Welcome to the Baltic

Welcome to the Baltic

After a long flight that took us from Southern California, to Toronto to Vienna and finally to Vilnius we have arrived in the Baltic. I have to admit being in Lithuania is somewhat of an emotional experience for me. My Great Grandfather was an ethnic German, born and raised in a small village called Nowinikin just south of …

A visit to Rundāle Palace

A visit to Rundāle Palace

After concluding our visit to Estonia we headed south to the capital of Latvia, Riga. Riga was established in 1201.  The city has a long history over the years, it has played host to a number of different groups from Vikings to German merchants. Riga’s one unique claim to fame, is that the Christmas tree tradition was started there by the city’s …