Long time no see....

Days were demanding..... so today, having a rest, I am online again. What happened during the last weeks?

Birthday parties
Church Party
Office Christmas party
Friends invitations............... LOTS OF FUN!

Prayer weekend
Health tests
Job interviews.................... positive, but in terms of finalizing decisions, very difficult!

Christmas preparations next to everything else..... stressy!

Reflecting my needs the last weeks, I understood I need to learn the latvian language in order to work in Riga and next to this most important I NEED TIME!

So, what I decided is to take a break in between working contracts and get engaged in latvian language. There is an intense 10 weeks latvian course, that I will attend, starting in January!

One fine day!!!

Independence day!!!
Rest, a great church service with lots of food afterwards, fireworks and great talks with friends! What do I need more than that??? Aren’t these the essentials of life? ….. OK, I forgot work, but lets just think about this loooong extended weekend!

Today was the 15. Latvian independence day!
First notice….. no ticket collectors at the busses. I did not really think about the national holiday this morning and so when I left to church, I was wondering what all these people would do on the streets….. Usually Sundays are quiet and there is lots of room in the busses…. But today the whole town was in MY bus! ….. I squeezed myself into it and through to the driver to buy a ticket… a nice Latvian lady helped me to understand that on Independence day none has to pay…. (unfortunately this does not count for restaurants)….. First encounter!....
Then the second!…… our sunday service….. we started with the national hymn!!! ….WOW! …. It was the first time I heard it and people around me sang with all their soul!!!.... I, as a German, can learn a lot from that national pride!!! Do we actually sing our national anthem anywhere else as at a soccer game??? And do I truly know the words and the melody that I could sing it by heart??? ….. PUH, no, I don’t! Sad isn’t it?....
Hey, here we go.…. some new point on my improvement list!
After church, wonderful food gave us the energy to leave with a bunch of folks for the fireworks at Daugava River. Streets were decorated with fires, flags and people everywhere….. Arriving Vecriga, we had to line up with thousands of others quizzing through the medieval city to the river banks….. I do not have to mention that we lost some of our folks on the way….. Finally at Strelnieku laukums, we did not see much of the fire works – to many heads and too much fog….. but the atmosphere was great anyway and besides we got fire places at the square to watch!
The evening winded down over a cub of warm tea and many great stories shared by 15 people in a restaurant!

And the addition… I got tomorrow off as well…. I love Independence days!!!

Flat news

I got a phone call today!!!
And on the contrary to Latvian traditions….. "being late"….. my landlord called "prior" our agreed date ……. and gave me a huge verbal gift!!! I am allowed to stay in her flat for another year! Yubeedooooooooo!
The other candidate was declined ……. I am happy, God provides!
Funny.... the situation is somehow similar to that in April, when I moved in! The other candidate could suddenly not afford the rent ....... so I was the lucky one! And because I had no possibility to influence the decisions ....... relying on HIM carried through!
Praise the Lord!
Sorry guys..... Latvians...... this means, you will not get rid of me before Christmas 2008!
Let's see what next year will bring......

Christmas songs

Just today, I have personally opened the Christmas season.....
Outside we got snow, it is cold and dark already so soon, or actually not getting light at all ……. But what is more important and inspired me very much was music…..
I bought the Christmas CD “Noel” by Josh Groban….. meant as a present….. but I was tempted to hear it…… of course the official version..... I told myself when I bought it...... is, you cannot give something away, what you do not know…… it could be a mistake….. of course this was half a lie to myself…… this voice is just brilliant… wow…. heaven….. Now I have to buy a second one…… :))
And let me tell you, if you start listening to Christmas songs….. candles, bakery, “gluehwein”, Christmas markets, warm cubs of tea on a sofa, listening to music, reading a good book....... suddenly occupy your mind!.... not exactly architecture work!!!...... So be careful, it is a secret weapon….. :)) …… in the worst case you might get homesick….. it definitely started me thinking, I would leave home tomorrow….. BUT its still another 6 weeks! ….. Uff!!!

My wool is my castle

The Brits are special! I already knew they have some very good architects, but this is something topping my expectations:

It all started in the Fifties/Sixties, when KNITTING became a highly valued hobby! Every woman loved to do it!.... and there were lots of clothing made from knittware...... So as a dedicated housewife you were setting a good example to dress your children in home made clothes.......

