Summary and Thanks

It has taken me quite a few days to recover. The first couple of days were busy wih a live radio interview and an interview for the journal Sestdiena (Saturday). I am very pleased to have completed the walk. Before I started, I didn’t know if I had the energy or will to compete the journey. However, from the second day, I was confident that I would make the distance from Nida near the Lithuanian/Kaliningrad border to Kolka at Latvia’s north-western tip - a total of about 375kms in 11 days. I averaged 34kms each day. I very much appreciated Janis’ company on days 1 and 2 and Arnis’ on the last day.


To plan the walk, I used the 1:200,000 maps in Latvijas autoceļu atlants (a very comprehensive book of road maps). On the walk, I used the maps ripped out of that book, including the larger scale maps for the towns. I also used 1:50,000 topographical maps for virtually all the walk (about 15 in all). A companion book to the road maps, Latvijas Celvedis, provided information about accommodation options. The books and maps were purchased from Jāņa Sēta in Rīga. I brought most of the equipment I used from Australia, some of which I left here after last year’s walk. I bought 5 ‘easy cook’ meals, a hat and a top at ‘Gandrs’, an outdoor shop at the Alpha Centre. Particularly in the heat, I survived by using the anti-groin-heat-rash ointment, Naturalene’s ‘The Invisible Glove’, made from ‘100% natural plant extracts’.

My accommodation was at the following places:
1st night – ‘Villa Deva’ at Pervalka (guest house)
2nd night – Klaipeda – Rolland (guest house)
3rd night – ‘Jūrmalnieki’ at Nida (guest house)
4th night – Jurmalciems - Juris (private home)
5th night – Liepāja – Velta and Ilgvārs (private home)
6th night – Cīravi – Gunta (student accommodation)
7th night – Freibergi at Ivande private home
8th night – ‘Vella Dzirnavas’ near Zlēkas – Elita (guest house)
9th night – ‘Ozoli’ at Blāzma – Māra (bed and breakfast)
10th night – ‘Krūziņi’ at Dundaga (hotel)
After the walk – Mežaparks (home).

Thank you for my training partners in Melbourne – Mark who ran the second half of the Marysville Marathon with me in November, Kārlis and Aija who walked with me at the 3x3 camp near Adelaide in early January, and the other Leaping Kangeroos – Louise, Jagger and Sally – who completed the 100kms of the Oxfam Trailwalk in April with me in about 26 hours.

The blog was again an integral part of the walk. Juris Benkis again agreed to enter the blogs after I sent him the raw text and photos. He did an amazing job and I would not have had the energy otherwise to keep writing and taking photos. Juris provided great encouragement over the whole period of the trip and I am very grateful to him.

I also received a good deal of encouragement both before I left and through the comments on the blog and the emails I received. This was again a life-line.
The Latvian media took again took an interest in the project this year:
At Dundaga, I was interviewed for the local newspaper ‘Dundadznieks’ by Diāna. Back in Rīga, Radio 101 interviewed me live and Laura interviewed me for ‘Sestdiena’. Laikraksts Latvietis and Austrālijas Latvietis also gave me extensive coverage.

Gunta and Ziedonis have provided great support throughout. Ziedonis, Gunta and Anita arranged all the accommodation. Lija, Jānite and Anita have all provided great encouragement and support. Anita visited at Īvande and we were in daily phone contact.

And finally my thanks to all the people I met on my journey and who offered me hospitality along the way – particularly to Imants and Vaira at Īvande and to Velta and Ilgvars at Liepāja. I have had an amazing opportunity to see a lot of Latvia and to meet many different people. I very much appreciate the experiences I have had and all those who made it possible.

Radio101 Interview with Graham, 2 August 2010

This morning, Graham was interviewed on the breakfast programme at Radio 101, Latvia's newest and extremely popular (3 in 4 Benkises listen to it) commercial radio station.

It starts out in Latvian, but soon develops into a bilingual mode. It was held in two stages either side of a news break which IT manager Aigars kindly edited out. Arnis (he of the long strides) has put the clip on his server.

Day 11 – Saturday 31 July 2010

Dundaga to Kolka 40kms 8 hours 15 minutes Weather sunny


At 17:45 today, Arnis and I reached our destination – the north-western tip of Latvia where the Baltic Sea meets the Gulf of Riga. When we walked off the beach about 20 minutes later, I realised that I had tears in my eyes – must have been the coolish wind.
It was a great day’s walking. My expectations were not high as it looked like a difficult slog along main roads. However, when I spoke to Arnis this morning and put the options to him, for each of the 3 parts of the walk he chose the more adventurous route. As a consequence, we walked about 40km, though Arnis’ walking stride was so long and fast we finished in very smart time.
We had to wait till 09:00 before breakfast was served which meant we started after09:30. The breakfast was an experience. It was included in the tariff and was brought to our table. The omelette was standard enough and I thought that that was it. Then the waitress brought us each a strange concoction – cottage cheese, strawberry jam, white chocolate bits and wafer pieces as decoration. We ate it up and it didn’t seem to slow us down.

The first section was to the town of Vīdale. Straight up the bitumen road from Dundaga was about 14km. The alternative, on more minor roads, was about 16km, and that was Arnis’s choice. It was a pleasant walk with no traffic for most of the way. Early on though, a lunatic passed us on the gravel road doing well over 100kph. After he passed us, he went into a skid, over-corrected and skidded again. Luckily, he then regained control.
The second section was a more doubtful proposition as a way through, on my shortcut, was not fully shown on the maps. The missing section was only a few hundred metres and if I had been on my own, I probably would have gone around the main roads. Arnis wanted to give it a try and I was happy to go along with that. As we started out on this leg, we came across a mineral spring, with a pipe delivering a steady, and considerable, flow of water. There were a couple there who had about 50 five litre water containers that they were filling. Arnis explained what we were doing and they showed interest – the woman patting me on he back when she heard I was from Australia. The man asked if there was a memorial to Arvīds Blūmentāls (the Crocodile Dundee man) in Australia.

We travelled about 300m off the main road, when we should have come to a track leading off to the right. I stopped to take a photo of a cow shed which had a ramp leading up to the upper level. The farmer came out of the house on the other side of the road. Arnis asked him where the track was. The farmer said that it went through the paddock beside his shed, but it petered out after a short distance.
He looked at our map and there was much animated talking and gesticulating. He said that there was another track (not shown on the map) which was a little way up the road and which went through to the property called Sudmalkalni (which was marked on our map). The farmer said that we should be careful as, although his god-father had previously owned the property, a Ukranian now lived there who was not always friendly.
I was all for going back the 300m, but Arnis wanted to push on. The track was only just up the road a bit and it started out as a beautiful sandy track through the forest. After a kilometre or so, and with about a kilometre more to Sudmalkalni, the track started to disappear. We followed what appeared to be pushed over grass, perhaps from car tyres. Then Arnis saw a house and sheds in the distance. The track was little more than an impression on the ground. However, we kept the buildings in view as we continued.
After a few hundred metres, we reached the front gate of the property. I said to Arnis that I thought the property had been abandoned years ago. Arnis had, however, seen someone in the paddock – the Ukranian? He must regularly drive to the nearby town, Melnsils, through the paddock opposite, as it was easy to follow the track through what was otherwise a field of high grass. We walked the 4km or so into the town on the series of tracks shown on the map.
As we passed along a laneway between a few houses, Arnis asked some people where we could get a meal. It was after 15:00, and the sustaining effects of the cottage cheese dish had worn off. We were told that there was no kafējnīca, but there was a shop. We picnicked outside the shop – Arnis on herring roll-mops and me with cheese and tomato on dark rye bread, with a pumpkin pie to follow.

Our last decision was whether to go along the beach. The map showed a large number of small creeks running out into the bay. Arnis had been told in the shop that we might need to wade across their mouths in about 300mm of water. We decided to start up the bitumen road for a bit, and see how that was. We had about 13km to go. In fact, the road had a fairly clear verge beside the road and we were able to walk quickly and comfortably. Normally, I have been walking just under 11 minute kilometres. On this section of road, over about 7km, we averaged 10 minutes for each kilometre, and one we completed in 9½ minutes.


We had passed what appeared from the map to be the two biggest creeks running into the sea, so we decided to go down to the beach which was about 300m from the road over vegetated sand dunes. The beach was fairly narrow (10m wide) and seems to be completely covered at high tide. We walked the remaining distance along the beach.
We probably passed about 12 creeks, but the most difficult to cross only involved a jump across about a metre. Adjacent to the town of Kolka, there were a few swimmers on the beach.
A kilometre or so from the point, there had been extensive erosion and the beach was blocked by constant fallen trees. Eventually, we came to the point where Daina and Olivers were waiting. Daina handed both Arnis and me a bottle of Kvass – a barely alcoholic beer brewed from dark rye bread. I had tried it in Pervalka with Jānis on the first night of the trip.
There were about 30 or so people there, some swimming in the choppy sea created by the meeting of the waters. We took all the obligatory photos, had salmon soup at the cafe at the car park – cooked in a large pot on an open fire outside. We then slowly wended our way home following the coast road most of the way back to Riga, after 11 days on the road.

