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AUGUST 2010
inflight magazine
The Best
Travel
Guides
for Seasoned
Travelers
Munich
Germany’s Most Welcoming Metropolis
Vaasa
Finland’s
Rising Land
Style: Silky
Scarves
for Late
Summer
!

We Have the Energy!
See page 50
Editorial Staff
Editor: llze Pole / e: ilze@frankshouse.lv
Copyeditor: Rihards Kalniņš
Design: Marika Štrāle
Layout: Inta Kraukle
Cover: Getty Images
Baltic Outlook is published
by SIA Frank’s House
Stabu 17, Riga, LV 1011, Latvia
ph: +37167293970
w: frankshouse.lv / e: franks@frankshouse.lv
Director:
Eva Dandzberga / e: eva@frankshouse.lv
Advertising managers:
Indra Indraše
e: indra@frankshouse.lv / m: +37129496966
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Opinions expressed in this magazine are those
of the authors and persons interviewed and do
not necessarily reflect the views of the editors,
Frank’s House, SIA.
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the publisher.
Printed in UAB Lietuvos Rytas, Lithuania,
phone +371 29 42 69 61
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Thought Do You Hug Airplanes?
City Icons Stockholm: Where to
Soak Up the Sun
Airport Setting Sail for Madrid–
Barajas Airport
Agenda August 2010
Madrid Mercado San Miguel:
Spanish Cuisine Under One Roof
Travel Guides Special Selection
of the Eight Best Guidebooks
Review Latest Books, Movies,
CDs
Travel Exploring the Kurzeme
Coast
Traveler Travel Like a Pilot
Short Interview Closer to Reality:
Photographer Eirik Helland Urke
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CONTENTS / AUGUST
Design Swinging in the Breeze
Your Next Destination Munich:
Germany’s Most Welcoming
Metropolis
To the Lighthouse: Touring Our
Beacons of Light
Live Riga Cēsis Art Festival
Travel Vaasa: Finland’s Rising Land
Photo Story Bird Duels
Cars Comfort and Joy For Volvo
S60 / The King of Car Design
Gadgets Moving into the Third
Dimension
Style Silky Scarves
Dining Le Crabe in Riga’s Old
Town
airBaltic News
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 1

Dear Passenger,
Bertolt Flick,
President and CEO,
airBaltic
One major focus of airBaltic has been the
geographical extension of our route network
eastward, to countries in the Caucasus, Central
Asia, and the Middle East. Just last month, Amman
in Jordan and Beirut in Lebanon have been added
to destinations opened up by airBaltic over the
last 4−5 year period, i.e. Baku, Tbilisi, Yerevan,
Dushanbe, Tashkent, and Almaty. Istanbul can
be added to this list, as well as three destinations
operated during the winter season: Dubai, Sharm el
Sheikh, and Hurghada. Flying from Riga to Madrid in
Spain, for example, takes close to 4.5 hours, or the
same time to reach Tel Aviv in Israel. Riga, on other
words, is well located when it comes to serve as a
bridge between East and West, an advantage we
will continue to develop to the full benefit of our
customers.
Operations to countries in the Muslim world
demand special care with regard to fundamentals
inherent in the culture of these countries, which
includes the serving of food. airBaltic, therefore, has
decided to stop serving meals containing pork on
its entire route network, given that many Muslim
travellers not only fly to Riga but travel beyond
on airBaltic’s flights, be it to Scandinavia, Finland,
or Western Europe. In addition, special meals,
including Kosher, vegetarian dishes, and others can
be pre-ordered by passengers seated in Business
Class on most of airBaltic’s flights.
Last month airBaltic added a new destination
in Russia, opening a route from Riga to one of
the main cities in North-Western region, namely
Arkhangelsk. The city, with a population of 350-
A meSSAGe from The Ceo
thousand, is located close to where the Severnaya
Dvina enters the White Sea. Established by Tsar
Ivan the Terrible in 1583 it had been Russia’s only
seaport for several centuries. Today, Arkhangelsk,
in addition to operating a major port, is a thriving
industrial centre which includes fishing, forestry,
the extraction of oil and gas, and shipbuilding. In
addition, Arkhangelsk has been a major starting
point for explorations into the Arctic. Also, one
should not forget the city of Severodvinsk, located
close Arkhangelsk: it is here Russia has been
building its atomic submarines.
For the tourist tired of sun and sandy beaches
Arkhangelsk has much to offer. One can mention
the world-famous Solovetsky Islands, located
in the Southern part of the White Sea and easily
reachable from Arkhangelsk by boat or airplane.
The islands were for many centuries home to an
ancient and powerful monastery, a beacon of
light in the wilderness extending above the Arctic
Circle, before being converted into a tsarist penal
colony, and later on into a Soviet prison camp.
Another must for the adventuring tourist is Malye
Karely, or little Karelia, an open air museum outside
Arkhangelsk with a large collection of 16 th to 19 th
century wooden churches and other buildings.
For fishermen and hunters, Arkhangelsk and its
surrounding region provides an abundance of
exclusive opportunities.
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 3

DETAILS / ThoUGhT
Do You Hug Airplanes?
TExT: SerGey Timofeyev, PoeT AND DJ | PHOTO: CoUrTeSy of f64
In a book I’m reading, a Soviet-era journalist
describes how he traveled to remote corners of
Kenya to visit several African tribes. While visiting
one of them, he discovered an interesting cult.
The tribe had a totem: hardened black lava that
had erupted from a volcano. There was lots of
lava in the surrounding region, and sometime the
tribesmen had to walk on the lava, literally trampling
the totem beneath their feet. The elders decided
that the tribesmen could walk on the lava only
while wearing sandals. Over time, these sandals
acquired a mystical character.
Now, even though these sandals are just an
elementary “mode of transportation,” they had also
turned into something like an oracle. The tribesmen
Using available materials like reeds
and animal skins, they began to build
their own planes
had a custom of throwing their sandals up into the air
and letting them fall to the earth. The men would then
determine the best time to go hunting—as well as
other important matters—depending on the position
of the sandals after they tumbled to the ground.
This story reminded me of another cult associated
with another mode of transportation, though one that
is far from elementary: airplanes. While fighting Japan
during the Second World War, the American army built
airports on several remote Pacific Ocean islands that
had not yet enjoyed the fruits of Western civilization.
But after Japan capitulated, the American aviators
left behind their bases. The enormous airstrips were
abandoned and became overgrown with weeds.
However, the tribal shamans thought of a way to
bring back the good days. Using available materials
like reeds and animal skins, they began to build
their own planes on the runways. They gave their
“ground crews” torches and “headphones” made of
wood, with bamboo shoots serving as antennas.
They waited for the airplanes to return with magical
cargo—with food, clothing, and tents. This cult was
called the “cargo cult,” and the islanders cultivated
the practice for many decades. As for me, I don’t
know what to call my own system. It goes like this:
When I haven’t flown anywhere for a while, I try to
use any possible excuse to go to the airport (to meet
somebody, to deliver something). Once I’m there, I
breathe in the atmosphere of departure and hope—or
of return and new experiences. I hang around by the
check-in lines and drink coffee in the arrivals area. If I
could, I would go out on the runway and caress the
rounded sides of the planes. But even without that,
my visit to the airport works: a couple of weeks or
months go by and I once again lift up into the sky.
A friend of mine has his own aviation cult. After the
plane lands, he never hurries to the exit. He doesn’t
push and shove, or try to pull his luggage down from
the overhead bins before anyone else. He waits until
the first wave of exiting passengers leaves the plane,
and then calmly gathers his things and heads for the
door. He believes that, after doing this, his entire trip
will go smoothly—without any stress or anxiety.
And I think this is the most sensible aviation cult of
them all. BO

DETAILS / CiTy iCoNS / SToCkholm
A Stockholm
Park
to Soak Up the Sun
TExT: kriSTAPS DzoNSoNS | PHOTO: CorbiS
Stockholm’s
Kungsträdgården
park is one of the
city’s hidden gems,
where locals amass
precious reserves
of sunlight for
the long and dark
months ahead.
Force Majeure
Sunshine in Stockholm is
force majeure: a “natural,
albeit disruptive, course of
events.” University classes
are cancelled. Businesses let
out. And the daytime streets,
normally attended only by
hurrying professionals and
tourists, swell under the influx
of sun-drunk Swedes. The
cafés, usually breezy and
quiet, spill their customers
out into the sidewalks,
boulevards, and parks.
6 / AIRBALTIC.COM
When in Stockholm...
Stockholm isn’t Rome,
the Rome of many urban
treasures open to footbound
travelers. Stockholm is
subtler, its gems sprinkled at
the city’s rural circumference,
in the archipelago, or in
pockets of leisure within the
city center. Kungsträdgården
(King’s Garden) is such an
enclave, tucked between
Sunshine in Stockholm is
force majeure
the Strömgatan quay, the
Centralen train station, and
a commercial district.
Charles’s Anchor
Outdoor concerts are shown
from time to time at the stage
in the park’s center. Facing
the stage is a tremendous
sculpture of Karl XIII (Charles
the Thirteenth), who, instead
of wielding a sword or lance,
has an anchor dubiously
wedged under his right arm.
Doors and Fountains
My favorite fixture is the
Fountain of Molin, named
for its sculptor, Johan Molin.
Settled in a copse of fontänpil
(translated as fountain willow,
but formally the Thurlow
Weeping Willow), this fountain
is covered in mythological
reliefs. You’ll see the god
Æger and his wife Rán facing
eastward toward Karl XIII (in
vain, due to the imposing
stage); the boyish sprite Nix
playing his harp toward the
quay; and a cadre of nude
daughters completing the
northern and southern sections
of the base. These figures curve
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magnificently upward into a
wide bowl, which symbolizes
Mälaren (Lake Malar), Sweden’s
third-largest lake.
On Wednesday through
Saturday nights, the fountain
is a favorite hang-out for
lovers sharing cigarettes—the
prior attendants of popular
nightspots Café Opera and
Club Victoria, just twenty
meters to the north.
Interesting Facts
about Sweden
GDP: 270 billion euros
(2009 est.)
Exports: 107 billion euros
(2009 est.)
Natural resources: iron
ore, copper, lead, zinc,
gold, silver, uranium,
timber.
Average price of a
single espresso in
Kungstradgarden: 18 SEK.
Sources: Swedish Institute
and CIA: The World Factbook

DETAILS / AirPorT
Setting Sail For
Madrid-
Barajas
Airport
TExT: rihArDS kAlNiNS
PHOTOS: CoUrTeSy of mADriD-bArAJAS AirPorT
Airports must
accommodate more
passengers than ever,
along with their growing
needs. Nowhere is this
better reflected than
at Madrid-Barajas, the
4th largest airport in
Europe.
Madrid-Barajas perfectly embodies the
phrase that an airport is “a city unto
itself.” The four terminals are visited
by more than 50 million passengers a
year, who have access to a full range
of services and facilities, including a
health spa and more than 138,000 m 2
of retail space.
The city of Madrid is also easily
accesible from the airport, as the city’s
sprawling metro system extends to the
main terminals. The centrally located
Plaza de España—at the western end of
Gran Vía—is just twenty minutes away,
and the ticket price is a mere 2 euros.
The greatest feature of the airport is
the new Terminal Four (or T4), which
won the prestigious Stirling Prize for
architecture in 2006. The architects’
innovative design suggests a sail
8 / AIRBALTIC.COM
Fly to Madrid
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navigate: passengers move in a straight
line from the check-in counter, through
security, and toward the departure
gates, without having to pass around
corners or ascend any stairs. The walls
of the terminals are built of enormous
glass panels, from which passengers
can gaze upon the surrounding
scenery.
Together, the terminal have more than
760,000 m 2 of space, making T4 one of
the largest terminals in the world. This
The architects’ innovative design suggests
a sail billowing in the breeze
billowing in the breeze, and there are no
walls or hallways to restrict movement
through the luminous open space,
where natural light passes through a
ceiling made entirely of skylights and
bamboo slats.
Of course, T4 is also incredibly easy to
allows Madrid-Barajas to handle more
and more international passengers
every year, many of whom set sail from
Madrid for destinations throughout Latin
America—just a quick voyage across the
Atlantic Ocean from Spain. BO

DETAILS/ AGeNDA
London
Ernesto Neto: The
Edges of the World,
Hayward Gallery
/ through September 5
Ernest Neto is the leading figure
in the Brazilian art scene. This
summer, Neto’s architectural and
environmental projects, which critics
have called his most grandiose to
date, can be viewed at London’s
Hayward Gallery. Located in the lower
level of the gallery, these projects are
somewhat like a playground for adults.
It’s worth listening to critics’ reviews of
these projects, considering that nearly
12 / AIRBALTIC.COM
iN ASSoCiATioN wiTh ANoTherTrAvelGUiDe.Com | SCANPix AND PUbliCiTy PhoToS
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all of Ernesto Neto’s works have been
surprising in their scale. Indeed, the
surreal realm of these dream-like
visions can be found in reality at the
Hayward Gallery.
Ernesto Neto’s style is well known
within art circles, and the main
feature of his art is its ability to break
the barrier between viewer and
work of art. People in Europe started
to talk about him after the 2001
Venice Biennale, where his pungent
“monster” was at the top of the
Arsenal Room’s must-see list.
South Bank Centre, Belvedere Road
i www.haywardgallery.org.uk
Moscow
100 Years of
Performance,
Garage Center for
Contemporary
Culture / through
September 26
This exhibition is in essence a
“happening” in itself. It explores
the history of performance
and “happening” art in the 20th
century, beginning with the Futurist
Manifesto in 1909. Exhibition
visitors can see a series of
legendary works of art, including
Yayoi Kusama and Yoko Ono’s Cut
Piece (1965), Francis Alÿs’s When
Venice
12th Venice
Architecture
Biennale / August 29 –
November 21
The Venice Architecture Biennale is
one of the world’s most important
architectural events. The twelfth
annual Biennale is a place to see
the most outstanding current
architectural projects and to meet
the brightest minds in the field. It
is also an arena for discussion and
a platform for the birth of new
values, ideas, and trends. This year’s
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Faith Moves Mountains (2002), and
Matthew Barney’s Drawing Restraint
(2005).
The curators have decided to
leave the exhibition “open,” calling
on Russian artists and visitors to
complement the exhibition with
material about the performances,
happenings, and projects that have
taken place in the last decade
in Russia. The most interesting
of these additions will be
demonstrated this autumn, during
a performance festival held at the
Garage Center for Contemporary
Culture.
9A Ulitsa Obraztsova
i www.garageccc.com
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Biennale is especially intriguing
because it is curatated by the
Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima
from SANAA, who recently won
the most prestigious award in
architecture, the Pritzker Prize.
This year, the Biennale’s motto
is “People Meet in Architecture”;
architects from 54 countries will
participate in the events. Kazuyo
Sejima says: “The idea is to help
people relate to architecture, help
architecture relate to people, and
help people relate to themselves.”
i www.labiennale.org

Saint-Tropez
Hotel Sezz
The legendary French resort city
of Saint-Tropez gained cult status
in the 1950s, when it served as the
location for Roger Vadim’s film
And God Created Woman (1955),
with sex-symbol Brigitte Bardot in
the lead role. Now the resort has
acquired yet another luxurious
oasis. The newly-opened Hotel Sezz
is a complete relaxation retreat, only
250 meters from the beach. But you
don’t even have to venture that far,
because the hotel’s central feature
is a swimming pool surrounded by
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palm trees. The 37-room hotel will
certainly appeal to those worn-out
by the stresses of everyday life.
Guests can put the brakes on life
for a moment and simply enjoy
an aesthetically clean space, light,
spaciousness, and a contemporary
environment without unnecessary
decorative elements, where the
only bright accent is a bright carpet,
a chair, or a bed-cover. And, of
course, the view out the window...
Route des Salins
Saint-Tropez
i www.hotelsezz.com Milan
Fly
Christian Boltanski:
Personnes,
Fondazione
HangarBicocca /
through September 19
French artist Christian
Boltanski’s installation
Personnes, originally created
for the exhibition Monumenta
2010 at the Paris Grand
Palais, is now on display in
DETAILS/ AGeNDA
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Milan. Boltanski has always
stressed the importance of
the relationship between an
artwork and the space within
which it exists. This particular
artwork is tailored to a specific
environment: a former factory
that is now a reference point for
Milan’s artistic community.
Via Chiese 2
i www.hangarbicocca.it

DETAILS / LOCAL AGENDA PUbliCiTy PhoToS AND CoUrTeSy of f64
AUGUST / 2010
Helsinki Festival,
August 20–September 5
By far the biggest event in the
Finnish capital this summer is
the annual Helsinki Festival—
two weeks of jazz, classical
music, art, poetry, theater,
and dance. Highlights include
a performance of Sibelius’s
symphonies by the Tapiola
Sinfonietta, led by iconic Finnish
conductor Leif Segerstam; a
Summertime
music festival,
Dzintari Concert
Hall, Jūrmala
/ August 14–18
Every summer since
2005, the Latvian opera star
Inese Galante has taken a break
from touring the world’s concert
halls to serve as patroness of
the international music festival
Summertime in Jurmala, held this
year from August 14-18. Galante
invites many of her friends and
concert of Edith Piaf’s chansons
by Canadian-American folk singer
Martha Wainwright; a production
of work by minimalist legend Steve
Reich, performed by the Belgian
ensemble Ictus; a showing of British
artist Tim Crouch’s play The Author;
and a concert by legendary Brazilian
singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso.
There is also an extensive line-up of
events for children.
i www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi
colleagues—fellow opera singers,
jazz musicians, orchestras, and
ethnic ensembles—to perform at
the beachfront Dzintaru Concert
Hall over the course of the five-day
festival. This year’s guests include
Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son,
Grammy Award-winning South
African trumpeter Hugh Masekela,
the Bucharest Tango troupe, and
the Klazz Brothers, a German-based
ensemble that mixes classical
music with jazz. A series of special
concerts will be dedicated to the
music of Chopin.
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Riga Festival,
August 20–22
The Riga Festival,
organized every year
since 2001, when the
city celebrated its 800th
anniversary, is a chance to toast the
city that has been called “the pearl of
the Baltics,” the “Amber Gateway,” and,
in the world of aviation, “the North
Hub.” During the two-day festival,
visitors to the Latvian capital can
witness the best of what Riga has to
offer—no matter what you call the city.
You’ll find dozens of concerts, exhibits,
shows, games, competitions, and
other events in almost every corner of
Riga, from the village of Bolderāja, near
the mouth of the Daugava River, to the
sprawling Mežaparks nature park, on
the shores of Ķīšezers Lake. The main
Lappeenranta Ballet
Gala, Lappeenranta City
Theatre / August 20-21
The city of Lappenranta, in the
southeast of Finland, will fete
the last week of August with a
stellar ballet festival. The gala
will show off the very best of
Nordic dance—showcasing
everything from classical ballet
to modern choreography. This
year, the festival’s special guest
will be Stockholm 59° North, an
Medieval Week, Visby
/ August 8–15
The scenic island of Gotland, in
Sweden, will host the Medieval Week
festival. During the annual festival,
the picturesque city of Visby—with
venues are the riverfront area near the
Old City, and verdant Vērmane Park in
the center of the city.
i www.liveriga.com
ensemble composed of dancers
from the Royal Swedish Ballet who
will perform two works by the
contemporary choreographer Mats
Ek. Other featured guests include
the Finnish National Ballet, which
will perform a range of works by
various choreographers, and the
renowned Latvian ballet duo Elza
Leimane and Raimonds Martinovs,
who will dance the pas d’esclave
from the ballet Le Corsaire.
i www.lappeenranta.fi
its many historic buildings and
ancient castle ruins—will provide
the backdrop for various medievalthemed
activities, such as concerts,
performances, parades, pageants,
and lectures. A highlight of the week
is the yearly jousting tournament,
where the sight of armor-clad
knights riding atop galloping horses
will instantly transport spectators
back in time to the Middle Ages. In
true medieval fashion, the festival
concludes with a large banquet,
complete with strolling musicians
and comical jesters.
i www.bingeby.com

