The song of the day

3 good things or "trīs lietas - labas lietas"

Summer is officially very much over, even autumn is left with trees that almost have no leaves. Well I have to sound very cliché but really - where does the time go?! It literally flies! And being very busy most of this period I realized that I have not mentioned three good things - places of Riga's restaurant scene which I discovered during August and which I definitely wanted to share with. To my great surprise things have changed pretty much since then even in that department. We do live in a fast changing world. Even within two months you can become outdated. But nevertheless here they are:

Bibliotēka No 1 

Very sophisticated yet very welcoming and friendly restaurant where chef is not letting to escape the kitchen any plate that looks less than a piece of art and has no potential of exciting every taste-bud on your tongue. Even though we came in just for a late afternoon coffee and desert we were served and treated like princesses. Thumbs up for not being stuck up and being classy at the same time.  

I heard that they've changed the chef recently but hopefully the quality of food is as good.

3 Zivis (3 Fish) bistro

(14, Smilšu Str., Old Town, Riga)

 

which to my great disappointment has been transformed into 3 Naži (3 Knives) during these months changing a concept from fish bistro to Scandinavian and Baltic cuisine but hopefully keeping all the best things of 3 Fish bistro and integrating them into 3 Knives concept. Should not be too hard considering the fact that fish in both our cuisines play quite a key role. Have to re-check and will get back to you. Now only memories of 3 Fish bistro...

 3 pavāri - Tam labam būs augt (3 Chefs - What's Good Will Grow)

Oh, my, in one word - GREAT - service, ambiance, food - my friend's tuna steak was to kill for! It is a place where meal is treated as a performance, a delight, a process to enjoy. Definitely going there again very soon. And this time it is going to be MY tuna steak :)

Labu apetīti!

The song of the day

My Beautiful Riga Vol.3

Design hotel "Neiburgs" lives in this beautiful Art Nouveau building on Jauniela 25/27 in Old Town.
 

 

This building is like an identification card of Art Nouveau architecture in Riga and is a true pearl of the style. Situated on Elizabetes 10 b. You can find more information about Art Nouveau buildings in Riga here.

Last for today is this beautiful building on Kalķu 18 in Old Town. When I was a teenager alternative youth used to gather in the nearby square and they were telling stories that this house was cursed and haunted and that this was being a reason why house was deserted for many, many years. But now it looks that all the ghosts are gone, it is loved and inhabited again. And it has this beautiful staircase in the very heart of it.

 

The Future

Beautiful and peculiar movie on life, relationship, existential crisis and love.

My beautiful Riga Vol. 2

This is a view one can enjoy from the observation deck of Latvian Academy of Sciences. Entrance fee 2,50 lats ( approx. 3,50 euros), free of charge for kids.

My beautiful Riga Vol. 1

Decided to start a new section on my blog because my city really is beautiful. Just some images with street names. 

These ones were taken on my way to Andrejsala on Ausekļa Street.

Ticket To Heaven

As I am scouting around Riga these days to discover and check out the new (maybe just for me) places to bring my friends to when they will come visiting in the next months I have to point out couple of recent finds.

EcoCatering's terrace called TELPA where you can rave through their abundant and delicious organic food buffet just for 5 lats (which is approximately 7 euros). A perfect hide-away place for a hot summer day when you're tired of the sun and crowds. On Wednesdays they organize jazz evenings, then it is recommended to make a reservation.

And yet another great place I discovered today is a bustaurant (haha) called Ticket to Heaven which is situated on the banks of our river Daugava in front of the yacht club and port of Riga in Andrejsala. According to the concept of the development of this area it is going to face a lot of changes in the coming years. Hopefully TTH will not have to move anywhere though it should not be a problem for them as they are quite mobile having four wheels :)

  

Andrejsala brings together this creative vibe with glamourous lounge bars along the riverside. Will see how this concept works in the future and will check out the posh places as well soon enough. 

Conclusion of today - my city is so damn beautiful! Inspired!

Carnations

amazon.co.uk

I received this lovely book recently by post as a surprise gift from my Luxembourg's colleague and friend. Real inspirational source and treat for the eyes. It has seasonal division as well as chapters written on specific sorts of flowers.

amazon.co.uk

One of them is on carnations. Some time ago I was thinking that the beauty of these flowers at least for a Latvian person is totally underestimated due to the Soviet regime as red carnations along with red tulips were symbolic flowers of communism and therefore they tend to bring up this association but when I abstracted myself from this fact and took a proper look at this flower I was amazed by its fineness and beauty. 

The history of this flower heads back more than 2000 years ago when it was given a name "Dianthus" by a Greek botanist and philosopher Theophrastus. The name combines words "dios" and "anthos" meaning God's flower. Carnation has a very impressive history being a flower of countless Renaissance paintings, worn by Oscar Wilde on his lapel and becoming a cult in Edwardian England.

So I guess it is time to give it another chance and have it decorating my dinner table more often.

 

Here are some inspirational photos for flower arrangements with this majestic flower. Apparently carnation is a very popular flower for table arrangements due to its hardiness as well.

  

  

Summertime and the livin is easy... :)

Some of my summer moments in my dear, beautiful hometown - Riga.