Day 10 – Friday 30 July 2010

Blāzma to Dundaga 31km; 6 hours 45 minutes Weather fine

I have just finished an interview with Diāna, a journalist with the local newspaper, Dundadznieks. With Latvian as the only vaguely common language, we conversed surprisingly well for about an hour, then I posed for the obligatory photograph, map in hand. I gave Diāna the information I had the necessary vocabulary to talk about, rather than answering her questions.



This morning, I wrote in the guest book and Māra took a photo of me to paste in the book. Last night, she showed me her five guest books (all with photos) and found the pages completed by Australian guests to see if I knew any of them. I didn't.
I took a photo of Māra in her garden, then headed off trying to keep the left and right turns of the directions for Māra's shortcut in my head. It was a good little shortcut and I made it through to the main road.
I had decided not to take up Māra's suggestion to visit the swamp. I wanted to go through the forest on the smaller tracks. 30km of bitumen road would have been very unpleasant. The forest tracks looked tricky on the map, and apart from a short period when I lost confidence that I was going in the right direction, the day went well.
The first part was on a sandy track, churned up by logging trucks but, because of yesterday's rain was firm to walk on. Later the roads were gravel, and from Pāce, bitumen. There seemed to have been a lot of recent logging. I hope appropriate steps are being taken to reinstate the land as it is very wet and boggy and the trees must play an important part.




For the first three hours I didn't see a person, or a car. I had passed one abandoned house, and then about halfway through the forest I came upon another house, with a man working in the garden. Until I reached Pāce, I probably only saw a dozen cars. I didn't mind the solitude and the fine navigation required kept me alert.
I will have a companion tomorrow - Arnis Gross will walk with me to Kolka. Arnis is from Melbourne. He, his wife Daina (one of Anita's good friends) and their 3 children, Laila, Toms and Olivers, have been living in Latvia for about 3 years. Laila is one of Lija's good friends and she and Toms are at the summer high school with Lija and Jāna.
Arnis, Daina and Olivers are on their way from Riga and will stay at the hotel where I am. Arnis is a keen bike rider and fit and although we have often talked about walking or rogaining together, this will be the first time it has actually happened.
Unfortunately, the walk tomorrow may be a bit of a road slog. There are very few roads and tracks in the area to choose from. I am not sure whether this is because during Soviet times this was a restricted area or because the land is naturally flat and wet and there was no point having more than a handful of access roads.
Another problem tomorrow is that we will need to walk at least 35km anyway and we will probably not want to detour too much just to find a quieter road.
For the last third, we will walk beside the beach. Unfortunately, there are a number of small rivers or creeks which flow into the sea. It is not clear therefore whether this will prevent us from walking on the sand for much of the way. Arnis and I need to work it out in the morning.




I had a walk around Dundaga before Diāna arrived. The town has some interesting and attractive buildings, including the pils (castle). The town generally appears to be well maintained. The crocodile statute is said on its base to be a monument Kurzemes vesturei un stipro viru (To Kurzeme's history and strong man).
As the information board outside the castle states: "Crocodile - a memorial sign to the history of Courland and the crocodile hunter, Arvīds Blumentāls who was born in Dundaga and later lived in Australia. He is a prototype for the hero in the film 'Crocodile Dundee' by Paul Hogan".
Moving quickly from film to other art forms, there will be three parts to the visual arts component of the Latvian Arts Festival in December. All will be under the general direction of Anda Banikos. The first part is a portrait competition. The work, in any media, must be of an Australian Latvian. There is a first prize of $1,000 and other prizes. The judges are artist Imants Tillers, photographer Bill Henson and curator Harijs Pilskalns. The entered works will be exhibited during the Festival at Latvian House.
The second part is a retrospective of the work of a group of Latvian artists known as the "Blue Brush group" who were all post-war Latvian migrants who exhibited together in the 1950s, 60s and 70s in Melbourne. The work of the group is noted in most standard histories of Australian art and their exhibitions were reported in both the Latvian and Australian newspapers. Gunārs Jurjāns is the sole surviving member of the group. He is probably best known for the large mural in the foyer of Latvian House.
The exhibition is being organised by Ilze Green and will be fully curated with historical and explanatory material as well as representative examples of the artists' works. The exhibition will be held in the church hall opposite Dickens Street in Brighton Road.
The hall will also house an exhibition of Latvian textile artworks. In the last day or so, Anita has been selecting the 30 works which will be brought to Australia. About 8-12 artists will be represented and all works will be available for purchase. I have seen a CD with photographs of over 100 works from which the final selection was made. There are some absolutely stunning works.
I wanted to mention some of the other Festival events, but I might do that when I am back in Riga - hopefully tomorrow night.