DETAILS / TrAvel
TExT: rihArDS kAlNiNS | PHOTOS: CoUrTeSy of merCADo SAN miGUel
Mercado San Miguel:
Celebrating the World of Spanish Cuisine
Mercado San Miguel, an historic market in the heart of Madrid, showcases the vast
abundance of Spanish and Madrilenian cuisine, all under a single roof.
Located just steps from Plaza Mayor,
the Mercado San Miguel is a historic
Beaux Arts market built in 1916 and fully
restored in 2003. The open market
includes thirty-three vendors whose
foods can be enjoyed right there at
the counters and bars, beneath an
intricately wrought iron-and-wood
ceiling.
Locals and tourists flock here to enjoy
the classy, casual atmosphere just as
much as the local delicacies served
up at the different stalls. On a typical
evening, the counters are packed threedeep
with diners, and the bustling scene
is an attraction in and of itself.
The food vendors at Mercado San
Miguel sell a whole range of Spanish
14 / AIRBALTIC.COM
delicacies—everything from oysters
and olives to wine and cheese. In one
corner of the market, you’ll find La Casa
del Bacalao, where tiny open-faced
sandwiches are topped with salted
On a typical evening, the counters are
packed three-deep with diners
fish—cod, salmon, tuna, and octopus—
and sold for one euro apiece.
Afterward, stop by Pinklenton and
Wine, where champagne and sparkling
wines are sold by the glass, and then
Daniel Sorlut’s oyster bar. But the main
attraction is the central cervecería,
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which sells a vast assortment of fresh
shrimps, mullets, squid, and monkfish.
One of the most distinctive stalls at
the market is the Mas Charcuters,
a charcutería where Iberian hams hang
by hooks from the back wall. The cured
hams are carefully removed by dapper
butchers who carve away at the meat,
producing paper-thin slices of ham that
are served to the hungry diners standing
at the counter. BO
i www.mercadodesanmiguel.es

DETAILS / TrAvel GUiDeS
8Travel
Guides
for Seasoned
Travelers
Wallpaper City Guide
The glamour bible Wallpaper and the
publishing house Phaidon have joined
forces to create the travel series Wallpaper
City Guides. These pocket-sized guidebooks
are ideally suited for high-tempo tourists
who don’t plan on spending more than two
days at each destination.
i www.wallpaper.com / i www.phaidon.com
Alastair Sawday’s
Special Places to Stay
Sometimes, travel accommodations can
be a journey within a journey. Alastair
Sawday’s Special Places to Stay compiles
precisely these places—unique and special
accommodations all over the world: design
hotels, manor houses, castles, and small huts
in the mountains and trees.
i www.sawdays.co.uk
16 / AIRBALTIC.COM
Time Out City
Guides
The greatest
advantage of Time
Out City Guides is
that the materials
were prepared by true
insiders. Though your
opinions and tastes
may differ, the Time
Out guides remain an
excellent and truly
respectable source of
insider information.
i www.timeout.com
Taschen travel
guides
With its new travel
guide series, Taschen
has remained faithful
to its basic principle,
namely, that each
book must be an
experience. These
guides avoid overhyped
tourist objects,
and instead urge
travelers to dive into
a city’s depths.
i www.taschen.com
iN ASSoCiATioN wiTh ANoTherTrAvelGUiDe.Com
art/shop/eat
The Blue Guides travel series “art/shop/eat” is
the perfect companion for a cultured traveler. The
texts are arranged by neighborhood, with special
attention paid to a city’s central museums,
galleries, and other cultural institutions.
i www.blueguides.com
Art in the City
For the time being, this new series includes only
two books—dedicated to Paris and to London.
However, Art in the City travel guides will be a
true delight for anyone interested in modern and
contemporary art.
i www.amazon.com
A Hedonist’s
Guide To...
The Hedonist’s
Guide To… (Hg2)
series is aimed at the
modern-day urban
tourist. Hedonist’s
ideal reader is a
connoisseur of fine
restaurants, hotels,
and clubs, and
appreciates quality
writing and good
design.
i www.hg2.com
Afisha/ Афиша
These intelligent
travel guides
are packed
with intriguing
information, and
offer insight into the
culture, history, and
traditions of each
city. The Russianlanguage
books are
one of the rare travel
guides that are
simply a joy to read.
i www.afisha.ru

DETAILS / review TExT: PAUlS bANkovSkiS, rihArDS kAlNiNS | PUbliCiTy PhoToS
Attorneys at Law 60-32, Dzirnavu Street, Riga, LV 1050
Ph.+371 67240698, fax.+371 67240660, advokati@k-j.lv
• intellectual property,
• restructuring and insolvency,
• banking and finance,
• public private partnership,
• mergers and acquisitions,
• corporate law,
• competition law,
• litigation.
Another Travel Guide is a stylish new guidebook to Riga
specially created by a team of local artists, writers, and designers.
The book was edited by journalist Una Meistere, who is coeditor
of the travel website Anothertravelguide.com, and critic
Daiga Rudzate, the creative director of Indie Culture Project
Agency. The guidebook compiles information about some of the
trendiest spots in town, along with information about interesting
local traditions and elements of Latvian culture. The first edition
of the book was published last year in English, and a second
English edition has already been released. A Russian version of
the guidebook was issued in late July, thanks to general sponsor
Aizkraukles banka. A German edition, created in collaboration
with Berlin publishing house Sunday Book, will appear in August.
The stylishly designed books are available in bookstores and
other cultural venues throughout Riga, as well as on all airBaltic
flights. Check out the website Anothertravelguide.com for more
information.
Latvian Folksongs,
Trio Šmite Kārkle Cinkuss
Upe tuviem un tāliem, 2010
This trio combines three wellknown
Latvian musicians and
friends who are united by a passion
for studying ancient Latvian folk
music: vocalist Zane Šmite, violinist
and vocalist Kristīne Kārkle Puriņa,
and conductor Ivars Cinkuss.
The trio has created a folk music
recording that features Latvian a
cappella songs with a new, fresh
sound. The trio has not been very
active until now, but has enjoyed
great success. They have performed
twice at the prestigious festival
folkBaltica in Flensburg (Germany),
which was the main reason why this
year’s festival focuses on Latvian
traditional culture.

U2 360° at the Rose
Bowl, U2
Mercury/Interscope/UMG
The rock band U2 has already
become such a huge international
brand that even those who aren’t
interested in the music of the
Irish-born quartet have surely
Estonian Cuisine/
Eesti Köök
Ajakirjade Kirjastus, 2010
One of the best ways to learn about
the culture of another country is
to sample their local foods and
study their eating habits. Of course,
Intars Busulis, AKTs
Platforma Records, 2010
Latvia singer Intars Busulis is a true
chameleon: it seems like there isn’t
a musical style or genre that he
isn’t prepared to try at least once,
heard about them. And even
those who have no idea about
the band’s sound have definitely
heard one of the band’s songs.
With each new album—and with
each new concert tour—they have
managed to be reborn anew. U2’s
2009 concert at the Rose Bowl
stadium in Pasadena, California,
was no exception. The concert was
attended by 97,000 people, and was
the largest show the band every
performed in America. The concert
was also broadcast live on YouTube,
where it was watched by 10 million
people in the first week alone. The
recording was filmed in HD quality,
with 27 cameras. The director of the
DVD is Tom Krueger, who previously
worked with U2 on the 3D concert
film U2 3D, which documented the
band’s 2006 Vertigo Tour. U2 360°
is available in standard and deluxe
DVD versions, as well as in Blu-ray
format.
sometimes these culinary expeditions
requires great courage and a strong
stomach; yet usually they are justified
in the form of new recipes, as well
as some rigorous exercise for your
taste buds. The three Baltic states
are such close neighbors that many
people confuse them with one
another. However, what they don’t
realize is that the culinary traditions
of the three neighbors are in fact
very different. An excursion into
the traditional cuisine of the Baltic
states can begin with this wonderful,
well-illustrated recipe book, which
has been published both in Estonian
and in English. Of particular interest
are the recipes that call for fish and
other ingredients from the forests
and streams, like game, berries, and
mushrooms.
always with great success. On his
newest album, Busulis continues
his experiments in expanding the
pop music genre. He mixes a variety
of musical styles and world music
elements into a colorful cocktail.
Interestingly, Busulis did not write
the lyrics to his music, as is usually
the case with other contemporary
Latvian musicians. They were
written by several well-known
Latvian poets: Sergejs Timofejevs,
Jānis Elsbergs, Kārlis Vērdiņš, Māris
Salējs, and Andris Akmentiņš.
Therefore, Busulis’s recordings
can be viewed as a sort of unique
anthology of Latvian contemporary
poetry. The double album AKTs is
available in Latvian and in Russian.

DETAILS / TrAvel
Exploring
the Kurzeme Coast,
from Roja to Pāvilosta
TExT: rihArDS kAlNiNS | PHOTO: CoUrTeSy of f64
The northern tip of Kurzeme is filled with
secluded sandy beaches, a pristine nature
preserve, and charming seaside villages that
visitors can enjoy during a road trip up the
scenic coastal highway.
20 / AIRBALTIC.COM
Latvia has more than five hundred kilometers of
coastline, and practically the entire length is fully
accessible to the public. But the longest strip of
beaches can be found in Kurzeme, in the eastern part
of the country. The coast of Kurzeme stretches from
the fishing villages beyond Jūrmala, up to Cape Kolka,
and then back down again to the Lithuanian border.
A proper tour of the Kurzeme coast begins with the
seaside town of Roja, 100 kilometers up the coast
from Riga. This picturesque old fishing village has
several cafés and hotels, as well as a first-rate Fishing
Museum, where guests can learn about the traditions
of seafarers and fishermen in the region. At the Roja
port you’ll find a wide array of fishing boats and other
seagoing vessels, some of which travel to the nearby

Estonian island of Ruhnu. Stop by the town’s tourist
information center for more information.
After Roja, the highway winds its way north, through
the pine forests of the Slītere National Park, to Cape
Kolka. The cape separates the Bay of Riga from the
Baltic Sea, and visitors can watch the waves from
the gulf smack into waves rolling in from the open
sea—a truly unforgettable sight. Every year, the
pointed tip of the coast recedes a couple meters
due to erosion, so a visit to the cape will also let you
capture a disappearing part of Latvia.
Kolka is also the first village on the Livonian coast.
The Livs were a tribe of fishermen who inhabited
this coastal area for centuries and spoke a language
of their own, a Finno-Ugric tongue closely linked to
The road opens up to a
sweeping view of the bay
Estonian. To this day, a few inhabitants of the coastal
villages still speak the dying language, and every
year several books are published about the Livonian
people and their steadily disappearing culture.
There are twelve Livonian villages in total, dotting
the coast from Kolka to Ventspils. During the Soviet
era, the region was a closed military zone (the wide
highway, only recently paved, was a landing strip for
military planes). Though this practically abolished the
local Liv culture, it also helped preserve hundreds
of authentic wooden fishermen’s houses along the
coast, some of which have been converted into
cottages by Rigans who appreciate the pristine
beaches, tranquil forests, and secluded atmosphere.
To learn more about Livonian culture, stop by the
Livonian Culture Center in the central village of
Mazirbe. This is also the sight of the annual Livonian
DETAILS / TrAvel
Festival, organized this year on August 7, which
brings together fans of Liv culture for a day of
singing and dancing, culminating with a late-night
bonfire on the beach. While you’re in Mazirbe, check
out the Ship Graveyard, where eight seafaring relics
of the town’s maritime history are displayed in an
open field behind the dunes.
After leaving Kolka, the coastal highway weaves its
way south down the coast to Liepāja. Halfway down
you’ll find the town of Jūrkalne, with its famous
eighteen-meter-steep cliffs. The scenic location has
several interesting objects, such as an carved oak
sculpture in the form of a ship, marking the site of
a nineteenth-century maritime academy, and a pair
of iron plaques shaped like sails, commemorating
those residents who fled by ship to Sweden during
World War II.
The final stop on a tour of the Kurzeme coast
is Pāvilosta, one of the most beautiful seaside
towns in the Baltics. In recent years, the village has
become popular with windsurfers and kiteboarders,
who appreciate the high winds and tall waves on
the open sea. Their headquarters is the surf club
Spinout, which also rents equipment and instructors’
services. The other gathering place for surfers is Vēja
paradīze, completed in 2003. The hotel is only a
hundred meters from the sea, and features a sauna,
a café, and an unforgettable Kurzeme aura.
After a day in the winds of Pāvilosta, you’ll feel
refreshed and ready to return to the capital. But
before you do, don’t forget to take a final stroll
along the beach to look for the jewels of Kurzeme:
pieces of amber that wash up on the sand after a
storm. These tiny bits of petrified pine sap have been
hardened over the centuries in the cool waters of the
sea. Like Kurzeme itself, they are a testimony to the
rich past of this unique part of the Baltic coast. BO
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 21

DETAILS / TrAveler
TExT: rihArDS kAlNiNS | PHOTOS: reiNiS hofmANiS, f64
Travel Like a Pilot
Captain Gerhard Ramcke is
the chief pilot of airBaltic’s
new Q400 fleet. Like
many commercial pilots,
Ramcke is so captivated
by flying that he even
spends his free time
piloting airplanes, enjoying
the sweeping views from
thousands of meters up
in the air.
22 / AIRBALTIC.COM
How did you first become interested in
flying?
When I was ten years old, my family
and I flew over to Australia from the
Netherlands, where we lived at the time.
I was the only child onboar, and the
pilots invited me into the cockpit, and I
spent nearly the entire flight sitting on
the jump seat. It was an unbelievable
experience, and I never forgot it. I
was amazed by the environment
in the cockpit; the pilots were very
professional and very relaxed. And then
the unbelievable view outside, where
you see everything from above. It was so
fascinating. And it still fascinates me in
the same way, because every landscape
is so incredibly different. If you fly over
parts of Poland, there are these small
agricultural strips for private use, where
people work the land with their hands
instead of using huge tools. And then
you fly into the Ukraine or Russia, where
there are fields so big that you can’t even
see the boundaries. Everything looks so
incredibly different, and so amazingly
interesting. You can see so many
different little details.
What are some of your favorite routes
to fly?
One of my most favorite routes is flying
into Milan, because you cross the Alps.
If it’s a nice day—if you haven’t got any
clouds, and there isn’t much haze—then
it’s just one of the most beautiful
scenarios you can imagine. We have
daytime flights to Milan, so you can

see the entire landscape and enjoy the
scenery. But if the weather is nice, the
routes are all basically the same. I can
always enjoy the view from the airplane’s
cockpit, which is my “40 million dollar
office.” It doesn’t matter if it’s a view of
the mountains, the sea, the coastline,
or some islands. It’s nice to watch the
landscape, whatever it is. The route itself
doesn’t make a big difference.
Do you still fly smaller planes for
recreation?
Well, I do still keep up my private pilot’s
license. So every now and then I take out
a plane for some “fun flying.” The loveliest
flights I’ve had are on the northeast
Australian coast. I just love to go there
and see the islands and the Great Barrier
Reef. It’s absolutely beautiful. And it’s very
uncomplicated: the Australians have a
very relaxed attitude. And here in Europe,
the Alps are very beautiful. Of course,
with a small aircraft it’s difficult to get up
high, so you just fly through the valleys.
I especially love the landscape on the
northern side of the Alps, because there
One of my most favorite routes
is flying into Milan, because you
cross the Alps
are lots of lakes there; and toward the
south is the Adriatic coastline, where the
nature is absolutely lovely. That’s an area I
highly recommend seeing, if you ever get
the chance.
How do you get access to private
planes?
I rent them. It’s more convenient
that way. If you have a plane of your
own, then you need to transport it to
wherever you want to go. So it’s a lot
easier to rent a plane wherever you want
to fly. With pilot licenses today, it’s not
really a problem. The Europeans have
gotten together and organized all their
aviation administrations, so if you fly on
a European license you can rent a plane
wherever you want to go in Europe. It’s
a little different in the U.S., Canada, and
DETAILS / TrAveler
Australia, where you need a local license.
But you can easily apply for a temporary
license from those countries.
When you rent private planes, where
you do you like to fly here in the
region?
Palanga is nice, because you can walk
from the airport directly to the beach. Or
I just fly cross-country, like to Daugavpils,
if I want to see something else besides
the coastline. But all in all, it doesn’t
really matter where you go. You can
always find some nice little things to
do and see when you fly somewhere
yourself. During a flight in a small
plane, you can look at the landscape
from a much lower altitude, so you
can see a lot more details. In a small
airplane, flying at just 600 meters, you
get to see more details and also more
movement, like people rushing to work,
huge queues on the streets, and so on.
And you can discover so much about
nature, especially if you go inland. You
don’t really have to travel that far to see
something beautiful.
It almost sounds like you have access
to a whole different universe—just
flying around and seeing the world
from above.
You’re right, in some ways it is like a
different universe. Traveling by car
has a certain limiting factor, because
the stress level when you drive
somewhere for three hours is very
high. But in a plane, you enjoy every
single minute. There’s no stress at
all—just joy from the first moment
you get to the airport. Even during
the flight plan, you think about where
you want to go and what to look
at—like maybe a small village with
a nice old church, or some historic
monument, or an old castle, which
you can just fly over and have a look
at from the air. BO

DeTAilS / INTERVIEW
24 / AIRBALTIC.COM
© Jānis Klimanovs
A few hours before the big night, the Norwegian
photographer was slightly nervous about all the
tiny details that could go wrong, like a raindrop on
the lens or unfocused figures that wouldn’t let him
succeed in making the image.
The media has been calling you “the future of
Norwegian photojournalism.” Is it a burden to be
the future of today?
(Laughs.) I didn’t choose the title myself, but I
happen to do some stuff that represents the future
of photojournalism. The keyword in my work is
“online,” which allows me to present images in a
way that would not be possible on paper.
Can we come up with a romantic story about how
you became interested in the technology of 360°
panoramic images?
It’s not such a romantic story. In my previous work
[Urke has worked as a net editor, a journalist, and a
photographer] I came across the pictures of Hans
Nyberg [a Danish photographer], which made me
see new possibilities.
Nyberg is Danish, you are a Norwegian. Does
Scandinavia have a monopoly on this technology?
On the evening of July 9, Eirik
Helland Urke ascended the
conductor’s podium at the 10 th
Youth Song and Dance Festival
in Riga. Urke was there not to
conduct, but to take a gigapixel
panoramic image of the thousands
of singers and dancers assembled
before him. This was the first
attempt at capturing thousands of
moving objects in a single 360°
panoramic image—a revolutionary
form of photography that will
change how we document
the world.
TExT: NorA TirUmA
Closer to Reality
Nyberg is definitely a pioneer, but today it is used all
over the world. I’ve seen work from the U.S. and other
countries, though it is rather simple work. Here in Riga
I’m trying to bring it to another stage. I have not seen
a single high-resolution image with that many moving
objects captured in a 360° panorama.
Can we consider this the most precise
documentation of the moment, since nobody
including the photographer gets left outside of the
picture?
That’s true—it is closer to reality than any other type of
photography. It’s pure documentation, and if you’ve
missed the event, it replaces the feeling of being there.
Are there still limitations that the technology hasn’t
overcome?
Stitching it all together could be easier, and it is
moving that way. Within five minutes I shoot a
hundred or so images while rotating my camera,
so there is overlapping in each image. When I
shot the picture of the city of Tromsø, it took me
seven months to stitch it all together in one image.
Technologies have improved as well as my skills, so
the Song and Dance celebration image has to be
ready within a day. BO

