Kaunas Hotel Magnus 11.40am 4 Sept just across the road from the bus station - very handy - and as train is some furtehr distance away bus to Vilnius is def. the go from here. After previous night in Klaipeda I went by train 3 hrs after very early breakfast, to Siaulai and the Hill of Crosses - its a pilgrimage sorta place with a small hill just covered with crosses. Bit underwhelming in terms of size - but its the details - thousands of crosses on every inch of it. Met on the train an Aussie woman/orig. Kiwi bloke on [View Full Entry]

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Kaunas, Lietuva (Lithuania) - 4 Sept.09 sitting on the bus leaving Kaunas to go to Vilnius the capital of Lithuania - rather later than I thought I would be, as it is almost 7pm so will be a rather late arrival into Vilnius, which is not the best thing for accommodation - but it has been so quiet most places I am not very worried and I have not had any problems anywhere - as the “season” has well and truly ended and people are just not travelling it seems - or spending money either! Kaunas has been a nice place [View Full Entry]

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Well, that night was unlike all other nights. Rolled-up towels do not, it turns out, make great pillows. We slept horribly and woke early, and even with a breakfast stop and a coffee stop we still managed to get on a 10 AM bus to Kaunas. We rolled into town midday and called the manager of our apartment, who came to pick us up at the bus station (!) and take us to the place. Wow! This place was one of the nicest of the journey so far -- beautiful decor, a fairly well-stocked kitchen, and no major structural problems. More [View Full Entry]

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I returned to Lithuania after a long and restful, yet somehow also hectic and very busy, two months being home with family, grandparents, friends. It was a really great visit, and also special because Viktorija traveled with me and it was her first visit to the U.S. It was fun and exciting to see her experience my home for the first time, and especially to notice the ‘firsts’ that she found most exciting. Things, for example, that you don’t see/have in Lithuania that I never thought about. A short list: fireflies, turtles (she never saw them in the wild!), skinks, krispy [View Full Entry]

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DOVYDAS NEVERAUSKAS SIGNS WITH THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES; FIRST LITHUANIAN IN HISTORY TO SIGN A CONTRACT WITH MLB TEAM 7/13/2009 For the first time in the history of Lithuanian Baseball, one of its own has signed a professional contract with an MLB squad. On July 9th Dovydas Neverauskas, a 16 year old pitcher from Vilnius, Lithuania, agreed to terms of a professional contract offered by the Pittsburgh Pirates, making him the first player in Lithuania's history to do so. Neverauskas agreed to sign with the Pirates only after considering proposals from several MLB Clubs. The 6-3, 170-pound [View Full Entry]

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Sveiki!!! Life and baseball in Kaunas, Lithuania, rolls on. Kaunas is still undefeated in both Lithuanian and Interleague games, but all of this might change as our US Tour approaches and the competition stiffens. Not to forget also that we have two tough games to close close out the first half of the season against Vilnius Logipolija. It has been two busy weeks of hosting MLB Envoy Coaches and CFS End of Year Trips!!! So here are a few updates!!! *********************************** 3 LITHUANIANS INVITED TO MLB EUROPEAN ACADEMY, TIRENNIA, ITALY, AUGUST 11TH-29TH!! For the seco [View Full Entry]

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As summer arrives, time seems to be moving faster and faster. A week flies by, seeming like just a few days. A few interesting events regarding Lithuanian Baseball: May 28-June 5: Sam Dempster, a Major League Baseball Envoy Coach, will be giving baseball clinics to youth ages 13-18 in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Utena, Lithuania. This is an exciting 'first' for Lithuanian Baseball, to host an MLB coach. We hope it will be a great experience both for the visiting coach and for the players involved. June 8-24th: Kaunas Lituanica Baseball Club travels to the US!!! We will be playing aga [View Full Entry]

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I have been in Lithuania for probably its most crippling economic period since their post-occupation economic growth began just after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early ‘90’s. Teaching English at a small English school in the center of town, on ‘Freedom Avenue’, a pedestrian street that stretches the length of the whole downtown of Kaunas, I have seen shop after shop close down. And they all have a common series of events. First a sign goes up saying ‘sale’, then big circle-shaped ads in bold colors advertising that everything is on sale. 50%, 60% [View Full Entry]

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Hi everybody, I am back and there is much to write about. I want to let you know that, for the moment atleast, my blog will take a slight twist. It will once again become a bit more baseball-oriented. This is because, yet again, my life has become more baseball-oriented as well. I have been here in Lithuania since January; I arrived in the bittery cold winter, near-zero temperatures, heading directly to Juodkrante with Viktorija and family to celebrate the New Year with family by drinking champagne, dancing in the bitter cold around a huge decorated christmas tree in the square [View Full Entry]

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A few highlights from the first few weeks of games: ************************* LITHUANIAN CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK 2: LITUANICA (KAUNAS) AND VIKINGAS (VILNIUS) TAKE TWO FROM LOGIPOLIJA AND VETRA Kaunas Lituanica extended their record to 4-0 in ’09 Championship Play with two wins over Vilnius Logipolija this weekend, beating Logipolija 13-7, 16-5 in two games. In game 1 Will Gordon and Marijus Dargis shared the pitching duties for Lituanica, recording 11 strikeouts and giving up only 4 hits in 9 innings. Lituanica outmatched Logipolija, recording 16 hits on the game, led by strong hitting p [View Full Entry]

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