No title today!

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” – Karl Lagerfeld

Sometimes it doesn’t need a lot of words to describe how a person is feeling. So, lean back and enjoy some photos that were taken of me in different situations, of the nature or of some other places, that really impressed me.

german monkey astronaut in Riga

Kemeri National Park

Melnezers Lake, Smarde

Engure beach

Tume, sveikuli

Riga in the evening, view from train

boat in Engure 😉

beautiful Umuri, On-Arrival-Training

Tukums, touch her foot and get good luck 😉

Smarde and its sunset

freedom monument, Riga

working! 😉

In my opinion, photos are one of the best things to remember specific situations. When I watch them, I can perfectly remember the moment and the connected feeling I felt right in this moment.

I hope that even you can imagine how I felt, because it seems like I am happy on every picture. So you can take the conclusion of this all for yourself! 😉

 

I wish all of you a perfect week with lots of beautiful moments! 🙂

See you soon! 🙂

 

FUN WITH FLAGS! :D

Hello lovely people ! 🙂

I’d like to introduce today’s post with a funny video from the sitcom „The Big Bang Theory“ to let you know what is the topic of today’s blog entry! 😉

 

 

Today I would like to compare the german flag with latvian one. Are there any similarities in the choise of colours or in the order of the stripes? – Let’s find out!

 

Well, let’s start with the german flag!

The german flag contains three horizontal stripes of the colours black, red and gold in a poportion of 3:5. Actually it changed a lot during time, because there were so many temporary flags according to the history of Germany. But finally the flag was first adopted as the national flag of modern German in 1919, during the Weimar Republic. Germany has two competing traditions of national colours, black-red-gold and black-white-red, which have played an important role in the latest history of Germany. The black-red-gold tricolour first appeared in the early 19th century and achieved prominence during the 1848 Revolutions. The tricolours symbolise a democratic, free and united german state, aswell as the reunification of West and East Germany.

Here you can see the government flag which is hanging in the german Bundestag in Berlin. It shows the german Bundesadler (“ Union Eagle“).

Here is a list of the national Flag Days in Germany:

• 27 January  – Day of Remembrance of the Victims of National Socialism (mourning flagging)
• 1 May – Labor Day ( Tag der Arbeit)
• 9 May – Europe Day
• 23 May – Anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law
• 17 June – Anniversary of 17 June 1953
• 20 June – Remembrance for the victims of flight and expulsion
• 20 July – Anniversary of the attack on 20 July 1944
• 3 October – Day of German unity (Tag der deutschen Einheit)
• 2nd Sunday before 1st Advent – Memorial Day (mourning flagging)
• Day of the election to the German Bundestag
• Day of the election to the European Parliament

Normally you can see flags on all important political buildings on these days. But the buildings of the highest federal authorities in Berlin and Bonn as well as all service buildings, facilities and equipment of the army and the federal police are daily flagged.

 

And here I proudly present the latvian flag!

The latvian flag contains also three stripes, but in proportion 1:2. Two dark red stripes on the outside and in the middle there is one narrow white stripe.

Though officially adopted in 1923, the Latvian flag was in use as early as the 13th century. The red colour is sometimes described as symbolizing the readiness of the Latvians to give the blood from their hearts for freedom and their willingness to defend their liberty. An alternative interpretation, according to one legend, is that a Latvian leader was wounded in battle, and the edges of the white sheet in which he was wrapped were stained by his blood. The white stripe may stand for the sheet that wrapped him. This story is similar to the legend of the origins of the flag of Austria.

I also noticed that Latvia has lots of „Flag Days“. On these days you can see flags everywhere on the streets.
Here is a list of the national flag days in Latvia:

• 25 March (in mourning) — In memory of victims of communist genocide
• 1 May — Constitution Day, Labour Day
• 4 May — Restoration of Independence (1990)
• 14 June (in mourning) — In memory of victims of communist genocide
• 17 June (in mourning) — Beginning of the Soviet occupation in Latvia
• 4 July (in mourning) — In memory of victims of the Holocaust
• 11 November — Lāčplēsis Day
• 18 November — Independence Day (1918)
• First Sunday in December (in mourning) — In memory of victims of communist genocide

I already had the opportunity to experience one of these days here in Tukums. On the 25th of March I walked through the streets in the morning and was so surprised about the colourful picture! And then finally some citizens explained me the meaning of it.

