riga pt. 1

We traveled from Pärnu, Estonia and headed towards Riga, Latvia on an express bus. These buses are cool. They have super comfy seats, a fancy bathroom, wireless internet, and a coffee bar. They also make no stops between the point of departure and the destination. We didn't know that when we booked the tickets and we were meeting my Uncle in Baltezers, about 20 km outside of Riga. The bus driver didn't speak a lick of any language we knew and seemed unwilling to stop for us. It took a lot of persistince but we were dropped off close to Baltezers - on the side of the highway - with a dead phone - and with cars zipping past us at 100 km/h. We walked to a roundabout right off the highway and waited. Luckily Uncle Jerry is a smart guy and was able to find us, in the middle of knowhere, in under 25 minutes. From this point things only got better.

Let me give a brief summary of Uncle Jerry's story for all you viewers at home. Jerry moved to the Baltics in the early 90's with Peace Corps. He liked it, saw potential, and stayed. He eventually married a fellow Peace Corp volunteer, Denise, and settled in Riga where they are raising their 3 daughters. Denise teaches at the university and Jerry operates Rat Bastard Management (really). Despite the wiseguy name, the company is quite successful and Jerry is well acquainted with all the big whigs and scalawags. The combination of them having hookups and knowing their stuff makes Jerry and Denise incredible hosts. We were treated like kings.

They took us out in Riga, for hands down, the most lavish night of my life. I didn't get real pics because I was too busy enjoying the evening. First we visited Taka Spa. Incredible. I'd never been to a spa before and this place was crazy.

You start in the dressing room (which is crazy fancy) then you head out to the 'pools and baths' and hang out go in between the sauna, steam room and three different temperatured pools. 45 minutes of just relaxing. Next - hot stone massage. So dope. Who needs adderall? Get me a massage and I'll hear every word you say!

After the massage, they send you to a quiet room to drink tea and eat biscuits and crap. Sounds ritzy fritzy but I loved it. You won't find a spa like this in Atlanta, I checked.


After the spa we went to an upscale restaurant around the corner that was called La Boheme, I think. Whatever it was, it was delicious. This is a meal I remember for a while. Great food in great company and there were little fly's painted in the urinals. Target practice!


Latvia isn't known for it's food, but Jerry and Denise sure know where to go get some serious grub. I have never eaten better than my stint in Riga.


The Hotel...oh the hotel.

Jerry and Denise really hooked us up with this one - the executive suite. I never imagined I'd stay at place like this. This was a brand new hotel and it looked spectacular from the outside. When we walked through the revolving doors, I became a kid again. Everything was exciting and new. The room was insane. Two bathrooms, two TV's, two showers, huge living area, office, huge bed, heated floors, heated towel rack, an amazing view of Old Town Riga, and our very own sauna. Nothing was cheapy, everything was top notch.








The people at the hotel said everything in the fridge and all the food was free or 'taken care of' in our room. I called the front desk three times to confirm, and then I completely took advantage of the situation. I left nothing behind. It was awesome - awesome until I found out that I was misinformed. Sorry Jerry!

We were in Riga for a few days and we saw/did much more. Next up, Jerry's furniture refurbishing shop and other fun things.

re-furb : wall gallery

I created this little gallery of 24 candid photos from our wedding. They bring a smile to my face every time I look at them. We'll put more formal photos up elsewhere, but for the living room I wanted something really fun. The decorative wood pieces are a find from our honeymoon -we brought them home from KC's uncle's furniture restoration shop in Riga, Latvia.

honeymooning continued: pärnu

Sara recently taught me a few of her tricks in Photoshop. Now I'm a little less dependent on her to get pictures sized and edited to look dope. Hooray.

We updated a little from Riga but we never finished sharing Pärnu.

Pärnu is a beach town in Estonia located right of Pärnu Bay in the Baltic Sea. One day it was nice, sunny and windy, the next, it was cold and extremely calm. Check out what the wind did to these trees:

 The water was so calm this day:

In Pärnu we had time to relax and enjoy each other's company. It was very pleasant. We spent most of our days there in coffee shops, at the beach, or resting. There was a local market a block away and since we had a kitchen, we did a lot of cooking ourselves. The market had loads of fresh (and not so fresh) fish and was also well equipped with different meats and sausages, fresh produce, fresh eggs, pickled goods, and cheap clothes. The food was cheap and the atmosphere was fun. Shame I didn't get any pictures of the market, but I have plenty from the Central Market in Riga.

Not too much, not too little. Perfect size.

Just some fun pics:

Sara is working on some really cool design stuff right now. It's keeping her super busy but it is some of her best work yet. I'm blown away every time I see her screen. REALLY good.

Next up: our trip to Riga

from latvija, with love

sorry we're behind.
some really good stuff is coming.



while you're waiting on us, check out the really sweet write up on the green's blog about our wedding. this couple is amazing. they have been a huge encouragement to kc & i through every part of our relationship, and their relationship has been an incredible example for us to look up to for the past 7 years. we love them so much, and can't wait to make them dinner when we get back.

mrs g

pärnu : august 14th

yesterday morning we hopped a tram to take us to the tallinna bussijaam. after a two hour bus ride to pärnu. above is the first shot at the beach. note the beautiful sky, the two dozen kite surfers, and the giant crack in the lens. no worries, though, as it was only the UV protector.

we're staying in an apartment in downtown. it's a 10 minute walk to the beach, and it's really nice to finally have some real privacy.

our new kitten. for the next couple of days. he poops in the shower.

the mommy. "nipud" or "nipples" we call her. the kitten is "lekkivat" or "leaky." together, they are "leaky nipples."

tuna carpaccio at a restaurant called si-si.

kc on the "big yellow jumpy thing". see video below.

it's insanely windy here. all the trees lean away from the beach, and i found out why, standing on the dunes at sunset last night. we decided to attempt to recreate that sick national geographic image.

last day in tallinn : august 13

we have some catching up to do with this whole blog thing, but i figured i'd post some photos from yesterday's adventure in tallinn. it was the first day that kc and i spent together without an estonian chaperone, and we faired pretty well.

it was cold and rainy, but we had a good time. at this point we were staying at city bike hostel, hooked up by kc's famous uncle jerry. it was an experience, sharing a bathroom with 6 guys and quarters with lots of bikes, but we had a private room and it was a great price. unfortunately we didn't get a chance to rent bikes, but we hope to in the next few days.

our sweet double room. and by "double" i mean 2 twin beds pushed together.

the russian embassy in tallinn, complete with candles, roses, and windows busted out from georgia protests in the streets days earlier.

katariina käik, or st. catherine's passage. we love this little alley, recommended to us by uncle jerry + aunt denise. we ate at the controvento pizza 2 nights before. ah-maz-ing.

bad-awesome pottery shop on katariina käik. part of the katariina gild. simply beautiful work.

see that tower to the right of kc's head? it's the oleviste church tower.

we got up close and personal with it.

in the 16th century it was the tallest structure in the world, and wednesday we climbed all 300-something steps of the spiral stone staircase to the top.

it was worth it. best view in tallinn, by far. and it cost us 3 dollars. that's what i call budget honeymooning.

we're now in the gorgeous beach town of pärnu, in a sweet apartment, thanks to hanna, timo, evelin. it's a much slower pace here than tartu or tallinn, so hopefully we'll have some more time to catch you up.

love,

mr & mrs g