light, and perfect to have a beer and to get lost in reveries! 
One last story before the end: so, we were strolling leisurely through the streets of Riga, when we bumped into a German dipolmatic car. Looks nice, doesn't it? Well, looking right and left, David was the
first to discover the occupant. Do you also recognise him? Yep, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, our secretary of state, in person. And what was more, he did not only enjoy his diner in that nice restaurant, he also went to exactly the same concert in the cathedral as we did! Apparently, he has good taste! 
2 comments:
Na, da habt ihr ja nen deutsch Minster bei der Arbeit erwischt... ;) Muss mal lesen, ob ich finde was der da gemacht hat.
Aber ich muss hier jetzt nur was kommentieren, um zu sehen, ob ich mein Account verwenden kann. Axel und ich haben schon mal angefangen mit dem Blog.
Michi
Hehe, na, das scheint ja schon mal gut zu klappen, ich kann naemlich eure lustigen Photos sehen. Willst du wirklich mit dem Beil-Mann auf Reise gehen?! Er sieht gefaehrlich aus!! :)
Steinmeier war hier um die guten Kontakte zu pflegen und um ueber Europa und Energiepolitik zu reden.
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