Day 9 – Thursday 29 July 2010

Zlēkas to Blāzma 34km; 7 hours 50 minutes Weather rain then sunny

A tough day and at 19:00 I am sitting down to write the blog. It took me a while to recover this afternoon although I got in just after 15:00. I phoned the saimniece, Māra, when I thought I was about a km from the centre of Blāzma. My Latvian was not coping with the conversation but eventually I picked up the words rokas (arms) and atpakaļ (backward)being repeated. I looked back and saw a woman 200m away waving her arms.
Māra and Ilmārs have been very welcoming. The decorations in the house include animal skins on many surfaces. As I enter my bedroom, I must step over what might have clothed a racoon, and by the window appears to be a wolf. They do not grow on me.
At 18:00 when I asked to boil some water for my packet soup and bushwalking meal, Māra offered me much more sustaining food, but I wanted to finish up the last of my packet meals (5 out of 10 dinners this trip) and by the time I had eaten them, I was full.
Māra showed me photos of a board-walk through a swamp close by. From the photos, it appears that there is a lot of beaver activity – damming up the waterways with trees they gnaw down. It is an extra 4km, and is not on my preferred route along small tracks through the forest with tricky navigational issues. I will make a decision in the morning.
I have sore feet from having to walk on bitumen roads with wet boots.
It was spitting with rain when I set out this morning, though light enough not to worry about putting on a rain jacket for at least a couple of hours. The rain was, however, continuous and quite heavy at times. My boots, clothes and pack got soaked.
The road was through forest and I had to walk 23km to Ugāle before I could get shelter and a meal. I thought a lot about the meal I wanted as I walked along. Although, there were only a handful of cars on the road (perhaps 5 or 6 an hour), I was offered a lift by some mushroom-seekers and had to explain that I preferred walking for hours in the rain.
At Ugāle, I stopped a mother and daughter on bicycles and asked for directions to a kafējnīca. As best I could understand, I was told that there was an ēdnīca, which I thought must be not quite as flash as a kafējnīca [spot on, Ed], at the end of the avenue of trees, on the left.
I saw in the distance a series of barrack-style apartment blocks. Eventually, I come to a row of about six shops at the front of an apartment block. There was a sign Mājas Virtuve (home cooking), and after asking, had confirmed that this was the eating place.
Entering was to step back in time. There were about 10 people inside. There were at least 6 tables and room for about 30 to sit down. People were queuing at the servery where they consulted a hand written menu. Behind the saimniece was her kitchen with a number of pots bubbling away on a stove.
Fortunately, when I got to the head of the queue, no one was behind me. There were two zupas – I know from experience that the aukstā (cold)soup is beetroot, so I chose the kāpostu which I later realised was cabbage soup. I recognised pork on the menu – I am sure it said mežacūka (wild boar). I couldn't remember the word for chicken, so I asked for vista (hen). The cook spent some time asking what I wanted with the chicken schnitzel, bringing out samples from the kitchen to show me.
I have kept the bill – 55 santīms for the soup (A$1.20), 2.10 lati for a "full", as opposed to half-, main meal (A$4.50), 3 santīms for a slice of dark rye bread (8 cents)and 25 santīms for a glass of fruit juice (60 cents). Total bill 2.93 lati of which apparently 21% goes in VAT.

She was doing a roaring trade. At least 25 people ate whilst I was there. I noticed that just near the door there was a basin where you could wash your hands, and there was a separate window where everyone took their dishes, etc. when they were finished.
I remember that on my first trip to Latvia in 1987, Didzis (Anita's cousin) and Gunta took us driving in the country and we had a similar meal which I really enjoyed, and photographed. I would give Mājas Virtuve 3 chefs hats; give it a try if you are passing through Ugāle.
After such a lunch, of course, the sun came out and in the 10km to Blāzma, my clothes and pack had basically dried.
These are the simple pleasures of my days. Three weeks ago we left Melbourne, after a particularly difficult and stressful few months. I had been able to complete and present a report on the Tuesday before we left which had been outstanding for some time. That seems a world away now.
I am conscious that I haven't written much about my "feelings" including my motivation for undertaking such a project as this. I have, however, written at length about these matters in my earlier blogs.
Nothing much has changed, though this year I feel perhaps stronger – both physically and mentally. My blister, 2 1/2 cm in diameter is at worst a minor irritant, whereas two years ago, a similar blister was a major issue. Need to walk 40km in a day? Well, just get the first 20 out of the way as quickly as possible and the second 20 will then seem more manageable.
But now, with only two days walking left, I am starting to feel tired and the aches in the feet are real. Tomorrow, I have either a forest walk, or Māra's suggested swamp walk. Then on Saturday I finish the walk on the beach at Kolka, which has long been a place I have thought fascinating and wanted to visit.
No time for a report on the Arts Festival today, though I am waiting to hear about Anita's visit to the Academy of Arts to talk with Aina about the textile art works that will be exhibited (and on sale)at the Festival.
Ivande was the first time I had access to a computer and could check e-mails. Many people have sent their best wishes. I will respond when I get back to Riga.
Thanks to those who have commented on the blog. Can I mention Sally, (my oldest daughter) whom we visited in Kuala Lumpur on the way over and met baby Eloise for the first time. Also, Anita's nephew Mark – I need to acknowledge his recent 92-minute half-marathon. A tremendous achievement but no doubt simply a training run for another tilt at the Melbourne Marathon this year.
I didn't quite make it to Kuldīga, though I was close. A some stage I had planned to time the walk so that I would walk in to Kuldīga on 7 August, run the half-marathon on the 8th and resume the walk the following day. Fortunately, because of our travel times, this could not be accommodated, though I could always come back to Kuldīga for the event ... Mark ran the Kuldīga half-marathon in 2008.

