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!!!