Baltic Coastal Hiking is a long distance hiking route part of E9 along the coast of the Baltic Sea. The hiking route starts at the Lithuanian-Latvian border in the village of Nida in Latvia and finishes at the Port of Tallinn in Estonia. The total length of the route is 1200 km, of which 580 km are in Latvia, and 620 km in Estonia; the route can be taken in both directions and Tallinn can also be a starting point. The route is divided into days and difficulty levels, which allows you to choose the most suitable distance for yourself. Join Baltic Coastal Hiking whenever you want, take a break whenever you like and return when you feel it is the right time for hiking! More information www.coastalhiking.eu.

>>> VIDEO.

“Mazsālijas” is a guest house on an organic farm. The farm breeds fallow deer and trout, grows vegetables and fruit, makes wine. The hostess offers a 4 hour food workshop for small groups of visitors to cook a meal together in a friendly atmosphere. During the food workshop visitors will learn how to cook a meal on a firewood stove from the home produce – vegetables, trout, and fallow deer meet. The food workshop includes cooking a three-course meal: a starter (fallow deer tartar, salted trout), the main course: trout fried on butter with steamed vegetables, fallow deer meet with rosemary and potato gratin, a dessert: cream cheese with strawberry sorbet.

Creative workshops offered by the “Sauleskalns” crafts house allow children and adults to discover in himself talents as a craftsman and artist. Professional teachers help to create wonderful stuff that pleases yourself and others.

“Puzurs” is a traditional Latvian room decoration for Christmas. It is made from straw, and its’ light, airy form and precise geometry is fascinating. This decoration really brings festive feeling.
The crafts house also offers workshops in gingerbread baking and making traditional Christmas to help everyone get prepared for Christmas celebrations.

According to an old Latvian belief, nine dishes should be served for the festive Christmas meal. The hostess at “Vīnkalni” country house will teach visitors how to cook three Latvian traditional dishes:

‘Biguzis’ – a traditional country dessert with rye bread, whipped cream and fresh berries. Its ingredients are rye bread, cranberries or lingonberries, honey, cinnamon and whipped cream. Mature rye bread is crushed or grated. Cranberries are squeezed in juice, diluted with water, sweetened with honey and poured into bread. When the bread has sucked into the liquid, it is topped with whipped cream.

Fresh cheese – made from cow's milk adding various herbs and spice (cumin, hemp, greens).

Buns and cakes. It is said that in Latvian folk tradition round cakes and buns in the form of a crescent were baked to honour the Sun and the Moon. Today they are often baked for celebrations and festivities. The traditional Latvian buns ‘pīrāgi’ are made from yeast dough, are 5-13cm long in a curved form like a crescent. They are filled with bacon and onions or with cottage cheese or apples.

On December 21, Valmiermuiža will gather local producers from all around Latvia, offering homemade bread, cheese, smoked goods, lamprey, honey, herbal teas, spices, homemade wine, beer, juice, candied fruit, hard candy, gingerbread cookies and lots more.

Everything offered at the fair is natural and, hence, healthy, made by locally grown plants or gathered in the clean forests and meadows of Latvia. Local craftsmen will offer woollen socks, mittens, crochets, hammered work, wooden toys and jewellery to give them as presents to friends and relatives. Items made by local craftsmen would make our ancestors proud, as they have been made according to the best traditions.

Along the fair all visitors will have an opportunity to enjoy a varied culture programme, including activities to get better acquainted with the traditions of the annual customs, learn songs and games, master some of the traditional crafts and much more. 

Those who sell and those who buy are looking forwards to meet on the December 15 Christmas market at Straupe! There will be lots of seasonal treats and goodies for your festive table. To name just a few: fresh carp, a specially prepared quince elixir, vacuum packed beef, lamb, turkey, freshly cooked smoked meat, gingerbread dough, candy, marmalade, tea and honey jars. It will be a great and rich market that will fulfil all your wishes in the run-up to Christmas!

