Riga, Latvia Choir Tour

RIGA, LATVIA!

Put this city on your places to visit list~

Historic downtown, largest Art-Nouveau collection, delicious and flavorful food, culture, charm, welcoming people, and it doesn't break the bank! They have fair prices, which for me, makes the trip even more delightful. 

I was invited to be a part of a wonderful ladies community choir this fall 

and we were able to go to the beautiful city of Riga to perform. 

Background * A young Elder, named Elder Senkans, 'happened' to be serving in the Staines area at the time I was told we were travelling to Riga that fall. This missionary was from Riga and we started talking about his hometown. He then had an idea...he wrote his father, who is currently serving as the Branch President in the area, and then came back to me and asked if our choir group would like to sing in their newly built church house when we came to Riga. I was SO excited and it became one of the sweetest experiences. He then referred me to his beautiful aunt Gunita, who is serving as the public affairs coordinator and together we put a program together. Well, she did the lion's share, and it really turned out to be an amazing experience. I'll write more about it later in the post. 

Riga - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

I arrived into the Riga airport in the late afternoon on Thursday, and took a taxi to the church in the middle of the city. Elder Senkans, who was recently released from our area in Staines, met me there and I was able to hear him speak to many ward members and investigators about his mission in England. It was SO fun to hear him and he even introduced me and let me say a few things about him, while he translated for me.

 I WISH I would have taken a picture...

He and his wonderful family invited me afterwards to their home for a proper Latvian dinner.

Brother and Sister Senkans, Nikolas (younger brother), Mattis, and his darling girlfriend Marta.

Their home was beautiful, and when I was there, I was genuinely welcomed. They were undergoing some renovations, but they had some pretty sweet rooms in their home...

indoor slide, pool and sauna. It was So fun and fast! 

She made the most delicious food!! It looks unique, but this dish was incredibly delicious! I tried not to be a pig about it, but I could have eaten and eaten! I have never tasted something like this before. 

I had the most lovely evening. They told me all about how they met the missionaries, joined the church in Moscow, and came back to Latvia to help build up the church there. Incredible. They were so gracious.

Rundale Palace

**Thankfully my great friend Shauna McHenery took gorgeous pictures and shared them with me, as someone..ahem..might have erased mine...

This palace was built for the Dukes of Courland, starting in 1736.  Since then, it served as a hospital, commandant's office, school, grain storehouse, gymnasium, and more.  Restoration work began on this palace in 1972 and wrapped up in 2015.  We were getting a glimpse of the newly renovated palace...beautiful.

Look at the stork's nest on top!

We were asked to sing a little song in their performing arts room. It sounded so lovely!

The lady in the pink is Geraldine Scott, (my roomie and the one who invited me to join), 

next to her is Birgitta and Stella.

Susan and Lena

gorgeous chandeliers! 

Bauska Castle

After enjoying a yummy lunch of soup, chicken, and fish, we were back in the bus and driving to Bauska Castle.  This was definitely not as ornate as Rundale Palace, but it was still an interesting place to see. 

The castle was constructed under the rule of the Master of the Livonian Order.  It is located on the peninsula were two rivers meet.  It served to control the trade route between Lithuania and Riga.  After the collapse of the Livonian Order, it was a residence for the Dukes of Courland (like Rundale Palace).  During the Great Northern War, this castle was blown to bits by the retreating Russians.  The palace has since been restored.

Arriving at the Church

We were greeted by about 30 missionaries, into the most beautiful LDS church building I have ever been into. It was three stories high, and all the rooms were designed thoughtfully with loads of room to grow. They gave us a wonderful tour of the building and the ladies all seemed to really enjoy it. Then they gave us a "changing" room and offered each person in the choir a free DVD of the life of Jesus Christ. 

They just seemed to fall over themselves making this a perfect evening for us. It was so kind.

primary room

sacrament room

They had the stage beautifully decorated and there were about 175 people attending. 

It was such a special experience. They were so gracious and welcoming. 

This is Gunita - She was so beautiful and regal.

The next day, we took off on foot.  We were going on a walking tour of Riga's Old Town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).  First of all, check out our fancy fur-trimmed guide.  Fur is everywhere here. 

I LOVED their streets!

Here are the sites we saw throughout the walking tour

A wooden tree in one of the Christmas markets.

The cat at the top of a building was featured a lot on Riga memorabilia. 

Gorgeous tree in the Christmas Market.  It was
decorated with roosters and pretzels.  Roosters
were on many buildings throughout Riga.

This is some of the art-nouveau featured in Riga. Check out the detail.

Random spotting on our walk through a local park.

As our tour wrapped up, Mattis was standing on the sidewalk smiling and surprised me when he said,

 "Look, you haven't experience Riga until I take you to eat at the best Latvian restaurant, Lido." 

How was I to refuse?! Off we went! 

LIDO Restaurant

Food was everywhere! It was sort of an upscale buffet style restaurant. We just walked around and Mattis, just picked out lots of different dishes to try. It was really fun. He was quite the host!

My wonderful Vox Mundi Choir! 

L-R and F-B: David (Pianist, Val, Wendi, Geraldine), ) (Laura, Assel, Gina, Susan, Gina, Stella and Jenn - Director), (Birgitta, Carmel, me, Iona and Henrietta)

The choir's evening performance was at St. Saviour's Anglican Church in Riga.

 We were part of the church's advent service.  The acoustics brought this performance to a whole new level. 

I thought the choir sounded wonderful! Mattis and Marta came as well to listen to the performance.

Wendy and me

Assel, Val, Iona, and Dave

Just before we performed

Part of the Christmas market we passed while walking to dinner afterwards.

Rozengrals Restaurant

Amazing medieval cuisine. SO yummy!

Riga Central Market.  

It is Europe's largest market and bazaar, and it is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.  

This place was constructed using 5 old German zeppelin hangars.  This place was a food lovers paradise.  

The amount of fish was mind-boggling. 

I was able to be picked up by Mattis and his family and was able to attend Sacrament meeting and Sunday school before heading back to the airport. It was such a special meeting to me. Translators made it meaningful and I even got to "sing" in Latvian! Mattis is the ultimate host and made this trip absolutely wonderful. 

Flying home...This was such an amazing experience and So much fun to visit a city AND get to sing in two beautiful churches. I really enjoyed getting to know my choir members better - Geraldine was the BEST roommate - and especially visiting and meeting the Senkans family and all the hospitality they showed to me. Thank you xxx