I haven't been blogging lately because it's been a really excellent summer by Baltic standards and I much prefer visiting the beach. Although that was disturbed briefly by the horrible music festival New Wave which plugs Jurmala with an astounding variety of pretentious elites who just destroy the tranquility with their horrible manners and bombastic presence. But they are gone for the most part and while sunny with temperatures in the high 20's after this week I suspect the weather will slowly return to it's usual foul self.
Thankfully I have managed to stay isolated this summer preferring not to let the world intrude on my meditations and Latvia is a good place to ignore reality but several items did penetrate my Zen bubble.
Stolychnaya vodka is actually bottled here in Latvia. Yes. Stoli with "Russian Vodka" loudly displayed on the label in a bold red font is actually Latvian. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised because it is bottled by the same company as the ubiquitous Latvian herbal liquor Rigas Black Balsams. Who knew?
And there is a jet aerobatic team based in Latvia called the Baltic Bees. I learned this during my weekly commute over to the fun website English Russia. I've never seen them but I live in Riga and they are based in Tukums, which brings up another thing I learned! I learned that Jurmala Airport exists! And that it is in Tukums region! I spend a lot of time in Tukums and have never seen the Baltic Bees there either so I assume they must spend a lot of time out of the country performing. I used to live in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan which is home to the Canadian team the Snowbirds so I wouldn't mind comparing the Baltic Bees with the Snowbirds routines.
But as soon as I let myself get near any electronic media the ugly reality of life in Latvia begins to intrude. Like the 45 million Lats owed by the countries citizens in unpaid heating bills. Keep in mind this is a country of about 2 million people. No wonder I meet so many people on the beach!
Thankfully I have managed to stay isolated this summer preferring not to let the world intrude on my meditations and Latvia is a good place to ignore reality but several items did penetrate my Zen bubble.
Stolychnaya vodka is actually bottled here in Latvia. Yes. Stoli with "Russian Vodka" loudly displayed on the label in a bold red font is actually Latvian. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised because it is bottled by the same company as the ubiquitous Latvian herbal liquor Rigas Black Balsams. Who knew?
And there is a jet aerobatic team based in Latvia called the Baltic Bees. I learned this during my weekly commute over to the fun website English Russia. I've never seen them but I live in Riga and they are based in Tukums, which brings up another thing I learned! I learned that Jurmala Airport exists! And that it is in Tukums region! I spend a lot of time in Tukums and have never seen the Baltic Bees there either so I assume they must spend a lot of time out of the country performing. I used to live in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan which is home to the Canadian team the Snowbirds so I wouldn't mind comparing the Baltic Bees with the Snowbirds routines.
But as soon as I let myself get near any electronic media the ugly reality of life in Latvia begins to intrude. Like the 45 million Lats owed by the countries citizens in unpaid heating bills. Keep in mind this is a country of about 2 million people. No wonder I meet so many people on the beach!
No comments:
Post a Comment