Comparing both flags and their history, there is of course a difference because of the history of each country. But one personal addition: In Germany it’s very rare to see german flags on national days. There is just one event which motivates the Germans to put out a flag: Football World Cup or European Championship. During these events you can clearly see the pride of the Germans!

Hope you like today’s post!

Let me know what’s your opinion and have a beautiiful day!  🙂

Visu labu! 🙂

 

Traditions of Latvia!

Hello again! 🙂

Today I’d like to write about my first steps getting closer to typical latvian culture and traditions. I am glad that I already had some possibilities to get deeper into this topic, because for me it’s very important to know more about culture, traditions and some secrets of a country, even when you are living there for such a long time like me.

So, on the last weekend I had the possibility to enjoy latvian pirts. Compared to sauna there is one big difference. While you are just relaxing and sweating in the typical sauna, you get hit with branches of different plants in the pirts. A family of some friends of mine living in Malta, near to Rezekne, which is in the eastern part of Latvia, next to the russian boarder, invited me to their house on the country side and gave me the awesome possibility to experience this great moment! They told me some facts about the history of pirts and why it’s so important for Latvians. In the past some very important events happened in pirts, for example birth of babies or healing of bad diseases. So it was always a magic place. I am so glad to went there on the weekend because for me it was a very special moment. I never experienced something so magical! We spent about 6 hours all in all in the pirts, which sounds quite long, but you need to do more rounds for getting the perfect feeling. I didn’t expected that this has so much background and very meanful reason to go there.

The Latvian pirts restores the body in physical and spiritual terms. A sauna ritual is an adventure on various levels – healing and purifying the body, concentrating the emotions, learning about yourself, and even experiencing a positive change in your consciousness. Sauna rituals are offered by certified and experienced experts, and the rituals make use of gifts from the environment – branch and plant switches, scrubs and body masks from natural and local raw materials. Herbal teas are also offered.

On the next day I felt like newborn and very, very good! I am so thankful for this amazing experience!

I also learned a lot about latvian signs and symbols and their connection to the nature. When I saw one of them, I firstly was shocked because I saw a huge comparison to the german swastika (Hakenkreuz), but actually there is no connection between those two signs. Here you can see:

The Sign of Thunder Cross – Also known as Fire Cross, Cross of Fortune or Swastica this sign is common to all Indo-European cultures. It is the symbol of fire, thunder, light, fortune, health and prosperity. Often used to adorn women’s wraps and sashes, the variations of Thunder Cross include clockwise and counter-clockwise directions.

But there are so many different symbols, all connected with the nature and with a special meaning. I was impressed and very interested in getting to know more about these symbols and their story. You can find them everywhere in Latvia. On scarfs, jewelry or even tattoos. Often they are also connected and you have a big pattern of different symbols, each with a different meaning.

 

 

connected symbols in one picture

I know that there is so much more typical latvian culture and tradition. I can be glad to see so many things so far! And I am excited to experience it day by day a bit more! 😉

On this weekend I also supported some people running in the Rezekne Marathon. I will take part on the one which is in Riga on the 15th of May with the children from the Social Centre, so it was very interesting and motivating to watch the people running like hell. 😉

Here you can see some photos:

 

 

And one last thing I really want to to mention:

WHY ARE YOU LATVIANS LISTENING TO GERMAN SCHLAGER???????

HAVE A NICE EVENING! 🙂

 

Stereotypes are everywhere!

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” 

Today’s post starts with a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, who was an American politician, diplomat and activist in the 1940’s. I think, everybody already noticed that I love to describe my feelings and thoughts with the help of quotes. Sometimes it’s very hard for me to find exactly the right words for special moments. I am thankful for those people who thought the same like me in some situations! 😉

Well, today I’d like to write about german and latvian stereotypes.

Stereotypes exist about every country in the world.

We tend to shy away from generalizations.

But not all stereotypes are bad – they may even be true, defining characteristics of culture and lifestyle.