AND my mum was a loving and very dedicated housewife! She might have missed the turn of times in the Seventies though, cause when I grew up she still lovingly "forced" me to wear her special designs!.....she STILL kept the hobby and loved to give away knitted presents……
I hated them!..... they were not only itchy, but they also looked so uncool! My friends were wearing jeans and I got dresses….. yes, complete dresses!!!..... knitted in rainbow colours!
Well, as a kid….. what can you do…..???

But now..... we are writing the year 2007....... some 500 British women may have realized, that their kids do not like to wear knitted clothes anymore…… Which is why they started with architecture! Where I would use bricks or concrete, they used wool! And the product did not only look like a house, but you could also step into it….. Furniture, table cloth, everything provided …… someone should say ”women are not able to build”!!!

But unfortunately for all kids in this world, I have sad news…… your mothers might return to knitting your pullovers again…… the fire department did not allow the statement “wool would keep you warm” for a reasonable argument……

As an architect on the other hand, I am not really sure what would be more devastating to me…..wearing my mothers knitted dresses or having to cope with knitting women, creating architecture……

YES....... It is a true story about Allison Murray and reported by BBC news! This is the link..... http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2007/06/19/knitted_house_feature.shtml

The latvian health system

Oh, what a day!
I have met every man in white as I possibly can imagine! …. You say, this is a great thing???.... Mh?..... What for some people seems to be heaven or comes close to a soap opera, turned out to be a looooong day waiting in front of closed doors! Honestly, there is not that much fun in queuing with 40 other patients on a corridor!

Work regulations in Latvia said…. I needed a regular health check-up! Very useful… and being forced to face the doctor, is actually a wise step to also keep me focused on my health….. it is so easy to forget those things…..

Well…. this took me this morning to “Vesilibas centris 4”, which is Rigas health center4…. A house with all doctors, therapies and treatments you can think of!
Only problem was, I had no clue how things would work and what I actually had to do! And since the doctors speak English, but the secretaries usually don’t…... it was a huge relief, when all of a sudden my college BAIBA showed up right in front of me! She were able to give me instructions how to conquer the jungle.

I got numbers like at a German employment centre….. And then after waiting looong hours….. I changed doctors, as if I have never been to any before. Normal family doc, EKG, eyes doc, neurologist, roentgen pictures, gyn, blood tests….. You name it!

YES! Makes you feel well instantly!!! ……. In case it turns out you are not.... the hole atmosphere can be very depressing. Hallways with no daylight or fresh air, lots of people sitting in front of doors. Some who cannot wait, just enter the rooms, giving the patient inside no privacy. Everyone on the corridor can observe, what happens inside……whether you are “naked” or not, does not really matter, neither to the people waiting nor to the doctors….
No pictures or music anywhere……just slamming of doors, some conversations….. like a big impersonal human factory.

Let me guess…. You got the picture that I did not have as much fun as I would have loved. What do you actually do in Latvia, if you are really sick??? There is this sign, that I remember at my last visit to one city hospital.…. “Please take all belongings to where they came from, nurses are not responsible serving you!”….. Hopefully, I will never get seriously ill in Latvia!

Finland & Estonia

Office excursion!
As a thank you for our work contribution, my boss decided we would all go to see some architecture abroad. This took us to Helsinki and Tallinn.

Of course we did not want to miss out on the fun part, so we organized a few things around the architecture! First for example, we invaded the airport duty free to purchase some alcoholic drinks. This can become a difficult task, asking 12 people what they want to drink! Second, we hired a car to drive to our cottage destination…… where is the fun you ask?..... we had a rough idea, where to find the cottage in the big, dark Finish countryside....... We knew it was on a lake….. very funny, right?..... so the trip itself was a bit of an adventure. Third, we shared the sauna in our cottage….. 12 people in a room meant to accommodate 6 persons. This was hot, wet, squezzy and with a low oxygen level. The fresh lake below the cottage helped to vitalize our brains and changed our slow motion into quick movements….. believe me, it was veeeeeeery cold!

The aim on the second morning was to leave the cottage at 8 am…… Which you probably can guess…… we did not even come close to this time! The hang-over of some people made us leave at the early hour 10 am. Because we also forgot to buy some coffee….. after 2 bottles of wine, 1 bottle of vodka, 1 bottle of rum, many beers and different kinds of juices...... forgetting coffee is a tragedy……. we desperately needed to stop by a roadhouse to get some of this precious dark liquid. After that infiltration we all were much better capable to focus on architecture!