DETAILS / DeSiGN
Swinging
in the Breeze
August is a month for taking it easy. And what better place to
relax on a lazy late-summer afternoon than in a hammock? This
innovative new hammock, created by the young Latvian designer
Ieva Laurina, is both a functional piece of garden furniture and
a stylish design object. The entire structure looks like a feather
dangling in the breeze, or a wispy cloud floating through the sky.
Hopefully, that’s precisely how you’ll feel when you lie down on the
hammock, which is completely handmade of all-natural materials—
rope, metal, and wood.
i www.ievalaurina.com
26 / AIRBALTIC.COM
TExT: rihArDS kAlNiNS
PHOTOS: CoUrTeSy of SANTA meikUlANe

Heading to Work…
in the Quiet Center!
A former tobacco factory, built in 1899, was recently transformed into
the Quiet Center’s premier new office building—Zaļā 1.
Fans of the Art Nouveau district can
now enjoy the Quiet Center in a whole
new way. The brand new Zaļā 1 office
complex, tucked away on a quiet street
behind Albert Hotel, is offering five floors
of stylish office space for rent in one of
the district’s most unique structures: a
former tobacco factory.
The historic building housing the new
Zaļā 1 offices was built in 1899 by the
Ruhtenberg family, who manufactured
cigars and cigarettes here until World War II.
Thanks to the building’s industrial past, the
high-ceilinged spaces are spacious, bright,
and airy, with large windows that fill the
interiors with natural light. The completely
renovated building has a total of eight
offices available for rent on five stories,
linked by sleek and silent new elevators.
Each space is laid out in the “loft style”
that has become popular in contemporary
offices throughout the world, with an
open floor plan such as those found in
other converted industrial workshops or
factories. But each office at Zaļā 1 can
also be tailored to suit a tenant’s individual
needs. The building’s management will
erect interior walls, divide the space into
separate rooms, or create a series of
hallways. In effect, the open floor plan
allows tenants to customize the space
according to their own specifications.
Another benefit of the modern new office
building is the extensive underground
parking lot, with spots for up to 170
vehicles—the largest of its kind in central
Riga. Employees have the added
advantage of easy access to the airport,
with taxis and airBaltic shuttles departing
in front of Albert Hotel, as well as buses
and trolleys on nearby Valdemāra iela.
In addition, conference facilities, a firstrate
restaurant, and hotel rooms are just
next door at Albert Hotel, though the
neighborhood has no lack of other dining
options and accommodations.
But the greatest feature of Zaļā 1 is the
chance it offers to partake in an important
element of Riga’s rich past. The tobacco
factory building has been an integral
part of the neighborhood for over one
hundred years, and is deeply enmeshed
in the district’s urban fabric. Its recent
revitalization has preserved the structure’s
historic façade and as much of the original
interior as possible, including authentic
exposed bricks. These original details have
been merged with the latest safety and
ventilations systems, a stylish interior design,
and top-of-the-line construction materials.
Thanks to the efforts of the architects and
the building’s management, another facet
of Riga’s historic identity has been preserved
and successfully adapted to the modern
needs of the twenty-first century.
i www.larixproperty.lv
OUTLOOK / Promo
PHOTOS: CoUrTeSy of lArix ProPerTy
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 27

yoUr NExT DESTINATION
Munich:
Germany’s Most Welcoming Metropolis
The highly respected magazine Monocle listed
Munich first in its latest annual list of the world’s
most livable cities. There’s certainly no lack of
reasons for such an honor—the capital of Bavaria
and the third largest city in Germany (after Berlin
and Hamburg), Munich celebrated its 850 th
birthday in 2008. One of the best and largest
Germany universities is located in Munich, and
the city is uncharacteristically green
for such a metropolis. Dating to 1789,
the Englischer Garten is one of the
biggest urban parks in the world. If
you grow weary of lolling in the grass,
activities here range from surfing and
boating to quiet meditation in the
Monopteros temple.
28 / AIRBALTIC.COM
iN ASSoCiATioN wiTh ANoTherTrAvelGUiDe.Com

Bad luck, somebody has already
taken the Anothertravelguide
brochure about Munich,
but don’t worry, all the
information is also available at
ANOTHERTRAVELGUIDE.COM in
cooperation with airBaltic.
yoUr NExT DESTINATION
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 29

yoUr NExT DESTINATION
BMW Welt Munich in the height of summer
Munich is home to the headquarters of many German
firms of global renown; BMW and Siemens are based here,
and Bulthaup, the manufacturer of exclusive kitchens, is
located in Munich’s environs. Unlike in a more democratized
Berlin, so often stricken by crises, the cobblestones of
the Maximilianstrasse—the city’s premier luxury shopping
street—seem to exhale the scent of money accumulated over
centuries. A conservative snobbery is also noticeable in what’s
on offer in the shops, but stopping and consulting a map in a
side street not swarming with tourists will immediately result in
an offer of help from a friendly local. Despite the visible wealth,
obvious from the percentage of expensive cars in the city’s
streets, Munich is an unbelievably friendly place.
Despite the visible wealth,
Munich is an unbelievably
friendly place
The Bavarian metropolis is also one of the most influential
centers for the German media, home to both the magazine
Focus and the venerable newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Munich is also a capital of culture, its museums holding 2,500
years of the world’s art—you won’t even have delved below
the surface if you spend four days exploring the Kunstareal
museum quarter, which was begun under the Bavarian King
Ludwig I back in the 19 th century. In terms of creative vitality,
one must admit that Munich does not have Berlin’s art scene;
the cost of living causes younger artists to head for the
German capital. Even so, the recent new museum projects
here are the talk of Germany.
Munich is compact and can easily be explored on foot. If you
are walking, a quarter of an hour or thirty minutes suffices
to reach utterly different parts of the city. It’s also one of the
world’s most bicycle-friendly cities. The Call a Bike program
initiated by Deutsche Bahn is based on four million euros of
30 / AIRBALTIC.COM
investment, and getting about by bicycle is sheer pleasure.
Munich also has a truly wonderful system of public transport. If
you’re traveling as a couple, you can obtain a day card for the
metro for ten euros and travel without limits.
Where Oktoberfest Was Born
Munich was founded in the 12 th century, on the site of an
ancient monastery. The original name recalls the home of
those monks, Monachium. In 1506 it became the seat of the
Bavarian dukes. Three centuries later Napoleon declared it
a kingdom, and Maximilian gave the city its neo-classical
architectural expression. Of course, Munich is also connected
to some of the seminal events of the 20 th century; it was the
cradle of the Third Reich, and this year work will finally begin
on a museum devoted to the city’s relationship to the dark
years of Nazism. The city suffered greatly in the Second World
War; bombed 71 times by the Allies, Munich was restored to
approximate its earlier face. Finally, Munich is the city where
Oktoberfest began. If beer gardens are what bring most tourists
to Germany, this is their original paradise!
As I arrived in the heart of a hot summer, when the
thermometer hit 35, I can attest to how the image of the city
lives up to harsh reality. Most cities in this sort of heat pass
the limits of the intolerable—when heat burrows into stone
and cement and radiates outward with a magnified force.
Munich, however, is different. The girls at Louis Hotel, a recently
opened designer hotel located directly across the street from
Viktualienmarkt, the city’s central market, explained how to
see the legendary clock at the neo-Gothic Rathaus—a Munich
attraction that simply cannot be missed—without having to
suffer the crowds in Marienplatz. The hotel turns out to have
two exits, one leading to the market and the other to quiet
courtyards. In the corner of a courtyard there is a barely
noticeable sign for the Glockenspiel Bar. The lift is somewhat
dingy and definitely not inviting to those not in the know, but
it takes you to a café on the fifth floor. Despite a drab interior
and plastic windows, the view cannot be surpassed! If you take
a table by the window at eleven, noon, or five in the evening,
you will be able to see the famous 32 figures do their thing. It

turns out that many of Munich’s courtyards contain such secret
wonders, hidden away from the postcard façades of the city.
A Beach in the City Center
If the fountain at the end of Neuhauserstrasse offers only a
little respite from the summer heat in the Old Town, then
true salvation is at the Isar, the river that flows through
Munich, along the banks of which there is always a breeze.
The spot that’s in style this summer is Nektar Beach on the
Prateninsel. Evenings on this island are quite lively because it’s
so unusual—a beach has been conjured up in the very heart of
the city, with white sands and wooden piers. One can hear the
waterside bustle from afar. The pebbly beach is crowded with
young people, a DJ offers dance music beneath the bridge,
and the locks are lit at night—Prateninsel offers perfect urban
scenography for a night out.
Gärtnerplatz, on the other hand, provides countless cafés, each
with a television tuned to the World Cup. Going out to watch a
game is a sacred tradition in Munich. The city hopes to host the
Winter Olympics in 2018. The circular grassy area at the centre
of Gärtnerplatz is overflowing, some people having picnics and
others simply sipping beer. One café offers superb Bavarian
sausages—or Wurst—until dawn.
Locals sometimes call Munich Italy’s northernmost city.
Summer evenings in this metropolis are devoted to social
pleasures, when you can relax in the innumerable bars,
relishing a Venetian Spritz. Munich is the sole German city with
a high birth-rate, and the population is expected to grow by
seven percent over the next five years. Despite the apparent
conservatism that one senses on the city’s surface, Munich
is also one of Germany’s most modern cities, though its
modernity tends to be veiled, hidden from the ordinary tourist
just like the city’s best bars, restaurants, and shops.
A Destination for Lovers of Modern
Architecture
It wouldn’t be exaggerating to note that Munich is currently
one of the rarest European cities in terms of how rather
The History of Reconstruction exhibition at Pinakothek der
Moderne. Münchener Freiheit station
yoUr NExT DESTINATION
extreme contemporary architecture blends into the urban
scene with a pleasing harmony. Fresh projects here are like
precise, ideal implants that are somehow never jarring. It seems
that whenever Munich indulges in any cosmetic surgery, this is
just enough to strengthen the city’s self-esteem, and never an
attempt to put garish silicone bubbles on display.
In the very center of town, surrounded by historic buildings
and not easily noticed, stands the 2003 Herzog & de Meuron
project called Fünf Höfe, or the Five Courtyards. It’s essentially
an updated version of a glassy 19 th -century arcade. The
centerpiece is a spherical sculpture by the Danish artist Olafur
Eliasson. Herzog & de Meuron also created the interior of the
popular wine bar Bar Commercial, which is a virtuoso medley
of the baroque and industrial design.
If you would like to see the most remarkable modern
architecture and design in Munich, however, you need to
take the metro to the Olimpia Centrum, getting out at the
Münchener Freiheit station. Missing this stop isn’t even possible,
as the sudden appearance of ultramarine columns, bright yellow
walls, and a mirrored ceiling makes you feel as if you were
walking half asleep down a well-trodden path, and someone
suddenly directed a mirrored sun into your eyes. Electric with
positive energy, this station is one of the most thrilling I’ve ever
been to—an Alice in Wonderland feeling is guaranteed!
The redone Münchener Freiheit station was unveiled last year,
the work of the German design legend Ingo Maurer. To those
who appreciate exquisite lighting design, Ingo Maurer’s name
needs no introduction; his lighting can also be seen in a few
other Munich metro stations. Münchener Freiheit, which can
evoke the joie de vivre of the movie Amélie, was inspired by
the magical blue light and bright blue sky of the snow-capped
Alps which Thomas Mann described, a quality of the light
unique to Munich. Thanks to LED technology, the blue tiles of
the columns gleam like shafts of light, and the contrast with
the yellow walls makes the space seem to vibrate. “I wanted
to create a contemporary space that would make users feel
connected to cities and countries in other parts of the world,”
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 31

yoUr NExT DESTINATION
National Theatre Munich An exhibit at the German Museum
the designer said in an interview with Frame magazine. Maurer
has certainly succeeded in invoking vibrant dreams.
Emerging from the metro at Olimpia Centrum, on the other
hand, feels like entering some futuristic vision in a Kubrick film.
BMW World—BMW Welt—splits the sky like the prow of a ghost
ship or a surreal iceberg. Its inspiration is actually a tornado,
and the silhouette is reminiscent of a whirlwind; the impression
it gives is indeed powerful. BMW Welt is the Bavarian
automotive giant’s giant showroom, combining the display of
the company’s cars with other facilities like a BMW style shop,
a restaurant, a children’s center, and several other facilities.
Horsepower seems secondary here; image is everything. By
Munich is compact and can
easily be explored on foot
paying an additional sum, BMW fanatics can get their car here
rather than at a dealer’s, driving the vehicle away from its
rotating display. This ceremony begets added value, of course.
The author of the technologically intricate complex was the
Viennese architectural firm Coop Himmelb(l)au, and the sheer
scale of it makes BMW Welt an adventure no matter what your
feelings about the company’s cars. The breadth of the space
beneath the glass cloud is quite simply overwhelming.
During my visit, the restaurant—run by the luxury hotelier and
restauranteur D0&Co—was hosting a birthday party. It was like
being in a movie, watching Bavarian high society sip fine white
wines, strings of pearls around the ladies’ necks. They radiated
elegance and comfort as they engaged in chatter. No one had
yet headed for the banquet tables because they were glued to
the TV, which was showing Germany’s World Cup match with
Argentina. A lady of perhaps seventy years of age, wearing
the obligatory pearls, appeared in a fiery red dress that must
32 / AIRBALTIC.COM
have been a Dior or maybe a Givenchy; I assume that she may
have driven to BMW Welt in one of the company’s roadsters,
an expensive toy that would certainly be appropriate to the
elegance of the upper-class aging process in Munich. The city
is chock full of Minis, which like Rolls-Royce now belongs to
the BMW Group. Photographing prestigious automobiles in the
Maximilianstrasse has become a popular tourist activity by now.
The BMW Museum annex was constructed in 2008. It is joined
to BMW Welt by an enchanting passageway—you can see the
foothills of the Bavarian Alps and gaze upon another iconic
structure, the stadium built for the 1972 Olympics. The museum,
which resembles a massive steel soup bowl, was built in 1973.
The annex greatly expanded the space. The exhibits cover
ninety years of BMW history, arrayed along a winding ramp
that might be the runway of a Chanel show choreographed by
Lagerfeld. There are no other walkways, so a visitor is certain to
see all seven exhibits. The idea for this ramp dates to the original
circular conception of the older museum, which is like the spiral
continuation of a road. I for one must admit that I’d never been
attracted to BMWs seen in city streets, but a walk through the
museum did indeed kindle my interest. The developers of the
exhibit have done everything possible to effect that; the cars are
displayed with the aplomb of art at the Guggenheim.
The exhibits begin with an impressive, poetic kinetic sculpture
composed of 714 dancing spheres that shift and flow to finally
form the silhouette of a retro car. One can also admire the
1916 BMW airplane engine, the company’s first, as well as
motorcycles from the Second World War, cars made more
colorful by artists, roadsters, racing cars, and limousines.
Nothing is superfluous—these marvels of engineering are
displayed in an ascetic manner. I went in an hour before
closing time, when there weren’t many visitors. Those I
encountered were talking about football. Halfway along the
ramp, Germany scored against Argentina. The triumph echoed
through the loudspeakers and was somehow appropriate
to this temple of design, architecture, and sheer triumphant
horsepower. The historic “soup bowl” is now devoted to
changing exhibits.

Munich’s museums hold 2,500 years of the world’s art
yoUr NExT DESTINATION
Temples of Art and Football
Like the BMW annex, the Museum Brandhorst is a newcomer to Munich.
The Brandhorst is located in the Kunstareal museum quarter, cheek by
jowl with the great museums of Munich—Pinakothek der Moderne, Neue
Pinakothek, and Alte Pinakothek. The Berlin firm Sauerbruch Hutton
Architects strove to provide 3,200 square meters of gallery space that offers
ideal conditions: white walls, wooden floors, and a neutral atmosphere
for great art. The exterior, however, is an exemplar of the abstract.
Commissioned by the Bavarian state, the museum was constructed
specifically for the Udo and Anette Brandhorst collection of modern and
contemporary art.
The Brandhorsts began collecting art in the early 1970s, beginning with
the acquisition of a Joan Miró collage. Today the collection includes
works by the most magical artists of the 20 th and 21 st centuries, including
the luminaries Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, Jean-Michel
Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Mike Kelly, and much more. The museum holds
over 700 works of art. One of the high points is Cy Twombly—the
Brandhorst has the largest Twombly collection outside the United States.
His well-known large format series “Lepanto” is displayed in its own space.
If you didn’t take a taxi into town from the airport, do so when departing;
the road will take you past the Allianz Arena, one of the venues for the 2006
World Cup. A sense of the surreal is guaranteed—it looks like a gigantic milky
cloud or spaceship, literally glowing in the sunlight. In the evenings there’s a
fabulous light show, transparent in places and colorful in others, each of its
six-meter segments connected to an air compressor. It seems that the cloud
could simply float away. All 66,000 seats provide an excellent view. The
ETFE-foil panels air panels were put to magical use by the Swiss architects
Herzog & de Meuron. The astonishing effect is also functional, showcasing
the amazing Bavarian ability to meld the beautiful and utilitarian.
Munich offers an environment that is obviously wonderful to live in, and
that one wishes to return to. If perchance you miss your plane, there are
hotels within walking distance, a beer garden within the airport itself, and
supermarkets that offer everything imaginable (including organic foods)…
and not at astronomical airport prices but at prices you would pay in
town. These are details, but they do add up. Perhaps the only flaw in the
Bavarian capital of culture, architecture, and shopping is the lack of a
speedy train connection to the airport. Surely Munich will soon solve this,
as it has solved most every urban problem. BO