Day 8 – Wednesday 28 July 2010

Ivande to Zlēkas 31km; 8 hours Weather overcast then sunny

More typical Latvian countryside today – gently rolling fields and patches of thick forest. The landscape has a consistency because there are no fences apart from an occasional electric fence. The land is used for growing grain crops or to cut grass for hay. There are cattle grazed and some sheep. These farmers would, of course, need sheds to house the animals for up to six months over winter. Alongside such sheds there is always a pile of dirty hay from the mucking out.

Today's walking was half on minor gravel roads and the second half on main roads. The Kuldiga-Ventspils highway is an excellent road – for pedestrians as well. It has wide verges, rolled firm and flat, properly grassed and maintained by regular mowing. It was like walking on carpet.
I did leave it briefly to try what looked like an interesting short cut. Of course it turned out longer. There was, however, a very steep gorge [about 25m deep] with an attractive stream at the bottom.
Zlēkas is a pleasant town with a nice little church. The accommodation is an old converted mill about 3km out of town. It overlooks a large lake. I am the only guest and was given a key to the front door and told to lock myself in.




At the moment, there is a dramatic electrical storm. The lightning and thunder was virtually simultaneous and there was even a minute or so of hail. The lights are still on, but flicker from time to time. The power is off and I won't be able to charge my phone. It is still early so I think I will phone the saimniece, Elita. It might be something she, or her two sons, can easily fix. I haven't got a sustainable internet connection, even outside where the boys said I would need to be to make a phone call.
Anita walked with me for about a kilometre. She later reported that when she had a shower, she found a tick behind her knee. We are as fully inoculated as we can be [three injections over a year]. Imants performed surgery and extracted [most of] the tick. When Anita got back to Riga, she was taken to the infectious diseases hospital and was passed as healthy.
Anita is having dinner tonight with 2 former Melbourne friends, Daina and Selga (Juris's wife who also walked with me on the two earlier Latvian walks). I hope I have company again on this walk – each of the remaining 3 days will be about 30-35km. The walking should be different with more open road walking tomorrow, then a day in the forest and the possibility of some beach walking on the last day going up to Kolka.
Yesterday, I had access to a real computer and I wrote rather a lot about the Arts Festival. I mentioned that the Festival's Opening Concert would also be an event where the Latvians would be singing. The Opening will be held at St Michael's Uniting Church in Collins Street.
The choice of venue is interesting. St Kilda Town Hall was planned, but the hire charges proved to be prohibitive because December 27 is a public holiday.
At an earlier KDs, St Michael's had been used as a venue for a concert. The minister at the church, Dr Francis MacNab, is a good friend of ours (he married us in the church) and when Anita approached Francis, he offered the church effectively free of charge, for which we are very grateful.
The church is a fine 19th century building with an unusual curved overhanging balcony which gives it the feel of a theatre. Its capacity is over 1000, but has very good atmosphere with many fewer people.
The Opening Concert essentially has two parts – the formalities of the flag procession, the national anthems and a couple of brief speeches, from Anita and the person opening the Festival.
The second part show-cases the Festival events and performers.
Iveta Samulis is organising the event and has invited a number of individuals and groups to perform, including a men's choir and youth choirs. There will be other musical items – classical, folk and popular. The only stipulation is that the works performed must be by Latvian composers.
The concert will be held in the late afternoon. In the evening, a reception will be held in the foyer at Latvian House in Elwood to provide an opportunity for people to meet up and to introduce themselves to the Festival guests – principally the two Latvian conductors, Agita and Ints, the four members of Tango sin quento and the playwright, Jānis Balodis.
After the reception, the winner of the portrait prize will be presented in the large hall where the entered works will be hung. Then the Opening Party will follow, with traditional Latvian music and dancing. Latvian food will also be available from the café. It will be a great night – a family-friendly function, and would be well suited for non-Latvians.
Elita has visited, and about 8 others have also attended over the last hour or so. I still have lights, but no power or phone and the thunder, lightning and rain have started again.

