In May 4-5, rural farms open their doors to visitors all over the country. They proudly present their produce and offer special excursion programmes to introduce production and farm life. Animal husbandry farms attract people who enjoy seeing baby lambs, calves, rabbits and horses as they are born in spring. Gardening farms are prepared to demonstrate plants and seedlings. Visitors are happy to meet biological farmers to see how eco vegetables and fruit are grown. Craftsmen offer master classes of traditional crafts – bread and cheese making, pottery, weaving, etc. Some farms make a special treat offering a soup made on a bonfire. There are special programmes and discounts on every participating farm. This is a true countryside festival where urban meets rural, and this year it coincides with the National Independence Day of Latvia on May 4.
More information: www.celotajs.lv/atvertasdienas
Every spring there is a Flying Fish Festival in Kuldīga, a UNESCO national heritage town in West of Latvia. There is a waterfall on the river Venta, known as the Venta Rapid. It is ca 100m wide and ca 1.6 high. When fish come up the river in their spawning trip, and they jump over the waterfall flying in the air, the locals say – spring has arrived. 300 years ago the local fishermen invented a cute fishing method. They used to stand on the waterfalls and catch the flying fish in baskets. On April 28 this year, the Flying Fish Festival starts the tourism season. The city garden will host a fish market and fish tasting event, and an entertainment programme with master classes of traditional crafts and music performances.
On 28th of April there will a festival "Flying Fish Festival in Kuldīga".
In cooperation with Dundaga, Ventspils, Alsunga and Kuldiga municipalities we have developed route maps for exploring the Suiti land and the Liv coastline - brochure "The Suiti land" and booklet "The Liv coastline is inviting you!".
The Baltic Coastal Hiking Route is the longest hiking route in the Baltic States, with a total distance of more than 1,200 kilometres. The route passes along sandy and rocky beaches, steep shores and cliffs, small and historical seashore towns, fishing villages and two dynamic capital cities - Rīga and Tallinn. Alongside the route are more than 650 objects of natural, cultural and historical importance. Travellers who prefer long distances are invited to hike the entire length of the route, while those who prefer shorter routes can choose any part of the route, choosing complete peace and isolation along the Kurzeme coastline or a stretch with cafés, restaurants and souvenir shops near the larger shoreline towns.
We have released a new collection of postcards with great images from rural life.
The postcards tell about real rural feeling and heritage traditions that have lived through times and make part of today's life. So it's about what people still do in the countryside - go mushrooming in autumn, bake our special pīrāgi for festive table, and gather wild herb teas in the summertime. You can experience it visiting our countryside!
If you want to say hello from Latvian countryside to your friends, send them a postcard!
POSTCARDS (gallery)
The postcards are available from the office of Baltic Country Holidays, 40, Kalnciema str., Riga.
The postcard collection is produced under the project Heritage based agritourism product development in Latvia-Lithuania, supported by the EU Interreg Latvia-Lithuania programme 2014-2020.
In January 19-28, 2018 we were working in Latvian stand at the "Gruene Woche", the world's largest and most poular annual food exhibition. Te 250 sq.m. stand space was occupied by a variety of food and crafts masters who showed their skills and offered delicious products for tasting.
The staff of Baltic Country Holidays did a good job promoting rural holidays in Latvia and the events to celebrate Latvia's Centenary. Stand visitors were treated with healthy herbal teas and received free postcards with images of rural Latvia to send greetings to their friends right from the stand. We learned a lot from our stand visitors about what they find attractive and enjoyable in our traditional cuisine and will use this knowledge to build new and attractive historical culinary routes like the Livonian Culinary Route coming soon.
Repeated German language edition of the brochure "Latvian foods and beverages" has been released.
The brochure introduces popular traditional foods and beverages that we eat at home and serve in restaurants. It is helpful to a foreign guest willing to indulge in national cuisine.
Latvia has a wealth of culinary traditions, because the country is at the crossroads of Europe. Latvian cuisine is distinctly seasonal, as each of our four seasons offers specific products and tasty treats. Fresh foods directly from local producers are available all year round in shops and food markets. Many producers sell their produce in farm shops.
Printed brochure is available in Latvian, English, German languages.
See English language e-book here.
With the support of the Latvian Ministry of Agriculture.
Together with Livs from Kurzeme coastline and Dundaga municipality we have prepared Livi style book which presents the visual identity of the Liv coastline. The brochure contains information about the Livs, their cultural and historical values and features, as well as Liv symbols and graphic elements, thus preserving the cultural heritage of the Liv coastline.
We have come up with some carefully detailed programs in the countryside that might catch the interest of individual travellers and groups alike. They can be experienced as stopover visits with lunch in the countryside if you are on a longer touring route, or as 1-2 day outings for people staying in Riga. The program descriptions include maps, distances, timing, facilities, contacts and other practical details that help to plan your trip. Get inspired to explore the countryside!
Gingerbreads – the famous Christmas cookies are a real Christmas treat. Many people make them at home, and many bakeries offer ready-made dough. Traditional ingredients are honey, malt, butter, eggs, flour, and a rich bouquet of various spices including ginger, cinnamon, clove, and more. The “Lāči” bakery is famous for its great variety of traditional rye bread, but in Christmas season they offer gingerbread workshops. Small groups of 10-15 people are welcome to enjoy a 1 hour session with a professional baker making gingerbreads in wonderful shapes – it is even possible to make your gingerbread Christmas tree or a little gingerbread cabin. Traditionally gingerbreads are glazed in sugar coating to make them nice and beautiful. Natural colours are used to make the glazing colourful, like beet-root, fruit and berry juices. Such masterpieces are often used as decorations on Christmas tree.
