Baltic States

On our way to Riga capital of Latvia we visited the unusual Votive Hill of Crosses near Siauliai, the symbol of resistance against the Soviet occupation. During the Soviet era, religion remained banned and the Hill of Crosses off limits. In April 1961, the entire site was bulldozed and burned down by the authorities. Even though the Hill of Crosses was destroyed four more times, each time locals risked political danger by defiantly rebuilding the site under the cover of darkness.

I found all the crosses to be a bit creepy to be honest.  There is now in excess of 100,000 crosses.  The Hill is full and the crosses are now also at ground level surrounding the hill.

While we were looking at the crosses I spotted a storks nest in the distance and I managed to take a great photo of the nest which had 3 stork in it.

We continued on to Riga and in the evening we visited the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia on the lightly wooded shores of Lake Jugla.

The museum currently occupies 87 hectares and displays 118 buildings, as well as more than 3,000 items. Most of Latvia's historical ethnic groups are represented in the museum. The museum's collection holds approximately 150,000 artifacts.  

We didnt see all the buildings, we saw about 6 buildings and a windmill.  It was very interesting and our local guide was very enthusiastic.    After wandering around and seeing the buildings we went to the restaurant onsite and had a traditional Latvian dinner.  Rustic soup with vegetables and sausage, followed by meat on the bone and rolled beef accompanied by vegetables.  It was very nice and the setting in a rustic log cabin was lovely.

Intricately painted interior of wooden church

Interior of one of the houses