latviski
Silvija
I grew up learning about Latvia as a child from the many stories told to me by my parents and grandparents. Although Latvian was my first language, and being me was all about being Latvian, Latvia in my young mind was still some "far off land." Still, it was the land of my heritage, and I thought I knew what to expect when I finally arrived.
Nothing could have been farther from the truth. My first trip, at 16, was in 1977 during Soviet times. I was amazed at the big differences: What do you mean, I can't take pictures of bridges and airports? And surprised at the little ones: Drink something called Kvass that looks and smells like sewer water? I don't think so!
Strictly bring your own jug to the corner in Riga
But the biggest personal impact from my first trip was all about family. So, while I hope to provide at least a minor contribution to our picture gallery—Peters is the photographer in the family—I'll focus on my first impressions and the awe of meeting so many relatives.
Silvija's story ►
Peters
Growing up Latvian was very much about being Latvian. Wherever a stadardized test form requested racial and ethnic origin, I checked "OTHER" and neatly penciled in "LATVIAN." In Sunday school, I learned Latvian geography, history, literature and poetry. But it was stories—like the time my grandfather was repairing the windmill’s sails and fell off!—that brought me closest to Latvia. It was a proud and wondrous land which might someday be free again. But it was a day I never expected to experience myself.
Peters' grandfather's windmill in Lizums
The collapse of the Soviet Union changed all that. My mother spent months packing all sorts of necessities for our trip—my first time ever, and my mother's first chance to see her family in half a century after they had all been deported to Siberia for 15 to 20 years.
The rose colored glasses have since come off, but my voyage into my family's heritage and the effect of simply being there have proven even more magical than those tales from my youth.
Peters' story ►
Us
From our synchronized long-distance midsummer solstice Jāni date to centenaries of relatives to visiting Latvia twice in one year, a more family-oriented view, plus Peters' wanderings about. With life and the pandemic getting in the way, our return is long overdue.
Our story ►
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