Blogs from Cesis, Vidzeme Region, Latvia, Europe

Madona & Cesis Latvia 27 & 28 August We are now in Latvia after 2 hours going through the border at Terehova which is near Zilupe. It has been so very different being in Latvia compared with Russia; back to our alphabet, more English spoken, many camp sites for motor homes, excellent sign posting, easy to fine tourist offices, not the big distances to drive between towns, beautifully landscaped villages, back to the Euro, our GPS loves Europe(!), and lots of maps and information about special places to visit. I don't often compare countries because they are usually so different that it is unfair to compare, however we have immediately found it so much easier as soon as we entered Latvia. In saying all that, we wouldn't have missed seeing Russia for anything! As it was ... read more

Letztes Wochenende war ich in Cesis. Das ist eine kleiner Stadt ca. 80 km nord-östlich von Riga. Wir haben gute 2 Stunden mit dem Zug gebraucht (in Deutschland brauch ich für 45 km 35 min... ihr könnt euch vorstellen wie "schnell" die Züge hier fahren). Aber die lange Fahrt hat sich gelohnt. Das Örtchen Cesis ist sehr malerisch und hat eine sehr schöne Burganlage zu besichtigen (Rundgang mit Kerzen!!). Wieder belohnte uns das Wetter mit einem schönen Herbsttag. Leider kann man auf den Bildern die Farben der Blätter nicht so richtig sehen wie ich das gerne hätte. Der Herbst in Lettland ist wirklich einer der schönsten, den ich bisher gesehen habe. Viel gibt es zu dem Trip sonst nichts zu sagen, außer dass wir noch ne leckere Pizza gegessen haben ^^... read more

This might be the last Blog . we will be going into Russia on Tuesday for 18 days I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them. - Mark Twain May 20, 2009, Wednesday, Riga City Campground to Sigulda, Gauja National Park, to Cesis, Latvia. It was about 50 kilometers to Sigulda from Riga. After strolling around this lovely town we enjoyed a hot lunch at the Black Cat bakery/cafeteria. It rained again last night and the weather is cloudy and chilly 40ish. There is a nice hiking/mountain biking trail that follows the Gauja River, so we hiked for several hours before starting off for Cesis. Cesis is a quaint town, tomorrow we will take a closer look. Meanwhile, ... read more

We started the day picking up supplies from a local supermarket in Sigulda, and buying breakfast from the bakery attached to our hotel. This turned out to be a game of chance, with many sweet-looking baked goods containing meat, savoury-looking ones containing fruit and some apparently containing both... Our first stop was the medieval town of Cesis. First up, we visited a castle where we were given hard hats and candle lanterns and pointed in the right direction to explore dungeons and towers. In one room we found a archeologist in a smithy using authentic methods to recreate ancient metalwork found on the site and from the surrounding regions. In the grounds, they also had the town's statue of Lenin, lying on it's side as a poignant reminder of soviet occupation. Afterwards, we sat in a ... read more

After a quick breakfast of porridge and homemade strawberry jam, we all pilled into the vans to return to Latvia. We got to the location of our next concert without any mishaps. It was just a travel day so once we go there we had the day off until a youth meeting at night. Talitha and I went to a café where we each had a cup of hot chocolate and a slice of cake for approximately $4. Then we looked around the cute snow covered town. At the youth meeting (their youth leader is a formed JR Soldier) a few of us took turns speaking to encourage the youth. I spoke about the car incident, Elisa spoke about waiting on God to renew your strength, and Kaspars B gave his testimony (how God delivered him ... read more