Day 7 – Tuesday 27 July 2010

Cirava to Ivande 36km; 7 hours 10 minutes Weather overcast






A slog today, along mostly small country roads. I walked 4½ hours before I stopped for some lunch. That left only a couple of hours to my destination, with a tricky bit of navigation to find my way through the last bit of forest.
Anita will soon be here. I phoned after my lunch just as she was leaving Mežaparks. She is bringing some medical supplies – I ran out of my eye drops and the blister (on my left heel again) is growing larger. If it bursts I want to have some reasonable dressings and antibiotics so I can keep walking without fear of infection.
Anita had a great day yesterday, meeting with the four Tango sin quinto boys and Ints Teterovskis. Anita was very enthusiastic about, particularly, their discussion of plans for the New Year’s Eve Ball. Anita will meet Ints again to discuss the singing events.





I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that one of Anita’s guiding principles in planning the Festival was “to recognise the special significance of singing as the cornerstone of Latvian culture by a major ‘Celebration of Song’ event”. I want to briefly explain how I understand this is to be achieved.
To non-Latvians it is difficult to appreciate the importance of song and singing as part of Latvian culture. It is perhaps easiest to explain by giving a few examples. When the three Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) became independent in about 1991, the events which led up to that happening became known as the “Singing Revolution”. This signified the importance of peaceful protest exemplified by the singing of traditional folk songs, and the part these songs played in providing inspiration for the struggle.
Latvian folk songs (dainas) were collected by scholars, such as the great Krišjānis Barons, and have now been digitalised in a major project with which our host, Imants Freibergs, was very involved, from as early as the 1960s. Every Latvian home has the 12-volume print collection of folk songs. Many have been popularised in versions arranged by composers over the years.
Traditionally, at KDs, Latvian choirs from around Australia and (since independence) guest choirs from Latvia have performed a Choir Concert. The concert has been followed by a function for choir members and their guests. This year it is planned to adjust this formula in certain respects.
At the last KDs in Sydney in 2008, the choirs represented were a male choir and a mixed choir from both Sydney and Adelaide, a mixed choir from Melbourne, youth choirs from Melbourne and Sydney, and a choir made up of individuals who had formed a ‘virtual’ choir (Atbalsis) to perform at the Song Festival in Latvia in July 2008 and a mixed choir (Juventus) of about 50 voices from Latvia.
The Choir Concert was in three parts – the mixed choirs performed a bracket of songs, then after an interval the male choirs, with the mixed choirs finishing the concert. The songs were a mixture of traditional or new arrangements of folk songs, traditional songs and songs by more modern composers (including popular songs). The songs were conducted by local conductors and conductors from the Juventus choir.
This year the singing events at the festival are being organised by Jolanta Larmane, who came to Australia from Latvia less than 10 years ago. She has considerable experience organising events in Latvia, including an annual summer solstice festival at Sigulda. She has been fortunate to have been able to consult and receive advice from Viktors Bendrups, who organised the choir events at KDs in Melbourne for many many years.
KDs in Australia has its foundation in the Song Festivals held in Latvia since 1873. The 24th Festival in Latvia was held in 2008. Anita, and a number of other Australian Latvians including Jolanta, sang in the Closing Concert at the Festival. It is this occasion which has provided the inspiration for the Celebration of Song event at this years KDs. Of course, the events are very different – in Latvia, about 13,000 singers form the Festival choir and the event is staged at Mežaparks (near to where we stay) in a purpose-built outdoor facility with provision for the singers, conductors and orchestra, and outside stalls are set up to sell food and refreshments. There is seating for an audience of over 40,000.
The Song Festival Closing Concert starts at about 21:00 with a formal concert of a range of songs similar to the KD mix, although with perhaps more emphasis on modern composers. The concert finishes at about midnight. The second part of the programme then begins with the audience joining in the singing and continues until dawn. The song words are shown on large screens and the “audience choir” is conducted by the Festival conductors with an accompanying band. From time to time people get refreshments from the stalls and return to keep singing – and sometimes dancing.
When this part of the programme finishes (so Anita reported to me, as Lija and I had gone home much earlier), there is spontaneous singing inspired by individual conductors. This is where Anita was inspired by Agita’s energy and charisma, and was one of the principal reasons she and Jolanta asked Agita to come to the Australian Festival. When all that finished, the 15 or so singers who were staying at our house came home and set up in the cellar, some with instruments, and continued singing until at least 06:00.
