Here is a summary of our trip - places - people - food - sights - etc. It is my totally subjective impressions, observations, and thoughts.
6/3/02 - We're Off
After dropping off the dog at the kennel, we arrived in Portland in plenty of time. When we got to Boston we waited in the wrong line and then had to rush to get the flight to Frankfurt. But otherwise all flights were on time and uneventful.
6/4/02 - We Arrive
It seemed like the same day but already it was tomorrow. We were met at the airport by a friendly young man from LITiNTERP, the organization that arranged our bed and breakfast. The ride from the airport to our appartment was a blur of first impressions and the feeling that Lithuanians have to be among the craziest drivers in the world.
Arrived at "our" appartment and met our hosts Stasys and Mikka who were very accommodating and friendly. Throughout our stay they were helpful and knowledgeable guides who were never too busy to answer our questions or help us get oriented. We had a good sized bedroom and our own bathroom just down the hall. Stasys and Mikka sleep upstairs and use the downstairs kitchen and dining room. The location was excellent - right in the Old Town and within walking distance of just about everything.
We were exhausted but couldn't resist a short walk around the neighborhood. We soaked up the atmosphere of old houses, churches, street vendors, outdoor cafes and a different culture. Found a small restaurant only a block from the appartment for an early supper. We fell in love with the food and the people there and went back often. Stan had his first, but not last, cepilinai (what we know as Klatskes - for those of you who have never heard of this "treat", they are potato dumplings stuffed with either meat or cheese - a very heavy meal) and I had an excellent chicken and vegetable dish. We knew instantly that we were in the right place when we were full with excellent food and drink and the total bill was under $5.
Finally, we gave in to tiredness and returned to the appartment to sleep . . . for 12 solid hours. Jet lag does that to you.
6/5 - The First Real Day in Lithuania
Woke to our first Lithuanian breakfast - coffee/tea, juice, yoghurt, bread, cheese, sausage. We started the day by trying to call some relatives whose names we had gathered over the years. Thanks to the help of Staysis and Mikka, we contacted Algirdas Kaulavicius, Stan's cousin. We met him for lunch at our favorite restaurant (we only knew one, but it was already our favorite). Stan and Algirdas had more cepilinai and I had my first introduction to mushrooms in the Lithuanian manner - mushroom soup ( a broth with a strong mushroom flavor) and chicken with a mushroom sauce. Perhaps you can tell that food is going to be a recurring element - it was excellent and not what I had expected.
After we ate, Algirdas took us on a looooooooong walking tour. Among the sights were Vilnius Cathedral - very beautiful with organ music accompanying the experience, the presidential palace, the University of Vilnius, Gate of Dawn church - where the faithful go to pray and be cured of ailments (this is also the only remaining piece of the old city wall and is the only place the Lithuanian coat of arms was allowed to be displayed during the Soviet occupation), and the highlight of the day was a climb to the top of the Gediminas Castle.
The top of Gedminis Castle provides a spectacular view of Vilnius. The walk up the hill is not bad; however, the walk to the top of the castle tower stretched my claustrophobia and fear of heights to the limit. It is a narrow and steep staircase enclosed in a fairly small tower - I got to the top with some urging and prodding from Stan and Algirdas. I could barely appreciate the view and I was not a happy camper.
6/6/02 - Reconnecting With Brone
Spent most of the day exploring the Old Town of Vilnius. We decided to spend our time in Vilnius rather than trying to see "everything" and arranged with LITiNTERP to stay in the same appartment. They made some changes in their schedule so we could stay in the same place. If you ever make a trip to Lithuania, I highly recommend using LITiNTERP as your point of contact. They could not have been more accommodating!!
I also located an Interneto Kavine (internet cafe) so I felt connected again. What a cool thing - being in Lithuania and having access to the world.
We went to supper with Brone Juketomene and her daughter Irena. Brone is Stan's cousin who spent a few days at our house several years ago. Irena teaches German and is fairly fluent in English, so I could participate in the conversation. They took us to a restaurant fashioned like a traditional Lithuanian hostelry, including musicians playing folk music. Stan, of course, had Cepilinai and I had potato sausages - sausage casing stuffed with mashed potatoes - very unusual and quite tasty. We also got to see a little of the city on the way to the restaurant as we had to take a taxi.
6/7/02 - Very Small World
While helping us find phone numbers of relatives, Mikka (our host) realized that one of her best friends (now deceased) was related to the Kaulavicius family. She called the woman's son, Jonas, and made arrangements for us to meet him today. This turned out to be a nephew that Stan never knew he had. Jonas also did not realize that he had relatives in the US.
We had a lovely day with Jonas, his wife Dalia and their 2 sons. Jonas works for Siemens and like management everywhere, balanced business and pleasure via his cell phone. They took us to Trakai Historical National Park. Trakai, located a short distance from Vilnius, is a small town surounded by by forests and lakes. Trakai Island Castle, now partially restored was built in the 13th century by Grand Duke Gediminas. It's rooms are now used as a museum of Lithuanian history.
We had lunch in an outdoor restaurant by one of the lakes. Stan had an assortment of sausage, cheese and vegetables that included three cloves of garlic, all of which he ate. I can't begin to describe the smell of our room the next morning. I had fresh local trout and it was delicious.
That evening we ate at a local pizza place in Vilnius. It was good, but Vilnius has a ways to go to rival Chicago pizza.
