Livonian homestead "Branki" - Summerhouse

The Summerhouse is managed by the "Stūrīši-Branki" family and we have 4 households in the centre of the Livonian (Liiv) village Mazirbe. All houses neighbour each other in a beautiful landscape – the garden and the surrounding fields are for you to walk around in and enjoy. Each house has a unique history and style, varied types of rooms and amenities. Stay with us if you appreciate nature, wild sea, great local food and warm, loving hospitality from a passionate family. Our breakfasts are WOW! The space ABOUT THE SUMMERHOUSE The Summerhouse was built as a passion-project imagined by our family, where we wanted to create the perfect cosy summerhouse, where you can immerse in and experience the beautiful nature and peace. The special focus is the living room with an amazing fireplace to enjoy when the weather is just right. The Summerhouse has two floors (connected through the outside) with Sauna, living room, dining room and private toilet & shower. The first floor houses the Sauna, living room, private toilet & shower and a double bedroom. Most likely, this floor will be your main hang-out spot due to the comfort and convenience of the layout. We make sure to keep the house warm and always give a bushel of firewood for free during the summer in case the guests want to have an extended use of the fireplace. The second floor houses a terrace and a large studio layout, across the entire length of the floor below. At the very far end (furthest from the entrance) is a king-sized bed, followed by a living space with a couch, dresser and dining table. On the sides of the entrance are two sofas, which can be converted to very comfy double sofa-beds. In total the house can comfortably manage 8 adults & children, if sharing the second floor is agreeable. We have a crib if needed, and we can also expand the capacity of the house to 10 people with roll-away beds. There is free parking next to the house. The small kitchen has all the necessary dishes, cutlery, pots, pans and assorted utensils for cooking. Salt and some spices will be available and you are always welcome to borrow them from us. Just Google the Latvian name of the spice, before you ask. :) IMPORTANT TOPIC: FOOD You can order breakfast with us, for €9 per person. Please let us know about your dietary preferences as we can look to accommodate almost any diet or dietary restriction. "Stūrīši-Branki" over the years have gained a reputation of our massive & tasty breakfasts. These breakfasts are large enough for you to have something left over for a lunch snack or a proper lunch, depending on appetites. However, when it comes to food, you will be taken care of. Our family is famous with our food generosity. If you stay with us at a fortunate time, when the local farmers and produce growers bring us something interesting, we always look if we can share them with our guests. If our Chief has inspiration, we also frequently provide guests with side-dishes for dinner (such as potatoes, veggies, dessert and so forth). We often host large groups, which visit the "Stūrīši-Branki" household to learn more about the Livionian history and sample some traditional food. On these days we can offer lunch or dinner. If you are interested to hear about this, let us know. Additionally, Mazirbe has the only store in 20km radius and it is well-stocked with household items, food, drinks and cooking essentials. It is 2 minutes away from us and if you stay longer, you can order specific items with the store directly. IMPORTANT TOPIC: BEACH Our house is 5-15 minutes away from the beach, depending on which route you choose to take - the shortest distance will be more central and can get busy over summer weekends. Other routes will take you further away and you can enjoy near-seclusion. Please note, we do not provide beach towels, please bring your own. Guest access Guests have keys to their house/room and homeowners have someone always present to mind the houses. Guests can only access their rooms & the outside territory. You can ask to visit the museum "Stūrīši" if it's not occupied by other guests. Other things to note "Stūrīši-Branki" households have been in our family for generations. Our guesthouse business started spontaneously 11 years ago and we are so happy to be able to live and work in our favourite place on Earth! ♥ Our family operates a private Museum (which also is a guesthouse), and if there are no guests staying, we will be happy to show you the Museum and the materials we have collected. We have made our best effort to supply our visitors with the best options and amenities, however countryside has its limitations, which is why we ask you to respect the nature of the location. IMPORTANT TOPIC: WATER Due to the peculiarities of the location next to the sea and also in the Slīteres National Park (protected area with many rare beauties of nature), it is very difficult to have access to endless running water. We live a sustainable lifestyle, conserving water and only using it when it’s available - we have a 8 m deep Well. Please take into account when booking that you won't be able to have endless running showers and we will sometimes have to switch the access off for 3h or so (to let the water replenish in the Well). IMPORTANT TOPIC: PRICING The Summerhouse is rented as the entire house and the price is per house, not per person. A traditional firewood heated sauna (hot rocks and steam) is available for hire to all guests who stay at least 3 nights: €50 for 2 people. It takes a whole day to prepare, so please give us as much notice as possible. We make sure to keep the house warm and always give a bushel of firewood for free during the summer in case the guests want to have an extended use of the fireplace. However, if you stay longer and you wish to enjoy more fireplace, each further bushel would incur a €5 surcharge. IMPORTANT TOPIC: CASH We highly advise to bring cash, as otherwise you will have to drive to Dundaga (20km) or Ventspils (70km) to be able to visit an ATM. Mazirbe has the only store within 20km radius and a café where you can pay by card. IMPORTANT TOPIC: WiFi Our households do not have internet of any kind. Overall, Mazirbe is a true getaway from the world. Phone reception has to be earned (aka you have to find your spots or use the right operator) and there is no free WiFi in the village. But don’t worry, if you do need to stay connected and find the right spot to keep your device, you will achieve amazing internet speeds and will be able to get things done. We will provide advice on how to best achieve this.