We arrived Helsinki at 13 pm…… just to realize that the first of our group needed to leave at 16 pm for the ferry boat. So there was no time for many different architectural impressions, but we just focused on the Steven Holl museum of contemporary art! WOW! Wonderful, impressive….. I am missing the right words. The museum itself is a piece of art and not just a functional building! We spend a lot of time there. I took… as usual….. millions of pictures from the same curves and walls – few actually from people…. My brother would be very bored watching these!!!


After a bigggggg dinner at a fancy restaurant (praise to Dainis - he paid!) we headed towards the ferry terminal. And we had to drop our car at a station near by. If you are not organized, this can be a major task….. finding the right place without a map and due to be back in time for the ferry boat. Vilnis had exactly 30 minutes until departure. But since the Latvians are very spontaneous, none really doubt, he would not make it…. Except maybe a German girl, being a bit stressed out!

Tallinn is a dream of a city! Beautiful and very medieval. We walked the old part and finally found a nice tavern to satisfy our hunger for food and dancing! It actually looked very Bavarian….


Following day was architecture again. We visited the Estonian museum of contemporary art and the occupation museum. Very nice and of course I took again many pictures of new stones….

After a medieval meal, where some of us ordered half a pig, we left Tallinn in the evening with the bus to Riga! I was exhausted…. But happy, that I had …thanks to Dainis generosity…..this great opportunity!

"Digital Dementia"

I knew it!!!
These are the reasons, why THINGS disappear….. why remembering numbers seems to be an impossible task and GOOGLE became my second brain!

Scientists found a name for it……. DIGITAL DEMENTIA…….. and LUCKY ME - it actually happens to all of us! A relieve to know…… from now on you got a universal reason to blame someone else than yourself when forgetting things! :-))

The official explanation:
It is a cultural phenomenon, occurring through changes in society. We sourced out our brain to digital inventions…. One brain you carry in your pocket, one is located in your car, one at your office and so on…….. our biological brain reduces to the size of peas …… future perspective…… but, sometimes I wonder, if the future already arrived……. Coz, when I try to remember my own phone number or when forced to recall a poetry from grammar school! There is ZERO motion where used to be a memory…….

And since this topic is not the most interesting one, do not think - just forget about it! :-))

HURRAY – Lets party!

YES!!!!!!!!
The GAISMAS PILS will finally turn on its light!
In case you were having doubts….. by the way you are in good company…… here comes the news: WE SUBMITTED THE TECHNICAL PROJECT DOCUMENTS! ….. So from now on, we and a bunch of others are reliable for any leakage, failure of the system or what so ever could happen in the future!
Well of course it is still needed to have common sense and skills in order to also build that castle….. As you might know, too many beers can keep you from working or even holding a hammer at all! :-))
But apart from that..... I will revitalize my life now!
So this is also very good news!!! Count on me for parties, meetings ...... I am back for the FUN part in life!

Skirts

Today a male collegue asked me....very politely though....... if I would waer skirts at all!.......
Can you imagine me being a bit surprized??? ..... :-
I lost my words in that very moment!

Well, getting deeper into this discussion I figured that we were actually talking about cultural differences, how to regard women being feminin! I knew there are some very big differences here. But to be honest I neglected to think about, how that would have an impact on me being in Latvia!

Germany = clothes show status & beauty, but they are also meant to be practical! Which makes many women...... me included ..... wear trousers!
We have well chosen, styled clothes which support your appearance, but not ONLY convey your being! They show a certain kind of character, but it is just ONE thing about being feminin.
I guess ......and hope..........there is a bit more to it than just clothes!
Latvia = being Beautiful is the top goal for every female here! Most of the women (80%) wear skirts and dress up for normal occasions, which includes top styling! This normally means....... what I would waer for special occasions are regular clothes here........ dressing-up for special days would be waering what I regard "extravagant evening clothes"! ......... Heardressers, beauty salons are highly en vogue! Nail styling, make-up, skin treatments are a must for your every day life! Women spend hours with these treatments ........
Obviously there are differences in people, but I am just talking in general!

As we say in Germany "Kleider machen Leute!" - "clothes make the Man", or "Fine feathers make fine birds"........ Clothes/styling will empazise my female appearance, this I knew! .........
It regularly gives me headaches when facing my wardrobe! ....... There is never the right thing to waer!!!........ Which is VERY female!!!!

