Adventures in Latvia – days 5 and 6

The next morning we caught a cab out to the reception hall for the post-wedding breakfast and to say our goodbyes. There was still some alcohol left over so Dita proceeded to distribute the bottles to the remaining guests, I received a bottle of champagne which is now tightly packed in my luggage, Jim got both a bottle of vodka and a bottle of brandy.

Once we said our goodbyes and thank yous we got a ride back to our hotel from one of Laura’s friends we killed some time and went across the bridge to a little bar Jim had found that had great French fries with a very tasty dill and garlic dipping sauce. We caught our minibus to Riga promptly at 1555 and after a very bumpy ride down the A9 we were dropped off by a beautiful brick building in downtown Riga around 1930. Not sure where we were dropped off exactly we had seen signs for the train station so we walked ten minutes or so through the town market (which unfortunately was already closed for the night) and found an information office where we asked for directions to the hotel, turns out the hotel was right around the corner from thebuilding we were dropped off at, oh well. So we made our way back towards the hotel, checked in, then met back up at 2030 to find dinner. We walked into the Old Town, past some beautiful churches and winding streets and, after a bit of wandering, found one of the restaurants that had been recommended to us by the hotel.

It was in the basement of a building right across the street from the grand National Opera House and was definitely worth the walk. Jim, Jeremy and I had pints of local beer and we started the meal off with amazing garlic bread that Jim had recommended we get. It was different than anything I’d ever had before. It was a dark bread permeated with garlic then (my best guess is) deep fried so the outside was crisp but the interior was still soft then all of it was sprinkled with sea salt and served with a dill butter sauce. YUM. We were also given a bread basket with a traditional (according to our server) side of some kind of bacon and onion spread, also very good. Jim and I split a bowl of cream of potato soup with chantrelle mushrooms and smoked eel (tasty), and for my main course I had salmon with dill potatoes and white asparagus. I really love how they prepare potatoes here, they’re buttery but not oily and slightly crisp on the outside, need to figure out how to replicate that at home.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep and then met up for breakfast at 8 the next morning. At breakfast they had really tasty eggs that were a combination of an omlette and a fritatta, they were served in square slices and were golden brown on top and fluffy inside, very tasty and one more thing I’d like to figure out how to do at home.

We met up with our airport taxi at 9 and have been waiting for the Lufthansa desk to open for checkin (there aren’t any Lufthansa-specific desks, they just open at some point before a flight leaves). It looks like they may be opening the desk now (it’s 1130, our flight is at 1335) so I will finish up and see everyone back in the States!

It has been a wonderful trip, a beautiful wedding, and I’m so glad we were able to make it out. Next will be sorting through the 1500+ pictures I’ve taken ;)

Adventures in Latvia – day 4 part 5

So we arrived at the reception place which appeared to be an old converted schoolhouse. It had three stories, two larger rooms on the top floor (one was the honeymoon suite for Robert and Laura) then more guest rooms on the second floor along with a small reception hall where we were for the evening that had a nice balcony/porch looking over the countryside, then the bottom floor was a reception area and the kitchen.

When the limo arrived we were all given rice and rose petals to toss at them as they went in (the little flower girls got a bit carried away with the throwing) then we all followed them upstairs for dinner.

There was soooo much food! All kinds of salads, cold cuts, bread and vegetables were waiting on the tables along with a cluster of bottles every five feet or so, one vodka, one brandy, one red wine, and one champagne. The tables were together in a U shape with the bridal party at the base of the U, Jeremy and I were seated close by in the corner of two tables with some of Laura’s English speaking friends. On e everyone was seated the hot food was brought out, breaded pork cutlets, potatoes with dill, a tasty brown sauce and some kind of braised cabbage that was quite tasty as well. Before we ate the champagne was opened and Dita made a toast to the couple (with Gunta translating). After everyone had their first serving of food, Pastor Joe and then Jim made nice toasts, then we ate some more and had our first dessert, a raspberry mousse/custard with a berry sauce.

After the meal Robert and Laura had their first dance with all the guests circled around them. Laura even taught Robert a simple waltz that morning for their dance. Those two are so in love, they were making googly eyes at each other the whole time. There was some informal dancing for a bit then all the girls got up and each danced with Robert (I tried to get him to do some swing dance steps but he said he didn’t know how to do them) then there was more hanging out and dancing for a bit.

