by Missie Hills | Mar 22, 2020 | Europe, International Adventures
It was too dark to really see what we had in store for us the night we drove into Riga.
Still, we knew we were in for something special. We splurged on a fancy hotel,
thanks to Hotels.com for a free night, and the moment we walked in we were treated like royalty. We didn’t want to waste any of the time we had in this city. So, we headed out immediately to try one of the city’s most innovative restaurants, 3 PavÄru.
Riga is actually well known for its upcoming food scene, and this restaurant did not disappoint that expectation! The unique menu made us feel like we were fancy food critics with items like ostrich tartar and veal cheeks. And the staff was phenomenal! We always worry a little about how the staff will react to us bringing a toddler into a fancy place, but our waitress was a pro. She made a special menu for E and even brought him a surprise dessert!
The next morning, we finally saw what my heart had been longing for, more of the beautiful Baltic architecture. Riga’s most famous style of architecture is the 20th century Art Nouveau. Riga is the Art Nouveau Capital of the World after all. Many of the buildings in the old town are now recognized as World Heritage sites.
Also from the 20th century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Riga Central Market, Europe’s largest market housed inside multiple old German hangars. I can’t resist a good food market. So, we headed there for lunch and wandered from hanger to hanger taking in the local culture.
As usual, we spent countless hours just wandering the streets, and as usual, I continuously got left behind with my eyes behind my camera lens snapping away.
So this time, I made a change! I hired a local photographer to take our very first professional family photos prior to our new addition coming. We hired Dmitry from Localgraphers.com,
highly recommended!
We ended our wonderful Baltic adventure meeting up with some Houston friends who now call Riga their home. As we listened to their tales of adjusting to a completely new culture, we quickly became envious.
One day maybe we will pick up our family and move somewhere new and fresh. But today we sit in our beautiful Houston home looking at these photos and loving our life that is based on a strong foundation and yet gypsy at heart.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 22, 2020 | Europe, International Adventures
For our last stop in Lithuania, we had to see the World Heritage site called the Hill of Crosses.
It is exactly as it sounds, a small hill covered in crosses. All kinds of crosses… from gigantic wooden crucifixes to tiny rosaries. An estimate puts the number of crosses around ten thousand. Pilgrimages from all over the world come to this location to place their crosses. We saw soldiers placing crosses for fallen comrades, families placing crosses for lost loved ones, and priests walking the perimeter saying prayers at the Stations of the Cross.
The hill has become a symbolism of the strength of Christianity within Lithuania. It has been knocked down multiple times, but continues to rise back up.
I could have walked the grounds for hours looking at all the little details, but it was freezing! The wind chill was cutting through to our bones. So, we soaked in the last bit of Lithuania before heading back into Latvia. The perseverance of this beautiful country will stay with us forever.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 22, 2020 | Europe, International Adventures
Our trip to Lithuania wouldn’t have seemed right without seeing at least one beautiful castle. And luckily we spotted this gem on the map leaving Villinus. Trakai Island Castle is positioned safely inside a large lake, with a drawbridge and everything y’all! It was built in the 14th century and now houses a museum with relics from that time.
I’m sure this castle is absolutely gorgeous during the springtime, but it’s hard to imagine it looking anymore beautiful then it did on that frozen lake the day we visited.
With a full dose of beautiful castle, we moved on and made a short stop in Kaunas.
I was excited to stop in Kaunas, because I was reading a book about the Baltics in WWII that was set there. We found ourselves wanting to find out more about the dark history of the region. The Ninth Fort was the perfect museum for us to dive into that past. We were filled with emotion as we walked our way through the exhibits, placed our feet in the same grounds where so many people were murdered, and finally stood before the memorial filling us with hope for the future. The large memorial stood fierce before us, exceeding our expectations.
We were reminded once again that humanity is not always kind. As we hugged Little E and the unborn baby in my belly, we knew the importance of understanding the past to prevent re-occurrence in the future.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 22, 2020 | Europe, International Adventures
Our short spontaneous trip to the Baltics required us to choose between Estonia and Lithuania. After flying into Latvia, we had to decide, should we go North, or should we go South? With a flip of a coin (and the hopes that going south would be slightly warmer in the late Winter…), we chose Lithuania. And after a short drive through the pretty countryside, we found our way to Villinus, a beautiful oldtown city with a rich history of persistence and strength.
The Baltics suffered greatly during World War II. This was our first experience learning the history of the horrible reign of Stalin. As we walked around the city with a wonderful tour guide, we started to feel the pain the city has gone through. Once again, we were hit with a dose of harsh reality that our world’s history isn’t that beautiful.
But this city has a way of shining through that harsh reality with a strong sense of pride, beauty, and humor. Fun, goofy, hidden treasures could be found all over the streets in Old Town.
And nothing encompasses the city’s culture more than the small country inside the city, The Republic of Uzupis. That’s right, another country. With its own constitution, government, and even passport stamp!
