Blogs from Latvia, Europe - page 13

Wanderer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957): Tuonela, the land of death, the hell of Finnish mythology, is surrounded by a large river with black waters and a rapid current on which the Swan of Tuonela floats majestically, singing. Finnish and Karelian mythology is beautiful and terrible. One of the most original characters there is the Swan of Tuonela / Tuonelan joutseno. It is rarely directly involved in stories, and serves more as a symbolic figure. It is a holy totem animal and the bird of the soul to Karelians. Swan is marked with a special meaning and role of duality, as a part of the kingdom of Death. Black swan glides along the Dead River Tuoni waters, sad singing its eternal an... read more

Photo Andres Colmenares Severe, long-term water tumbled stones and a layer of smaller stones, the harsh minimalism, a real coldness blows to everyone. But nearby – a real orgy of color, a wide range of plants already in atmosphere of Indian summer, incredible motifs arranged in a carpet. It is Rügen, German island in the Baltic Sea. Is Rügen located in the north? Well, ... read more

Wanderer Fish oil – Horror of my childhood. It was around 1950 – 1952, we lived modestly, sometimes having trouble even with bread. Really this was because of serious flooding – a little town Jēkabpils (Germ. Jakobstadt) was cut off from the outside world, but ended in flour. At that time every morning to all of us three children after breakfast before going to school was to drink fish oil, a whole tablespoon. Disgusting! We did even realize that it is necessary for us, and my mother’s supervision (as it was in case of Tom Sawyer and Aunt Polly) was not required. But the oil was so disgusting and repugnant, that each time I was afraid to induce vomiting. Of course, it was already known and verified that the ea... read more

Wanderer I’ve never driven through such a rushing waters and boats like these were not known in my time. The more interesting for me to look, as it is now. And see also what and how our travellers have found and fixed. Both ourselves and especially all around themselves: nature, animals, not so often – other people. Therefore, this is not reportage, but I just created a mosaic of the pictures (www.laivas.lv). They are from different groups and different journeys and a succession is not really respected. At the selection I focus mainly on nature. For those who want to see the complete work more deep and more clearly, I suggest to go to www.laivas.lv and there’s everything (and more) and can be found to identify, explore and eval... read more

But this time a real northern phenomenon – the Midnight Sun. Everyone (?) knows how and why it occurs and exists. But only a direct presence can provide that special feeling of something rare and peculiar. I had such a possibility during a mandatory military service in the then USSR for three years at the Kola Peninsula in Monchegorsk (Monchegorsk Air Base 13 miles northeast of town). The Arctic summer here was not too short (as further to the north): snow melted in May, autumn came in early September. The very real Midnight Sun was a few days around the Solstice, but the middle of summer was hot (well beyond +20 Celsius, though usually is mentioned +10-15 Celsius), dry and otherwise nice. All ambient – mostly swamp flora (after all it’s tundra, although not as severe ... read more