BUT this alone does not make me wear skirts or dresses.......
So what is my female identity, and how do I show this with clothes?

I guess, I will need time to process this...... taking also into account that this question would be regarded different in Latvia!
Any comments, female and male, on this topic are very much appreciated!
:-))

STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS

Is our pastor just challenging me lately? Or does his preaching also jumble others? Well I remember I asked for growth in my life, so I probably should not be surprised that things start to become puzzling.

My "Fathers" steps are very visually lately! Sunday morning I had my devotions (2.Chr.20, 1-30) about "Moabites declaring war against Juda = Jehoshaphat". He (Jehoshaphat) was terrified - but first thing he asked for GODs help....... not somewhere hidden in a corner, but OUT IN PUBLIC!.....Everyone was able to observe or hear him!....... Would a king do the same today? ......Officially admit, he is scared and needs help? ........ What would I do in the same situation? ........ Would I be too proud to admit fear?........ What picture would I give in public? .... Rather hiding?...... Risking to appear as a weak person? ....... Or would I consider a king, crying out to the Lord in public, a strong leader? ...... Would I rely on the LORD in that case or rather consider clever advice by politicians? ….
Guess I would love to ask Jehoshaphat this question!

I am keeping this huge list with all questions ....... still unanswered :-(( ....... and I cheat myself thinking, I will be able to ask GOD all these questions someday! Probably at that very moment, I won't have questions anymore….. But until that day, the list is getting looooong!
It is also true, the more I know and experience the Lord........ Sorry GUYS, not the less questions I have, but....... the more questions appear….. Some get answered, but at the same time, there are equally more to come.

AND then Mark preached on Sunday (Heb. 5,10) ........ As soon as he started talking about weakness….. I DEFINATLY GOT THE POINT – this was for me!

As if GOD wants to prove this reality to me, the week is one challenge after another and I am feeling totally exposed and weak! But I learned HIS STRENGTH is with the weak….. So I probably should feel GOOD about it….. Mh, if you would have told me...... exactly that ...... yesterday evening, I would have yelled at you!

Eg. I will share some incidents …… getting a structural drawing 10 days before the deadline or technical project (!!!)....... recognizing nothing is as discussed ......... but effecting 7 - A1 sheets of printouts......... THAT feels like being sued and sitting in jail already......... I was out of my mind....... “Do I actually have an engineer in this project???”…. "Who is drawing this stuff?"....... “What is this guy thinking?”…… "Does he care at all???” …. “It will costs my health again! Nightshifts, simply to finish in time!” …..

So, work is not always a piece of cake! It also shows perfectly how weak I am, and how proud I can be, thinking I would handle my daily life without GOD!

There are a few lessons here for me to learn…..

Countdown

Thats me at the moment!

Having a tough time at the office, finishing the technical design for the National Library!

Less sleep, as you can see..... Tiredness helps to actually also do crazy things like this photo shooting! Every collegue had to pose..... No exception!

These are my favourite 3 pics....

.

THANKSGIVING

There was this idea to celebrate a thanksgiving day. I would prepare and invite others and we would spend a day praying alone and in the group, eating and having time together.

Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD
is good; his love endures for ever. Jer. 33, 11

AND we have – no matter what happened throughout the last year – many things to give praise or thanks to HIM! Try yourself, I am sure you will find something for each topic:

Creation, Family, Partner, Children, Friends
Health, Food, Clothes, Money
Church, Home, Work,
Love, Joy, Security, Peace
Encouragement, Help, Gifts, Touch, Time................. Amazing isn’t it?

THE QUID!

What is that????
Well, according to the news today, we desperately need a new currency! So the QUID is THE new financial revolution!...... “Does any tribe in south Africa need to change from trading with sugarcane? Even if, they would get the dollar!” …. NO! For countries here on earth we already have a solution! ……Scientists need NEW challenges! …… And now, here comes the tragedy - we have NO MONEY in universe!
“But who is actually traveling there?” you might ask!" ……. Obviously there are some touristy spots out in space, otherwise, why should you even want to take money for a BOCKWURST or souvenirs??? But honestly, what do you actually do with money in space? ……. If I would organize the tour, I would ask for payment ahead the trip. Maybe you never return? For my opinion that would bring me too quick to bankruptcy…..
But this little piece of new developed metal coin is especially fire resistant, like a hot pan would be.... “Cooking in space is an option? Eating pills is not anymore the way to dine?”..... Well, I might need to educated myself in order to grasp this invention. But maybe they just needed to find work? Fighting unemployment = creating new jobs in space is definitely a clever move! :-))

Pictures Istanbul 5

Pictures Istanbul 4

Pictures Istanbul 3

Pictures Istanbul 2

Pictures Istanbul 1

Muezzin + Turkish coffees

Contrasting elements everywhere!