Ok, so it is not really a country. The Republic of Uzupis is the art district of Villinus that pretends to be its own country, kind of like the city’s little inside joke. In fact, it started as an April Fool’s Day joke! However, the art here is really nothing to joke about. Before we crossed the border into this fictional country, we were greeted with some rules, the most important one being to smile at all times. We visited the local post office and got a passport stamp on a postcard (since it is actually against the real law to stamp your real passport with a fake country stamp). Then we stopped to read the constitution written on a wall in multiple different languages. Our tour guide filled us in on all the weird traditions including the election process for random ministries. Her friend was elected the Minister of Frisbee!
Our decision to drive South through Lithuania proved to be a good call. The country captured our hearts with its story of strength to endure a horrific past while embracing its eclectic future.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 22, 2020 | Europe, International Adventures
Why did we choose the Baltics? To this day, I can’t really answer that. It was perhaps one of the most spontaneous trips we have taken. One day while scrolling through my endless email of spam promotions, a deal from Scott’s Cheap Flights caught my eye for tickets to the Baltics for $500. After a few back and forth texts with Jason, we had tickets to Riga for that upcoming March. And thatâs really as much to that story as there is, a little glimpse into the decision making process of the Hills family.
We quickly learned that booking on a whim has its regrets. We chose a horrible time of the year to go, right at the end of winter but still too cold to be spring. And we quickly realized, we know nothing about these little countries nestled up so close to Russia. What would we see? Would it be worth the nightmare of three flights to get there? Could my second trimester pregnant body handle it? Was this a horrible mistake? Knowing it was too late and our tickets were locked in, we packed our bags for cold weather and headed up north regardless. We were quickly reminded that no trip in this wondrous world is a waste of our time.
We landed in Riga on the day a snowstorm came in, just in time for Little E to see the countryside dusted with fresh beautiful snow. This was his first time to really experience snow, which is such a foreign phenomenon to our little Texan. Seeing his face as he stuck out his tongue to catch the tiny snowflakes was worth the trip alone.
We spent our first day driving around the Latvian countryside in awe of the snow kissed landscape. We stopped in Sigulda, Latvia’s adventure capital. We drove over the bridge famous for naked bungee jumping. Jason felt lucky it was out of season as he knew that he would have been coerced by me to join in on the fun. We found the Gutmanis Cave covered in carvings as old as the 17th century. We were the only people walking about the national park that day. But that didn’t stop one vendor from finding us and selling us some amazing delicious treats.
Eventually our drive took us to our first castle in Cesis, an 800 year old Medieval beauty. As we walked up the endless steep twirling steps, I started to realize this would be our last trip as a family of three. The next endless twirling steps we took, I’d have a new baby strapped to my chest. I felt my heart fill with joy.
We spent the night in a tiny cottage tucked away in the woods. We were the only guests. The owners were so happy to see us that they cooked us locally caught trout as their son played with Ethan in the dining area. The children couldn’t speak each other’s language but that didn’t stop them from becoming friends quickly. Time seemed to stand still in this little beautiful town. I could have stayed there much longer soaking in the cold air and enjoying the days with my beautiful family. Yet, in typical Hills fashion, we drove on to pack in much as possible.
I quickly noticed that my architecture loving heart was in for a treat as we drove with more clear weather the next day. Of course my eye caught the beautiful Russian Orthodox Church domes found throughout our trip. And we begin to read more about the sad history of Russian influence over these countries. We knew there would be a lot to learn about this history as we continued our journey.
We stumbled upon a beautiful Baroque 18th century palace seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Rundale Palace must be a tourist hot spot when the weather is nice. But on this cold winter day, we had the palace to ourselves roaming room to room in awe of the ornate interior design.
Once again, I found myself hit with a wave of love for this wandering family Jason and I have created. The little baby inside me kicked my belly as a reminder he was now part of that family. I whelped up with joy. For these experiences would mean nothing if I didn’t have these beautiful people to share them with.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Mar 10, 2019 | Africa, International Adventures
During a quick stop in Casablanca, we met back up with our friends Jill and Adam. I really have no pictures to show of Casablanca as the only thing we did there was visit the famous bar, Rick’s Cafe, while citing lines from the movie “Casablanca”. There wasn’t much to stay for. So, with a “Here’s looking at you kid.”, we drove off to Marrakesh and met up with a local friend, Hicham.
Hicham was actually the identical twin brother of a co-worker of Jason’s. He was super excited to meet us and show us his city. He met us at our Riad quickly after we arrived. Just like in Fes, we were greeted by the Riad owner with extreme hospitality. There was tea, wine, and olives waiting for us. Ethan loved the courtyard that came fully equipped with a small pool and a pet turtle.