yoUr NExT DESTINATION
If You Have Only
a Day in Munich
Don’t be lazy and do wake up
early! A run along the Isar is a
healthy and pleasurable way
to start your day. Then get on
a bicycle and ride to the Café
Glockenspiel. Get there before
11:00 a.m., so that you can get
a table by the window and
witness the dance of the 32
figures for which the Rathaus
is famous.
Munich has a number of utterly
unique world-class museums.
The Neue Pinakothek is the
most important 19 th -century
art museum on earth. Most
of Munich’s great museums
are in the center of the city,
in the Kunstareal quarter.
Visiting the Kunstareal is
wonderful for the architecture
alone; the development of
the quarter was begun under
the architect Leo von Klenze
at the initiative of Ludwig I,
King of Bavaria. There are now
three Pinakotheks: the old
and the new (Alte Pinakothek
and Neue Pinakothek), and
the Pinakothek der Moderne
for modern art. The Staatliche
Antikensammlung features
Greek, Roman, and Etruscan
art; Greek and Roman
sculpture in the Glyptothek
complement it. Then there
are the Lenbachhaus and the
recently opened Museum
Brandhorst, as well as several
galleries. This gigantic treasure
trove cannot be fully explored
in a week, much less a single
day, but you can at least see
many of the most enthralling
works on display.
Kranz is an excellent place
for a restorative lunch after
a large dose of culture.
Homey, unpretentious, and
simultaneously stylish, the
restaurant is located in the
lively Glockenbach district.
The menu items feature
only locally grown, organic,
seasonal food. The service is
superb and the prices are quite
reasonable. The surrounding
streets, especially near the
nearby Gärtnerplatz, are home
to many stylish shops. You
might walk the entire length
of Rumfordstraße, where
you will find the store called
Soda—a fine shop for books
on architecture, design, and
fashion—and the colorful
clothing shop Oscar (und)
Paul, where the owner’s dog
can be found by the velvet
couch. If thinking of children
at home, visit Marie Morenz.
The small shop’s minimalist
collection is the creation of
Linda Tippner, a local designer.
Everything found here was
made with love, from natural
materials.
As your day was mostly
devoted to art, then a fitting
place for dinner would
be Showroom. The small
restaurant, with only 28 seats,
is the domain of one of
Germany’s most brilliant
chefs, Andreas Schweiger. The
menu allows you to select
four or nine dishes. Relax and
relish an evening of exquisite
culinary pleasures.
Cafe Glockenspiel, Marienplatz 28,
i www.cafepglockenspiel.de
Kranz, Hans-Sachs-Straße 12,
i www.daskranz.de
Showroom, Lilienstraße 6,
i www.schweiger2.de
If You are in Munich for Two Days
BMW Museum
Brandhorst Museum
The Krantz
Munich is rich in paradoxes.
On the one hand, it is home
to many remarkable cultural
institutions and festivals,
and on the other, it is a true
citadel of consumerism.
Expensive and snobbish at
times, the latter aspect of
the city can be shamelessly
ostentatious. These two sides
of Munich meld seamlessly.
If you can afford it, it’s worth
devoting a day to this other
Munich. Start the day with an
espresso at the Bar Comercial,
found in the “Five Courtyards,”
by Swiss architects Herzog
& de Meuron. After breakfast,
all roads lead to BMW Welt,
definitely on the must-see
list. In terms of branding and
architecture, it’s the land
of milk and honey. You’ll
need at least two or three

hours—it isn’t called a world
for nothing—since a visit to
the museum is a must even
if you’re not normally thrilled
by cars. You can have lunch
there, too, at Do&Co, where
you will have an excellent
view of a past modern
architectural delight, the 1972
Olympic stadium.
After lunch, go to
Maximilianstraße (or, as the
locals sometimes refer to it,
Pradastraße). As in any such
wealthy shopping district,
both sides of the street are
lined with shops purveying
global luxury brands, with
extravagant cars lining the
curb. Brenner, which could
be described as the runway
of Munich’s gastronomical
fashion show, is also located
there. The scale is grandiose,
with seating for 200 and two
outdoor terraces that are
always crowded on a warm
summer evening. These were
once the royal stables, and
Brenner Grill
fly to munich with
yoUr NExT DESTINATION
the beams are still visible in
the interior, though they have
been garbed in 21 st -century
glass. The clientele could have
stepped out of an Almodóvar
film, the cuisine is primarily
Italian, and the prices,
though certainly not low, are
reasonable and reflect the
quality of the food and service.
Since the day began in
absolute hedonism, a good
venue for the final act is
Nektar Beach. The bar
restaurant and club Nektar
are on an island in the
river, Praterinsel. There’s a
marvelous urban beach with
white sand, comfortable
chaises longues, and a DJ—
the clientele consists mostly
of the younger Munich elite.
Bar Comercial, Theatiberstraße 16,
i www.barcomercial.de
BMW Welt, Petuelring 130,
i www.bmw-welt.com
Brenner, Maximilianstraße 15,
i www.brennergrill.de
Nektar Beach, Innere Wiener Straße 6,
i www.nektar.de
Direct flights from Riga starting from EUR 65 – earn from
750 BalticMiles in Economy class
From Scandinavia and Eastern Europe via Riga starting from
EUR 77 – earn from 1250 BalticMiles in Economy class
BalticMiles partners in Munich: airBaltic, Sixt, Language Direct,
Radisson Blu, Park Inn, airBalticTravel.com
Book flight + hotel in Munich at www.airbaltictravel.com and
receive free entrance ticket to BMW World in Munich provided by
BMW dealer WESS Select.

iNTerview
36 / AIRBALTIC.COM

The Professional
Expatriate
TExT: rihArDS kAlNiNS | PHOTOS: f64
Can you tell me a few words about your
childhood? Where did you grow up?
I was born in England, in a medium-sized town
in Yorkshire called Doncaster. I went to the local
school, and then went to university in Cambridge.
That later drew me to London, where I went to look
for work when I graduated. I got my first serious job
in London, with the Financial Times. That kept me in
London for the first three years. Then I got a foreign
posting to Hong Kong. I’ve lived outside of England
pretty consistently since then.
What first attracted you to journalism?
It was a mixture of social aspects and the spirit of
the time. Back in the late 1970s, which is when
I was at college and thinking about what might
happen next, journalism had a very high social and
intellectual status. It was an envied profession, unlike
now. In the course of my working lifetime the social
and professional status of journalism has gone
down from that of a university professor to that of a
iNTerview
Robert Cottrell is a British journalist who has spent his career traveling the globe,
writing articles as an overseas correspondent for several renowned international
publications. Over the last thirty years, Cottrell has lived and worked in Hong Kong,
Japan, Moscow, Brussels, and New York. He has written for the Economist, the
Financial Times, and the New York Review of Books, and is a founder of the websites
The Browser and More Intelligent Life. Baltic Outlook caught up with Cottrell in Riga,
where he owns an English-language bookstore called Robert’s Books, to talk about
journalism and the fine art of living abroad.
primary school teacher. Actually, let me say below
that, because primary school teachers are generally
regarded as useful and diligent members of society,
whereas the same presumption doesn’t hold for
journalists. So I withdraw that unfair comparison
to primary school teachers. (Laughs.) I think that,
with a few exceptions, journalism is regarded—not
unreasonably—as a very low value-added job. But
back when I was looking at something to do, it was
an exciting and glamorous profession, so therefore
it was a profession that a lot of people wanted to
go into. It also liked to think of itself as something
of an anti-establishment profession. It wasn’t like
going into the civil service or law or banking, or
something like that. It was a place where you could
hope to maintain a professional quality of life, and
yet still see yourself as a bohemian.
As you began working as an overseas
correspondent, what did you find was the best
way to gain access to a city you were posted to?
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 37

iNTerview
The longer you spend traveling in
different countries, the more you start
to think that everything is special and
everything has its own merit, it’s own
reason to be
I was lucky that I was working for the Financial
Times and then, later, for the Economist. Those
publications carry a lot of clout, so it was relatively
easy to meet people—not necessarily people
in official positions but people who were doing
interesting things, people in the cultural world or
the intellectual world. But I’m under no illusions that
that was because of my immense charm or efforts
or anything. It was because those publications
counted for something, and people wanted the
exposure. To be the Financial Times correspondent
in Hong Kong was a particularly good thing to be,
because there were strong political and colonial ties
to Britain, so you had a special place in the heart
of the government as well as a special place in the
financial markets. We covered a lot of what people
were up to in Hong Kong.
It was more difficult in Japan, which is where
I went next, because Japan was not nearly so
fixated on what people in Britain thought about it.
They didn’t actually care a great deal about that.
They cared somewhat about what the Americans
thought about them, but mainly they cared about
domestic opinion. In Moscow, I think the pecking
order had American newspapers at the top. I only
got to Moscow in 1995, well after the real tumult
of the fall of Communism. We were looking then at
a country with a liberal order, which was then still
fairly ascendant in the government. It was looking
very much to America for its inspiration and its

esources and its support. So if you were the New
York Times or Washington Post, then you were the
first people that anybody in Moscow wanted to talk
to; and if you were the Economist or the Financial
Times, you were an honorable second.
But like anything else, you get better at being
foreign the longer you do it. If you just live abroad
for a short period of time, I think you tend—even
inadvertently—to formulate everything in terms of
your home country. Everything is couched in term
of comparisons. But the longer you spend traveling
in different countries, the more you start to think
that everything is special and everything has its
own merit, it’s own reason to be. You start trying to
understand things in their own terms, rather than in
comparison with some other system, whether it’s
your own or anything else. That I hope makes you a
more sympathetic interlocutor of the time.
Throughout your many years abroad, I assume
you’ve visited English-language bookstores all
over the world. What are some of your favorite
international bookstores?
iNTerview
The grandmother of English-language bookshops
is Shakespeare and Company, in Paris. It’s a bit
of a fake, in the sense that there’s not as much
continuity going back to the 1920s as they would
have you believe. But it’s a very big and friendly
and rambling bookshop. The owner employs lots of
interns who sleep there and run the shop. It’s a very
romantic place to be. But an operation on that scale
is only really manageable in Paris, where you have
a huge number of expatriates. In Prague, there’s a
very fine bookstore with a bar and café attached
to it, called the Globe. I’m reaching back a couple
of years, so I very much hope it’s still in business,
because it was a fine bookshop.
The place that really stuck in my mind as being the
sort of bookshop I’d love to have was Prospero’s
Books in Tbilisi, Georgia. It is a smallish, treasuretrove
of a bookshop—some new books but
mostly second-hand—with a little coffee corner.
But in Tbilisi it’s a real networking center for the
English-language or foreign-language community
there. There’s quite a large government and NGO
community there, obviously enough to keep them
in business. There’s a real sense of the distant and

iNTerview
the exciting; it’s a real achievement to have a wonderfully cozy
English-language bookshop there, in a distant and fragile city.
In one of your articles for the Economist, you wrote that
“to choose foreignness is an act of disloyalty to one’s native
country.” What elements or customs of your native country
have you left behind or betrayed?
You get better at being foreign
the longer you do it
When I was growing up and living in England, I would subscribe
unconsciously to British exceptionalism: that this country was
special, that this city was special, and that these people were
special. That, in the end, there was no other place in the world
where I would rather live. That our national values, whatever
they were, were somehow superior to other people’s values,
and that our history was somehow more glorious. I think
everyone thinks that about the country in which they grow
up, or the country in which they continue to live. It’s only by
separating yourself from your native country and living in
other countries that you can see that all countries are special
in their different ways; and that actually there are people just
like you and just like your friends all over the world, who have
perfectly satisfying and interesting lives in wildly different
circumstances. I suppose this is where the element of betrayal
comes in: there’s really no need for patriotism, there’s no need
to say that my country is the best, or that mine is better than
yours. Everybody does it, everybody does think that about
their country, or almost everybody does. But it’s neither useful
nor true.
You spoke before about people who live abroad for a short
period of time and constantly compare a country to the
place where they came from. I assume that, after thirty
years abroad, you have moved beyond this stage?
I hope so. Even if you compare things internally, it’s a good
idea not to do it in conversation. I think the worst thing
to do is to comment insulting or slightingly on a building,
or a circumstance or a system or whatever, in country A
as opposed to country B. But even if you’re commenting
favorably on the building or the opera or the quality of
political debate or something, it’s a good idea not to do it in
a comparative way. It’s not as though I, Robert Cottrell, have
somehow been appointed to hand out marks to different cities
or countries. It’s not the Olympic Games: Hey, guys, you’ve got
the best parliament, or your university is better than that one.
It’s rather that it is a great opera, it is a great restaurant, and let’s
leave it at that. I think that inevitably you do make comparisons
across cultures and across countries. But I think comparisons
are generally speaking less welcome than people often tend
to think. BO

OUTLOOK / TrAvel
TExT: rihArDS kAlNiNS | PHOTO: lehTikUvA/SCANPix
ILLUSTRATION: iNGA brieDe
To
the Lighthouse
42 / AIRBALTIC.COM
For centuries, lighthouses have served
to warn ships of dangerous waters and
rocky shores. Today, these buildings are
being converted into tourist destinations,
complete with restaurants, hotels,
museums, and other modern facilities.

Throughout Northern
Europe, lighthouses have been important beacons
in the night for travelers adrift on the open waters
of the Baltic Sea. For the most part, these towers
of light served to warn seafarers of rocky shores,
and signaled for them to steer clear of dangerous
waters that threatened to tear the hulls of their ships
to shreds. Today, with the advent of GPS systems
and other advanced navigation instruments, many
of Europe’s lighthouses have become defunct,
having lost their function to more technologically
advanced devices.
But alas, the lighthouses themselves remain
standing. They are monuments to another era,
where we relied on physical structures made of
bricks and mortar—instead of technological data
consisting of bits and bytes of information—for
information about the surrounding environment.
Lighthouses are monuments to
another era, where we relied on
physical structures made of bricks—
instead of technological data
The structures themselves are breathtakingly
beautiful, and were built with the blood and sweat
of our ancestors, in locations that were by definition
unbearably harsh and practically inaccessible.
The shores of Northern Europe, along the deep
waters of the Baltic Sea, were dotted with hundreds
of lighthouses, often built of granite mined from
the islands where they stood. Many of the largest
lighthouses were found along the rocky shores of
Finland and Estonia, carved eons ago by rolling
glaciers that left the many islands and archipelagos
which define this unique part of the world. These
islands are easily visible to passengers flying to the
great cities of Scandinavia, like Stockholm, Helsinki,
Copenhagen, and Oslo.
When the lighthouses were first erected, they
emitted beams of light from petrol lanterns, which
OUTLOOK / TrAvel
were then reflected by an elaborate series of
mirrors. In order to maintain the lighthouses, several
men were needed to haul fuel and other equipment
up and down the stairs of the tower, and to perform
other duties associated with keeping the beacons
lit and safely visible. The men often lived on the
island together with their families, and many of the
islands even had schools for the resident children.
(Lighthouse keepers are renowned for having large
families, as there was rarely much else do to on
these remote islands than to spawn great broods of
offspring.)
In the 1960s, many of Northern Europe’s lighthouses
were fully automated, voiding the need to employ
onsite lighthouse keepers, who had toiled yearround
to keep the towers lit and to operate the
foghorns that had been installed to warn ships in
foggy weather. As a result of this automation—and
the subsequent advent of electronic navigational
systems—many of the structures fell into disrepair.
They were further degraded by vandals who
shattered windows, broke the motorized lantern
mechanisms, stole fueling equipment, and raided
the lighthouse keepers’ former quarters.
Several years ago, an initiative led by the University
of Turku, in cooperation with the European Union’s
INTERREG IIIA Programme, strove to revitalize many
of these iconic lighthouses and convert them into
tourist destinations. Thanks to the project’s efforts,
many of these lighthouses have been fully restored
and joined in an extensive network. The custodians
of the lighthouses regularly meet and exchange
their experiences working with tourists and visitors,
with the aim of constantly improving the facilities
and adapting them to modern, twenty-first-century
needs.
In Finland, a total of sixty fully functional
lighthouses are overseen by the Finnish Maritime
Administration, the oldest of which dates back to
1753. Due to Finland’s unique geography, most of
the lighthouse are located on islands along the
coast, and are accessible only by boat or chartered
ship. Four of the lighthouses are open to visitors:
Bengtskär, Isokari, Söderskär, and Utö. Further south,
Estonia also has sixty lighthouse as part of the
network, though only three of them are open to
visitors, all on the island of Hiiumaa.
The largest lighthouse in the network, and the tallest
in Northern Europe, is Bengtskär, which stands an
impressive 52 meters above the sea. The stone
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 43

OUTLOOK / TrAvel
Bengtskär
Until World War Two, five
lighthouse keepers-a master keeper,
a machinist, and three assistants—
lived on the island
lighthouse is found on a barren island about 25
kilometers southwest of Hanko and about an hour’s
trip by ferry from the port of Kasnäs. Bengtskär was
built in 1906 to guide ships from the Gulf of Finland
and on toward the large ports of Europe. Until the
advent of World War Two, five lighthouse keepers—a
master keeper, a machinist, and three assistants—
lived on the island along with their families, and
therefore the lighthouse also has extensive living
quarters adjacent to the tower. By the 1930s almost
fifty people lived on the island of sheer rock.
In 1941, the Bengtskär lighthouse was the site of
a famous battle between Finnish forces and the
Soviet army, who were stationed in the port of
Hanko in accordance with an agreement with the
government of Finland. Fearing that the Finnish
army would use the vantage point of Bengtskär to
monitor their base at Hanko, Soviet soldiers attacked
the island on the night of July 26. After a nightlong
battle, the Soviets were successfully repelled by the
small troop of Finnish soldiers headquartered on
the island, assisted by the five resident lighthouse
keepers. During the fighting, more than sixty Soviet
soldiers and almost thirty Finnish soldiers lost
their lives.
Fifty years later, in 1992, the Bengtskär lighthouse
was fully renovated, and now includes a museum,
dedicated to the history of the lighthouse, and a
hotel, with six rooms formerly inhabited by the
lighthouse keepers and their families. Visitors can
also take advantage of a fully equipped conference
facility, where businesses organize special
conferences and meetings; a restaurant, where
meals of fresh fish from the surrounding waters are
served in a communal dining area; and a sauna,
built of granite, just like the lighthouse, back in 1906.
Outside the granite lighthouse tower, there is even
a helicopter landing pad, providing easy access to
more far-flung cities.
The lighthouse is managed by a local Finnish family,
the Wilsons, who are originally from the nearby
island of Rosala, about 18 kilometers away. Paula
and Per Wilson spend about ten months a year on

the island, taking care of the hotel facilities, overseeing
the restaurant, giving guided tours, and maintaining the
museum collection. Their two sons are also involved in
the project: one of them operates the charter ship from
Kasnäs to Bengtskär, and the other manages the Rosala
Viking Center, a Viking village on the island of Rosala.
The Bengtskär lighthouse is now visited by thousands
of visitors every season. They come to view the special
museum exhibits, spend an unforgettable night in the
former lighthouse keepers’ quarters, or just to lounge
all day on the island’s rocks. The shores of the island
include many tiny ledges where sunbathers can hide
away, or little coves between the cliffs where bathers
can take a swim in the refreshing waters of the gulf.
Of course, you can also climb the 252 steps to the
top of the tower and enjoy the incredible view of the
surrounding gulf. The island and its lighthouse are so
picturesque that a few bands have even filmed videos
there, including Latvian super group Brainstorm, who
used the location to shoot the video for their hit song
“Like a Waterfall.” (Check out the video on YouTube.)
Chartered boats depart daily for the island from the
port of Kasnäs, just a ninety minute drive from the city
of Turku. The boats leave at eleven a.m., stop for an
hour at the Viking village in Rosala, and then leave for
the Bengtskär lighthouse, arriving at two p.m. If visitors
do not wish to stay the night, the boat leaves again at
16:30, arriving back in Kasnäs at 17:45. Along the way,
the ship passes through the breathtakingly beautiful
archipelago, where passengers can see summer houses
on the countless tree-covered islands that make this
part of Finland one of the most scenic seaside locations
in Europe. BO
i To book a tour to Bengtskär lighthouse, and
to reserve a hotel room for the night, visit their
website, www.bengtskar.fi, or send an email to
info@bengtskar.fi.
Baltic Outlook would like to thank Kari Hyppönen of the
University of Turku for his generous hospitality and invaluable
help in preparing this article.
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TExT: rihArDS kAlNiNS
PHOTOS: CoUrTeSy of f64, CeSU mAkSlAS feSTivAlS AND CeSiS ToUriST iNformATioN CeNTer
Cēsis Art
Festival: Art and
Fashion in a Historic Latvian City
Founded in 1206, Cēsis is one of the oldest cities in Latvia. The picturesque
cobblestone streets of this medieval town have been drawing visitors for
centuries—in fact, warriors of every stripe and nationality have passed through
the city’s gates, conquering the ancient Livonian castle whose ruins still stand
in the middle of the city.
Today, Cēsis is one of Latvia’s most charming towns
in the Baltics, preserving an authentic medieval
aura that radiates through the modern city streets
and squares. The city is conveniently located just
ninety minutes from Riga, ensconced in the heart
of Vidzeme amidst the gently rolling hills and
verdant forests that form the Gauja National Park.
The park is situated around the river Gauja, which
snakes through Vidzeme, flowing from Cēsis to the
Baltic Sea. The region therefore offers countless
recreational opportunities in the great outdoors,
from boating to hiking to camping.
Cēsis is also one of the most modern cities
in the Baltics, with a full range of services and
accommodations. You’ll find several modern hotels,
dozens of charming cafes and restaurants, and
countless historic sights to view, including St. John’s
Church, one of the oldest stone Gothic churches
in the Baltic states, and the thirteen-century Cēsis
Castle, which is often the site of live concerts and
performances, as well as numerous local festivals
and celebrations.
This August, visitors to Latvia will be pleased to hear
that the city is hosting its annual art festival. Four
years ago, when the festival was first established,
the organizers sought a place to exhibit works
of art—paintings, installations, and other objects
made by local artists. During a tour of the city, they
discovered a defunct brewery complex, which had
been abandoned since the Soviet era. The building
was the perfect place for the festival, as it provided a
vast space that could be adapted to fit any needs.
In years past, the labyrinth of former industrial
spaces and workshops within the brewery complex
has been enlivened by paintings and photographs
hung from the rafters and affixed to the walls. Some
of the spaces have been utterly transformed by
installations, completely altering the aura of the
interior. Outside, in the complex’s courtyard, visitors
and artists have gathered for impromptu parties
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 47