Streets filled with signs, houses covered in advertisements, colorful, big and small ones, fixed or as a flag moving with the wind, two story houses next to 7 levels, historical ones from the 16.th century and poor standards side-by-side.
A mix-up of languages, cultures, bargains, pickpockets, elements without any order, moving chadors or women in mini and top, thousands of tourists, hills and water ways, cars, planes, busses and ships.
Muezzins making sounds, at regular recurring times – also at night, awakening you in the middle of a peaceful dream.
Pulsating traffic, transportation without any recognizable or connected system, not even the taxi drivers would know, where to find places. Especially to mention the habit to blow the horn for almost every situation – “Attention, I am coming”, “Get out of my way!”, “Idiot!”, “Hello neighbor, nice to meet you!”. Tooting signs are definitely an additional language that you need to learn in order to move safely through the streets. Ah, and watch out before crossing the street too. A red traffic light does not necessary also mean, that cars would stop. Best you learn to walk at a red traffic light, cause then the car will at least blow the horn and you will hear it before it knocks you over! :-))

I sometimes felt like being in the midst of a beehive. Vibrations, sounds, cars, smog, screams, everyone and everything moved at the same time, somewhere without direction – no silence, no rest……. BUT it was so much alive! Excitement, attraction, power...... MAGNATIC FACINATION!

AND then in the midst of this chaos, coffee or tea drinking people, games at bars (mostly men), talks, communication on the streets, as if there is nothing else to do, no work, no hassle, no rush, someone offering you a cup of tea - a sign of acceptance and respect, taking time an honor….. Good to learn for a stressed out German, isn’t it???
Remarkable also meditating people among this pulsating mess, singing recurring tones or murmuring words like mantras…… Was that meant to lift them up to a higher level of spirituality, or silence??? Old hands holding wooden necklaces for prayers. BUT what hit me with watching these men and women, prayer seemed to be naturally in public yet very private. I thought from Muslim prayer rituals, I can learn a sincerity, eagerness, commitment even knowing they need to earn their way to heaven thought doing so…..

How do I pray? Is the Lord really as much integrated into my daily activities and do I find the silence to pray among traffic lights? Is my believe as sincere that I can call out into the public without being a little bit embarrassed? How strong is my prayer life if I am confronted in public? What about my commitment to pray regular and how important are sometimes other things compared to prayer??? Lot’s of questions which ask for answers…..

Yes, the contrast of life in Istanbul was definitely, what struck me most!!!

JOYFULNESS – What makes me joyful?

This is a very good question! I could now recall all Christian trainings and find the perfect answer that would also be fine from a biblical perspective. But wouldn’t that be cheating??? Well Mark Sandberg asked the question and it keeps me thinking…..When I can be authentically ME!??? Which is exactly??? When I feel accepted and respected – loved! Wow….and more into detail, what does that mean? Mh!

1. PEOPLE and TIME would be key! A situation where I feel welcome, personally invited to be a part of a group or single person! When someone allows me being a part of his life. And then sharing life also means, having the time for talking or doing something together. WHICH also means, that having no time for people and myself makes me fall apart and is quite devastating to me! NO TIME, NO PEOPLE = NO JOY
2. When I can do things I love doing. Like dancing, singing, walking along beaches or climbing mountains, photography, working with flowers, sometimes painting, sightseeing, cooking or baking for others.
3. DREAMING daydreams, small little stories that are actually not real but nice escapes from reality, like fairytales. Or even reading a good novel or watching a movie. Helps relax and to enjoy a quiet evening. It also helps to get some distance from daily challenges and emotions and to find my real self……
4. When I can live and share my calling. Mentoring, equipping, supporting, challenging people, to grow into the people GOD designed them to be. How much joy would I feel, if someone truly could say on my funeral, Claudia helped me to become myself and find the Lord. Wow that is the ultimate JOY! If I could leave a legacy like that!

“Unpopular” Waves

Finally vacations!
After arriving Tuesday 11.09.2007 a bus ride took Andrea and me Thursday morning from busy Istanbul through the province to a Podunk! But what a beautiful one!

