Sauna House Cīruļi – Dobele (Latvia)

Some of the pictures were taken on a rainy day (it rained a crazy amount that fall!), so it doesn’t really give justice to the bucolic character of the place. It was one of my favorite moments during my stay in Latvia. During “the réunion de travail au ministère de l’économie dont dépend l’office du tourisme national” which happened half way through my trip, I was asked what I saw for the potential of Latvian tourism, and at once, I answered that this was the kind of rural lodging (mixing sauna, natural environment and a warm family welcome) that tourists look for when they come to explore these regions.

When I got there that night, the person who was taking care of the sauna house asked me if I could translate a letter written in French that her dad had received. Long story short, years ago, the father had helped a French couple adopt a brother and sister from Dobele. The mom had afterwards written a thank you letter. Since he wanted to answer, I checked the back of the envelope. The address was different from the one in the yellow pages, but there was a landline phone number, so I offered to call them. The phone rings and it’s the adoptive mom that answers, I explain who I am and the reason for my call. She can’t hide her emotions when she says: “I wrote that letter 7 years ago, that man still remembers?”, “Of course, I tell her, he’s beside me”. I proposed that we do a Skype video chat so that everyone can see each other, and they can see the kids are doing well. Five minutes later, everyone is on Skype. I wont mention what was said here…

It’s a tasteful sauna house, simple, but authentic and comfortable.

You can find an exterior sauna outside, with a deck where you can jump directly into the pond; it’s there for that.

Inside the big house, you can ask to see their wine lab, used for their house wine:)

Other than that, the dad has a passion for old transistors, so he can explain the whole history behind it.

It’s a real family, good people, and very real.

One of the most powerful moments during my Latvian trip.