The sculptural object that the artists
have created explores themes of
archeology and excavation
and discussions about the works hanging within
the brick walls of the nineteenth-century buildings
beside them.
In 2010, the curators of the Cēsis Art Festival have
invited artists from throughout the Baltic states
to participate in the festival—specifically, to create
new, original works of art for exhibition in August,
specially commissioned by the curators. They will
make up an exhibition entitled Take Care, on view
in the brewery complex from Tuesday to Sunday,
11 a.m. to 18 p.m., through August 15.
At the Take Care exhibit, Latvia will be represented
by conceptual artist Gints Gabrāns, painter Ģirts
Muižnieks, photographer Valts Kleins, and video
artist Katrīna Neiburga, among others. The group
consists of the top artists in the country, who
create cutting-edge works of art that are regularly
exhibited at galleries and museums, both in Latvia
and abroad. They also represent several different
generations of artists, which the exhibit now brings
together under one roof.
Estonia will be sending the young artists’ association
Visual Solutions, made up of three artists: Taaniel
Raudsepp, Sigrid Viir, and Karel Koplimets. The
collective will display the characteristic pragmatism
of Estonian art—a northern reserve and laconism
that has become Estonia’s trademark style. Each of
the artists works in the creative industries as well,
and elements from their professional work will be
interwoven into the pieces.
Lithuania, in turn, will participate in the exhibition
with a group of young artists who will, according
to publicity materials, “create a non-functional
architectural interactive installation that would
involve the viewers in the process of exploring a
new space.” The sculptural object that the artists
have created explores themes of archeology and
excavation. These themes are certainly well suited
to the Cēsis brewery, which displays multiple
architectural and cultural layers accumulated over
the decades since the complex was first built.

The Trans-In-Form
exhibit will also be
on display from
Tuesday to Sunday,
11 a.m. to 18 p.m.,
through August 15,
at a converted barn
adjacent to the Cēsis
brewery complex.
The city of Cēsis is
just a ninety minute
drive from Riga.
Follow the A2 highway
(which extends from
Brīvības iela) for about
70 kilometers, until
you reach the exit
for Cēsis/Valmiera.
The center of the
city is about twenty
kilometers from
the exit. Parking is
available throughout
the city, all of which
can be easy seen
on foot. Both of the
exhibition spaces—the
old brewery and the
converted barn—are
located just steps from
the Cēsis Castle ruins,
a landmark that surely
can’t be missed.
The Cēsis Art Festival will also feature another
exhibit, called Trans-In-Form, devoted to the
boundary between visual arts and fashion, and
to the relationship between people and things.
This exhibit, held in a converted barn near the old
brewery, will bring together the top names in Latvian
fashion design, such as Natālija Jansone, Anna
Led, Baiba Ripa, and Indra Miklāva. Each of these
fashion designers has created a brand new work of
art—paintings, photography, drawings, sculptures,
and installations—inspired by their work in fashion
design, which continue to attract worldwide interest
and win awards at international festivals and shows.
Many of the works in the Trans-In-Form exhibit are
conceptual. They make bold statements about our
prevailing notions of fashion and clothing, and our
perception of art and style. In a press release for
the festival, the curators have succinctly described
their concept: “When an item of clothing is placed
in the hands of an artist, the clothing is subjected
to his creative inspiration. The object is completely
transformed, taking on a new meaning and making
us experience the most unusual emotions.” It is
these experiences—the effect that objects have on
us, and the way in which we affect the objects we
see or wear—that will be the centerpiece of the
exhibit. BO
i www.cesufestivals.lv

OUTLOOK TrAvel / fiNlAND
Vaasa in Numbers
120,000 inhabitants in the
region, about 60,000 in
the city.
The capital of Finland
from Jan 29–May 3, 1918.
Shoreline: 409 km.
More than 100 different
nationalities represented.
25% of the city’s
inhabitants speak Swedish
as their mother tongue.
The sunniest city in
Finland (1,900 hours of
sunlight per year).
Over 2,000 moorings for
boats in the city.
50 / AIRBALTIC.COM
Finland’s
Rising Land
TExT: NorA TirUmA
PHOTOS: PATriCiA roDAS, ArTo hämäläiNeN, JAAkko J. SAlo,
PerTTi, mAliNeN, mikko lehTimäki AND NorA TirUmA
Don’t be fooled by the tranquil route from the airport to the
orderly streets of the city center. Though Vaasa initially seems
like a quiet Finnish city, this modest package hides everything
from a bustling business environment to the very best of the
arts and sciences. You’ll also find an island archipelago that
rises by eight millimeters every year. And the city has its own
meteorite, too—an enormous crater formed 520 million years
ago which attracts tens of thousands of cranes every fall.

We Have the Energy!
Vaasa is synonymous with energy. The city’s tourism industry
has branded Vaasa as the “energetic city,” and their motto
is “we have the energy!” By this they mean both local and
international energy and electricity companies, as well as the
city’s vibrant academic life and cultural scene.
In Vaasa, everyone arrives sooner or later at the matter of energy.
Even in an ordinary conversation about the quality of a hotel, a
local might say, “It’s a good place. Engineers stay there!” At first this
may seem like the city’s marketing trick. But all my doubts were
dispelled when I walked past a romantic couple who, speaking
in perfect British English, were discussing oil contracts in Brazil. A
moment later they cut their conversation short to check out the
listing in the window of a real estate agency. Later, at the Inner
Harbor, I come across an Indian delegation that had obviously
arrived here on a business trip. They were rushing to complete
the obligatory sightseeing tour of the city, which includes a photo
session set against the backdrop of the island archipelago.
Art and Benefaction
The respect that the locals have for the energy industry is
understandable. Thanks to several succesful businesses, the
city’s name has become a well-known brand not only in
Finland, but also through Scandinavia and Europe. Growth in the
energy sector has naturally brought about growth in other civic
spheres, including academics, art, and tourism. Among region’s
businessmen, the practice of patronizing the arts has become
a strong tradition, and there is an extraordinary high number
of art collectors amongst the city’s residents. Many years ago,
Simo Kuntsi’s father prevented his son from becoming a painter.
He made him study economics instead, and Simo eventually
embarked on a career in the family business, the Vaasa Steam Mill.
But thanks to Simo’s steadfast passion for the arts, and the money
he made in business, the city of Vaasa and the Kuntsi Foundation
were able to open the Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art in 2007.
Vaasa places first in Finland in terms of per capita investments
in culture. This local passion for the arts has a long history. The
first Pablo Picasso painting that ever traveled to Finland was
exhibited in Vaasa, and Finland’s first Steinway grand piano was
played in the city. And the first bicycle in Finland was seen right
here in Vaasa, near the market square, in 1869.
Every Fifth Resident is a Student
Vaasa has deep roots as an industrial city. Since the 1890s, the
city has been among the three most industrialized Finnish
cities. The main industries in the region today are energy,
metal, and the construction of wooden houses and ships. The
factories built in the last century, which have already outlived
their original functions, are now used in academic life as well
as for organizing conferences—a niche that is highly developed
in the city. Having gained a new life, the industrial smokestacks
and square buildings are now perfectly integrated into the city’s
urban silhouette.
OUTLOOK TrAvel / fiNlAND
Must-See
in Vaasa
For Families
Venetian Night
This annual celebration on the last weekend of August, when people
close up their cottages, is an ancient custom here. Imagine the city’s
spectacular archipelago reflecting the light from countless bonfires,
barrels of tar, lanterns, and candles. This is a celebration of the
fundamental elements: water, fire, and light. Try to join somebody
who has a cottage. Otherwise try to find a spot on the beach, where
the evening scenery will be unforgettable.
Terranova – Kvarken Nature Center
This part of the Ostrobothnian Museum will tease your senses.
Inside, mosquitoes buzz in the insect room and local birds sing their
songs. The great puzzles of nature, like the phenomenon of the
rising land, are made clear and understandable. Here, the wonders
of science speak through virtual aquariums, films, and the museum
collections. It’s a real treat for children, especially if you don’t have
the time to go on a day-long cruise around the Vaasa or Kvarken
archipelago. But if you do, go for it!
i www.kvarken.fi
i www.terranova.vaasa.fi
Stundars Open–Air Museum
Kids will love the fun and games at Wasalandia, Finland’s fifth
largest amusement park. However, to give your kids some culture
after all that jumping and sliding, take them to the Stundars
Open–Air Museum in Korsholm to experience life as it was live at the
turn of the 20th century.
i www.stundars.fi
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 51

OUTLOOK TrAvel / fiNlAND
Meteorite
This is one of Vaasa’s highlights. The meteorite crater is located just
ten kilometers outside the city, and can be easily combined with a
visit to the Stundars Open–Air Museum or the Kvarken archipelago.
The crater on the Söderfjärden plain, which can easily be seen
from the plane when approaching Vaasa, was formed 520 million
years ago. The 2,300-hectare wide and 300-meter deep crater is
very fertile, and is used today in agriculture. It’s also a home to a
visiting center and an astronomical observatory Meteoria, a drainage
museum (the old pump house has been turned into an art museum),
and a bird–watching tower. Fall migrations turn Söderfjärden into
the best resting place for birds in Finland, so for several weeks every
fall the meteorite becomes a paradise of cranes, hosting about ten
thousand birds every year.
i www.meteoria.fi
For Sportsmen
Historical Orienteering
Old Vaasa orienteering will bring you through 700 years of the city’s
history. Learn about the great fire of Vaasa and the seal-hunting
business. Search for the first public library in Finland and the
beautifully designed local Toll House, where peasants arrived to pay
their duties. Test your skill at distinguishing north from south, and
enrich your knowledge of culture at the same time.
Beach Volley and Outdoor Pool
Vaasa has seven beaches within a three-km. radius of the market
square. Rantasipi beach is one of the best places to enjoy the city’s
seaside location. Play a game of beach volley on the beach, and if
the water temperature seems too Nordic for you, test the outdoor
water park nearby.
i www.rantasipi.fi/hotellit/tropiclandia
Climbing, Diving, and Running
It would be a shame not to take advantage of the Scandinavian
landscape in Vaasa—the rocks and mountains, to be more precise.
But if you don’t wish to drive outside the city, head for the
19-m.-high local water tower. The company High Sport is ready
to take you there. If that is not enough, head to Vaasa for Vaasan
Marssi, a walking event on August 6–8, or the Vaasa Marathon, on
September 4.
i www.imlwalking.org
i www.vaasanvasama.fi
52 / AIRBALTIC.COM
The modern business district has now moved just a couple
kilometers from the city, near the airport and the historic
center of Vaasa. The historic center was destroyed in a fire in
1852, leaving behind only a couple dozen buildings, though
ten years later the city was reborn seven kilometers away, on
the shores of Gulf of Bothnia. A business incubator, the biggest
Nordic energy cluster, is another source of the city’s pride. It
joins about one hundred different businesses. 70% of goods are
exported, since Vaasa produces such high-tech solutions as
diesel and electric engines and wind power appliances.
Vaasa has seven universities, two of which are institutes of the
applied sciences. These ensure that the city’s growth rests on
the shoulders of well-educated specialists. Right now there are
about 12,000 students. “I wonder how they can all concentrate
on finishing their studies. The campus is right on the beach!”
said Riitta, one of the city’s residents.
I’m moving to Vaasa!
Riitta later told me that she was shocked to hear that a friend
of hers was moving from Helsinki to Vaasa. “And what about
your career?” she had asked. Her friend replied that her career
would be here in Vaasa, adding that she couldn’t live without
her small cottage on the shores of Gulf of Bothnia. Now Riitta
can understand her friend’s sentiment: the small wooden
cottages surrounded by cliffs are an important part of local
culture. Her grandfather once said that every true Finn should
spend the time between Midsummer and the end of summer
at his cottage. After Midsummer, the Vaasa archipelago fills
up with vacationers, including scores of lucky children and
dogs. Summer cafés and restaurants open their doors, and the
waters of the bay swell with ships and boats—the best mode
of transportation to abandon yourself to the joys of voyeurism
and peek behind the summery scenes of Vaasa. BO
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Kuntsi Museum studio for kids
OUTLOOK TrAvel / fiNlAND
For Culture Aficionados
Night of the Arts
Witness the night when everyone in the city goes out, strolling
from free concerts to nightly exhibitions and performances. It is
certainly one of the summer’s highlights in Vaasa, where art is
one of the city’s top priorities. To spare you from an onslaught
of information, the city has even created a website for culture
aficionados: artcityvaasa.com
Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art
This 2,000 m 2 center of contemporary art, located in a former
customs warehouse in the Inner Harbour of Vaasa, has an
important place on the European cultural map. Being a rather
industrial city, Vaasa has also benefited from the many
companies it hosts. Simo Kuntsi was a local art collector
whose passion for art was not diminished even after his father
demanded that he work in the family business. The museum
was established in 2007 as a result of Kuntsi’s donations. Today
it is a platform for both national and international exhibitions.
Kuntsi also has a studio for kids, which helps introduce young
children to the joys of art.
Sisäsatama, FIN-65100 Vaasa
i www.kuntsi.fi

OUTLOOK / Promo
Slow
Happiness
Pädaste Manor is in no hurry to go anywhere. It
passes this feeling on to its guests, inviting them to
surrender to their inner calm. This tranquil approach
has paid off, as the hotel, spa, and restaurant’s high
ambitions have been showered with international
recognition over the last year.
54 / AIRBALTIC.COM
To best embody the essence of
Pädaste Manor, there is no better
phrase than “simple luxury.” On the
one hand, Pädaste is a story of unspoilt
surroundings – a place rich in traditions
and surrounded by a nature reserve. This
is a place where the sauna and seaside
hot tub are still heated by wood, and
bread is made by hand. On the other
hand, the manor simply welcomes
and pampers its guests! Consider this:
Estonia’s best-rated restaurant and one
of Eastern Europe’s ten best spas under
one roof in a five-star hotel.
In contrast to the mainland, the pace
of life on Estonia’s islands (a total of
around 1,500) is slower and more
traditional. When compared to Saaremaa
and Hiiumaa, the island of Muhu is
more isolated and untouched. Quiet
fishing villages and secluded beaches,
thatched roofs and windmills, forests
rich with berries and mushrooms, deer,
moose, and birds. The manor garden
and Pädaste Bay are also home to rare
orchids and the sea eagle. To put it
simply, this is the ultimate place for a
romantic getaway.

The beginnings of the manor can be
found in the 14th century; however,
Pädaste gained its current layout at
the end of the 19th century, when
the German-Baltic nobles enjoyed
consecutive decades of prosperity.
Pädaste Manor
A five-star luxury hotel and spa
founded in 1996
Owners: Estonian businessman
Imre Sooäär and Dutch
businessman Martin Breuer
Maximum lodging capacity:
63 guests
Pädaste Spa has been
recognized among the Top
10 Eastern European Spas
by Conde Naste Traveller
magazine
Member of Small Luxury Hotels
of the World
That was also a time when Baron
Alexander von Buxhoeveden, the czars’
hunting master and then owner of
the manor, managed to reawaken the
sleepy island of Muhu by bringing artists
and musicians across the sea from
St. Petersburg to this magical little island
every summer. The historic aristocratic
lustre of Pädaste has been well
preserved for the visitors of today. This
history includes Soviet rule, when the
manor was used for various purposes.
It served as an army headquarters, a
fish distribution centre, and a home for
the elderly, until it was abandoned and
forgotten at the beginning of the 1980s.
One can only imagine what condition
the earliest “bourgeois” properties were
in when two entrepreneurs tackled
them in 1996 with the ambition to
create one of the finest coastal hotels
on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The
most recent renovation project was
completed in 2008, when its owners
brought the principal Manor House
back to life after two years of major
restoration.
Pädaste restaurant’s chef, Peeter
Pihel, believes that the slower the
plant grows, the better it tastes. A herb
garden has been created adjacent to the
manor’s restaurant, Alexander (named
in honor of the count), which boasts a
specialized Nordic Islands cuisine based
on local traditions and prepared with
local produce. This is their approach to
slow food, and regardless of how harsh
the local climate may seem, it is actually
quite favorable for vegetables, herbs,
wild greens, mushrooms, and berries,
not to mention fish, lamb, venison,
moose, and wild boar. There is no lack
of accomplishments here – the manor
recently received the title of Estonia’s
best restaurant. This coveted accolade
OUTLOOK / Promo
was awarded by an independent
international jury, and this is the first
time the title has been awarded to a
restaurant outside Tallinn.
The same can be said of Pädaste Spa,
which derives its philosophy from
classical Estonian herbal traditions. As
they say themselves, there is no room
at Pädaste Spa for global brands. Oils,
creams, and body-spreads are prepared
fresh every day, thus demonstrating
that spa traditions can evolve with
local traditions.
Pädaste Manor, Muhu Island, Estonia
i www.padaste.ee
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 55

OUTLOOK / PhoTo STory
TExT: NorA TirUmA | PHOTOS: kArliS millerS AND
JANiS kUze, PUTNUbilDeS.lv, CorbiS
CONSULTANTS: kASPArS fUNTS, DireCTor of
The birDwATChiNG webSiTe fUNTAPUTNi.lv, AND
DmiTriJS boiko, orNiTholoGiST AT The NATUrAl
hiSTory mUSeUm of lATviA
Bird
Duels
The rowdy and the reserved, the travelers and the
homebodies, “family men” and true gigolos.
Weight
The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) vs. the
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)
Ornithologists who have ended up in the same vehicle as
a MUTE SWAN always come to the same conclusion: they have
never met a louder or wilder passenger in their lives. Cygnus olor
also holds the record weight of birds in Latvia. The sizable bird is
approximately 1.5 metres long and can weigh up to 15 kilograms.
This means that one of the species most prominent specimens could
weigh as much as 2,500 goldcrests.
If judging based on the pure lack of size, the undisputable
European record-holder is THE GOLDCREST. Though the goldcrest
normally weighs around 6 grams, this small creature can drop to as
little as 4.8 grams after the exhausting migration period. This may
be why the small country of Luxembourg has chosen the goldcrest
from all possible birds to be its national symbol. And it’s no surprise
that the high-pitched “tsee-see-see” of the goldcrest is the first
in the line of birdsongs veteran ornithologists are unable to hear.
However, ornithologists report this ringed bird managed to fly the
1,031 kilometre distance to Holland in just 11 days from the coastal
city of Pāpe, the epicenter of bird ringing in Latvia.
56 / AIRBALTIC.COM