Two rivers, the Black Sea, woods, animals (mostly fish), waterfalls, a small fishing town, cliffs, sandy beaches…. and deeply red sunsets.

That was the best place to allow your brain to rest! We had wonderful warm (28 degrees) weather…. At least for me, Andrea, used to 40 degrees, was wearing a thick sweater…. J Changing our clothes with a bathing suit and off we went….. Where? The Beach! First thought and first destination….

What I did not expect was that the beach would be that great! No one was there, we had a good breeze, high waves, fine sand and water temperatures as sitting in your bathtub. It just trilled me!!!

In such situations I cannot believe how heaven must be like. I simply cannot imagine that there will be something more stunning than that view! Meditating on that the Lord planted some incredible peace into my heart. Rarely though, but sometimes being on earth you are actually close to heaven….

Beautiful German Sculpture

Liga and I went out for dinner yesterday! As so often, talking quickly took the turn to a spiritual conversation. I mentioned that God is molding me through challenges here in Latvia. I know, I am experiencing difficulties because God is cutting of edges in my personality and forming my character. So he is creating a more and more beautiful German sculpture. :-))

Until death will part you...

YES, with Gods blessing..... what else is there to say???
Ok, the bride looked beautiful and the groom was unrecognizable nervous...... both of them extremly happy! And the story has a Happy End!
Oh, I forgot a small detail - both of them are Pastors! .... at different protestant churches.... with nearly all of their friends AND family being pastors as well..... just a minor detail, I thought..... but it turned out, that being a pastor also means, the whole community will also attend your wedding ..... a very special treat, meaning this in a positive way! Eg. the freshly married couple stopped right in front of the church to receive hundreds of congratulations........ devoted friends, not knowing and being polite, lined up at the end of the queue :-))
But we did get lots of cake and fun too!

Weddingday

Weddingday for Eric and Julia..... started with a good breakfast among old friends and lots of coffee..... what a pleasure!....... And right, we also had to prepare the flowers decorations..... apart from talking...... so there was a bit of work waiting for us. Colletta and Birgit, as florists, had prepared most of it at home (brides bouquet, table deco), so left was only the church! The altar, benches, columns, background deco and exactly 24 bows with special meanders...... We were in our element and presented at 13.00 pm the perfect location...... for an adorable couple!

Dream day

But then it was Friday, 07.09.2007 and I was off again..... Germany for the weekend to participate at a friends wedding and then TURKEY!
Getting to sleep at 4 am....... after finishing work at late hours, packing my suitcase, cleaning my flat.... all of this did not provide for a long sleep..... which means that it was a bit clumsy!
Travelling the bus to the airport took me nearly 2 hours! I did remember, having written at least 3 lists with the top item MONEY...... that I needed some cash! And I knew a perfect ATM at the airport!........ Unfortunatly the cash maschine did not know me, cause as soon as I stuffed it with my card, it simply ate it!!! So, I needed advice....... and, right....... there was also a plane to catch!........ Latvia is now not exactly, what I would call "service oriented"...... in fact the nicely dressed blond lady at the bank counter just answered, she would not be the right one to attend to........WHO else????? ...... I was on my way to Turkey....... without a bank card..... with a bit of change..... but most important with a plane ticket...... right then......
Check in, business as usual I thought, not realizing that I checked in at the wrong terminal....yes all of this really happened..... and yes, it is still me, claudia.....
I bought something to eat, especially to mention also something to drink......the big bottle of water!!!!.....being very proud to care about drinking water...... and then, at the assumed gate, no flight to Frankfurt..... how is that possible, 15 minutes before take off??? .....None waiting there???..... well, as the Germans say: "Advantaged is who actually is able to read!!!".....
And then I was very quick :-)) ...... check-out through the basement of the airport with passport controll, running through the arrival hall to the other end of the airport, checking-in through customs, getting rid of my water supplies, passport controll again........ only to notice, I was in time, but the aircraft delayed for 30 minutes.....
To make this loooong text short(er), finally Ryainair brought me safe for Frankfurt Hahn!
But the dream day had not ended yet..... Eric, who asked me to take a bus from Hahn to Bingen, did not tell me, that the bus actually stopped at every corner on its way. I got a paid but guided tour around the "Hundsrueck" with free stories told by two older Ladies and the bus driver. Arriving in Bingen I knew everything about local bus companies and their potential best drivers...... Apart from travelling with the bus longer than taking the plane to Germany, I had my share of amusement......later that day, when arrived at the place for the celebration, being tired did not matter anymore....... To be honest, reflecting all of this, it was a dream day!!!

