Blogs from Kaunas, Lithuania, Europe - page 9

Europe » Lithuania » Kaunas June 29th 2006

This has been a flurry of blogs, none of which have had much substance. But here is one of substance. Just an update of my plans. So this weekend are my final two games with the Kaunas Lituanica team, and then my pro ball career ends abrubtly (unless of course I return next year). But seriously, it is sad for it to be ending. It has been an incredible experience and I just appreciate so much getting to know the team, and the people who have taken care of me for the past month. On Monday I leave for Riga, Latvia, from there take a ferry to Stockholm, and then up into Sweden, through Finland, more boats, and down into St. Petersburg for a good old Russian time. The only plans we have for now is ... read more

Saunas, infared, burning plastic

Europe » Lithuania » Kaunas June 29th 2006

Vilius

I have been around and in more saunas in the past three weeks than I have ever been in my life. I don’t know if it is a Lithuanian thing, or a European thing, or I’ve just missed out on something because I’m me, but they keep taking me to saunas. “What are your plans today? Do you want to go to sauna?” is a common question asked of me by my host family. So far I have been to two ‘spas,’ but they just call them ‘saunas.’ Each one has had three different kinds of saunas—some are Finnish, some are traditional, some are disco-themed, some are dry, some are more like a steam room. At the last spa there was one that was called an ‘infrared sauna.’ Isn’t infrared, like, some sort of pollutant? Toxic ... read more

Back in Kaunas

Europe » Lithuania » Kaunas June 20th 2006

Vilius

I am back in Kaunas, my Lithuanian home away from home. The bus ride from Prague to Kaunas was only about 20 hours this time, because luckily we managed to not get lost this time. We did, however, stop almost every hour for cigarette breaks and such. I have never played on a sports team that smoked so much. So all of this is very undramatic (is that a word?) since I have been unable to get pics up yet. But bear with me. One story to tell you. In my eyes, the tournament was a success even though we only won one of our four games. Our goal was to qualify for next year's tournament, and we did just that. We finished fourth out of six teams, the top five teams qualify for next year. ... read more

Day after Easter, outdoor musem of Rumsiskes

Europe » Lithuania » Kaunas April 20th 2006

Forest within the outdoor museum

judylay

(I'll write about Easter when I can get pix of them off of my stick) The family took me to one of the outdoor museums the day after Easter. It was sort of a reoccuring theme during my stay that I felt like I was intruding on their holiday but not sure how to act. And if they were going to go to the museum only for my sake, then I would've felt like I was wasting their time. But Renata says that they always go around Easter time, so that made me feel better about going. The outdoor museum is divided into areas that represent the various parts of Lithuania. As we walk down the paths there would be signs that had the names of what the next areas are supposed to represent. There are ... read more

Day before Easter in Lithuania

Europe » Lithuania » Kaunas April 19th 2006

Kaunas Castle

judylay

It was hard for me to imagine what a "traditional" Easter would be like here in Catholic country because back home, Easter's been diluted down to "spring break" and I don't even know anyone who goes to church. Bunch of heathens! I arrived Saturday morning at 4.07 at the Kaunas bus station. Renata and her Dad, Sigmund (sp), picked me up and took me back to their house. After I took a much needed shower, Renata and I went back to sleep until almost past 10, when her Mom woke us and had a yummy breakfast ready. Ohh... It was yummy... Did I already say that? I didn't take any photos then because I didn't want them to think I'm photo journaling 'the life and times of a typical Lithuanian family during Easter'. That would've been ... read more

Made it to Kaunas

Europe » Lithuania » Kaunas April 15th 2006

judylay

I'm staying with Santiago's wife's sister and her family here in Kaunas. Renata and her father, Sigmund (sp) were so nice and they picked me up from the bus station last night, at 4am. 4 AM! I felt so guilty... but I couldn't help it, that was the only bus that was available. I'm going to be making them dinner in a little bit. Oh the pressure! They fed me this morning a yummy beet soup with kefir and eggs. And tea and bread. I gave them the contraband mushrooms from Taiwan and they asked me to cook it. So here I am, in the hot seat again! ;-p They took me this afternoon to see the churches around here. I saw 3 or 4? They're not so ornate or ostentatiouis on the outside but all ... read more

Tot: 0.082s; Tpl: 0.004s; cc: 6; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0418s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb