Sigulda New Castle, Sigulda , Latvia

The manor center began to develop in the fore-castle area of Sigulda Medieval Castle during the 17th century. There are still a few remaining 18th and 19th century buildings built during the ownership of the Von Borghs and Kropotkins in neo-gothic style by Jānis Mengelis from Cēsis.

During WW1 this building was destroyed. In 1922, following the agrarian reforms, New Castle became the Writers’ Castle because it was used by the Latvian Union of Writers and Journalists. The building was in unusable condition after the war so the Union had to invest a large amount of money for restoration. In the 1920’s and 30’s, full room and board was offered to writers and literary types as well as other visitors. The themes of farming, woodworking, and craftsmanship abound.

In 1934 the castle was acquired by the Latvian Press Society. From 1936 to 1937, major reconstruction work was done under the leadership of architect August Birkhans. Building plans were completely re-drawn. The overlook tower was heightened, the terrace around the building was expanded and a new balcony was added to the second floor. Inside, a new modern–age interior design was installed. It became the most notable example of national modern design in the Baltic region. Many famous artists of that time such as Niklāvs Strunke, Pēteris Ozoliņš, Kārlis Sūniņš, and Vilhelms Vasariņš took a part in creating it. Pictures of the castle were found in French art magazines as the press at the time would report. The Writers Castle became a popular visitor's destination after the renovation. It is still a place where new artists are featured and nurtured.

Consent by Vanessa Springora

There are quite a few layers of shocking and horrible events in this compact memoir of a woman who was stalked and seduced as a 13 year old by an author of some renown who was more than three times her age at the time. I read it because it was one of several books that an article I read in The Economist recommended as a way to understand modern France. The first thing that is a bit shocking is that young girls are not better protected from predators in France. The age of consent is 15 years old, which this girl was younger than, but it does seem fairly tilted in favor older and much older men taking advantage. Then there is the response to the author himself. In 1990 Gabriel Matzneff is a guest on Bernard Pivot’s influential literary TV chat show Apostrophes to discuss his recently published memoir, about his sexual conquests of very young women. The only person present to take exception to Matzneff’s comments is the Canadian novelist Denise Bombardier, and she is then mocked left and right in the press and a few days later the writer and critic Philippe Sollers calls her a bitch on television. Then comes this, a very explicit and detailed account of Matzneff's largely sexual relationship with a girl, and the gradual dawning that she undergoes as a teenager, and then as a more seasoned adult of what exactly happened, and how it was not just tolerated but accepted, as well as being widely known. She touches upon his abuse of much younger, pre-pubescent boys as well. Even in the wake of the #MeToo and what we have come to know were common practices of powerful men sexually exploiting women, this is still hard to read.

Sigulda Medeival Castle, Sigulda, Latvia

The Livonian Order Castle of Sigulda was built in 1207 as a castella type castle, however, it was later rebuilt into a convent type building. The Livonian Order were known as “warrior monks”, German crusaders who had travelled to the Baltic region to fight and Christianise the local pagans.

It was from this castle that these crusaders controlled the entire Gauja Valley. This made Sigulda Castle a pivotal regional stronghold for centuries under the control of the Order. After the region got caught up in the war between Sweden and Poland in the 17th century, this castle sustained damage and quickly lost its significance.

We spent the night in Siguldaa in order to be able to visit this and other castles in the area, and I would recommend it. We had a very nice evening meal, rented an apartment that had a washer and dryer (always nice mid trip to get everything clean once again), and was nice to walk around in. If you are going to do something beyyond Riga in Latvia, and are not thinking a beautiful outdoor place, this should be considered.