The Trustworthy...and the Rest
The Crane (Grus grus) vs. the European
Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus)
Newlyweds tend to adorn their wedding cakes with a pair of
swans whose necks are twined in the shape of a heart. But CRANES
may be a better choice. The majority of crane pairs actually stay
together – “until death do us part.” Of course, there are exceptions,
and even the symbol of loyalty and family can stray from its
path. Most of the time this depends on the success of nesting,
specifically, how things go in the offspring department.
Although PENDULINE TITS are not all one and the same, it is
an undeniable fact that their intricate, mitten-shaped nests that
hang from branches over water reservoirs can become a true den
of debauchery. Polygamy is nothing new in the bird world, but
the European penduline tit stands out because of the misconduct
of both the males and females. At times the males act like
they’re in a typical soap opera – they leave the female sitting on
unhatched eggs to offer the neighboring tit another nest it has
been building on the side. But the females are liberated enough
for there to be similar stories told of the fairer sex of the species.
They up and leave the nest and eggs to the male in search for a
livelier mate!
OUTLOOK / PhoTo STory
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 57

58 / AIRBALTIC.COM
Homebodies and
Migratory
The Wood Grouse (Tetrao
urogallus) vs. the Arctic Tern
(Sterna paradisaea)
Though deemed a rare bird in Europe, THE GROUSE can still be
found in considerable numbers in certain locations in Latvia.
Their needs are quite specific – the forest must be old and quiet,
preferably of pine with low vegetation, allowing the grouse to
oversee everything. Once the grouse finds a suitable biotope,
it moves in more or less for good. A grouse may not even stray
more than a few kilometres from its home during its lifetime. It’s
the high maintenance of the grouse regarding habitat conditions,
its sensitivity to disturbances, and forced relocation that has
made the species population drop as low as it is.
THE ARCTIC TERN has gained world recognition and also has
the longest regular migratory distance in the animal kingdom.
in a year’s time, the arctic tern essentially flies the entire
circumference of the world, as it winters in Antarctica but
spends the summer feeding and breeding in the waters of the
northern hemisphere. Their great migration between both poles
is justifiable. in the summer, the arctic waters where the tern
nests are rich with food; but when winter overtakes the Arctic
with snow and ice, it’s summertime in Antarctica.
The Ferocious and the
Apparent Angels
The Hawfinch (Coccothraustes
coccothraustes) vs. the White Stork
(Ciconia ciconia)
THE HAWFINCH has a beak that is massive and in no way for
decoration. The diet of the hawfinch includes cherry pits, and
with good reason – causing some damage to the finger of a bird
ringer would be easy as pie.
THe WHiTe STOrK is the symbol of Latvia’s countryside and
fields; even Latvian folklore provides the stork with some great
PR. First, a stork nest on the roof of your house guarantees that
your house will never be struck by lightning. Additionally, a new
stork nest means the homeowners will blessed with a child the
following year. But the white stork isn’t as innocent as it’s made
out to be. The stork leads a life worthy of a predator, insatiably
swallowing newts and young rabbits, as well as small pewits and
common thrushes. However, last summer saw a lack of these
predators – northern Vidzeme was patrolled by black vultures,
whose specialty happens to be the stork.

CArS
In assocIatIon wIth Whatcar.LV
Comfort and Joy
For Volvo S60
Volvo’s new compact exec
is comfortable, safe, and
nice to drive.
YOu’LL LIkE: Comfy, classy, safety kit.
YOu WON’T: Long wait for DRIVe
version.
60 / AIRBALTIC.COM
says...
Smart, safe S60 is
now a convincing
3 Series rival
VOLVO is a brand known for its
measured approach and understated
design, but now it seems to have come
over all feisty. Its all new S60 has “an
extrovert attitude never before seen in
Volvo showrooms,” it says. If that sounds
like fighting talk, it’s just as well, because
the S60 has a battle on its hands to break
the stranglehold that the Audi A4, BMW
3 Series, and Mercedes C-Class have on
the compact executive market.
On the outside, the S60’s new attitude
starts with a bold, sculptured front
end and culminates in an abrupt rear
with L-shaped tail lights. In between,
curved contour creases give the flanks a
muscular look, while the sloping roofline
makes the car look more like a hatchback
or coupe than a saloon. Underneath,
the new S60 shares nothing with the
previous model. It’s bigger than before,
thanks to underpinnings that are loosely
shared with XC60, V70, and S80.
What’s it like to drive?
It looks the part, then, and Volvo insists
that the S60 has the dynamic ability
to match. “We’ve crossed into territory
where we’ve never been before,” says
the company. On the whole, we agree.
Making the new S60 more fun to drive
was never going to be difficult, but the
improvements go further than that. Sure,
the S60 doesn’t create such a strong
connection between the car, driver, and
road as a BMW 3 Series, but it feels at
least as well sorted as an Audi A4 or a
Mercedes C-Class.

Grippy, well-balanced handling is a good
start and, unlike its predecessor, the S60
isn’t fazed when you ask it to accelerate
hard and turn at the same time. The
steering is much more rewarding, too; it’s
still rather mute, but it responds quickly
and gets better the harder you push.
Volvo’s biggest achievement, though, has
to be the S60’s ride. On the Portuguese
roads we tackled it was consistently
good, dealing well with every surface yet
keeping body movement to a minimum
over big bumps and through bends.
Refinement is very good, too. Road noise
is well subdued, and although there’s
some wind noise, it’s not enough to stop
the S60 being a quiet cruiser. Meanwhile,
suspension noise—the bane of the
previous S60 and many recent Volvos—is
negligible.
The 304 horsepower, turbocharged
petrol T6, mated to four-wheel drive
and an automatic gearbox is the most
powerful engine in the lineup. It’s
impressively quick and smooth, but its
thirst and high CO2 emissions won’t
appeal to business users.
They’ll be more interested in the new
D3 diesel version, which is expected
to be the best seller in the range. Its
163 HP, 2.0-liter five-cylinder engine
provides all the shove you’re likely to
need, and although its distinctive sound
is something o fan acquired taste, it’s
mostly unobtrusive. We also drove the
D5 model, which has 205 HP, 2.4 liter
diesel engine, in automatic form. The
combination isn’t as smooth as you’d
expect, because the box often struggles
to find the right gear, exaggerating the
engine’s boomy nature.
There’ll be more choice later, because
lower-powered four cylinder petrol
engines will join the range, but the 1.6
DRIVe diesel version will go on sale early
next year.
Interior
You can sum up the S60’s interior in just
four words: easy to live with. As with most
Volvos, it doesn’t bowl you over with
flashy design or gimmicks, but you get the
impression that it will still be a pleasure to
get into after years of ownership. It follows
the pattern set by recent Volvo models,
with a floating center console and smart,
understated design. The fit and finish are
excellent throughout, and if the polished
wood finish isn’t to your taste, fear not—it’s
an optional extra; metallic trim comes as
standard.
Whichever trim you choose, the central
Engine Size 2.0 T 3.0 T 2.0 D3 2.4 D5
Price From € 30,094 € 46,490 € 32,148 € 34,568
Power 203 hp. 304 hp 163 hp 205 hp
0-100 km/h 7.7 sec 6.5 sec 9.2 sec 7.8 sec
Top Speed 235 km/h 250 km/h 220 km/h 235 km/h
Economy 8.1 l/100 km 9.9 l/100 km 5.3 l/100 km 5/3 l/100 km
CO 2 g/km 189 231 139 139
You can sum up the S60’s interior in just
four words: easy to live with
panel is angled helpfully towards the driver
and the controls are easy to understand.
Sculpted sports seats are standard in
both the front and rear, but these are
sports seats Volvo-style, which means
they’re supportive but also incredibly
accommodating and comfortable. Thanks
to its larger dimensions, the S60 is roomier
than before; it’s now a practical four-seater
with plenty of leg- and headroom allround
and a good sized, well-shaped boot.
Safety
As you’d expect from a Volvo, safety
equipment is comprehensive across the
CArS
range and includes a full array of airbags,
stability control, and the City Safe system
that was launched on the Volvo XC60.
The S60 goes further than that, however.
It’s also available with an options pack
that includes Volvo's latest innovation—
Pedestrian Detection system with Full
Auto Brake.
A radar unit and camera at the front of
the car detect objects in front and if the
system senses that there’s someone in
the road, the driver receives a warning. If
there is no driver response, it intervenes
and brings the car to a halt. We had the
opportunity to test the system and found
that it works uncannily well. You can
combine it with Adaptive Cruise Control
and Queue Assist, a lane departure
warning system, and Volvo’s Blind
Spot Information System. An extrovert
attitude? You’d better believe it. BO
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 61

CArS
The King
of Car Design
What Car? talks to
legendary car/auto
designer Walter de Silva,
head of design for the
Volkswagen Group.
62 / AIRBALTIC.COM
The Story So Far…
Walter de Silva started his working life
with Fiat, but made his first big design
impact with the Alfa Romeo 147 and 156.
He was then hired to revitalize the Seat
brand, after which he took charge of Audi
and Lamborghini design.
The Audi A5 was the last individual
model designed by de Silva before he
was appointed head of group design in
February 2007.
That promotion put him in charge of Audi,
Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Seat, Skoda,
and, last but not least, Volkswagen design.
The portfolio of products you
oversee is bewilderingly large and
eclectic, from the Volkswagen up!
to the Bugatti 16C Galibier. How do
you keep in touch with all of these
projects and keep them on track?
Yes, the Volkswagen Group portfolio
is unparalleled. The range reflects
practically the entire spectrum of the
automobile market. Fortunately, each
of the brands has its own, unmistakable
profile. That enables us to take a clearly
structured approach to our work and
makes it manageable. We have a lot

of balls to juggle, but we also have
everything absolutely under control.
How do you keep model identity
while retaining a brand look? Do
customers want a universal look
across a brand?
The focus is always on the brand, on its
CArS
Looking at your brands, Audi’s
the posh one, Seat’s the sporty
one, Skoda’s the quirky one, and
Volkswagen’s the sensible one. Is that
a fair synopsis?
Sure, it sometimes helps to look for
things that polarize the brands in order
to make what sets them apart more
tangible. I consider the differences
to be more subtle than that, though.
Conversely, there will always be
things that the different brands have in
common. Take the factor of sportiness,
for example, which is a popular criterion.
There is hardly a brand that will want
to forgo using that particular claim.
In this sense, all brands have some
sort of sporty characteristic about
them. It ultimately depends on your
interpretation. The sportiness of a Seat
Leon is a different kind from that of
a Golf GTI, and that of an Audi TT is
certainly different from that of a Bentley
Continental. Much the same is true
when using the elegance claim. Here,
Regardless of what brand-specific design
message we are putting out, we also want
to cultivate a certain design culture
history, the icons it has produced, and
the values it stands for. We feel certain
that customers have a strong desire to
see the identity of their brand preserved
in the design of a vehicle. Regardless of
what brand-specific design message
we are putting out, we also want to
cultivate a certain design culture across
the group. That is expressed in the quality
of the solutions we offer. Whatever
the brand, whatever the product, it is
important that it be perceived intuitively
as part of the Volkswagen world. Let me
emphasize again, however, that priority is
given to the brand and to maintaining a
specific identity.
too, every brand finds its own way of
expressing elegance.
Which of your designs are you most
pleased with?
When we presented the Audi A5, I said
it was the best-looking car I had ever
designed. That remains so to this day.
What cars do you own?
An Audi A5 Sportback and a Volkswagen
Golf GTI. I also own a Fiat Cinquecento
and a Fiat Panda—the originals, of
course—because I have a lot of
admiration for the brilliant concepts of
these two cars. BO

GADGeTS
Moving into
the Third Dimension
64 / AIRBALTIC.COM
TExT: reiNiS ziTmANiS | PUbliCiTy PhoToS
LG W2363D
First Monitor with 3D
If you find yourself sitting in front of a computer screen, wearing black glasses and fearing for your life,
then you’ve probably discovered the world of 3D computer games. The LG W2363D is one of the first
monitors made for displaying 3D content. The monitor is large (23 inches) and wide (16:9), and has
been specially designed for watching 3D films. The manufactures haven’t forgotten fans of computer
games, and have therefore equipped the monitor with several important additional functions. The
function Thru Mode lets you experience games to the fullest by completely eliminating input lag,
canceling delays in the player’s reaction time to things on the screen. The function AutoBright ensures
maximum depth for 3D images, by automatically adapting the brightness of the monitor. And the SRS
Tru-Surround HD system creates the effect that the sound is coming not from the speakers but, rather,
from the screen itself. The package set includes wireless glasses.
i Approximate price of the monitor: 385 euros.
Samsung HT-C6930W
3D Home Theater System
The first thing you should do after buying a new 3D television is to go out
and find a good 3D disk player. If you’re planning to purchase a player
together with a sound system, then this is the right moment to buy the
whole set right away—a Blu-ray player with 3D support and 7.1 channel
surround sound.
This home theater system is the first 3D cinema in the world. But that doesn’t
mean it is the only one. With the HT-C6930W you can play all kinds of disks,
including 3D; you can also log on wirelessly to the internet (WiFi) or to any
suitable home device (DLNA), in order to access a wide range of content
without any additional cost, streaming directly onto your TV screen. The
volume is good, too, as the system’s total yield is 1,330 watts. The “piano
black” design looks great, and will match any interior. Thanks to the rear
wireless satellites, you don’t have to pull excess wires across the room.
i The system is priced at 999 euros.

Sony NEX-5
A Compact Photo Camera
with Interchangeable Lens
The greatest disadvantage of professional photo cameras (DSLR)
is that they are heavy. But now the Sony Alfa family has two new
and very compact additions: the NEX-3 and NEX-5 compact
cameras, which let your change the lens to match the situation,
just like with a classic DSLR. The body of the new camera is just
25.4 mm. thick (NEX-5), but weighs less than 300 grams. Available
lenses include an E 18-55 mm. lens (perfect for trips and events
labs), an E 16 mm. wide-angle lens (for panoramas and sky shots),
or an E 18-200 mm. telephoto lens (for amateur paparazzi), as
well as a removable flash. Panorama shots can also be assembled
from several separate images. Sony also offers a program update
that will add 3D effects to these panorama shots.
i The price of the Sony NEX-5K (with 18-55 mm. lens) is LVL 470.
GADGeTS
HP Compaq 6000
All-in-One Computer for Businesses
Comfort is important at work, too. A massive computer beneath
your work desk can be tiresome. But life begins to look more
interesting if everything you need can be found in a monitor
standing right on your desk. This stylish monitor has integrated the
functions of a full computer; seven USB ports have been built in
to the side of the monitor, along with a DVD player. Everything is
easily accessible, with no excess wires and no extra effort! Hasn’t
the time come to transform your work place into a
tasteful environment with stylish
equipment? The computer
can also be equipped with
the newest processors (Intel
Core 2 Duo) and capacious
memory (8 GB DDR3 and
a 1TB hard drive). At 21.5
inches (with Full HD and
LED), the monitor is so
large that it is often
mistaken for a television.
i The computer is
available in the United
States for
USD 899.

OUTLOOK / Promo
Spice Shopping Mall:
Just Minutes from Riga Airport
iveta Lāce
Managing Director
of Spice Shopping
Mall
66 / AIRBALTIC.COM
When we travel, we inevitably
forget to pack a few important
things. Sometimes these
items are as insignificant as a
bag of toiletries, a souvenir, or
a favorite blouse. Other times,
we forget important items like
insurance, medications, or an
beloved toy for our children.
This revelation always comes
at the wrong moment: when
we’re already in the cab on
the way to the airport, or, even
worse, as we’re landing at our
final destination.
Fortunately, passengers traveling to or from the Latvian
capital have access to a sprawling shopping complex
just minutes from Riga International Airport. Situated
on the main road to central Riga, Spice is a quick fiveminute
cab ride from either the Old City or the arrivals
terminal. (The No. 22 airport bus also stop at Spice.)
And with 100,000 m 2 of indoor space, over 2,000
parking spots, and a full-service RIMI grocery store—
making it the largest shopping complex in Latvia—
Spice is hard to miss for anyone driving into town.
Completed in 2001, Spice quickly acquired a
reputation as the country’s best place to shop for
an incredibly wide variety of goods. The shopping
mall has more than 200 popular stores with literally
thousands of brands, from Swatch and Timberland to
Nike and Ecco. Several well-known international labels,
such as Quicksilver/Roxy, Brax, Puma, and Hogl, have
chosen Spice to house their only fashion stores in the
country, while other brands, like the popular women’s
fashion labels Marella, Sandro Ferrone, and Oasis from

London, have their only store in the Baltics right here at the
Spice shopping mall.
However, Spice has much more than just clothes and
fashion accessories. The complex offers scores of different
services: a bank, dry cleaners, post office, tailor’s shop,
pharmacy, travel agency, and a medical clinic that provides
consultations and vaccinations. The shopping complex
also includes a separate building devoted to furniture and
household goods: Spice Home. This household center will
be appreciated by anyone renting an apartment in Riga,
because anything you need to furnish your temporary
home-away-from-home—from desk lamps to designer
sofas—can be purchased within the two-story center and
delivered right to your doorstep.
Of course, Spice also has a top-notch selection of
restaurants and cafes, and is a popular lunchtime
destination for people who work in the area. Some
appreciate the mall’s fast food eateries like McDonald’s,
Spice is hard to miss for anyone
driving into town
while others come for the popular sushi restaurant Gan Bei.
Certainly the most unique dining option at Spice is Dada, a
buffet-style grill restaurant with sweeping views through the
large windows. Dada has both a trendy interior design and a
quirky dining concept: each diner assembles a bowl of raw
ingredients from the buffet, which is then individually grilled
up by a chef.
But the main dining attraction at Spice is Lido, on the
second floor of the shopping complex. Lido features a
sprawling buffet of Latvian national foods, and is definitely
the best place in Riga to appreciate the vast diversity of
local cuisine. The restaurant also offers an enormous,
2,000 m 2 play town for children. Kids can scamper atop
a huge fairytale castle, frolic on the indoor playground
equipment, take a ride in a fully functional miniature train,
or go for a spin in bumper cars. Childcare services are also
available, so parents can shop at one of the many children’s
toy and clothing stores, or visit the Kolonna beauty salon
for a haircut and massage, while their kids play under the
supervision of a nanny.
Spice is a great place to buy distinctive Latvian souvenirs.
You’ll find handmade Latvian sweets at Emihls Gustavs
Chocolate, natural cosmetics at the internationally
renowned health and beauty store Madara, and soaps and
OUTLOOK / Promo
candles made from locally grown herbs at Stenders Soap
Factory—all popular local brands that have gradually begun
to conquer foreign markets. These specially crafted goods
showcase the very best in Baltic design, and will make great
souvenirs for friends back home.
While you’re picking up souvenirs, don’t forget to check
out buy something for yourself at one of the many other
stores in the complex —like a stylish pair of shoes at Zara,
a trendy new outfit at New Yorker, or the latest iPod at
Elkor, the largest electronics store in Latvia. The possibilities
are as numerous as the destinations accessible from Riga
International Airport, just up the road from Spice.
Spice is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The RIMI hypermarket is open daily
from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
i See their website, www.spice.lv, for more information.
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 67

