This village is at the place where the Irbe (Dižirve, Īra) River flows into the sea, and it is on both shores of the river (sea side and land side).  The name of Irbe was recorded for the first time in a 1310 border agreement between the bishop of Kurzeme and the Rīga Dome Capitol.  The name of Lielirbe (Irvemūnde) was recorded for the first time in a document from an arbitration court in 1387.  At the end of the 19th century, the small port at Lielirbe was an active centre for the sale and transport of timber materials.  In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the largest number of sailing ships among villages on the western shore of Kurzeme was built there.  In 1939, the village had some 300 residents, more than 70 houses and a Baptist church which is now at the Ventspils Open Air Museum.  A narrow-gauge railroad passed through the village, which had a post and telegraph office, two grocery stores, an elementary school, a choir and a brass band.  Lielirbe was one of the largest villages to disappear after World War II.  Cultural historian Valda Marija Šuvcāne (1923-2007) was born in Lielirbe, and her daughter, Baiba Šuvcāne, is continuing her mother's work by writing important papers about life along the Livonian coastline.  By 2019, a bridge is to be reinstalled across the Irbe River.

Here you will enjoy an educational programme that teaches you that cattle offer not just food, but also communications.  You will see cattle learn about how they are bred, and what they provide for the local village and nature.

The history of Cēsis begins at the Riekstu hill, which is 18 m high and the surrounding area.  There was a wooden castle built by the Vendian tribe that stood there from the 11th to the 13th century.  The hill is in the central part of the castle’s park, and it offers a fine view of the park, a pond and the ruins of the Cēsis Castle.  A long staircase leads to the hill.  The Cēsis Castle was built in the early 13th century as the residence of masters of the Livonian Order, and it was one of the most fortified forts in the Baltic region.  Alongside is the New Cēsis Castle, which was built in 1777 in a place where gate fortifications had been before.  The building houses the Cēsis Museum of History and Art, and an annex contains the Castle Visitor Centre and the Cēsis Tourism Information Centre.  From the tower of the castle, we get a good view of the castle ruins, St John’s Lutheran Church and the northern stretches of the city.  Opposite the new castle is the stable of the Cēsis Castle Estate and a wheelhouse (both from the first half of the 19th century).  Today these house the Cēsis Exhibition Hall.  Other buildings include a granary, a hut for coachmen and an old brewery.  On the other side of the street is the romantic May park, which was installed during the 1830s.  Streets in Cēsis include Lielā Katrīna, Mazā Katrīna, Mazā Kalēju, Kalēju and Lielā Līvu streets and Līvu square with wooden buildings from the late 18th and early 19th century.  Torņa Street stretches along the walls of the Medieval castle.  Outside the church is a sculpture, “As the Centuries Pass By,” and legend has it that anyone who rubs the lantern of the Old Time Man can see the future.  One of the most impressive buildings in Cēsis is St John’s Lutheran Church, which was built in the late 13th century by the Livonian Order.  The Roman-style three-segment basilica has elements of Gothic design and a 65 m steeple that was installed in 1853.  The building was reconstructed several times during the 20th century and contains grave plaques relates to masters of the Livonian Order and local bishops.  The pulpit dates back to 1748, the oak altar was manufactured in 1858, and the altar painting “Crucified One” was painted in 1862.  The windows of the altar part of the church contain artistically valuable stained glass.  The organ was manufactured in 1907 by the E.F. Walker firm, and it is one of the best concert organs in Latvia.  The solar clock with the number 1744 is in the south-wester corner of the church.  It is worth scaling the viewing tower of the church.  At its foot is Rose Square, which was a market square from the mid-13th century until 1927 and was restored in 2008.  This is the central square in the city.  During the Middle Ages, a punishment pole and the city well were here.  Rīgas Street has been the main street in the old part of the city from the very start, and here we find most of the architecturally distinguished buildings from the 18th and 19th century – the former city hall, the Fābers house and the Princess house.  At one end of the street is Liv Square, where there a church, cemetery and the Rīga gate in the city’s walls existed in the 13th century.  Today the square is decorated by a lighted fountain at a place where a well was found in the 13th century.  On the other end of the street we find a reconstruction of the foundations of the Rauna gate from the 14th and 15th century, offering a good look at Medieval walls and the size and strength of the gates.  It is commonly claimed that the national flag of Latvia was born in Cēsis, but it must be emphasised that the flag that is mentioned in chronicles was designed in Cēsis in 1279 as the ideological prototype of the current Latvian flag, while the story of the first national flag actually comes from Valmiera, where it was sewn in 1916.

Saimniecība piedāvā zirgu izjādes (ratos un mugurā), iespēja apskatīt dzīvniekus lauku sētā (zosis, vistas, truši, teliņi, kazas, aitas, suņi un kaķi). Pļavas ar ārstniecības augiem, mežs, dīķis, stārķu koks. Sarunas par dzīvi ar saimniekiem. Rīta rasas skaistuma procedūras, "varžu koris", tējas baudīšana seno ābeļu paēnā, ārstniecības augu vākšana kopā ar saimnieci. Telšu un piknika vietas (līdz 20 cilvēkiem).

Jurmala town (the second largest in Latvia) was founded in 1959, by combining Kemeri and Sloka towns in the Riga city Jurmala district. It stretches 32 km along the coastal line of Gulf of Riga. Jurmala resort once was one of the most important objects of this type in the Northern Europe. This was facilitated by the development of local and interstate transport and traffic (coaches, steamers, train). The first guests was accommodated in Dubulti, where in 1834 the first hotel was built, but in 1847 - The first wellness centre. In the 19th the first medical institution launched. Starting from 1834 the rapid construction of summer cottages began. Development of the resort was ended by the World War I. After the war the number of resort vacationers boomed from 12 thousand (in 1920) to 32 thousand (in 1935). Kemeri resort developed along with Jurmala, which received a massive of vacationers' amount during the Soviet period.
Today, Jurmala is a popular venue of concerts, festivals, exhibitions, sports competitions, and other public events.

The Lācīši farm can be found in the Galgauska Parish to the Southwest of Gulbene.  One of the largest farms in Northeastern Vidzeme, it specialises in grain farming (577 ha), rapeseed farming (295 ha), and various grasses.  It is also a dairy farm with some 100 cows to produce meat and breed calves.  There is an interesting room for meetings and presentations, with large glass windows opening up to the cattle barn.  The farm actively makes use of EU funding.  Contact the farm in advance for tours and exchanges of experiences.

Krāčains Lobu upes (Loobu jõgi) posms pie Joaveski ciema, kur ~ 160 m garumā upes gultnē, tai šķērsojot Ziemeļigaunijas glintu, izveidojušās izmēros nelielas, tomēr ļoti ainaviskas un skaistas 0,5 – 1 m augstas ūdenskritumu kaskādes. 1898. g. šeit uzcēla hidroelektrostaciju, kuras atliekas ir redzamas upes labajā krastā. Iecienīta pavasara laivotāju treniņu vieta.

Located in the Mežotne Castle, the saloon offers fine and tasty dishes and beverages. Tours of the ornate castle are available, and the location has one of the loveliest English-style landscape parks in Latvia.

Latvian cuisine: Potato pancakes, rolled marinated herring, trout with potatoes in their jackets, blood sausage with lingonberry sauce, grey peas with bacon, stacked rye bread with cranberry jam and whipped cream.

Special foods: “Bauska Thaler” – pork in the form of a thaler with a sauce made with Bauska beer.