Road Trip

Americans are really obsessed with palaces and castles. I think this is because we really don't have them and maybe because they are the quintessential sign of Europe. In order to fill my family's quota of necessary castles for the trip we rented a car and set off for the Latvian countryside. We visited Rundale Palace, constructed in the 1730s by Bartolomeo Rastrelli (the same person who designed the Winter Palace in Russia) as a summer residence of Ernst Johann von Biron, the duke of Courland. Then we went to Mežotne, built in 1797 as a gift from Russian Empress Catherine II to Charlotte von Liven, the tutor of her grandchildren. After that we went to Lithuania to see the Hill of Crosses, known as the Mecca of Lithuania, a pilgrimage site for catholics from all over the world, even Pope John Paul II visited here. After that we headed back to Latvia to see the Jelgava Palace, also by Rastrelli, which was the Duke of Courland's official residence. Here are the photos.....

My Mom, Sister and I at Rundale.
The gardens
Mežotne
The Hill of Crosses

The church next to the Hill of Crosses where the altar piece is a view of the hill.
The Latvian border and as always happy to be back in Latvia!
Jelgava Palace
My friend Monika and I..and the Riga sign.