So, what of the Latvian Song Festival Closing Concert can be reproduced in Melbourne in December? Traditionally at KDs, there has been a formal Choir Concert followed by an after-party for participants and their guests. At the after-party, a meal is provided and there is much singing – by all the participants together and separate performances of specially composed songs by each individual choir.
In December, the Celebration of Song will be held at the St Kilda Town Hall, about 400m from Latvian House. The first part will be a concert with the participation of choirs and singers from Australian cities and, perhaps, singers from Latvia. There will be 25 songs in a programme finalised by Jolanta and Agita, after all the Australian choirs had been canvassed. The songs include a song cycle by Fricis Bārda which Agita said was extremely popular when she took it to America recently.
In addition to the mixed choirs and male choirs, Jolanta has organised a childrens’ choir from the Melbourne Latvian School – including Lija – (with some participation by children from interstate) and she also rehearses individual singers not attached to any particular choir who attend for a 2-hour rehearsal each Saturday after Latvian School – including Anita and Jāna.
In February, 200 songbooks with the words and music of the songs were printed and distributed. Further songbooks were published when interest exceeded available numbers, which sounds very promising. In April, recordings were prepared of each of the voice parts (a total of 8), and the combined voices with accompaniment, for each of the songs. These were prepared in a professional studio in Riga by Kārlis Rūtentāls, one of Agita’s colleagues, and a group of singers from the prestigious Latvian Radio Choir. A series of CDs have been prepared and are available for singers to learn their parts independently of choir rehearsal attendance, or supplementary to rehearsals. Anita said she was playing a disc, and singing along, on her way down here on the bus. This was how Anita learned the songs for the Latvian Song Festival in 2008. Agita, Jolanta and an Adelaide conductor, Aldis Sils will conduct a general rehearsal in August and hopefully as many singers as possible will come to Melbourne to participate. Further rehearsals will be held during the Festival in the lead-up to the concert.
One of the songs that will be sung at the concert is Mārtiņš Brauns’s Saule Perkons Daugava. Here is a link to the You Tube video of the encore performance at the 2008 Latvian Song Festival Closing Concert. You will hear Anita singing, with 13,000 others. The composer played the (very much amplified) keyboard solo at the performance. He is the performer in the red jacket. Mārtiņš had agreed to come to Australia for the Festival but unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances earlier this year meant that he had to withdraw. Anita spoke to Mārtiņš by phone yesterday and the plan to invite Mārtiņš to Australia at another time is never far from Anita’s mind. Jolanta’s children’s choir will be singing Mārtiņš’s song along with the adult choirs.
After the formal concert, the hall will be rearranged with tables for a sit-down meal and the second part of the programme. The meal will be traditional Latvian food provided by a Belarusian who at one stage lived in Riga and now runs a successful catering business in Melbourne. The meal will be provided without cost to all the choir singers. Other attendees will pay, although there will be a cheaper children’s’ rate and a special menu.
Music for the formal concert, and for the second part of the programme will be provided by Tango sin quinto. Agita, Ints and Aldis will conduct the second part involving audience singing. It is anticipated that individual choirs and their conductors may also give ‘special performances’. The hall’s projector will be used to display the words of the songs on a large screen.
This event should be one of the highlights of the Festival. It will be a must-attend event not only for all with a Latvian background, but will offer a perfect opportunity for non-Latvians to experience many aspects of Latvian culture – the singing, the food and the feeling of community. Anita was successful in obtaining a City of Port Philip subsidy which reduced the cost of hiring the Town Hall, with associated security and other staff by $2,500.
It is anticipated that the Australian Latvian men’s choirs and a festival youth choir will also feature in the Opening Concert of the Festival on 27 December at St Michael’s Uniting Church, an event which will provide a snapshot of festival events. If I have the opportunity, I will write about that event as well.

But I have strayed from the main subject of my blog. In the meantime, Anita has arrived here at the Freibergi residence and we have enjoyed a very warm and entertaining mealtime with Vaira and Imants. We are both very grateful for their generous hospitality.