Jeremy and I decided Robert and Jim should do a shot of vodka with usbut when we went to find Robert he was missing. He had been kidnapped by members of the bridal party and Laura had to sing a song fir his release. Once Robert was freed we toasted each other and congratulated the couple and had our shots.

Jeremy and I took pictures the whole time and ended up “chatting”, well pointing and using single words really, with the wedding photographer (a friend of Laura’s) discussing a trick Jeremy showed me of using a business card (or in our case placecards) as a reflector to soften using a flash indoors.

We had wedding cake (a four layer cake with lemon and raspberry filling) around midnight and the last thing was lighting two hearts of tealights and offering well wishes to the couple. We then got a ride home with Maria, Laura’s cousin who had done all if the flowers for the wedding, and her British husband and their two young daughters who were the flower girls. We were packed in the car and the youngest girl was sitting in, then fell asleep, on my lap, it was very cute. Once we got to the hotel around 1 we went straight to sleep after enjoying a great day of celebrating with Robert and Laura.

Adventures in Latvia – day 4 part 4

So after passing the two gates we caravaned to the ruins of an old castle where Robert and Laura encountered their “exes”, a guy and a girl dressed very goofily who lamented their lost love and cried how they had broken their hearts. The two people who did it were hilarious but after they determined they could not break up the new couple they instead led them to the entrance of the ruins where a string was pulled across the entryway. Robert and Laura were each given five ribbons to tie to the string and with each ribbon they had to say something they loved aboutthe other person. Most of the things were sweet and expected but the last comment Robert made was that Laura “had really great breasts”, Jim, Jeremy and I just about died laughing. After all the ribbons were tied they were allowed in where they had to sit and write down “sins they had committed before they met”…Robert finished a few minutes after Laura ;)

After that the photographer took them to take pictures around the ruins, this was also the point when my camera started acting up. Every few shots I would get “Error 99, please turn off the camera and turn it back on or reinstall the battery”. I restart the camera, change the battery, change the memory card, take the lens off and clean the contacts, nothing seems to work, so I’m thinking oh great, my camera is going to die halfway through the wedding. Jeremy googled the error and it’s the default error the camera gives, so not much help. We finally try swapping lenses and that seemed to fix things, so apparently there is something amiss with my general purpose lens, will have to try and fix it when I get back to the States.

Anyway, once photos were done we drove to a nearby grocery store for the next task. There was a large crowd of people who blocked the way into the store, they sang a song to the wedding party and then Dita (the maid of honor) “paid them off” with chocolates as she had done with the other neighbors. Once they got into the store Robert and Laura were each given one Lat and they had to try and buy everything they would need for their first meal together. After much running around the store (and encountering another wedding party doing the same thing) they both succeeded, Robert spending 99 cents and Laura spending 98. Turns out the blockade had actually been for the other wedding party but in the spirit of the day they had stopped our wedding party as well. It was a very fun observation that everyone in the town seems to celebrate with the couple, people on the roads would honk as our caravan (the gold Lincoln in front, all the other cars behind with white ribbons on their antennas) drove past as well.

We then drove to a bridge where Laura and Robert had to each find a large rock that they then tossed into the water. We were near a meadow so the couple went and took pictures while we waited and waved at the passing cars when they honked their congratulations. One if the cars we saw approaching was the caravan from the other wedding, so to return the blockading favor from the grocery store a bunch of the girls stood in the middle of the road and blocked the other couple’s car. They got out and had to say something to each other (it was in Latvian so not sure what they said) and then they “paid off” our blockade with a small bottle of orange vodka (which we later learned was drunk by Robert, Jim and Dita in the limo on the way to the reception).

The next stop was at a crossroads between Riga and Liepaja. The bride and groom were each given a padlock which they locked together and then they took the keys and stood on opposite sides of the highway and tried to flag down a car. Robert flagged down a car first and (with Gunta translating) gave his key to the driver so that his lock could never be unlinked from Laura’s, and after a few minutes laura successfully did the same. Thought that was a very sweet tradition, and later in Liepaja we noticed one of the bridges had a bunch of chains and padlocks left on the railings and I think it is from this same tradition, perhaps with them throwing the keys in the river instead.

At this point the caravan left the limo to head to the reception but according to Jim they went to another bridge where they tossed in some of the flowers they had received from one of the gates and threw in the list of sins they had written earlier to mark a clean slate for their new life together.

Now, the reception….