Category: Latvian Institute
When I first visited Soviet-occupied Latvia in 1978 as a tourist, I was told it was best not to go near “The Monument.†There it was, this massive,…
Back in 2008 I edited the revised and expanded translation of Uldis Germanis’ legendary history of Latvia, “The Latvian Sagaâ€. Since Germanis had written the book in 1959…
I have concluded that Latvia is the best place in the world to chop wood. I can’t prove it, but that doesn’t diminish my intense passion, conviction, and…
The one thing you can’t say about voters in Latvia is that they lack for information. As we approach election day on October 2nd, Latvia’s 1,514,936 eligible voters…
Back in 1992, Bill Clinton won the U.S. presidential election because his top campaign advisor James Carville made everyone in the Clinton campaign repeat one sentence every morning…
Most people don’t know that Latvia has mountains and even fewer know that they are blue. Actually, Latvia has several “Blue Mountains†on its landscape and even a…
A few years ago the Latvian Tourism Development Agency ran a promotional campaign called “You Won’t Believe it Until You See It!â€, which talked about such things as…
Each year, toward the end of June, the sun stands still in Latvia. Actually, it stands still everywhere in the world because that’s what solstice means in Latin…
Here’s a word of advice to any tourist toying with the thought of visiting Latvia. All the really great experiences you can have in this country are best…
During Latvia’s boom years, our exports never exceeded imports. Last year, during the peak of the economic crisis, they did. What gives? A look at some of our…
The Times Online ran an editorial on their comment page on March 4 where they encouraged fellow Brits to welcome the new wave of Latvian economic migrants with…
The returning (I used a metaphor from my Glaciers article to develop this copy for the program that was used at the Gala Concert, attended by NATO heads…
Don’t expect Riga to be completed if it becomes a European Capital of Culture in 2014. According to legend, Riga can never be ‘finished’, or it will sink…
I recently met a Swiss artist who wants to become a Latvian. Being an artist, however, he wants to do more than just become a Latvian. He wants…
(I was asked to write something to welcome participants to the Golden Hammer Awards ceremonies in Riga. This appeared in the welcoming newspaper. ) The Livs created a…
(I wrote this for the in-flight magazine Baltic Outlook rather quickly, because I wasn’t sure how long it would be true. ) I really didn’t want to write…
Last summer during Latvia’s 90th anniversary, the Latvian Institute asked young people in Latvia to tell us what kind of Latvia they wanted to see in 10 years. …
Latvia awaits the longest day of the year in what seems to many like the longest year in their lives. Especially if you are trying to balance a…
This was written as a forward to a book about Latvian bread. Latvians won’t serve a meal without it, the Clintons ate it in the White House, and…
The following piece was translated and adapted from an article published in DIENA, Feb 11, 2003. And if there is a war? Just like everyone else, I’m worried…
Flower people (Article published in the AirBaltic in-flight magazine, ‘Baltic Outlook’. Latvians are obsessed with flowers. There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that anyone with at…
Telling Latvia’s Story Although I was born in a refugee camp in Munich in 1949, and never actually lived in Latvia until recently, I have been hearing and…
‘God’s Horses’                                               Wild about the Latvian coast (This appeared in BALTIC OUTLOOK, in-flight magazine of AirBaltic, 2006) Each summer, a small group of young Latvians go back in…
Latvia’s Glaciers (This was written online in 2000 in response to a blog by journalist Juris Kaza.) I was not in Latvia 10,000 years ago when the glaciers…
A Viking looks at Latvia today (Based on a speech delivered to a regional Scandinavian Rotary Club meeting in Riga, Latvia) Serious historians will tell you that the…
In 2005 a European magazine called ‘Parliament’ contacted the Latvian Institute and requested an article on Latvian culture for a special issue they were creating. I wrote them…
If you’ve read the New York Times, Washington Post, TIME magazine, Rolling Stone or Atlantic magazine during the last 20 years, you’ve already seen one of MÄris BiÅ¡ofs’…
This rather lengthy piece on Riga was written in 2001 for a magazine called Hanseatic Business. It coincided with Riga’s 800th anniversary. RIGAÂ Â Â Â Â -Â Â Â Â Â Â An unfinished symphony on…
The Latvian Institute in its second year The Latvian Institute (LI) was created in 1998 in order provide Latvia with a public information agency that would help promote…