STyle
STyLE: AGNeiJA lAPSA
PHOTOS: reiNiS
hofmANiS, f64
Wrap one of ones of these
stylish scarves around
your neck to warm up on a
cool late summer evening.
They’re the perfect match
for any wardrobe.
Silky Scarves
for Late Summer
Frey Wille (100% silk, handmade)
Frey Wille (100% silk, handmade)
Frey Wille (100% silk, handmade)
Stockmann (100% silk)
Stockmann (100% silk)
Zara (100% viscose)
Addresses | Stockmann, Riga, 13. Janvara 8 | Frey Wille, Riga, Valnu 10 | Zara, Riga, Terbatas 30

Baltic Outlook Recommends:
A Perfect Treatment for August
Taka Spa Soothing Ritual / LVL 83
This ritual starts by cleansing the skin of impurities and refreshing
the body and spirit in Taka Spa’s pools and saunas. Then comes
a body scrub with a lime, ginger, and sea salt scrub. Water relaxation
is followed by a moisturizing facial treatment, which helps skin
regain its healthy and vibrant glow. Then comes an aromatherapy
back and foot massage, where essential oils and magic touch will
dispell tension and let your mind wander into the distance. The ritual
finishes with teas, spa snacks, books, and your own company in our
Quiet Room. Please plan for 3 hours to complete the ritual.
Taka Spa
Where? Located in the Quiet Center of riga, Kronvalda bulvāris 3a
i www.takaspa.lv
Present your copy of Baltic Outlook at the registration
desk and receive a LVL 10 discount.
OUTLOOK / Promo
Working with
Summer,
Not Fighting It
PHOTOS: CoUrTeSy of TAkA SPA
In summer, when everyone has their
own sanum per aqua at the lakeside or
seaside dunes, the last thing you want
is to subject yourself to a long and
complicated treatment. This is why Taka
Spa offers its clients quick treatments
that cover the bare essentials.
Dismissing body treatments in the summer months can be a
somewhat crazy move. Even though the sun fills us with happiness,
we shouldn’t forget pre- and post-treatments, which help keep our
skin moisturized. Skipping them can cause serious stress for your skin.
Our skin is what protects us from the surrounding environment.
If your skin has enough moisture and elasticity, this means that
it’s healthy and you feel good. One way to clear off dead skin
cells and free yourself of toxins is to combine a weekly sauna
session with a scrub, thus facilitating renewal of skin cells.
Another ritual (and one especially important for skin exposed to
sweltering conditions) is to moisturize the skin with several oils
and liquid body creams. Summer wrap treatments at the spa
contain a concentrated, high-dose mixture of vitamins, which
your body will thank you for in the hot summer months. Wraps
guarantee that the moisturizing ingredients will have a deeper
and longer-lasting effect, letting your body get the most of the
benefits of a treatment in less than an hour.
In regard to the typical summer lounging month of August, Taka
Spa highlights two of its treatments. If you’re still waiting for your
vacation, treatments such as the Elemis Exotic Frangipani Body
Nourish Wrap will serve as a preventative measure. This treatment
will not only prepare your body for the sun, it will also nourish
your face and hair. After being spoiled by the extracts from the
treatment, all your skin will need is a daily sunscreen cream.
The best after-sun care treatment is the Elemis Exotic Coconut
Rub and Milk Ritual Wrap, which is a typical end-of-beachseason
treatment. The liquid cream is designed to soothe dry
and iritated skin and guarantees high-impact moisture.
In turn, the caressing bouquet of scents in the treatment will
leave you with a long-lasting, pleasant feeling that will be the
perfect conclusion to your relaxation season. .
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 69

Le Crabe:
The King of the Sea
The restaurant
Le Crabe, on Jauniela
in the Old City, offers
mouthwatering
seafood dinners, an
incredible selection
of Champagne,
and several dishes
that feature the
sovereign ruler
of the crustacean
empire: the great
king crab.
70 / AIRBALTIC.COM
One of the latest additions to the
Jauniela dining scene is the seafood
restaurant Le Crabe, at no. 24. Le Crabe
offers guests a huge selection of
fresh fish, a delicacy that simply must
be enjoyed during any visit to the
Latvian capital. After all, Riga is right
on the water, and there is no lack of
fish swimming in the cool waters of
the Baltic Sea, just a few kilometers
upstream from the nearby Daugava
River. Le Crabe serves many varieties of
local fish—trout, cod, and pike-perch—all
of which are prepared by the former
executive chef from Riga’s celebrated
Skonto Fish Restaurant.
Though these dishes showcase classic
Baltic fish, their mode of preparation is

far from traditional. For example, the
pike-perch is accompanied by honeymustard
potatoes, wine sauce, and
shallots; the cod fillet is cooked with
sesame tempura; and the trout is bathed
in a delicious Riesling wine sauce.
These dishes prove that Le Crabe’s chef
respects local products and traditions,
while also exercising absolute freedom
of expression. This sense of freedom
also allows the chef to experiment
with the distinctly non-local fish on the
menu, like shrimp, dorado, scallops, and
Burgundy snails, which are individually
ordered from specialty distributors.
The main dish at Le Crabe is, of course,
king crab, which is prepared in many
different variations. Under the starters
menu, you’ll find rolls of divine red king
crab meat wrapped in seaweed, cooked
in tempura batter, and accompanied
by a tangy mango-sesame salsa and
watermelon sauce. Soups include a
luscious crab bisque—a rich and creamy
treat on a breezy August evening. And
the most popular dish on the menu is
certainly the red king crab legs, which
are sliced in half, slathered in butter,
and baked in the oven. To savor this
delectable deep-sea delicacy, all you
have to do is scoop out the delicious
crab meat with a tiny fork—the rest has
already been done for you.
Shrimp, dorado, scallops, and snails are
ordered from specialty distributors
Besides the large offering of seafood,
Le Crabe can also boast an incredible
selection of wines from all over the
world—from Australia to France. These
include Champagne, prosecco, pinot
noir, and a wide selection of sparkling
wines. These vintages can best be
enjoyed outside on the large terrace,
which is open throughout the warmer
months.
After a delicious meal of crab and
seafood—or an order of this summer’s
special, a bottle of Duval-Leroy Fleur Brut
Champagne with fresh strawberries and
homemade whipped cream—you’ll be
ready for some dessert. The restaurant’s
specialty is the so-called Chocolate
Symphony, which features three large
scoops of homemade chocolate ice
cream placed in a pool of passion
fruit jelly. This decadent triple dose of
chocolate is enough to energize you for
an entire evening. Other desserts include
a homemade cheesecake, accompanied
by a rich cherry sauce made with whole
berries.
Le Crabe’s defining feature is the
restaurant’s adherence to the classics—
classic dishes, classic design, and classic
service. Diners at Le Crabe will certainly
be inspired by this reverence for good
taste. So it will come as no surprise if
guests forego one of the restaurant’s
luscious deserts and opt for the classiest
post-meal treat of all: a plate of selected
French cheeses. Pair the cheeses with
another fine bottle of specially imported
Champagne for the perfect ending to
the Le Crabe experience.
Address: Jauniela 24, Riga, Latvia
Reservations: +371 6721 2416
i www.lecrabe.lv
DiNNiNG
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 71

fooD&DriNk
Restaurants
Season’s Delights
Fly to 6 cities
in Baltic States
with airBaltic from
€19
TExT: NorA TirUmA, PeTer wAlSh
PHOTOS: reiNiS hofmANiS, f64
Vino Tinto, Riga
The number of wine connoisseurs in Riga
is constantly growing. In the past, lovers of
fine wine have had only one establishment
to quench their thirst: the wine bar Vīna
studija, owned by the Pīlēns family, who
work in the architecture and construction
sector. But now local wine aficionados have
Vino Tinto, a bar and restaurant owned
by a family of lawyers, the Cakari. Like a
fine vintage, the idea for the establishment
matured for three years; the owners spent
two of these years in the South of Europe,
studying and selecting products until they
had secured a circle of suppliers for their
cheeses, hams, olives, and wines. Now
these suppliers also provide products for the
cult chef Mārtiņš Sirmais’s new restaurant,
Māja. Vino Tinto specializes in Spanish
tapas, though the restaurant features a
wide range of Southern European cuisine.
The breakfast menu is French-style, but the
main menu showcases the best of Italian
culinary traditions. In addition to the menu,
the specially ordered ingredients, and the
on-site wine store, Vino Tinto has another
trump card: it is located right next to the
legendary movie theater Kino Rīga. Owners
of the Vino Tinto restaurant are new to the
business, and they have all the chances to
have a cool place in a city center. Specially,
in September, when Kino Rīga resumes
its live broadcasts of Metropolitan Opera
performances.
Elizabetes 61
Hours: Mon.–Fri., 8–24; Sat., 10–24; Sun., 10–23.

Enriko grilbārs Noass, Riga
The AB Dam isn’t a spot that you
just stumble upon. Finding the
place demands real effort and
determination. But the dam is one of
the best spots to view central Riga’s
panorama, just across the river. That’s
why it’s even more unbelievable that
the area has preserved its relatively
untouched atmosphere. But the only
ones who have thought to provide a
place to eat and drink are the owners
of the new Enriko grilbārs Noass.
Bistro 18, Vilnius
Over the last year or so, Bistro 18
has gone from being a well-kept
secret to one of the most popular
restaurants in Vilnius. This is hardly
a surprise since it is an absolute
gem of a place. The minimalist,
elegant interior makes an ideal
backdrop for a quintessentially
European menu and ambiance. Try
the exquisite pan fried foie gras with
port poached pears for starters. The
linguine with basil and tomato sauce
served with homemade meatballs
is also highly recommended, as is
the Guinness Irish stew with beef,
This is a branch of the Art Nouveau
district’s popular bar Kapteiņa Enriko
pulkstenis, which has been a local
favorite for many years. The new bar
and grill’s trump card is its terrace,
view, and kitchen, which takes full
advantage of local ingredients. The
prices are very adequte, so we can
certainly believe the owner’s assertion
that those who come here, end up
staying for the whole evening.
AB dam
Hours: 12–01, Fri. and Sat., 12–03
winter vegetables, and pearl barley
(the owner is Irish). Bistro 18 also
boasts an outstanding wine menu
along with an excellent range of
wine snacks. The romantic location,
outstanding service, and laidback
atmosphere combine to make this
a special place in every sense. The
secret may be out, but this charming
restaurant ensures that every meal is
a distinctly personal experience.
Stikliu g. 18, Vilnius
Tel: +370 683 03673
Hours: Mon.–Fri., 11:30–midnight;
Sat.–Sun., 17–midnight
i www.bistro18.lt
airBaltic Hot Spots
in Tbilisi
Tips by Igor Aptsiauri, airBaltic Market
and Competition Analyst, Revenue
Management.
Tbilisi Sulphur
Bathhouses
Just below
the Narikala
Fortress, at
the entrance
gates of Tbilisi’s
Old Town,
you will find
an experience
like no other in
the world. Like
In the Shadow of Metekhi
A true traditional Georgian
restaurant at its best! Of all the
thousands of restaurants in Tbilisi,
I highly recommend this one,
because it offers some of the
best Georgian dishes and wine
from every part of the country.
The place is also famous for its
outstanding evening programs,
which include traditional
Hotel Kopala Restaurant
Located at the heart of Old Tbilisi,
Kopala restaurant affords one of
the best views of the city, from a
gorgeous open terrace situated on
the top floor of this intimate, cozy
hotel. The old-fashioned design of
a Georgian hall and the sounds of
extraordinary folk music will make
you feel as if you had gone back
fooD&DriNk
Tbilisi, the Jewel of the Caucasus,
is a timeless city that bears
remnants of numerous cultures. It
is also home to some of the most
hospitable people on Earth. The
city offers plenty of breathtaking
attractions and over a thousand
restaurants serving authentic
Georgian cuisine and more than
500 types of wine, making Georgia
a true cradle of wine culture.
Fly to Tbilisi
with airBaltic from
€99
any other city with a long history,
Tbilisi hosts many old bathhouses.
They are constructed atop spots
where sulphur springs come out
from the earth, ensuring a constant
temperature of 38–40 Celsius.
Mekise (masseurs) give miraculous
massages, which will make you feel
unusually good and refreshed, like
a newborn baby.
Centered around the Abanotubani
District
Georgian dances and polyphonic
folk songs performed live. They will
be sure to leave you speechless.
It’s an ideal place for foreign guests
and tourists who feel like traveling
through different regions of the
country and sensing the real spirit
of Georgia, all in one unforgettable
evening.
29 K. Tsamebuli Avenue
Hours: 12 – 1 (or until the last customer)
in time to previous centuries of
Georgian life. Here you can enjoy
the best local wines cooled in the
restaurant’s cellar, as well as indulge
in famous Georgian dishes. River
Mtkvari, which flows just meters
from the hotel, also adds a romantic
feeling to the air. Make sure to
take a ferry ride with the Night
Office boat along the river. The
extraordinary sights of the city at
night will help prolong the romantic
mood. The Night Office boat
offers daily guided tours and is also
available for private parties.
8/10 Chekhov Street
Hours: 12 – 1 (or until the last customer)
i www.kopala.ge
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 73

DETAILS / fooD bloG
Coffee-Glazed Pork Shoulder
1 kg. skinned pork shoulder
300 ml. fresh espresso
300 ml. water
10 gr. coffee beans
50 gr. tomato ketchup
20 gr. tomato puree
60 gr. runny honey
20 gr. balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced finely
1 med. red chili, deseeded and chopped
Juice and zest from a lime
8 gr. nam pla (fish sauce)
10 gr. dark soy sauce
3 gr. fennel seeds
∞ Method: Put pork into a deep baking dish; add espresso
and water. Cover and cook at 150 degrees Celsius for 2–3
hours, or until the pork is tender and starting to fall apart.
∞ Remove from oven. Carefully transfer pork to a plate; set
aside and keep warm. Re-set oven to 170° C.
∞ Add all of remaining ingredients to the dish and bring to
a fast boil. Reduce in volume by half.
∞ Put pork back into dish and spoon over the reduced
liquor. Put dish (uncovered) back into the re-set oven and
cook for another 30 minutes, spooning over the liquor
every 8-10 minutes.
∞ The meat will become sticky and rich. Leave to rest for
10 minutes before serving.
∞ Use two forks to shred the meat and serve with a spoon
or two of the liquor. The dish is great with boiled new
potatoes and a fresh, crisp leaf salad!
For more information on Martin Blunos visit
www.celebritychefsuk.com
74 / AIRBALTIC.COM
TExT: mArTiN blUNoS, briTiSh Tv Chef of lATviAN oriGiN whoSe
reSTAUrANTS hAve helD Two miCheliN STArS for more ThAN 15 yeArS.
PHOTOS: CoUrTeSy of CelebriTy ChefS
Five Minutes
in Coffee
Heaven
Traveling the world nowadays is
easy—a few minutes on the computer,
a click of the mouse, and you’re on
your way. Because of this, the planet
seems to be a smaller place.
When I travel, I don’t want a “home away from home”
experience. I want something different—for me that is the
whole point. I am not saying that I am a seasoned globe
trotter. But being a chef I’ve had the opportunity to cook in
many countries around the world. Sure, the people, cultures,
foods, and dishes are all different, but some things are the
same the world over.
Take coffee for example. There isn’t a place I’ve been to that
hasn’t had the wonderful “black gold” on offer. And because
Taken in sensible amounts, coffee
comforts you, sustains you, and
tastes great
coffee is such a universal beverage, there is no difference
between a good latte north or south of the equator, except
maybe the price.
Taken in sensible amounts, coffee comforts you, sustains you,
and tastes great. Above all, it gives you a reason to stop and
take five (minutes). And that five minutes in coffee heaven can
be as beneficial as eight hours of deep sleep.
Here’s one of my recipes that I created using coffee as an
ingredient (and not as a dessert, for a change). Enjoy! BO

Madrid
* Seasonal flights.
Umea Vaasa
Visby
Lulea
Belgrade
KITTILA
new from October
Rovaniemi
Bucharest
Kuusamo
Pskov*
Arkhangelsk
Welcome
aboard airBaltic!
Beirut
Amman
Stockholm
78 airBaltic news / 80 Behind the scenes / 82 What’s That For?
83 airBaltic Travel / 84 Meals & Sky shop / 85 Inflight entertainment
86 BalticMiles / 88 Fleet / 89 Flight map / 92 Contacts
Oulu
airBaltic

news
Lapland
NewS
In brIef
1/ Kittila Takes airBaltic to
Double Figures in Finland
2/ Enjoy the Freedom of
the Region with Baltic Pass
3/ Business Class Check-
In and Fast Track for
Economy Passengers
4/ Introducing Wingtips —
airBaltic’s Blog
78 / AIRBALTICTRAVEL.COM
1/ kittila Takes
airbaltic to
Double figures
in finland
From the end of October,
airBaltic’s list of destinations
in Finland will reach double
figures when the town of Kittila
becomes our tenth connection.
Kittila is the airport for Levi,
Finland’s most famous ski
resort, and also serves as
a base for tourists hoping
to catch a glimpse of the
incredible Northern Lights.
Flights will operate between
Riga and Kittila four times
a week, making it possible
for people from more than
70 cities serviced by airBaltic
to reach the resort easily via
Riga. Twice a week airBaltic
will also operate flights
between Tampere and Kittila.
One-way ticket prices
between kittila and Riga
will start form EuR 49, and
between kittila and Tampere
from EuR 29.