6/8/02 - A Quiet Day
We spent the day walking around the Old Town, souvenir shopping and visiting the amber museum, and of course eating. The museum had examples of amber carvings and jewelry as well as amber pieces containing fossils. I never knew that amber occurs in many colors including blue and white and that the different colors are often more valuable. We also discovered a restaurant that had the most delicious potato pancakes with mushroom and herb sauce. Lithuanian mushrooms, grybas, are incredible.
6/9/02 - Another Long Walk with Algirdas
Once again we met Algirdas for lunch and another walking tour. This time we took a long walk through the Old Town visiting St Anne's church, an example of Gothic architecture that Napoleon supposedly wanted to take to Paris in his pocket. And yet another church - Saints Peter and Paul. Inside Sts. Peter and Paul, nearly every space - walls, ceiling, columns are covered with statues and carvings. Of course no time with Algirdas was complete without a walk up a hill - this time the Hill of the Three Crosses. This was a pretty steep climb, but the view was worth it. The original crosses were erected in the 17th century. The crosses were replaced in 1916 and destroyed by the Soviets in 1950. The current crosses were put up in 1989.
6/10/02 - Brone and Family Brone invited us to her apartment where we also visited with her daughter Irena and 14 year old granddaughter Birute. She has a small apartment, but big enough for her large collection of books and art. We enjoyed chatting and looking at pictures of other family members. We also enjoyed an excellent meal of smoked chicken (a first for us and delicious), sausage, vegetables, bread - and topped off with a delicious homemade vegetable soup :-). We arrived back at our room full and tired.
We also learned something of the local economy and conditions. Brone receives a very small pension and most of it is spent on rent. In fact most Lithuanians we met spend a very large percentage of their earnings for housing. While prices seemed incredibly reasonable to us - most people can not afford to splurge on luxuries. Yet we heard many times how much better things are than when the country was under Soviet rule.
6/11/02 - Family History
Spent the morning casually walking around. Met Brone, Irena, Birute and Birute Junkaitiene in the afternoon. Birute J. is preparing a Kaulavacius genealogy. We gave her the information we had on our family and looked at her pictures of Stan's relatives. Had another great meal at "our" restaurant - Stan had cepilinai one more time and I had chicken stuffed with mushroms, those mushrooms are as addicting for me as the cepilinai are for Stan.
We all took another long walk wending our way through small streets and old houses. On the way we passed the laboratory where Brone used to work - it is very close to where we were staying. We ended up at Uzupis - the Montmartre of Vilnius. It is on the other side of the Vilnia River and is the artists' quarter. We stopped for a drink at an outdoor cafe on the river bank and enjoyed the evening atmosphere. Last stop before we went home was the Angel of Uzupis statue. We got home about 10:00 pm, just as it was getting dark - and the sun comes up around 4:00 am.
6/12/02 - Another Quiet Day
Up until now we had perfect weather - high 60's and low 70's. However, it rained this morning, but stopped by noon. In the afternoon, I took a short bus tour of Vilnius while Stan slept. It was a quick overview of the city - a little bit of excitement when the tour bus side swiped a car and the police arrived to investigate. Later we visited the market and found a new restaurant for supper - more mushrooms - this time with chicken for Stan and in a salad for me.
6/13/02 - Last Full Day
We had lunch at the "pancakes with mushrooms and herb sauce restaurant" with Indre, Algirdas' daughter. She is a university student studying English. After lunch we visited the Museum of Genocide Victims. It is located in the former headquarters of the KGB and is the actual prison where Lithuanian partisans were kept, tortured and executed during WWII. It was a chilling experience to imagine the horrible conditions faced by these mostly young men working for the independence of their country.
Another unforgettable sight of the day was the Vilnius McDonald's. It is quite large and is a favorite spot for many Lithuanians. Indre told us that when school groups from outlying towns make trips to Vilnius, this is the first place they want to go. McDonald's Go Home!!!
We ended our stay with a great supper with Jonas, Dalia, and Indre and our last taste of those wonderful Lithuanian mushrooms.
6/14/02 - Trip Home
Jonas drove us to the airport and we learned that there is no way you need to get to the Vilnius airport two hours before your flight. The airport is about the size of the Portland airport and the lines were nonexistent - we had plenty of time to wait. When we got to Frankfurt we remembered that they do not post the gate for your flight until one hour before flight time. This meant a mad dash to another terminal and a long line at security as flights to Chicago, Washington DC, New York and Boston were all leaving from the same terminal within a half hour of each other. Somehow they managed to get everyone through and as far as we could tell everyone made their flight.
We had another mad dash to make the flight from Boston to Portland and arrived in Portland absolutely exhausted. Got to Portland a little after 10:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. Lithuanian time). The Comfort Inn never looked so good - we fell right to sleep. Up in the morning and home by 11:00.
Our last night there, we were asked for our impressions of Lithuania. That was a hard question to answer and it is still difficult to put words to it. Here are some of my impressions and thoughts about our experience. Accept the contradictions because they seem to be inherent in this stage of Lithuania's history
welcoming - modern - almost cosmopolitan - old - traditional - life is still hard for most - accepting of diversity - reasonable (for tourists with foreign dollars, not for most Lithuanians) - pride of country - remembrance of past injustices - independent - on the cusp of being westernized - very friendly and hospitable - Old Town of Vilius becoming gentrified as happens in most cities
Aciu (thanks) to everyone who made our trip memorable: Stasys; Mikka; Brone; Irena; Birute; Birute J; Algirdas; Indre; Jonas; Dalia; their children; and everyone else we met and never knew, or have forgotten, their names.