Day 6 – Monday 26 July 2010

Liepaja to Cirava 39km; 8 hours 15 minutes Weather overcast

A big day, but it went well. I have just been to the local shop at Cirava to get water for tomorrow. A sign at the crossroads says 43km to Liepaja. My 39km is a guesstimate and it could be more, though I used some very minor roads to get here.
Ilgvars walked with me to the main Riga road. He had warned me about the reconstruction work going on, but there was little activity and I walked straight through. I had 10–15km on main roads, which is never pleasant as the verge is usually so narrow.
After the discussion last night, I had decided to go through Kapsēde and Bebe. However, the road to Talsi looked so inviting I decided to walk through Talsi and Dunalka. One reason was to make sure I had somewhere to buy more water.
The roads were mainly country lanes and the traffic was minimal off the main roads.The most surprising traffic was two young mums with prams who I saw on my way out of Dunalka. There were even rolling pastures and a couple of 20m hills to climb. Very similar walking to where I was a little further south in Kurzeme two years ago. I got into a good rhythm and virtually didn't stop till Dunalka where I got some supplies and had a picnic lunch.
My accommodation is not too bad – no stars but 4 lats, or about $A10, for the night. My instructions were to phone "Gunta" as I got near Cirava. After all my Latvian conversational practice last night with Velta and Ilgvars, I phoned her and we met at the building. The "hotel" is a few rooms at the right hand end of the building. The rest seems to be occupied as apartments. I have an en-suite with a curtain covering the doorway; apparently as the room was "built for invalids". I was given keys and told to lock myself in. I am on my own though a chauffeur from Riga might arrive late tonight to occupy the next-door room.
I spoke to Anita who has meetings today with Tango sin quinto and our friend, Ilga Reizniece. Anita has been advancing her Festival programme over the last few days by speaking to people here in Latvia whilst keeping in touch with the Committee in Melbourne. The Festival is run by volunteers from the local community, and there are more than a hundred who have offered to help.
Anita and I have had countless discussions over the last two years about the Festival, and as there is not much more to write about today's walking, I thought I might write a little about the Festival.
The Arts Festivals started in 1951 and were held every year in a different capital city until about six years ago when it was decided to hold the festival every second year, mainly because the host cities were reduced to Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne and the demands of hosting every six years were regarded as manageable.
Most Latvian migration to Australia followed the Second World War although in recent years there has been a steady flow of migrants, perhaps matching the number of Australian Latvians who returned to Latvia after independence in 1991.
The original post-war migrants were refugees and included children who fled with their parents or were born in the DP (displaced persons) camps, mainly in Germany, before Australia started accepting the "Balts" in about 1949.
Even the youngest migrant Latvian born say, in Germany in 1945, must now be 65. Those who migrated as adults are now in their mid–80s at least. The second generation were born in Australia in the 1950s to 70s. This is Anita's generation. The third generation includes Jāna and Lija. Their generation is very active and now in the "spare" year between Arts Festivals, the Australian Latvian youth organisation holds a Youth Festival, which is similar to the Arts Festival and usually throws up new ideas and is carried off with tremendous enthusiasm and professionalism. We attended the Youth Festival at the end of 2009 in Adelaide and planning is underway for the 2011 Youth Festival in Sydney. Jāna is the current head of the youth organisation.
Anita is certainly not the youngest person to organise the Festival; in fact, Anita's father Ziedonis was younger than Anita is now when he organised the Festival in 1971. But Anita is one of only 3 or 4 second generation Australian Latvians to have been given the job of organising the festival – Anita's good friend, Viktorija Macēna was the latest before her, in Sydney, in 2008.
The Festival at the end of the year will be the 53rd since 1951. It will be known as AL53KD – Australian Latvians’ 53rd C(K)ultural Days. Australia’s Latvians refer to the Festival as KDs and the Youth Festival as JDs.
These were only intended to be a few introductory remarks (principally for the non-Latvian readers of the blog to put into context Anita's guiding principles or fundamental ideas behind the Festival. There are basically four:
1. To ensure the longer term survival of the Festival (and the celebration of Latvian culture in Australia) by having the second generation accept responsibility as organisers of events and be participants in them.
2. To maximise the participation of Australian Latvians in the Festival, including all the generations, those who have moved away from the Latvian community or have had little contact in the past but wish to reconnect, the more recent arrivals from Latvia and finally, Australian friends of Latvians who wish to share the experience.
3. To centralise the Festival events, so far as possible, in the area around Latvian House in Elwood, to connect with the local community in the City of Port Philip and to make Latvian House a hub for social contact and other activity during the Festival.
4. Whilst not underrating the importance of dance, theatre and the visual arts, to recognise the special significance of singing as the cornerstone of Latvian culture by a major "Celebration of Song" event.
If I have time over the next few days, I will try to describe the Festival programme and how these four principles have guided the planning for the Festival by Anita and her committee.
But I must get some sleep. My host for tomorrow night has phoned to give me final directions. It is possible also that Anita might come down from Riga. So much to look forward to, apart from about 35km of pleasant Kurzeme country walking.