From time to time, contentious topics appear on social media, about which clever and less clever minds, scientists and practitioners try to prove they are right. Various statements are quoted, links to studies are copied, etc. Some enthusiastically prove that it is so, others - that it is not so, and not because it is somehow otherwise, but simply is not so and cannot be.
We were once again confirmed in the view that one need not travel far away to learn something new and interesting. Last weekend we devoted one afternoon to getting to know the neighbouring municipality and the town of Ogre itself a little better.
Does that mushroom in the image visually remind you of anything? Exactly - there is power in the fertility of the earth! Not for nothing was the mushroom named in the 18th century the shameless phallus, or in Latin - Phallus impudicus. It turns out that in folk medicine this mushroom is used to improve regenerative processes, heal wounds, reduce inflammation and pain, and ease joint stiffness.
During the Midsummer holidays we stopped in at Malnava, in the Kārsava municipality, to walk through the old Malnava Manor park, find Hitler's bunkers, and take a look at the recently opened Latgale Šmakovka Distillery. Almost no one was to be seen - evidently owing to the hot, muggy weather, as it was Midsummer Friday and the more avid revellers were still recovering.
Not every Latvian summer day is above thirty degrees, and not every day off do you feel like heading out on a trip or a hike along nature trails - on those days there are options right here in central Riga. A small but clean and cosy spa complex at Vingruma Klubs on Elijas iela 17, which we visited one overcast Saturday afternoon.
The Ludza municipality has eighteen lakes in total, but the two most familiar to me since childhood are Ludzas Mazais ezers (Little Lake) and Ludzas Lielais ezers (Great Lake). The latter is the 17th largest lake in Latvia by area, at 8.46 km². Both lakes are connected by a small canal beneath a bridge that separates the two parts of the town.
Since 2007, every year we make a photo yearbook - a kind of family photo CV: what good things happened to us that year, what people we met, where we were, how we've changed. There's something therapeutic, even philosophical, about it, because flipping through these yearbooks you realise everything is transient and people change not just outwardly but inwardly too. This year I decided to try something new - the Myprint.lv story album.
Although the vast majority of MS Windows users have already upgraded to MS Windows 10, thanks to Microsoft's aggressive campaign and the fact that MS offered the upgrade for free and in a semi-automatic manner (available until 29 July 2016), this time the story covers two cases I wanted to share - my observations and discoveries when it was necessary to transfer and reinstall MS Windows 10.
We must say, we are not passionate fans of Asian cuisine, but always ready to learn something new and taste something enjoyable. So this Tuesday we headed to the Restaurant Service School for a BBQ masterclass with chef Māris Astičs and a tasting of Cesars products. In total, six fantastic recipes were prepared and sampled - ones I will not even attempt to replicate at home.
I had always wondered, driving past, what that interesting building was, whose garden and very facade reminded me of Gaudí's artistic masterpieces in the Barcelona park - mosaics of small colourful tiles and pebbles, sculptures, ornate benches and pathways. As it turns out, it's a church.