Learning about lovely Latvia

As the Baltic International Summer School continues, I'm learning more and more about this wonderful country that I have the pleasure to stay in once again.

My new facts about Latvia:

• During Easter time, swinging on a large wooden swing apparently reduces the chance of mosquito bites in the summer (I wish I knew this last year!)
• Girls and women wear crowns during Midsummer's Night celebrations to signify (and for married women, pretend) that they are not married.
• Before Christianisation, Latvians believed in several gods. Now, Latvia is predominantly Lutheran, Catholic or Orthodox.
• Latvians believe that the closer you are to nature, the closer you are to the universe.

Interesting, huh? 

On Wednesday, I joined one of the programmes on their first trip to a nearby town called Cēsis. I went there twice last year, but I really wanted to go again. From Valmiera to Cēsis, we crossed one railway line a total or 7 times! 

The students first met with the Vice-Mayor of Cēsis, Martins Malcenieks, to discuss the town's development and its tourism.

BISS students in action.

Afterwards, the content manager of this summer programme gave us a small tour - Cēsis is actually her hometown so we were lucky to have an insider's view. We walked towards the centre and came to Rose Square. Although there currently aren't any roses, the square was filled with roses before the Second World War, hence the name.

"Rose Square"

Lutheran church, built in approx. 1286.

The lantern has been the symbol of Cesis since 2004.

A gravestone in memory of those deported from Cesis by Stalin.

We then entered the medieval Livonian castle grounds to begin our organised tour of the ruins. 

Magical!

Before starting, one of the organisers of a famous historical film festival held in the castle itself gave us a small talk on the ins and out of the event. Then, the castle tour began... Some people, including myself, were given lanterns to take into the ruins later on in the tour.

You can see the excitement!

Dressed in traditional servant clothing of the time, our guide gave us a very thorough and vivid tour of the castle, describing the typical scenery, which rooms were where and who lived here. Our first impressions were that royalty lived here, a king and queen perhaps. But instead, friar monks and knights lived here. She described their living conditions in such detail, from their dietary limits to their prayer timings. 

Our wonderful tour guide.

At this point, I was engrossed in everything she was saying... Until I felt the sudden urge to be sick. Out of nowhere, I felt like I was going to faint. I couldn't see anything; everything around me was glaring white. I'm not one to usually fuss. Normally I would have just let this moment of sickness pass and carry on with the tour but something really didn't feel right. I stumbled towards the content manager and whispered "I don't feel very well". I handed my lantern to one of the students out of fear that I would drop it. She sat me down as I mumbled different things. I just remember saying "I'm sorry" a lot! Eventually, she went to fetch for the castle's receptionist and they took me into a cool room where I sat while the tour went on. I really wanted to see more of the ruins but, over the years, I've come to realise that health is very important. After all, I'm 20 now. I have to take these things more seriously!

After pulling myself together, I joined the group again and we headed to a nearby lake for a quick swim. I wasn't sure whether to swim or not (I'd brought my bikini) but after having that strange heatstroke attack, I didn't think it was wise. 

Latvian lakes are a thing of beauty.

So that was Cēsis. It was definitely a different experience to last year! In the evening, in traditional BISS style, we had the International Snack Party. People had piles of food on their allotted tables, particularly the Italians (yum!) Some of my friends may remember me worrying about which food to take - perhaps scones, shortbread, curry... Only joking! In the end, I brought some angel cake slices with me. Simple, delicious and English. 

It was all gone by the end of the night.

There's one more bit of UK 'repping' I have to do here in Latvia. Valmiera City Festival started yesterday, 3 days of celebration and unity. BISS students are required to participate in the song and dance performances. I've been racking my brain about what to do. Sing the national anthem? An Irish dance? Sing an Adele song? Just when I thought I was out of ideas (sensible ones), my friend from Denmark said that she was performing a Celtic dance alone. Celts... Ireland... UK - sorted! The summer school staff wanted to see what each country had prepared the same evening. I learned the dance in 10 minutes and performed with all my heart (and with inevitable laughter). I'll wear my Union Jack scarf to top it all off.

I was asked to join the other programme's first field trip yesterday for Facebook coverage. With plenty of water in my bag and a promised lake swim, I couldn't refuse. I was also able to get to know the other group a bit better. 

We had three different stops:

I would live there.

1) Ametciems village - a beautiful village consisting of eco-friendly and naturally-made houses. The original swampland was bought by a successful entrepreneur years ago. He dug up the swamps to build his home, and soon asked his friends to join him on the land. He now sells land to people to build their homes. There are no fences so wild animals can roam freely and one part of each house must contain logs.

As the village's representative said, "This is an example of how one person's dreams can come true."

2) Vestiena parish, the main trip location

Vestiena, meaning Latvia's hat, is the highest place in the Vidzeme region.

After exploring the protected landscape, the students had to split into groups and present ways in which the place could develop activities to increase tourism. The food and Kala Lake (the largest lake of Vestiena) was enough for me! I even went on a peddle boat and sailed out into the serene lake with some Polish friends.

Sunset over Kala Lake.

3) A small animal sanctuary

As we left Vestiena, we weren't really told where we were going. Only that we weren't going home yet. Driving along a narrow path, we saw a white billy goat in the distance. The coach stopped and when we got off, it was as if we had entered another world. There were hens, chickens, geese, ducks, a dog, a cat and 400 different types of flowers in one garden. It was an eco-friendly animal sanctuary.

After exploring the garden, we were taken to a hill top where we made our own candle over a cup of tea and cake. We said three wishes - one for the world, one for our country and a personal wish - and then folded bee's wax into a small candle. 

Don't worry, there was a rope holding it back.

As you can probably guess, I'm very tired but I'm enjoying every single experience. There is one good thing about this heat: the mosquitoes don't like it!