Man Plans and God Laughs
Sometimes we think we have it all figured out. A trip is carefully researched and planned. No hour will be wasted and every sight will be seen. And then, like the old Yiddish proverb, “Der mentsh trakht un got lakht” or “Man plans and God laughs.”
Such was the case for me in Rīga. After five gorgeous days in Tallinn, I arrived in Rīga faced with a rather grim weather report: one day of sunshine followed by four days of doom and gloom storm clouds. I had planned on spending my first four days exploring the city proper before heading out on the fifth day to visit the Latvijas Etnogrāfiskais Brīvdabas Muzejs (Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia) in the Northeast corner of Rīga’s city limits.
Unfortunately open-air museums and thunderstorms don’t exactly go together like peaches and cream, so I threw all my plans out the window and made the museum my new top priority. I ended up spending a stunningly beautiful day to the museum and with a little rearranging, I still managed to see everything I wanted to on my remaining days in Rīga. Planning ahead is wise and can be great fun, but don’t be so married to your plans that you sacrifice common sense when you’re actually on the ground.
Latvijas Etnogrāfiskais Brīvdabas Muzejs (Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia)
Reaching the open-air museum is fairly easy. Take Bus 1 from Central Rīga out to Lake Jugla. Note that there is a stop called “Jugla,” but you actually want to remain on the bus until the following stop called “Brīdabas muzejs,” which lets you off a short distance from the museum entrance. The bus ride will take about 30-40 minutes, depending on traffic.
The Latvijas Etnogrāfiskais Brīvdabas Muzejs (Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia) was founded in 1924 when historians decided to preserve a single home from each of the four historical, cultural regions of Latvia. Throughout the 1930s the museum grew, but following the Soviet occupation, the center was deemed “ideologically incorrect” and was closely monitored and suppressed.
After Latvian independence in 1991, the museum began to flourish once again. Today it houses 118 buildings and over 3,000 authentic household objects. The structures themselves are impressive, but they don’t sit empty; the museum carefully reconstructs a picture of what rural daily life was like between the 17th Century and the 1930s.
Latvia’s Four Cultural Regions
Despite spending much of its pre-1918 history traded between Sweden and the Russian Empire, Latvia was able to retain its four unique historical and cultural regions: Latgale, Vidzeme, Zemgale and Kurzeme. Each region had different styles of architecture, farming and fishing methods, traditional dress and dialects of the Latvian language. The regions are so important to the Latvian identity that they were enshrined in the Constitution upon independence. Naturally, the museum is divided into fourths, with each set of buildings set up like a village from each cultural community.
A Living Museum
One of the best parts of any open-air museum is getting a chance to witness artisans plying their trades. The woman pictured above ventures out into Lake Jugla with her husband and together they gather reeds and grass growing along the lake bed. After drying the plants in the sun, she carefully weaves the blades together, creating traditional holiday ornaments and Latvian good luck charms.
Even more alluring were the bakers producing Latvian goodies, including this poppyseed crescent that I might have eaten two or three or four of…traveling solo means you can eat all the desserts you want without anyone documenting the evidence!
Lake Jugla
The museum setting along Lake Jugla is beyond breathtaking. Taking advantage of my one nice day in Rīga was the best decision I could have made. The clouds appeared to be straight out of a Renaissance painting and the warm, late-August air was slightly cooled as blew in off the water. I will never forget the beauty of this day for as long as I live.
To close out this post, I’ll take you on a photographic journey through the four cultural regions of Latvia.
Latgale
Kurzeme
Vidzeme
Zemgale