03.09.-06.09.2007

Working in between my seminars and vacations, I better do not mention!

Friday 31.08.2007

Friday, after seminar, I was absolutly tired! Recreational stress...... Poor little me! Too many things at once! So I spontaniously decided to go for a looooong walk in Oberhausen.
FIRST I saw "Schloss Oberhausen" .......a project redeveloped by Eller & Eller Architekten...... by the time they worked on that, I started my first profession with them in 1992..... Is it truly such a long time ago??? PUH!...... As usual I took millions of pics from glazing details etc......very unspectacular for someone watching me....
Then I discovered the enclosed memorial place for nazi victims next by. A tour into german history again reminded me, that many of the germans suffered from world war II, not only other nations....... I just lost this perspective being in Latvia, experiencing the opposite site of argumentations ........ and next to this working on the extention of the Occupation Museum in Riga.....Viewing such pictures again makes me wonder, to what extend human nature is capable to destruct.
Also in that memorial hall was a architectural competition display to reconstruct the place.....
Old habit - lots of photos......... :-))
Trying to relax my mind.......which is not easy in front of all these buildings everywhere.....I found........ obviously what????....... a ZOO!....... Is this Gods way of telling me to become a child again? .........Well to be honest, this question comes along, if you have been to a zoo twice a week and the last time I saw living animals in this kind of setting was with my grandparents at an age of 4-6 years........ It gives me something to think of.....
Children at that age need to be in bed by 19.00 pm...... that's also why the animal park closed at that time..... leaving me, to mature quickly!...... There were ships on the channal next to the park AND rowboats with lots of sportive men!
All in all a nice evening with lots of "Ruhrpott" experiences, that I missed for years!
Praise the Lord for giving me this time AT HOME!

Thursday 30.08.2007

Thursday it was planned to visit Nicole and Sandra..... crazy Architekts like me..... in Dortmund. We met at a restaurant in the city......forgot the name, getting older...... which was build according to our architectural diplome project suggestions. What a joy to see some reality of what sometimes is just paperwork! And to see that our diplome study had the effect to preserve the existing monument, to redevelope the site and to return the preserved garden & building back for public access to the inhabitants of Dortmund.... wow what a feeling!

Wednesday 29.08.2007

After Kristina returned to Latvia it turned out that I became guest myself, visiting as many friends in the area as possible.....
Wednesday (of course after having these exiting seminar days) I stopped by in Essen. Exactly in front of family Morbachs door, the highway jammed up, to I took this as a direct sign to drop by! Ronja, Leonie and Birgit were at home, very surprised but also happy to see me. Marcus came home later from office. We talked long hours....
By the way....will Ronja (my grown up Godchild) visit me in Riga???

daily lunch break

How to enlighten a work day? One possible way is to intensely spend lunch times. People asked how I spend my daily life in Latvia- here is one of many small things I do throughout the day - EATING!
Here are 4 options of these sacred minutes:
FIRST eating out at a cafeteria with collegues..... ensures, I get some fresh air, exercise and regular minutes of daylight.
SECOND taking yummi left overs from home made, night time prepared delicacies.
THIRD eating something...it does not really matter, cause food in this case is just filling the stomack.
FORTH forgetting to eat at all....
BUT thanks God to our perfect office coffee maschine...there is always a coffee break :-))

A rememberable cooking experience happened to take place at my flat, during night and without electricity....as you can see on the pic!

I came home to find my flat cut off from power since a few hours already.... fridge dark, freezer dripping... some food wasted! And in order to save the rest of my supplies, I spend a few hours cooking serveral dishes for a hugh amount of people.... so it looked like! In fact it was just me, having the need to organize, whom to stuff with all this tasty food.

Working on improvements here

Just to let you know...I just started pouring out my thoughts in the public... so there are some improvements down the road, when it comes to writings or additional features in this blog.
Eg. I plan to give you some insite on my spiritual life as well...maybe you like to discuss spiritual matters with me through your comments????
Comments in general are very much appreciated!
Annother option could be newsletters or even translation of this page into german or latvian....
You see, lots of things to do.....