2/ enjoy the
freedom of the
region with
baltic Pass
Why visit just one Baltic
destination when you can visit
two, three, or more? That’s
what airBaltic’s Baltic Pass
is designed for. Baltic Pass
tickets have open travel dates
and a special fixed price of
EUR 72 per one-way ticket
(taxes included), and are
valid on airBaltic direct flights
in economy class between
Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Kaunas,
Palanga, Tartu, and Visby.
To be eligible for this great
rate, you just have to arrive
from any other airBaltic
destination (excluding those
included in Baltic Pass) and
present a round-trip ticket.
3/ business
Class Check-in
and fast Track
for economy
Passengers
airBaltic is proud to bring yet
another innovative product to
the market. For just EUR 20
economy class passengers
can enjoy the convenience of
checking-in at the Business
Your first Baltic Pass ticket must
have a fixed flight date and
time. Any further Baltic Pass
tickets can have open dates
and times. Each passenger can
buy a maximum of 8 one-way
Baltic Pass tickets.
The flight date and time of an
open Baltic Pass ticket must
be registered and collected
at least 2 hours before the
scheduled departure time
at any airBaltic ticket office
or travel agency, if seats are
available. Passengers should
start using their Baltic Pass
tickets within 21 days of arrival
in the Baltics, and they must
be used up within 90 days.
Baltic Pass tickets can be
bought well in advance and
also upon arrival at all good
travel agencies and airBaltic
ticket offices.
Vilnius Cathedral
Class desk, and can then
follow the Fast Track signs to
take them quickly through
security. It’s great for travelers
who know they need a speedy
boarding procedure, or are just
tired of waiting in long lines.
Currently the service is only
available at Riga airport, but in the
near future airBaltic will introduce
similar levels of convenience at
other airports too.
4/ introducing wingtips —
airbaltic’s blog
NewS
A new airBaltic Wingtips blog has been launched, where
you can interact and get to know airBaltic better. Receive
unique travel insights from fellow travelers who have made
memorable discoveries. Take part and post your thoughts as
comments on stories, or share your own experiences with
other readers.
Wingtips also lets you connect with our communities on
Facebook and Twitter, without ever leaving the site. Best of all,
you will be first to hear about exclusive offers only for Wingtips
readers. Find out more at: http://blog.airbaltic.com.
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 79
news

ehind the Scenes
NewS
Almost
Like a Degree
in Psychology
Ilze Vintere,
Direct Sales
Manager
I’m not surprised when Ilze tells me she’s been with airBaltic
for almost ten years, having worked her way up from the ticket
counters to her current managerial position. She leaves the
impression of a patient and responsible person and is often
smiling, effortlessly demonstrating three cornerstones necessary
for turning dissatisfied customers into satisfied ones. She agrees
with a laugh that one year spent working as a customer service
specialist is equivalent to four years of psychology studies. She
recalls an incident when a passenger ran into a Riga International
Airport monitor, then later blamed airBaltic (“But I just flew in with
your airline!”). However, don’t hold out for endless stories from
Ilze; to her, making light of clients’ feelings is taboo.
TExT: NorA TirUmA
PHOTOS: reiNiS hofmANiS, f64
80 / AIRBALTICTRAVEL.COM
Someone posted in an online forum
that you helped save the day when
the customer was unable to fly and
needed his ticket money refunded.
How much of your work consists of
working things out?
I used to work at the ticket counters;
that’s where my airBaltic career began.
At that time, people believed I was
doing something special, when in fact
I just had the right attitude at the right
time. I don’t know what my team does
that can be called “helping to save the
day,” since we work within a specific
framework of regulations. Currently, 80%
of my workday is taken up by customer
service specialists. Our direct sales team
is spread across three countries—Latvia,
Lithuania, and Estonia—and I have over
80 employees working under me.
How many years did it take for you to
reach this position?
I’ve been in the tourism and aviation

industry for 15 years, nine of which
have been with airBaltic. I started out
as a customer service specialist, and
eventually became a senior specialist.
Then I worked for a year in the personnel
department, followed by a rotation in
the call center. Now I’m airBaltic’s direct
sales manager.
How’s the stress?
There’s plenty of stress, as in any
managing position. I think that those
working in aviation automatically get a
certain amount of stress with the job
title. You need adrenaline and you have
to be able to handle the stress, so as
not to lose your cool in situations where
quick thinking is vital.
Problem solving is part of our work. We
teach each new team member how to
concentrate on solutions, not emotions.
This means letting customers say what
they need to say, and understanding
that it’s not to be taken personally;
they’re just emotions. Our personnel
have to be calm. They have to be able
to control their emotions and stay
focused on solving the problem.
One of the customer service centers
we just passed seemed to have only
women working there. Are women
more capable of handling the stress,
and therefore more suitable for
the job?
That’s how it’s worked out today.
Overall, we also have a lot of male
personnel. It’s possible that men
instill greater confidence that they, as
representatives of the stronger sex, will
solve the problem. At the same time,
the advantage of the female personnel
is patient, calmer problem solving
accompanied by a smile.
Does your team have to know how
to smile and joke around in at least
three languages?
Yes—Latvian, Russian, and English are
the minimum requirements. Many have
a broader range of languages—Swedish,
Finnish, German, Norwegian, Italian,
Croatian, and Turkish. My colleagues
are fantastic!
For over a decade, the aviation
industry has raised an important
question: Is this the end of paper
tickets bought at ticket counters?
On average, what percentage of
passengers from each airBaltic flight
has purchased tickets from your
specialists?
Approximately 15%. And the numbers
have been going up recently. I’m
not concerned about the effects of
the internet. There are all kinds of
customers, and there will always be
those who don’t want to do it all on
their own, who prefer to come in and
discuss their needs and who require
the right atmosphere—like the one
found in the recently opened Travel
Lounge in downtown Riga. There,
clients can have some tea and coffee,
and can handle their travel needs at
a leisurely pace. Through our Travel
Lounge, we’ve acquired a new kind of
clientele. And the idea has grown into
something so great that we’ve decided
to open a Travel Lounge this August
in Vilnius. The goal for our team is to
avoid being so conservative, and to go
beyond offering only products directly
connected to the aviation industry. We
want to offer clients everything they
need for a successful and pleasant
flight, including hotels, insurance,
and car rental.
How has customer competence and
knowledge increased in regards to
flying?
When I first started working as an agent,
websites weren’t as developed as they
are now, and customers didn’t have as
much information at their disposal. At
that time we played a different role—we
were the ultimate experts. Today,
customers come prepared, essentially
to receive confirmation that they have
understood everything correctly. We
have to be very accurate and precise
because a customer could at any time
say, “Wait, wait, I read differently!” The
internet has served as a great educator,
and the time we spend serving a
single customer is now much shorter
than before. BO
Direct Sales Team
86 people in total (9 in Tallinn,
17 in Vilnius, the rest in Riga)
Average employee age: 25
(30% men, 70% women)
Average number of customers
assisted in all offices per month:
20,000
Average number of telephone
calls per month: 25,000
Average number of emails
per month: 30,000
Conversations Overheard at
Riga International Airport
NewS
Cheer Up!
A PASSeNGer
APProACheS The AirPorT
iNformATioN DeSk AND
ASkS, “Tell me, please, how
much baggage can I take with
me?”
The womAN AT The
iNformATioN DeSk
ANSwerS, “That depends
on the company you’re flying
with!”
PASSeNGer: “Me and my
friends!”
Two agents are talking over
the transmitter.
firST AGeNT: “Moscow
boarding! Moscow boarding!”
SeCoND AGeNT: “But transit
passengers from Berlin are
still standing at passport
control!”
firST AGeNT: “OK, tell them
to stand faster!”
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 81
behind the Scenes

what’s That for?
NewS
Aircraft Toilets
The first toilets in airplanes were simple buckets—you can
guess how they operated. But that was before pressurized
cabins made opening the door in the middle of a flight
impossible, so modern planes are equipped with some clever
equipment to help you do what you need to do at 30,000 feet.
After each flight, specially-designed lavatory service carts
collect the waste for disposal in the airport’s dedicated
sewerage facility, a process that takes just a few minutes.
Contrary to what you might expect, being in charge of the
lavatory cart is actually one of the more prestigious jobs for the
ground crew.
It’s just an urban myth that
smokers can get away with
smoking on board in toilets
As you have probably noticed, the onboard toilet differs
considerably from the one you have in your bathroom at
home. The main constraint in aircraft design is weight, so
lightweight but strong-molded plastic is used to create the
actual seat at the center of a modular toilet compartment.
The cleverest weight-saving device is the flushing system.
Traditional plumbing is cumbersome, and carrying large tanks
82 / AIRBALTICTRAVEL.COM
What’s the most
important little room on
an airplane, where all
the most vital functions
are performed? The
cockpit, obviously. But
running a close second
is the toilet (sometimes
referred to by the
nautical term “the
head”), which means
passengers don’t have
to sit for the entire
journey with their legs
crossed!
of water for flushing purposes would be extremely heavy.
Aircraft toilets use a vacuum system that gets rid of the need
for lots of pipes and water. When you flush a vacuum toilet,
the waste and a small amount of cleaning fluid get sucked into
a compact septic tank via small-diameter pipes.
The first vacuum toilet system was invented in 1866, but it
wasn’t until 1956 that Swedish engineer Joel Liljendahl came up
with a system that forms the basis of modern inflight systems.
Vacuum systems flush with less than 2 liters of fluid, compared
to 15-20 liters for a conventional toilet. Because the vacuums
are powerful, the pipes can be narrow and very little liquid is
required. The system is also much more able to cope with the
turbulence that aircraft sometimes encounter—just imagine
what would happen if a conventional toilet was being tossed
from side to side. Because gravity is not involved in the process,
vacuum toilets save space and can even flush upwards.
You might have heard stories of passengers getting stuck on
vacuum toilets when they flushed before standing up and
got “sucked” in place. Don’t worry—these stories are just an
enduring urban myth, as is the theory that smokers can get
away with smoking on board by exhaling as the toilet flushes.
Smoke detectors make this impossible.
The most common cause of an out-of-order toilet is a
blockage caused by a passenger clogging up the exit tube
with large amounts of waste paper. So next time you visit the
second most important room in the plane, put your paper in
the correct bin, sit back, and pay tribute to Joel Liljendahl.

airBalticTravel.com –
Your All-in-One Travel Portal
airBalticTravel.com is the online travel portal
where you can book everything for your holiday
or business trip, from flights and hotels and
other additional services to special theme-based
travel packages including golf, skiing, festivals,
and more. Plus, check out the portal’s new
design—now it’s even more convenient to use!
Package Your Travel for Smart
Savings
NewS
Planning a flight and know you will need a hotel
at your destination too? Why not book both in a
single package at airBalticTravel.com? You could
immediately save at least 20% off the price you pay
when booking a flight and hotel separately!
This way you’ll get return flights with airBaltic or
a partner airline and all applicable airport taxes,
surcharges, and hotel accommodation for the
selected number of nights—all in one package! You
can also add a car rental service to the package and
benefit from our special agreement prices from AVIS.
Plus, when traveling in Economy class you get one
piece of checked-in luggage per person included
in the price, instead of paying for each bag, as you
would if purchasing a flight separately.
And we guarantee our prices are absolutely
the cheapest. If you do find a cheaper flight +
hotel package rate, as specified in our terms and
conditions, we will compensate the difference.
To make things easier, you can spread travel costs
over several payments. Just choose our new
partial payment option when booking a package
at airBalticTravel.com, and conveniently split your
payment into two or four parts.
For questions & inquiries, please contact the
airBalticTravel.com call center, +371 67229696.
airbalticTravel.com

meals
NewS
84 / AIRBALTICTRAVEL.COM
meAlS
business Class / On all airBaltic
flights, business class passengers
will enjoy a complimentary full meal
including appetizer, hot main course,
dessert (except flights shorter than one
hour, where snacks are served instead),
and a wide range of beverages and
alcoholic drinks.
On flights lasting longer than three
hours, we offer a double service—first
a full hot meal served with beverages,
followed by a snack consisting of coffee
or tea and a small dessert. On night
flights with early morning arrival, we
Summer is the perfect
time for families to travel
with small children. The
weather is warm, and the
days are filled with sunlight
and fresh air. we have
prepared a special offer for
little travelers. explore the
complete collection in your
Sky shop card.
provide a “wake-up” service with tea or
coffee and a light breakfast.
economy Class / Economy
class passengers can purchase a
selection of snacks, hot meals (on
flights longer than 1 h. 30 min.) and
beverages from the onboard menu
cards. To save money and time, preorder
your meal before the flight, either at
the airBaltic website or ticket offices, at
least 24 hours before departure. This
will guarantee that your choice will be
available, and that you’ll be served first.
ECO wooden airplane
€12.00
Lego Sport Plane
€15.00
Slow food Prepared by
a Star Chef / Our current
business class menu was created by star
chef Mārtiņš Rītiņš of Riga’s acclaimed
Vincents restaurant. A believer in only
the finest organic ingredients from local
Latvian farmers and eco-conscious
producers, Mārtiņš brings you the taste
of Slow Food in a perfect blend of
delicious, healthful eating.
Mārtiņš Rītiņš,
executive chef at Vincents restaurant in Riga:
“Airline food... we can love it or eat it! It is
not the easiest meal to prepare, but that is
why we love to try harder. As the president
of Slow Food Riga, I work directly with
farmers to bring local, traditional, and
seasonal foods to you in business class
on each flight. From the Latvian farmer,
directly to you. From the farmer with love.”
Kinder Joy
€2.25

from Paris with love
Thriller
Cast: John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys
Meyers, Kasia Smutniak and richard
Durden
A personal aide to the U.S. Ambassador
in France, James Reese has an enviable
life in Paris, but his real passion is his
side job as a low-level operative for
the CIA. So when he’s offered his first
senior-level assignment, he can’t believe
his good luck – until he meets his new
partner, Charlie Wax. A trigger-happy,
wisecracking, loose cannon who’s been
sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack,
Wax leads James on a white-knuckle
shooting spree through the Parisian
underworld that has James praying for
his desk job.
edge of Darkness
Drama, Thriller
Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Huston, Shawn
Robert and Bojana Novakovic.
Thomas Craven is a veteran homicide
detective for the Boston Police
Department and a single father. When
his only child, is murdered on the
steps of his home, everyone assumes
that he was the target and embarks
on a mission to find out about his
daughter’s secret life and her killing. His
investigation leads him into a dangerous,
looking-glass world of corporate coverups,
government collusion and murder—
and to shadowy government operative
Darius Jedburgh, who has been sent in
to clean up the evidence.
InflIGhT
ENTERTAINMENT
On flights longer than 2 hours 30 minutes,
passengers can rent portable entertainment
devices pre-loaded with movies, cartoons, serials,
music and games. Now also available on flights
from/to Vilnius!
Sherlock holmes
Action, Adventure
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams
and Mark Strong. Director: Guy Ritchie.
Sherlock Holmes has made his reputation finding
the truth at the heart of the most complex mysteries.
After a string of brutal, ritualistic murders, Holmes and
Watson arrive just in time to save the latest victim and
uncover the killer: the unrepentant Lord Blackwood.
As he approaches his scheduled hanging, Blackwood
warns Holmes that death has no power over him
and, in fact, his execution plays right into Blackwood’s
plans.
Alice in wonderland
Fantasy, Adventure
Cast: Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham
Carter, Crispin Glover
Alice returns to the whimsical world she first
encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her
childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee
and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar,
the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter.
Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her
true destiny and the Red Queen’s reign of terror.
Avatar
NewS
NEW THIS MONTH
TV serials: Dr. House (new episodes) | 30 Rock | The Office | Top
Gear (new episodes) | Two and a half men (new episodes) | Friends
(new episodes) | Glee
For kids: Camp Lazlo (new episodes) | My gym partner's a monkey
(new episodes) | Looney Tunes (new episodes) | The Batman (new
episodes)
Fantasy, Adventure
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldana, Michelle
Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver.
Avatar, a fantasy-adventure from the director of Titanic,
is set in a world never before experienced, depicted
in ways you’ve never seen. Visionary filmmaker James
Cameron takes us to a spectacular planet, where a
reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption
and discovery as he leads a heroic battle to save a
civilization from powerful, Earth-based corporate
forces.
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 85
entertainment

Park Inn
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86 / AIRBALTICTRAVEL.COM
The best Sleep in Town: Park inn
Park Inn hotels offer an affordable hotel experience that’s
warm and casual—a home away from home for BalticMiles
members looking to enjoy the benefits of a good, easy to use,
and friendly service. With more than 90 hotels spread across
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, you’re almost bound to
find a Park Inn ready to greet you at almost any destination.
Best of all, any stay at a participating Park Inn will credit your
account with 500 miles as a BalticMiles member. Just present
your BalticMiles card at check-in and you’ll earn your miles, all
while enjoying a hassle-free stay.
Find out more at www. parkinn.com
blu Skies with radisson blu
Fall in love with the world of Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts.
BalticMiles members can now experience contemporary,
upscale hospitality at first class, full service Radisson Blu hotels,
with their fantastic range of bars, restaurants, and leisure
facilities. Radisson Blu is renowned for its “Yes I Can!” spirit of
service and the “100% Guest Satisfaction Guarantee.”
Plus, Radisson Blu provides free broadband service across its
collection of hotels. For enjoying a stay at these award-winning
hotels, BalticMiles members will earn 500 miles at participating
Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts in Europe, the Middle East, and
Africa. That’s over 200 hotels to choose from! Just be sure to
show your BalticMiles card at check-in.
Find out more at www.radissonblu.com

find out first!
Sign Up for
the balticmiles
Newsletter
When you sign up for the
BalticMiles newsletter, you’ll
benefit from regular updates
with all the latest info and
the hottest deals from
BalticMiles. Plus, you’ll be first
to discover how to earn lots
of valuable miles to spend
balticmiles
member
Service line
We believe a personalized
response really means a lot.
So when you need to be
in touch with us—whether
because you have a question,
concern, or really anything
on our wide, wide range of
diverse experiences: from a
flight with airBaltic to one of
many services from our large
and growing list of partners—
we’ve got many industries
covered. That means you can
easily earn miles every day
and get that much closer,
that much faster, to your
dream rewards.
So how do I sign up? Just log
into your BalticMiles profiles
on www.balticmiles.com, find
Account Settings, and, under
Communication Preferences,
tick the box “I wish to be
informed about BalticMiles
special deals by e-mail.” And
you’re done!
on your mind that you’d like
to talk to us about—we’d
love to hear from you, and
help as best we can! So don’t
hesitate to pick up the phone
and call us on the BalticMiles
dedicated lines: in Latvia,
+371 67280 280; in Estonia,
+372 630 6660; and in
Lithuania, +370 700 55665.
airbalticTravel.com:
big Savings, big earnings!
miles. For instance, book
a flight+hotel and get
250 miles. Or choose any
flight+hotel+car package,
and voila!—that’s 500 more
Yet another partner is
joining the BalticMiles
team—airBalticTravel.com, a
one-stop site where you can
custom-create your travel
itinerary, drawing from the
best deals and many, many
special offers. You can choose
a hotel from one of 25,000 in
350 destinations, plus add on
a car rental and choose from
a range of other services too.
While you enjoy all those
options and big savings,
you’ll also be earning more
miles in your account. And
acting soon sure pays big
too: this August only, you’ll
earn double the miles (500
for flight+hotel or 1,000 for
flight+hotel+car)!
Plus, BalticMiles members,
you’ll be pleased to know that
you can put your miles to
good use with airBalticTravel.
com. Just use the handy
Miles&Money slider located
beside the price category
and determine the number of
miles you’d like to spend (and
pay off the rest in cash).
balticmiles Shop—Get the most
out of your miles
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When you’ve earned your miles, you should be able to get the
things you really want. So, with this thought in mind, we’ve
tweaked the online shopping concept a bit with the BalticMiles
Shop, a venue that’s, well, all about getting the things you
actually desire. Be it a simple set of earrings, a romantic dinner,
or an international spy adventure in Moscow—there’s bound to
be something special waiting for you at the BalticMiles Shop.
Come by and see for yourself what we’ve got in store!
And now, BalticMiles shop is also available in Latvian,
Lithuanian, and Russian, with more languages to be added this
autumn.
BALTIC OUTLOOK / AUGUST 2010 / 87

fleet
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boeing 757-200
boeing 737-500 Q400 NextGen fokker 50
Number of aircraft 9
Number of seats 120
Max take-off weight 58 metric tons
Max payload 13.5 metric tons
Length 29.79 m
Wing span 28.9 m
Cruising speed 800 km/h
Commercial range 3500 km
Fuel consumption 3000 l/h
Engine CFM56-3
88 / AIRBALTICTRAVEL.COM
76
29.6 metric tons
8.6 metric tons
32.83 m
28.42 m
667 km/h
2084 km
1074 l/h
P&W 150A
boeing 737-300
Number of aircraft 8
Number of seats 142/144/146
Max take-off weight 63 metric tons
Max payload 14.2 metric tons
Length 32.18 m
Wing span 31.22 m
Cruising speed 800 km/h
Commercial range 3500 km
Fuel consumption 3000 l/h
Engine CFM56-3C-1
Number of aircraft 10
Number of seats 46/50/52
Max take-off weight 20.8 metric tons
Max payload 4.9 metric tons
Length 25.3 m
Wing span 29.0 m
Cruising speed 520 km/h
Commercial range 1300 km
Fuel consumption 800 l/h
Engine P&W 125 B

Paint
the townBlu
2 x Tallinn, 4 x Riga, 1 x Klaipeda, 2 x Vilnius, 2 x Moscow,
2 x Sochi, 1 x Rostov-on-Don, 2 x St Petersburg,
1 x Kaliningrad (opening autumn 2010)
+353 17 06 02 84
radissonblu.com
Fall in love with the world of Radisson Blu
at nearly 200 hotels in almost 50 countries.