mardi 26 avril 2016

The home of the wind.


From Cesis we moved to the small town of Vecpiebalga.

The way was not the shortest one. We, as someone who at times repeats mistakes, decided not to follow the map and cut the way hoping that there is a way to go through.
Decisions of such kind – that’s where the adventure starts.


The field we had to cross was overgrown with tall grass. But we did it.
The river was not so wide, but still without any bridge. But we crossed it.
A forest looked primeval and really impossible to cross because of the soil and dense trees. But we went through it.
So cutting the way did not work again, but self-checking for strength and endurance – that’s for sure. After this Rambo-way we arrived at the point we intended to reach. Here is a pure green field dotted with clover, small old houses, and here it is - the windmill.
A huge, a real windmill was supposed to be our night-place.


* What I noticed during our trip, is that there is such a variety of clovers in Latvian fields: pink, purple, white with purple speckles. My favourite is finally the last one.

The windmill was restored by local craftsmen: wood shingles from the outside, enormous wooden mechanisms inside. Never before I had been so close to a windmill, I never had an experience to be inside, and I even didn’t think about having it as a place to stay overnight!
As soon as we enjoyed the view of this beauty, we went to see locals, who are not in a big number. The windmill is located on the territory of the Open Museum of Ethnography in Veveri, and old-times spirit houses are located there too. Some of them are part of the exhibition, some still give a shelter to people.

The man we met here was the guardian of the museum - Raitis. He is a very, very nice man! Before he was working in cinematography, and even made some films in St. Petersburg. Now he lives peacefully in a countryside house with two cats - Mocha and her son Bonapart. Their relations, I must say, so humane: full of love, care and understanding.

Moreover, Raitis amazingly bakes the real Latvian rye bread with caraway on maple leafs. Stephan was lucky to try it the last year, and he terribly wanted me to do the same. By chance, Raitisa had a piece of it! Huge, very black, and just delicious.
I asked him how he does it: the whole process last almost 2 days -from working on a rye flour with malt to baking the dough in the traditional rustic oven. The bread is very nutritious and tasty. It is important to note that this bread can last almost a month, and it won’t be spoiled.
Raitis certainly wanted to offer us his bread, a cup of coffee (he had 20 different types! on the shelf) and a nice talk. And all was so good ... incredibly good. Such a pure and true man. Only he can smile and laugh this funny way.)
On the way home, we met a nice-looking grandmother that lives the next door. We didn’t take a picture of her, but it is impossible to forget her extraordinary beauty - glowing face and heart. She gave us a huge vessel with milk from her cow – it was the freshest one!
So then, we went home, in the windmill, to cook dinner and enjoy the sunset.
Sesame rice, farm tomatoes, black Latvian bread, pre-fall sky. Happy us...

 

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