The programmes allow visitors to experience four unique and different ethnographic regions where authentic traditions are still part of peoples’ everyday life. They are: Setomaa region (Estonia), Kihnu island (Estonia), Suiti cultural space (Latvia) and the Livonian coast (Latvia) presenting UNESCO heritage in the following ways:

UNESCO proclaimed Intangible Cultural Heritage:

• SETO LEELO, Seto polyphonic singing tradition;
• KIHNU cultural space;
• SMOKE SAUNA tradition in Võromaa;
• SUITI cultural space.

On the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Latvia: the LIVONIAN Cultural space. Livonian community has made a commitment to prepare a nomination for UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Booklet (PDF).

Available in languages: English, Estonian, Latvian

Der Baltische Küstenwanderweg ist ein Teil des Fernwanderwegs E9 entlang der Ostseeküste, der an der lettisch-litauischer Grenze im Dorf Nida in Lettland beginnt und am Tallinner Hafen in Estland endet. Die ~ 1200 Kilometer des Baltischen Küstenwanderweges sind in 60 einzelne Eintageswanderungen eingeteilt (12 – 25 km). Jede Tageswanderung hat eigene Beschreibung. Zusätzlich sind drei Doppelseiten des Reiseführers den estnischen Inseln gewidmet, deren Besuch als Fortsetzung der Wanderung eingeplant werden kann. Andererseits kann man sich auch einfach der Entspannung hingeben, indem man das kulturgeschichtliche, kulinarische Angebot und die behagliche Atmosphäre der Inseln genießt. Die Reiseführer werden in 5 verschiedenen Sprachen (Englisch, Lettisch, Deutsch, Estnisch und Russisch) veröffentlicht. In begrenzter Anzahl sind englische, lettische sowie deutsche Versionen, in gedruckter Form, in unserem Büro in Riga, Kalnciema Straße 40, erhältlich.

>>> Hier kostenlos herunterladen (PDF, ~64MB)

Website: coastalhiking.eu

Facebook: facebook.com/jurtaka

Instagram: instagram.com/jurtaka

„Ceļvedis pa Lībiešu krastu” tapis ciešā sadarbībā ar lībiešiem un tas domāts ceļotājiem, kuriem interesē lībiešu kultūra un tradīcijas. Ceļvedī uzskaitīti galvenie ar Lībiešu krastu saistītie vēsturiskie notikumi, interesanti fakti, aprakstītas 23 vietas, kur var iepazīt lībiešu mantojumu, minēti svarīgākie ikgadējie notikumi, kā arī pievienota maza latviešu - lībiešu vārdnīca. 

Ceļvedis pieejams latviešu, angļu, vācu un igauņu valodās elektroniskā formātā šeit, kā arī  iespējams saņemt "Lauku ceļotāja" birojā Kalnciema ielā 40, Rīgā

On the way to Latvia’s centenary, we at Baltic Country Holidays have produced a new tour map inviting to travel along 7 routes of Latvia’s Statehood: the Baltic’s Road, the Freedom’s Road, the Mara’s Road, the Liv’s Road, the Daugava’s Road, the Jacob’s Road, the Light’s Road. The routes will allow you to learn about aspects of Latvia’s history, personalities, places and events that facilitated the establishment of the state and the emergence of its national identity.  

The publication includes a map with the 7 routes marked and briefly described, 80 attractions along the routes and 85 open farms that hold the sign Latvian Heritage.

The 7 Routes of Latvia’s Statehood have been developed within the programme for celebration of the centenary of Latvia as a state. The key message of the centenary celebration is „I am Latvia” focusing on people as the core value of the state. They shape today’s life in the country and, together with their young generation, they lay foundations for the future.

The map is available at the office of „Lauku ceļotājs”, 40 Kalnciema str. (3rd floor), Riga (week days at 09:00 – 17:00).

Pdf version of the map.

Languages: Latvian, Russian, English, German.

The project is supported by State Culture Capital Foundation.