The Wall by John Lanchester

The book is set in Britain in the not-too-distant dystopian future. There is no more freedom of movement, or freedoms of any sort. Ever since a climatic event known as the Change, movement between countries is outlawed. There isn’t a single beach left anywhere in the world. Britain’s coastline has been obliterated by a National Coastal Defense Structure, known to everyone who serves on it as the Wall. It is the embodiment of what Trump saw as his legacy along the US southern border, but extrapolated throughout what is left of humankind. Every British youngster is conscripted to spend two years of their life as a Defender, patrolling 10,000km of concrete walkways looking for Others who might appear at any moment from the sea. Life on the Wall is cold. It is boring. It is utterly grim. Kavanaugh, our hero, is a rookie Defender from the Midlands who manages to find countless amusing ways to describe his dark, unforgiving stretch of the Wall in north Devon. Then he, along with his breeding companion, are exiled, cast out to fend for themselves. The story is an amalgamation of anxieties about rising sea levels, anti-refugee populism, and post-Brexit isolation and scarcity, mixed with insight, and leaving you with something to think about.

The Alpinist (2021)

This documentary is about an extraordinary climber, Marc-André Leclerc. His mother describes him as a kid who struggled in school, and didn't even much want to live indoors. In the mountains he is in his element, and on the mountains he is impossibly talented. The jaw-dropping ascents accomplished by this prodigious mountaineer are the work of a skilled athlete and a master technician. At such dizzying heights, to be anything less would undoubtedly prove fatal. The film is directed by Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen, both 20-year climbing veterans themselves, and the movie is most electrifying in how it documents Leclerc’s preternatural calm, even as he free-solos some of the most hazardous mixed-climbing routes imaginable. Up high, where the rest of us would lose our nerve, this young man often appears to be dancing. However impossibly, Leclerc seems in scenes like these to belong to the mountains he climbs, traversing their granitic spires and glistening ice columns with intuitive grace. Each crevice, each invisible edge, reveals itself under his touch, and it’s breathtaking to observe his procession across such steep faces. Climbers often talk about a zen-like state of “flow,” in which one’s body and mind are in perfect alignment and at which point one’s skills are ideally matched to the challenge ahead. Leclerc doesn’t just live in this flow state; it’s his higher power, and he withdraws to it as a disciple to the divinity, or perhaps a moth to the flame. The commentary is delivered by veteran aplinists past and present, and all in all, I would highly recommend this window into the sport and what drives the people who do it.

Mi Cocina by Rick Martinez

When I read this cookbook I did not know the origin story of why this chef and food writer had enough time on his hands to spend a year traveling through Mexico, collecting the very best food that each region has to offer. He was a senior food editor at Bon Appetit and rumor has it that he asked for equitable pay and treatment, and when that didn't go his way, he hit the road--literally--and this book is the result. Several things to say about this book. One is that the recipes are well written, spectacular, and easy to follow. He has included the measurements of all the ingredients by both volume and weight, making everyone happy. And, as he correctly points out, "one Jalapeno" can be vastly different in both size and weight, and since there is heat invcolved, precision is at least a helpful start. He also is a proponent of add some, taste, and adjust. You cannot take it out but you can add it. The book is organized by regions, which I love because that is also how I think about Mexico, but it may not suit everyone. In my mind, a regional cookbook is meant to teach you something that you might not know about a place or a cuisine, but it is possible not everyone agrees and the organization might seem a hindrance. Finally, there are vibrant pictures, lots of stories, and what the food looks like is pictured throughout. All of which I loved. This book is well worth reading as well as cooking out of!

