Hockey In August

On Monday we traveled to Valmiera (only about 30-minutes away) to see a couple of our young friends (Reinis and Edgars) play in a hockey game. As we have maybe seen one hockey game (on TV) in our lives, it was an enjoyable experience.Valmiera was chosen over Cesis a couple of years ago as the site for an Olypmic training facility (hockey hall, great basketball courts, weight-rooms, etc.). They use it for a lot of international games and the Latvian national teams all train there. It continues to amaze us how big all types of sports are here. Their facilities sometimes rival what we have back in the US, while a lot of other needs go unmet (The same as the USA). The biggest difference here is that the sports facilities are not constructed by the school districts. They are supported by local and national taxing authorities, therefore they are used by all of the citizens, not just school-age athletes.

Here are a few pictures: