Grasi. The House of Children.

Finally, life is an amazing thing: sometimes it leads us to places we didn’t even think about, but at times we suddenly find ourselves at that very place, that we were unassumingly thinking about maybe once.

We faced the second case. Stephan knew about one unusual place in Latvia, which is located by the small (and beautiful) city of Cesvaine. This place is an orphan home – Grasi. It was founded many years ago by a Frenchman. I do not remember, how exactly he appeared in Latvia with such good intentions, but it happened, and this is important.
Now Grasi is a three children's houses where friendship and family relations are living together. Yes, in those houses children have a real life: in Grasi there is no traditional "camping system", where twenty children live in the same dormitory. Here everything is as close to life realities as possible: in each house there are from 4 to 5 rooms where the kids are living. Rooms are cosy and comfortable, each child has its own area, which by time gets a personal reflection of its inhabitant.

Some children literally have to learn how to live in a normal environment from zero: they keep the room clean, they go to school and walk, they do sport and art, and they learn how to communicate with other children and adults. All this is critically important for children that experienced the lack of parental care, attention, education and warmth. Otherwise, it is easy to get lost in this vast and unfortunately, not always welcoming world. Here the guardians of Grasi try to teach children all the necessary, all the most interesting, all the most important. And they do it right, with the responsibility and lot of love.
Heart shrinks from all of it, and at the same time it feels a drop of a relief and a joy. It shrinks from the thought that the children were left by parents when they are in a very fragile state. But it feels a release too: children are in hands of really good, smart and big-heart people.

After a while I got a logical question: how these kids got there? Is there kind of selection? Are there any special conditions? No, it comes by chance, even if it comes after a big life misfortune. In Latvia there are some centres, where children get for the first time, only after they are distributed to children's homes. This process is simple: this organization sends a request to an orphan house for an available place, if the answer is positive, the child goes there. The same thing happens in Grasi: no favorites, no “ better” or ”worse” - all children are equal, only chance plays a role.
And those who got in Grasi, they are really lucky. All kids are different: babies and youngsters, active boys and tender girls, storm petrels or demure. And all, without exception, have a chance to fly from the Grasi’s nest as strong and confident birds. The talents and interests of every child are supported and developed: there are future artists and architects, chefs and engineers.

                                                              Photo: Stephan Soudiere

Almost every kid earlier or later starts speaking French: every year they go to France for summer holidays, where they improve the language and broad the mind. Some of them decided to go and establish there when getting adult age and they can count on the support of their Latvian home. Some children decide to stay in Latvia. But the thing is that even if the child is not adopted by someone, he or she does not remain without any warmth or support. Grasi always stays their home with a big and loving family that always glad to see them. 

We were offered a one-day break in Grasi. And we didn’t refuse it! From that point we didn’t have any schedules or plans. So that, we were placed in a beautiful building of the Grasi hotel - another good thing the Frenchman and all Grasi's team did.

   

The building was playing a variety of roles before it became an amazing place to stay: there was a cinema, a Soviet store and barn, a post office and after a forgotten, useless building. The restoration lasted about 25 years, and now it's such a cosy place! The French taste and sense of aesthetics were not difficult to notice. Well, we have noticed it and just enjoyed it.

Hotel Grasi Pils, in fact, is another way to support the important initiative, children's homes. But they do not say about it a lot, do not advertise, trying to attract attention, they are just doing their job with love and proper care, no matter why guests chosen this place to rest.

The resting day there, should be pleasurable indeed: around - green forests, bit further - clear lakes, a bit far – the lovely town of Cesvaine. Small nice town very proud of its castle of an unusual beauty, of its basilica where the music of an open organ is played, for its cheese factory that won’t leave you hungry, and for its nice streets which are pleasant to walk. I described the town briefly but concisely – all in order to invite you there. To conclude, the town of Cesvaine was another great discovery!

It was impossible for us to rest there just one day: the place and its people were so good so we decided to stay one more day. And we were welcomed.

The next day my culinary cognitive interests led me to a woman, Marina, who is the main chef of Grasi – she cooks for both children and adults. It was interesting to find out what and how she cooks for children to sweeten their life.

I started the conversation with questions about the menu they have, how it is composed, and who loves what. All menus of orphan’s houses are coming from “the top”. Marina showed me a week menu and immediately rebelled against it. Simply because even if the food is tasty and nutritious, the portions are not big enough for teenagers. Usually children are more active than adults and thinking as well about the process of growing, food is very important. That’s why quality standards in Grasi are certainly respected, but the kids do not stay hungry at all.
 I was glad to hear that children are not indifferent to cooking too. If there is a desire, everyone can come in the kitchen to help Marina. And she will definitely find interesting and useful thing to do for everyone. And even those who have no desire of such kind, won’t miss the chance to learn how to cook in Grasi: Marina regularly makes intermediates and sends them to the children, so they finish the cooking themselves. This way they learn how to cook side dishes and reheat meatballs, how to make pancakes on Sunday morning.
And again, it is the story about children's education: it should be disparate, it should include the basic skills of life, which they did not have, but which are given here. It makes them stronger, more curious and intelligent. In my opinion, that's very right thing to do.

There was another important point in our conversations with Marina and Sandra, the Director of Grasi, it's to take pity on them. In the context of children’s lives it can be very insidious. If to talk about raw facts, it makes children weak. If to talk less obviously, some children may abuse of being pityful, turning it into an instrument of indulgence, and as a consequence, they do sign a verdict for the future helplessness in the real world.

Everything that is in Grasi – is an intelligent guardianship, life education and real human warmth. All those things that really work. And the result of it –the children found a family and became self-reliant and self-sufficient too.

There are children that went to France and work as chefs in top restaurants, there are those who stay in Latvia and work as architects and engineers. There are plenty stories, all are all different. But the point is that the work of Grasi is light and hearty and it allows those children who were unfairly left out of the family, to live the way their hearts tell them.

  

I said a lot and now it is time to show people, who are not many, but who put all mental and physical forces to Grasi and its inhabitants to let them live a happy life. Thank you a lot!

In conclusion, the link to the official Grasi website: http://www.grasufonds.lv/lv/english/
This link is here to attract your attention to the process of construction of the fourth home for the children. There are no sponsors, no big PR-campaign too, so if you have a possibility (in having a desire I have no doubt), please, help to build another house, where children's dreams will have all the chances to come true.
            http://www.grasufonds.lv/lv/english/ziedot-bernu-namam-grasi/

Equator.

The next day started with the sun, warm breakfast and drying our tent. Yes, do not put your tent somewhere in the field in autumn: due to the difference of temperature during day and night, condensation inside and outside of your "portable" home is guaranteed. Fortunately, the sun and the wind were in friendship that day, so we dried the tent and packed it quickly, and as quickly we walked to Madonna. People were waiting for us there.
And, indeed, as soon as we arrived at the appointed time and place, we were met by the director of the local library that was smiling by face and by heart. After two days of walking, of course, we were concerned by the thought of simple and warm shower. For this we were hastily helped, and after we were invited for lunch.  That woman was taking care of us, saying that we should be ready in spirit and body to meet and talk with people.
During that lunch we met Inga a pleasant girl, too, who is in charge of culture in the city. So our meal was filled with delicious Latvian meal and a friendly conversation.
Talking about food, I want to highlight the dessert, which Stephan told me about before: this dessert consist of rye bread with dried fruits. Luckily, exactly in Madona I tried it and enjoyed it! Indeed, an unusual but extremely pleasant taste. Bread in Latvia can be considered as a separate dish because it is just delicious, and here it was turned into a dessert – just a rye miracle!
Approaching the start of the conference, we gradually moved into a hall, where all Stephan’s works  were exposed. I am always glad to see them, that’s why I circled few times the hall, looking at the country he crossed the previous year , and which we are crossing right now.
I am sharing my favourite photos of the exhibition.

The hall was filled with people, and a conversation started. Stephan spoke French.  I do not understand  100, or even 60 percent of French speech (but I am learning the language "tout les jours"!), but seeing how he describes his previous journey, seeing all emotions and feelings,  the meaning of the words became clearer.
It was not the first conference of Stephan that I was fortunate to attend to. But the difference was that now I am not just listening – I am understanding and sharing all feelings...