Tacos Gobernador

This comes from Rick Martinez's new cookbook Mi Cocina, which is a food tour through regions of Mexico. His enthusiasm for the recipes he chose for the book is infectious, and I was very happy that I used my shrimp for this. A wildly popular weeknight dinner when paired with a simple salad. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 pound (453 grams) large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed 3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter 1/2 medium white onion (154 grams), thinly sliced 1 medium chile poblano (125 grams), stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced into strips 1 medium celery stalk (49 grams), thinly sliced crosswise on the diagonal 1 medium chile serrano (24 grams), stemmed and thinly sliced into rings 2 garlic cloves, finely grated 1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican 3/4 teaspoon (4 grams) Morton kosher salt, plus more to taste 1/2 teaspoon crushed or ground coriander seeds 8 flour tortillas 6 ounces (170 grams) queso asadero, quesillo, or Monterey Jack cheese, grated In a large skillet over high, heat the oil. Arrange the shrimp in an even layer in the skillet and cook, turning once, until just starting to brown, for about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter. Cook the onion, chile poblano, celery, chile serrano, garlic, oregano, salt, and coriander, tossing occasionally, until the onion and chile poblano are beginning to brown, for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomato and cook, tossing occasionally and scraping up any browned bits, until the tomato begins to break down, for about 5 minutes more. Transfer to the bowl with the shrimp and toss to combine. Taste and season with salt. Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel. Working with 2 or more tortillas at a time (if you can fit 2 tortillas in your skillet), cook the tortillas until lightly toasted on one side, for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and add a small mound of cheese in the center of the toasted side. Top with some of the shrimp filling and fold over like a taco. Cook the untoasted side until the cheese is beginning to melt and the tortilla is lightly toasted, for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip to toast the second half. Continue with the remaining tortillas, cheese, and shrimp.

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington

This is yet another book about what happened throughout Eastern Europe when the Nazis descended on them, but told from a slightly different angle, which is how to use a valuable skill in limited supply to survive an otherwise unsurvivable situation. This is the strange story of a group of women who sewed to survive. Fashion-conscious Hedwig Hoss, wife of Auschwitz comandante Rudolph Hoss, put together a salon made up of Auschwitz prisoners to make her fashionable clothing. Up to 25 seamstresses eventually worked in the Upper Tailoring Studio to make clothes not only for Hedwig but also for the wives of Hermann Goering and other Nazi leaders. There were no labels on the clothes that the women sewed, but the clients were well aware that they were made by the very people their husbands were trying to eradicate. The author, a clothes historian, does not sugar coat the brutality and cruelty of all people who conspired to and benefited from the Nazi focus on genocide, but also highlights how talented these women were, and how they managed.

Cēsis Castle, Latvia

We began our Latvian exploration with a series of semi-ruined castles—-this trip was without offspring, but my kids could all pass on buildings with curtains (ie. roofed dwellings), but a good ruin can occupy them happily. I myself love both but a ruin is always fun. The first up was the Cēsis Medieval castle, starting about 800 years ago and around which in the 13th century a town was built. Over the centuries the castle shared its destiny with the city of Cēsis in battles with Russian, Polish and Swedish troops.

Repeatedly rebuilt and expanded the castle got its present architectural appearance at the beginning of the 16th century. Special note to those of you of our generation. This is the master bedroom (I think the terminology is apt in this case) which has an attached latrine. This castle did not allow much clambering over the ruins, but were otherwise stellar. Added plus--there is a generous discount for seniors in the Baltics! Bad news is that none of it is the least bit handicapped accessible.

Groundskeeping by Lee Cole

This is a coming of age story set in Kentucky, which is where the first time author's home is. There is an unusually broad spectrum of people represented for this sort of book. The wide-angle perspective may owe something to the fact that the main character, slightly older is slightly older and has a lot of experiential miles behind him. Owen is 28, a University of Kentucky graduate from a blue-collar background recently emerged from a period of drug abuse, unemployment and homelessness to reluctantly move into the basement of his grandfather’s falling down house in Louisville. He’s taken a groundskeeping job at nearby Ashby College so he can take a writing workshop; employees are allowed one free class, but he and one other employee are the only ones there for that. There he meets and becomes involved with a Muslim woman who was born in Yugoslavia in what is now Bosnia. Despite them having a meeting of the mind (and body) the cultural gap between them is great, something they discover and confront as they meet each other's families. This is a well played story that shines a mirror on the mix of people that make up millennials.