To be continued... :)

The song of the day

Can't sit still with this tune :)

Quote of the day :)

Home

Oh, where to begin...

It's been a bit more than a week since I am back home - in Riga. And it feels sooooo good. At the same time there is this strange feeling as I simply can't believe that in a few days time I won't have to pack my bag again and head to the airport. In fact almost all bags and boxes are unpacked and most of the things have found a comfortable place in my little apartment.

As to my beautiful hometown - it has got many new lines in her face since we parted (I guess as well as myself :)), not the ones which are ageing her but those which give her a character. So many great new places to lunch and dine in, many new venues, construction and reconstruction works taking place. My hometown is getting ready to become a European Capital of Culture in 2014.

I have a rather long list with all the events and places to visit. Here are a couple I managed to go to and liked a lot:

LiveRiga photo

La Kanna - apparently very famous for its Saturday and Sunday brunch, which I still have to try out but so far I enjoyed their delicious Pavlova, home baked bread and welcoming service.

And the other one is called Stockpot - a place run by Richard Johnson and his Latvian wife Linda who have returned to Latvia after years of working in different countries and gathering experience in tastes and flavours of the world's food now resulting in very tasty plates they offer in their cozy and relaxed resto. As they work only on working days and until 20:30 I suggest it is a place for lunch or after-work snack. Definitely will be back.

I promise to continue my research as this summer might turn out to be a season of many friendly visits from abroad :)

The song of the day

Closures

I am leaving back home to Latvia in a bit more than a month time. So my epopee of 6 years life in Luxembourg is coming to an end and it is quite a strange feeling I have to admit. It has been a long period of my life and there is a huge change awaiting, and though it was a conscious decision of mine a part of me is scared sh..less while the other one is very excited.

This all has made me think about the human ability to learn to say goodbye - to places, to people, to things. This is not the first time I've been living abroad so I know how hard it can be but it is also a human nature to get used to everything, even to saying goodbye. Of course with nowadays possibilities of communication and travelling these are probably not real closures. But still. Besides I have a strong belief about the relationships which are meant to last and those which are not, time and distance only serves to recognize the difference. Not everything has to last in our lives and the funny thing is that it actually never does so it is very valuable to learn to appreciate the presence of someone or something as well as to learn to let go.

These last months I've had a revelation that by actually facing the fact that everything is terminal I have been enjoying life much more, becoming more open and adventurous. And another thing I've noticed is that even time seems to pass slower these days because I absorb every minute of it. In fact real life is what happens between Event X and Trip Y. But so often people tend to live in a constant waiting line for these unknowns. Maybe I've finally come closer to here and now conception. I wish :) Anyway these are all just digested notions with an added value of my own experience.

In the light of my removal and conclusion that I've accumulated way too much stuff during these years I have to mention these "Less is more" type of projects I've come across - Project 333 and Be More with Less which came in handy not only from the philosophical but plain practical point of view. Getting rid of clutter in direct and metaphorical sense is really relieving.

And when talking about the philosophical side of it all here are two books I re-read again with pleasure:

To sum it all up I will post a short part of the lecture of timeless and wonderful Alan Watts. Sleep well and enjoy the dance! :)

The song of the day

The song of the day

The song of the day

Woke up with this song in my head and can't get rid of it :)

The song of the day (two to be exact)

A discovery really. Damien Jurado. Indie rock singer/song writer from Seattle, Washington.

The song of the day

Flip*Flop

Not the right season you'd say? :) This was my idea before entering the shop but turns out this brand is producing bags, shoes, boots, clothes etc., though they DID start with flip-flops.

Style is very joyful, colourful and youthful, quality seems to be very good as they use high quality materials and finish looks very delicate. I ended up walking out of the shop with three pairs of boots, just what I needed of course, but then again I realize that for the last two weeks I've chosen to wear exactly those three pairs so they must be it :)

And I just love the photos in their catalogues: http://www.flip-flop.de/default/inspiration-4/. Glad to have discovered you, dear Flip*Flop!

flip*flop

So this was me compensating two months of silence! :)) No more for today!

COUCH

Just wanted to introduce you to my very favourite monthly design, lifestyle and fashion magazine COUCH. They started out in 2012 so it is rather fresh and maybe therefore full of very interesting ideas and unusual compilations of bits and pieces related to the topics it covers. Nevertheless I hope they will keep it up for years to come as I am very glad to find their new issue each month in the newsstand.

The song of the day

Though carnival is not over... :)

Nederlands Dans Theater

Netherlands Dans Theater is in Luxembourg again! Having seen their 50th anniversary program in 2010 I am eager to see them again. They will have two performances on 27/02 and 28/02 in Grand Théâtre this time bringing three pieces to the audience of Luxembourg - Passe-Partout, Gods and Dogs and I New Then.

Photo from Netherlands Dans Theater archive

Lernert & Sander

Once again MUDAM and Design Friends are organising an interesting conference having two Amsterdam based artists Lernert Engelberts and Sander Plug (http://www.lernertandsander.com/) talking about creative work and art of design. It is TODAY at 18:30 in MUDAM.

Photography: Jouk Oosterhof