As a good tradition, after the official talks there was a part which is the most open and relaxed, where people were laughing, talking and wondering. I think that this format of meetings inspires those who speak and those who listen.
For all this we thank the city library and its employees that are not indifferent to their country and all its travellers.

I endlessly love life for its unpredictability and "non-randomness."
It happened that Dita (the responsible lady from French university) couldn’t come to the meeting, so she was replaced by a girl, Sandra, that was perfectly speaking French.
I was glad that Stephan had an opportunity to talk in his native beautiful language. But bit later I realized that the conversation of francophones won’t end that simple. Stephan said to me: "Today we will go to a very unusual place, which I've heard a lot about and which I wanted to see so much." There were no further explanations, we just took our backpacks and went to the next point.

Smoothly, measurely, truly.

While travelling, we always try to follow the rule of "Freedom": minimum of plans, the same minimum of promises to ourselves and to the world, all movements and actions by heart desire and the wind of inspiration.
Latvian expedition was not an exception, but there was a point we had to meet – the 14th of September, the city of Madona. This day the photo exhibition of Stephan about his previous trip in winter 2014 had to be opened.
His first exhibition was in Riga, and I was lucky to see it in September, 2014. And I cannot remember exactly how many times I turned around the exhibition hall, enjoying his works.
After Riga the whole exhibition started its own journey – now it moves from one Latvian city to the other already for the second year, and third year – is fully booked. And I understand why.
The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the French Institute in Latvia, there you can find a detailed schedule of exhibition. If you pass by, you definitely have to see it.
http://www.institut-francais.lv/en/

With the thought that on the 14th we are expected to be at a particular place at a definite time, having two days left, we continued our march from the already loved city of Vecpiebalga.
Two days walk is equal to two days of adventure: big and small, silent and soul-crying. Let’s talk a bit about each of them.

As I do remember, once we stopped for a break facing one of thousands Latvian cozy houses with small farm around. Exactly this one also had a huge apple garden in front.

By the time, I started calling Latvia  “country apples”. Almost all the roads are surrounded by apple trees. How many different fruits we tried during the walk – I really can’t say. Just plenty!
So we were sitting in front of the house, and those apples were so red that it was not possible not to try them. So I decided to knock the door and ask for the permission to collect those sun-warmed fruits.
The door was opened and a young farmer with a wide smile appeared. I asked the question, and as  response, he took me straight away into in the middle of the garden to show which fruits and vegetables are the best to collect. He guided me to a tree with huge and sweet pears and after showed the tastiest apples. After he added: "Just go in the garden and take what you like. There are good tomatoes in the greenhouse, there are trees with blackberries. Just help yourself! I am in a hurry to work. ".
Ten seconds I needed for realizing, 30 seconds – for thanking him. The next 15-20 minutes we were collecting summer gifts of this kind farmer.
Backpacks seriously put on weight, but not for long. All was eaten with pleasure in a high speed during our lunch stops.

 The way to Madonna took us about 2 days. There was the warm sun and wet from the condensation tent, there were lovely countryside houses, there were nice friends with tales.)
About last ones we still have good souvenirs.

We were walking as we usually do, and suddenly two dogs appeared from nowhere - one black, one - white. Yes, one was black, the other was white, but both tailed and kind. And it was like if they were waiting for us - with such enthusiasm and happiness they were jumping around.

 
Our funny company was walking with us for 10 kilometers, and this happened despite the fact that we had nothing tasty for dogs – they refused our apples and did not pay attention to cucumbers. It simply means that they didn’t have any mercantile interest in us.)

By the end of the second day we stopped near Madona, just 5-8 kilometers from the city. So we had something to walk in the morning...

The linen and bees, the unique roof and water lilies. All in one day.

Upcoming day was supposed to be busy. And, indeed, it was.

The morning started with a guided tour of the open-air museum. The museum consists of several authentic houses, filled with objects of everyday life of people that lived here many-many years ago. I have always loved (and still do) such kind of places - they are like a time machine.

What was interesting for me is the fact that Latvia was a big producer of linen. Now the fabric-production is not big anymore but in the past people did this exclusively. Looking at the mechanisms and tools that people were using to transform plants to a piece of tissue, you realize how genius human thought is and how much ingenuity lays in the hands of human.

On the pictures is the way people lived: large rooms, where all the family lived at once, carved furniture, smoked walls, modest, but the most necessary furniture.

The story of our guide was entertaining, I wish we could see more, but there are only 24 hours in a day, and it already was time to move on. There were people waiting.

The next meeting – a beekeeper, Aivars. Even if calling him just a beekeeper is not enough: he is making honey, bee houses, honey wine, and engaged in therapy I had never heard about before – apitherapy.
I didn’t have a clue about this therapy but straight away I was taken to a small house without any explanation - just “sit and relax”. Sitting on a soft bed and listening the surroundings I noticed a light hum of bees. After I put my hands under the thin mattress and felt a slight vibration and pleasant warmth. The reason to all this is that we were sitting on beehives...
 

The sense of the therapy is to pass bee vibrations through your body, feel the smell of a bee house and get their warmth. It was good, truthfully.

A bit later Aivars accompanied us. A talk with a pleasant drink, probably, is in the tradition of Latvia (as in other countries). Aivars brought a golden, to be more precise, honey-colored drink - homemade honey wine with three kinds of berries. Nothing similar I had ever tried before. And soon as I did it, I realized that the drink is wonderful. So if you have a chance, do not be hesitated by the lack of grapes in this wine just try it and fully enjoy.
Aivars came to beekeeping not at once: he made a study in engineering, worked as a teacher, and only now he is fully committed to bees. As he said, it takes all his time: he is taking care of bees during the summer, in the winter times he builds bee-houses and always helps his wife with the bee therapy.

 

Taking care of little yellow-blacks is not easy: bees of Aivars do not live permanently in one place, he "walks" them regularly - drives bee colonies to seasonally flowering fields, feeds them and takes care of them.
 

 We were always wondering how to identify the “true” honey from something that just has its name and color. Aivars answered: honey is always good when people work with bees correctly. Honey should not be made too fast, but with patience and care towards bees and their work. The beekeeper should work with the right tools, in the right clothes, in a proper mood. And the honey that is good for you is the very one you taste and find pleasant.
Another question appeared: how much honey per day is good for a person to eat. The answer was as follows: one gram of honey per kilogram of your body weight. That’s simple.

Aivars’ honey, I really, really liked it. It was sweet, but not cloying, of a nice golden-brown color and of soft floral taste. Even if our backpacks were not light, we couldn’t not get a jar of a wonderful honey with us.

The next point of our interest was unusual, especially for girls: masters of traditional Latvian roofs and authentic houses. Stephan already for long was wondering how a traditional Latvian roof of wooden shingles is made. And so it happened that in Vecpiebalga exactly those craftsmen are working. They restore houses with already a long history and build new ones for Latvian traditions lovers.
The visit, I must say, amazed and inspired me too. Inspired by skillful people and by the beauty of their work. I hope Stephan will tell you about them a bit more. But I would say that it increased my already huge desire to build a house. And there is not a big difference if I am a girl or not!

After that we went to see the mayor of the city - vibrant and flourishing woman, Ella. She is the first female mayor in Vecpiebalga and first mayor, who is taking care of the city already for 16 years. And she's doing just great! Seeing how the small town is developing all the time, you can just respect and shake hands.

 
By the end of this super busy and interesting day, we walked a little bit in the town. For me the biggest and most pleasant surprise was the lake. The lake’s surface was covered with water lilies. I was enjoying these flowers many times but on pictures. I have never seen them in real, and here it is –the huge lake that is like a blooming field.
 

  

As we understood, one family takes care of the lake: the purple lake they got from the grandfather. He made it possible to enjoy 60 types of water lilies at once!

When we were there lot of flowers had already faded, but it was more than enough to enjoy. I am sharing this beauty and wish everyone to see it in real.