Finally the Prayer mountain

A house with a large map as carpet..... soft music.... lots of light..... a prayer walk way for meditation...... and a huge wooden cross at the top of the hill, to be seen from the highway....

We spend the afternoon in silence, reading the bible and praying!

The Neanderthal man & the zoo

If you try to impress foreigners with archaeological funds..... time planning would be of help! Note Mondays, all Museums are closed - nationwide and already since centuries! So "maybe they changed the habit" does not apply to Germans!

So we went for the obvious.... the Zoo!!!!... Funny how easy expressed baby talk, lightens the day of mature people, when approaching neat penguins.....

Strolling like Kings

Hopefully, when you have been to Duesseldorf, you took your Lamborghini, a nice blond Lady, your furs, even when 30 degrees, credit cards and your stylish poodle...... and stroll the Koenigsallee - SHOWTIME!!!

Unfortunately at 21.50 pm, we just wanted to have some ice cream, at a bar opened until 22.00 pm...... what can I say, we did not have the poodle!

But given roses from a patriarch (my dad) .....helped to overcome!

Conquering roman empires

Saturday we went for a loooong walk... through the Urdenbacher Kaempe, a natural basin, fludded each year by the river Rhine..... walking the riverbanks......taking the ferry boat to "Nowhereland", as a Duesseldorfer has troubles to understand pleople from other destinations than our home town, especially Koelner are veeeery strange species (they do drink light beer instead of dark)...... learning about how to make pottered juwelry..... sightseeing old roman "stones" in Zons, as my brother would say...... having ice cream and diner AND sore feet, when returned home in the middle of the night!

And what I also should mention, because we are female, we talked all day!!!

Bird eyes view

We spend the first evening at Duesseldorfs tower, with a beautiful sunset!

Kristine arriving in Duesseldorf

I would learn for my future and Kristine would explore Duesseldorfs sights...this was how we we planned our trip to Germany. I printed maps, explored Duesseldorfs tourist web sites.....only to find, Germans are NOT prepared to host non-german speaking guests! Mh....
The airport is still international territory, but as soon as you step outside, hitting the train station, buying a ticket starts giving english speaking people headaches! But Kristine managed.... surely she has her own funny stories!

Seminars

• Specifications, BOQ, tender documents
• Reconstruction of monuments or existing buildings
• German building regulations
• Building on-site supervision
• ENEV 2007, German building energy regulation
• Personal project & time management

.....and who would like detailed info about above mentioned.... I got piles of nicely written materials :-))

But never the less, I had fun listening, drinking coffee and meeting old collegues!

23.08.- 03.09.2007 Seminars in Germany - General

Waiting patiently mostly pays off ....and so I finally happened to get days off work, to attend professional seminars. Why Germany? The challenge of listening to architectural explanations in latvian language + understanding any of this, was even to much to dream about it! So I decided, to keep it basic and enjoy my native tongue.
I am aware though, most Germans....as every normal nation, not to mention the Americans especially..... traveling the world....Mallorca and Turkey..... still think, German...or what ever language you like to fill in here.... will be understood and spoken everywhere... so, why the necessity of learning a new language??? .... or even using school skills????..... but to be honest, finding german or even english speaking seminars in Latvia, was a No-Go area. Even the question at Rigas chamber gave great pleasure to my phone contact. So this is...not the only.... but one of the stories, why I am a very loyal miles-and-more account customer.

Dilemma

Well now I am cought somehow....
Where do I start and what would be interesting??? My daily life or activities??? Mh.....thrilling! Maybe I post some old stuff as well? There are some wise FRESHmen/woman thoughts about my time here in Latvia...old pics too....but lets see....starting with my recent vacations is a quite good approach!

Catching up with digital inventions

Hi to everyone OUT there!!!
Yes, mh, I also wanna spread my thoughts online!
As I was never keen on technical or digital inventions, this great opportunity hit my conscience pretty late. Meditating throughout my vacations changed my point of view, that there is some catching up to do!
Catching up with regular notes for friends, family and myself! And as I formerly just did this through writing in my diary...I just found out to travel without heavy luggage and still being able to remember experiences, is quite compelling! (Of course I still agree, a booklet & pen at the beach makes a better impression than just carrying a laptop and flipp-flopps)
So my effort here is exactly, to share these important threads with you OUT there somewhere.....and as I know, you are spread literally all over the world, this BLOG is a great way to tell you about what happened or what will be down the road....
Hope you like, what you get!