Hot sunny Pre-Wedding Anniversay Day
The weatherman predicted a hot Saturday for Latvia, and true, I woke up to an amazing warm and beautiful day.
You see today, the 23 May 2020, is my wife Leila's and my pre-wedding anniversary day and tomorrow on the 24 May we celebrate our wedding anniversary.
So Leila's parents and my parents in-law Dzintars & Edite organised a get away for us.
All they told us is that they will pick us up at 10 am and we will drive somewhere.
When they arrived, they greeted us with flowers & a Rigas champagne.
They made us smile and the best was yet to come as we drive about 70km away to Rundals pils and Bausks pils.
Rundāle Palace (Rundalis pils)
Wow Leila's parents Dzintars and Edite true made us feel like a king and a queen by taking us to this beautiful palace.
The Rundale Palace ensemble is the most outstanding monument of Baroque and Rococo architecture and art in Latvia.
The palace was built for the Duke of Courland, Ernst Johann Biron based on the project by architect F.B.Rastrelli during two time periods – from 1736 till 1749 and from 1764 till 1768.
Three staterooms are open to public in the eastern wing of the palace - the Gold Hall, White Hall and Grand Gallery.
The central building is occupied by the Duke’s former living quarters – parade salons and private apartments and the fully restored Duchess' apartments and rooms are situated in the western wing of the palace.
The exhibition halls hold exhibitions of decorative arts, fine arts and culture and history, the Palace hosts an Early Music Festival and concerts of classical music.
French Regular Park
We walked through the French Regular Park with a rose garden, the Green Theatre, ornamental parterre and a fountain.
Since summer is approaching, all the flowers such as roses and Tulips are blossoming with their rainbow coulours.
As a family we strolled through the Park taking in the smells of the nature and the sounds of the birds, while enjoying the blue sky and the warm sun.
We sat down for Tea and pies.
I will say this is Latvia's best tourist place I have been to so far.
Beautiful and wonderful. I give it a 10 out of 10.
Bauska Castle
(Latvian:Bauskas pils)
We said goodbye to the palace and drove the short distance to Bauska where we spent the afternoon. Here visted Bauska castle which is a complex consisting of the ruins of an earlier castle and a later palace on the outskirts of the Latvian city of Bauska.
The castle, the remains of which were recently restored, stands on the narrow peninsula at the confluence of the rivers Mūša and Mēmele where they form the Lieluperiver.
In ancient times, the hill was the site of an ancient Semigallian fortress. The first stone buildings were established between 1443 and 1450 by the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights.
Only ruins remain from the seat of the Livonian order. The palace, however, is fully restored and can be visited daily during the summer months. Visitors can explore the castle, visit the museum, eat in the café and climb the castlekeeplookout tower, which has a panoramic view of the surrounding city and countryside.
Bauska
is a town in the Bauska Municipality, in the Zemgale region of southern Latvia.
Bauska is located 66 km from the Latvian capital Riga and 20 km (12 mi) from the Lithuanian border on the busy European route E67.
The town is situated at the confluence of the shallow rivers Mūsa and Mēmele where they form the Lielupe River.
From the Bauska castle we strolled through Bauska and sat down for a late lunch at a small restaurant called Taverna. They served us delicious portions and we had a view over the town centre.
We soaked in the beautiful atmosphere and the sun.
But all good things have to come to an end and in the late afternoon we drove satisfied back to Riga, where Leila's parents Dzintars & Edite dropped us off at our place.
Thank you - Paldies, Dzintars & Edite for making our anniversary so beautiful..