He actually loved it so much that he fell into the pool, nearly giving this mama a heart attack. We both quickly recovered from the drama though, and Hicham was ready to start our tour of the Medina.
For our first stop we really wanted some food. Hicham took us to the very popular Jemaa el-Fnaa square.
The square is famous for its tourist attractions of snake charmers, story tellers, dancers, and magicians. I was terrified of the snake charmers. So, I treaded carefully keeping my distance from the cobras as much as possible. The most interesting thing we actually saw was the juice stands. There were a dozen lined up in the square, all looking exactly the same. To get your attention, the juicers would yell at you to come try their specialty. If you started walking close to one, the others would start a playful banter, “No! No! Their juice is awful, come here instead!”. They were seriously all exactly the same, but the back and forth yelling made for good afternoon entertainment. When we finally chose a stand, the juicers were so happy that they let the guys come up into the stand for a fun photo op.
Once we felt nice and refreshed from our delicious juice, Hicham walked us a traditional Moroccan restaurant for lunch. I had been wanting to try traditional tagine. It did not disappoint. Jill noticed one spice she didn’t like at all. Hicham promised to take us a spice shop in the medina to try to identify the name. Then she would know exactly what to stay clear of in the future.
After lunch, we got the full tour of the Medina. Just like in Fes, we saw the multiple different disciplines in the Medina: metal, wood, weaving, dying… it was once again quite overwhelming. However, compared to Fes, this medina was much more spacious and yet packed with tourists. Therefore, everything looked a little newer, a little brighter, and a little more progressive.
We also visited the Ben Youssef Madrasa, an old Islamic college known for the beautiful interior design which boasts a multi-sensory experience.
Hicham owns his very own antique shop inside the Medina. It was an extremely impressive shop, not filled with the typical tourist doodads. Instead, we were surrounded by extremely old pieces of ceramics and tea pots. Hicham gave each of us a gift from his shop. I got a beautiful silver teapot and Ethan got a leather camel. We also bought a few very old antiques to take home. The shop was so packed with beautiful things, that taking photos in the dark room was difficult.
As promised, Hicham also took Jill to a spice shop, where she found that the spice she didn’t like was indeed fennel. She also found some essential oils at an amazing price.
After a very busy day exploring the Medina, Hicham took us to a pool club for dinner. The club was as over the top as you would expect from a pool club, loaded with a red carpet entrance and a no camera policy. I was a little worried they wouldn’t let E in, but we were there early in the day. The place was empty and the staff was excited to have a kid to play with. The waiters kept taking E off to dip his feet in the pool. We relaxed with pizza and hookah while Ethan danced on the empty dance floor.
For the next day, Hicham took us to a resort where we walked beautiful gardens, got fresh made bread, and relaxed in gorgeous courtyards.
Afterwards, Hicham invited us to his house for lunch. He had made us a slow cooked lamb in a clay pot. It was similar to someone in Texas making their guests brisket. We felt honored. His wife had prepared a full table of sides for us. They had a son that was Ethan’s age. It was a wonderful lunch and great insight to local life.
We have been fortunate enough to have local friends show us around countries many times now. I give credit to Jason for being so friendly with everyone he meets. He is always connecting with people that are ready to show us a piece of their world. I love it. Great sites, great food, and great friends. Morocco may have been a big culture shift from what we are used to. But seeing the differences only broadened our perspective of this massive world, leaving us thirsty to see and learn so much more.
Until next time,
Riga is actually well known for its upcoming food scene, and this restaurant did not disappoint that expectation! The unique menu made us feel like we were fancy food critics with items like ostrich tartar and veal cheeks. And the staff was phenomenal! We always worry a little about how the staff will react to us bringing a toddler into a fancy place, but our waitress was a pro. She made a special menu for E and even brought him a surprise dessert!
The next morning, we finally saw what my heart had been longing for, more of the beautiful Baltic architecture. Riga’s most famous style of architecture is the 20th century Art Nouveau. Riga is the Art Nouveau Capital of the World after all. Many of the buildings in the old town are now recognized as World Heritage sites.
Also from the 20th century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site is the Riga Central Market, Europe’s largest market housed inside multiple old German hangars. I can’t resist a good food market. So, we headed there for lunch and wandered from hanger to hanger taking in the local culture.
As usual, we spent countless hours just wandering the streets, and as usual, I continuously got left behind with my eyes behind my camera lens snapping away.
So this time, I made a change! I hired a local photographer to take our very first professional family photos prior to our new addition coming. We hired Dmitry from Localgraphers.com, highly recommended!
We ended our wonderful Baltic adventure meeting up with some Houston friends who now call Riga their home. As we listened to their tales of adjusting to a completely new culture, we quickly became envious.
One day maybe we will pick up our family and move somewhere new and fresh. But today we sit in our beautiful Houston home looking at these photos and loving our life that is based on a strong foundation and yet gypsy at heart.
Until next time,
Recent Comments