So let’s start with the german stereotypes! 🙂

1.  Germans love rules, organization, and structure

2. Germans are always on time, punctual

3. Germans love to drink beer and eat sausages 

4. Germans love football (soccer)

5. Germans are well-insured

 

And now the latvian stereotypes! 🙂

1. Latvians are restrained

2. Latvian women are beautiful

3. Latvians are known for their hospitality 

4. Latvians love hockey 

5. Latvians are hardworking 

 

Of course, you can’t define a german or a latvian citizen based on these facts. Not everybody living in his or her country behaves like a „typical inhabitant“.

Not every German is drinking beer and eating sausages all the time. But some of us really like it and enjoy good german beer! And imagine, we also have vegetarian people.. So what about them? 😉  It’s true, that Germans love order and structure in their lifes, but there are also people, who live other lifes, not like it’s „written down“. I personally  totally fit to the stereotype that Germans are always one time. I can’t explain this phenonemon, but I hate it to be late or to wait for people, who are late. It’s in my blood and I can’t and don’t want to change it. That Germans love football is clearly. I just remind all of you of last year… Football World Cup… 😉

The latvian stereotypes came up in my mind while I was discussing with other volunteers about our first impressions or when I was talking with Latvians themselve. Before I came to Latvia I informed myself about typical latvian things. I got in conversation with a girl who was also for EVS in Latvia and she told me, that Latvians are restrained. „When you have a question and nobody answers, just ask again!“ And that’s so true! I experienced this a lot of times since I am here, in different situations. And yes, latvian women are beautiful, that’s also true! 😉 Ice hockey is the traditional sport of Latvia. That doesn’t mean, that everybody is used to this sport, but you can feel the dynamic and cohesion of the country during a game! The last one, hospitality! Everybody welcomed me so nice and treats me so well! I can just agree to that stereotype. I was overwhelmed by this behavior! Thank you for this, lovely Latvia.

 

 

I really wanted to write about this topic, because I noticed that nearly every person has a sterotype in his/her head, when we meet new people from different countries. But the only way to discover if it’s true or not, is to travel to that country and learn more about the culture and the lifestyle!

Thanks for reading, I hope you like it! 🙂

See you soon!

First Of April! ;-)

Hello everybody! 🙂

Today’s entry is about the nature of Latvia. I want to compare latvian nature/environment with the german one. Why? -Because I see big differences, that’s why I want to share my experience with all of you. 🙂

So….

The differences directly start when you sit in a train in Latvia. On my way to Riga, I see most of the time big forests, lakes and even some animals in their nature. A great view! In Germany you see the huge building, highways and office buildings. To compare this with colours, first is coming to my mind: Latvia is green and Germany is grey.

Right now my lovely mother is here in Tukums for visiting me. 🙂 🙂 So, we decided to travel to Majori, Jurmala to the beach. We noticed that many tourist come to that place. There is a promenade with lots of shops, cafés and even hotels.

In Germay we also have beach in the North, many people go there on holiday, so there are lots of tourists, even from foreign countries. When I saw the beach in Majori, it remind me a bit of the german beach, which is really rare, but there is one! 😀

Here you can see some photos of this day:

 

Sculpture of Turtle by J. Barda (1995) – Symbol of Lenght of Life

 

 

On the next day we went to Engure, which is more in the western part of Latvia, about 25 km from Tukums and also on the seaside. When I realized that there are just three bus connections per day, I prepared myself for a nature trip without any civilization 😀 And it was good. Even if it’s also on Latvias seaside, it’s a big difference to Majori. No tourists, just the beautiful sea and its nature. Engure is a very calm place, where you can enjoy the silence and the amazing view on the beach and the sea. We also found a small harbour, but no people, so I think that there is not much sea traffic…

To conclude, I can say that it feels like in Germany, everything is like full of houses and industry. Here in Latvia it’s so nice to feel the nature, because it’s everywhere and very near. Of course there are also in Germany really beautiful nature places or forests, but because it’s a big country with big cities, it’s hard to find them. When I arrived here in Latvia and took the train for the first time I could see that there is beautiful untouched nature. I really like that and I am excited to see much more very soon… 😉

Wish you all a nice weekend! 🙂