Lithuania...Yea, but where is it?

I totally stole that title from a t-shirt. Always cite your sources.

So my father and I rolled out of Saint Petersburg and out of Russia on a train bound for Vilnius, via Latvia. Contrary to what I expected, I was not detained by the Russian border officers. We were, however, woken at several points in the night by men wearing large fur army hats of various colors who demanded our passports, which we wearily produced.

From Vilnius station we made our way to the flat of Kerry Keys, poet, located in the old Jewish Ghetto of Vilnius. The city can be easily covered in a day or two, but we found that the longer we stayed the more we liked it. The old city of Vilnius is a UNESCO world heritage site, an deservedly so. Being in Europe, the city is quite European, with cobbled streets and a lovely restored downtown. After the mass of Moscow and St. Petersburg it felt nice to be in a small, quiet city. I bet it's fantastic in the summer.

The first day was mostly spent getting our bearings and making plans. Of note was perhaps one of the worst meals either of us has ever had. Cepilini, or Zepplins, are the Lithuanian national dish. Essentially minced ham wrapped in potato starch and very, very shiney. The name, in reference to something large, heavy and explosive, is appropriate. I figure they could double as both army rations and army munitions should the need ever arise.

Day 2, we made a short bus journey to Trakai, a small, pretty town on a little bit of land between 3 lakes. Got that? There's also a castle, including some medival punishments, which was rather cool. That night we drank various styles of vodka with the poet Keys and some other local literati, including a Canadian couple and a Mexican who lives in Poland and translates Yiddish. Interesting lot. No matter what my dad says, amber vodka is not good, although it apparently cures several ailments, probably including the desire to drink amber vodka ever again.

Day 3 was half covered in yesterdays Paneriai posting, as we visited a Holocaust site. In the evening, feeling the need to have our spirits lifted, we were lucky enough to score tickets for the Vilnius Jazz festival. The first act, a Turkish piano trio, was good, especially the bassist, but relatively dull, especially compared to the headliner. Wayne Shorter, who played sax for Miles, and his band, Brian Blade, John Patitucci and Danilo Perez, were relatively awesome.

After that, we took in a couple of Jewish museums, put some serious miles on our sneakers and avoided Lithuanian food entirely. On my dfads last full day in Vilnius we hopped on a bus for Guntas Parkas, aka Stalin World, 2 hours south of Vilnius. This park is similar to the park in Moscow, made up of toppled Soviet statues, but different in that it is was more awesome. Dark humor all the way. The park is styled after a Gulag, complete with a rail car used to haul exiles to Siberia, barbed wire and watch towers that pump Soviet marching music. Asides from the typical Lenins and Stalins, the park has statues of Soviet 'heroes' such as the guy who invented the Gulag, the Lithuanian head of the KGB and various other Lithuanians who betrayed their country to serve the USSR. Bad, bad dudes. While it may seem, on the surface, hypocritical to one day weep at the Holocaust and on the next day snicker at the oppression of the CCCP, the park (despite criticism) serves as a similiar reminder of the atrocities committed, and, for some Lithuanians, a symbol of putting the past behind them. More here: Stalin World. Oh! And we found, after, uhm, minutes of searching, the worlds only Frank Zappa statue. Way cool. "I'm a little pimp with my hair gassed back..."

To continued my fun-filled tour of oppression Lithuania, I visited the KGB museum! Complete with cells and exectution room! Similarly sobering. Equally fascinating.I suppose, with Peristroika and all, the act of the KGB came as no great surprise, but as with Paneriai, being in the same physical place where such acts were committed seems to erase any sort of abstraction. Before I knew, now, I really know. Doubt Karl Marx would have been proud. And now, on my final eve in Lithuania, I had pizza for dinner. Tomorrow I fly to France, but thats something completely different...ain't it, horsebox?


EDIT: I appologize to Mr. McGoogleham for misspelling 'cite'.

---

---