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Published: April 7th 2009
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Facial hair on the mannequin may be essential (not really) - but a pencil mustache and a flavor saver? Seriously?The last two days were going to be dedicated to last minute errands, shopping, walking, and general winding down before the trip back.
Friday morning we decided to check out both open-air markets, the one by the train station, and one on Kalvariju. The former was smaller. The main hall had mostly produce merchants and the adjacent hallways housed clothes and tchochke peddlers. My attempt to take photographs was met with suspicious eyes and negative remarks, so I had to abandon it. (Yes, I’m there to take photographs of your funky sweatshirt and immediately submit them to my manufacturer in China, just so I can corner the market. That specific market in Vilnius.) After walking away with two pickles (they tried to make us buy two kilos instead) we went back to our hotel and dropped them off in our mini-fridge. Remembering that Kalvariju market was much bigger, we decided to take a trip there, hoping that some of the local craftsmen would be selling their souvenirs. That was not the case. While the market was completely booming, produce, clothes, and only occasional small items were on sale. The flea market behind the main area was also full of people. Anything
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Greek made soap shop. Heavenly place. one can imagine was there, including scores of WWII medals.
Then, we walked on Basanavichius street for a while until we found a small kitchen/culinary place. Kibinai (pirozhki with meat), chicken Kiev, mashed potatoes, pickled cabbage, and beet salad were delicious. After the meal, we stacked up on some of her pastries and were on our way. Later, we were off to Old Town for souvenir hunting. It was a beautiful day and evening and after some shopping we decided to walk further. We strolled down Gedimino street, then Kalvariju across river Neris and went all the way to the Europa shopping mall. While we got there right before closing of stores, we managed to eat dinner at a pizzeria. There are no real fast food places in Vilnius. The only one we saw that could come close is McDonalds. And while in Copenhagen a two story McDonalds is packed with people to the gills, in Vilnius, it merely has a few people. The most prominent food chains/franchises in Lithuania are now pizzerias. But these are not your Domino’s/Pizza Hut/Papa John variety. The menu of the Lithuanian pizzeria contains over 25 ‘gourmet’ pizzas in 4 sizes, a full page of
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Once again, the Orthodox Church of St Michael and St Constantine. New photo snacks (including fried bread with garlic), a full page or two of entrees, including steaks and pastas, and usually a page or two of salads.
How’s that for fast food. Also, once they bring you your order, you are on your own. If you need anything (including your check), you call them…
Our last day there, Saturday, we went to Akropolis again for the first half of the day, We visited Maxima XXX which can only be described as Walmart (with the supermarket), Best Buy, and Beverages and More rolled into one massive store. I (Amy) have to interject here - this is where I finally found the pastry display I had been yearning for. I have no pictures to prove it (we realize now we just should have shot pictures of the counter like crazy and then run away very fast instead of politely asking permission and being rejected), but the cakes and pastries were well beyond anything I expected. These were not your typical supermarket bakery or Costco bakery cakes - laden with off colored buttercream roses and rainbow sprinkles, plastic figurines of ballerinas or dinosaurs or even palmtrees next to what looks like the decorator’s bag exploded
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Once again, view from Basanavichius on Old Town. New photo. and created a lake of turquoise piping gel - you know a tropical oasis cake…. Anyway, these were the most glorious creations I have seen since the pages of my baking and pastry textbook. And here they were in real life - the chocolate decorations were masterpieces, the piping exquisite, not an emaciated dried out strawberry to be seen on their countless fruit tarts. Window upon window of beautifully decorated gateaus and tarts each looking more delicious than the last. And there was even a window where you could watch the bakers and decorators working. I probably could have stayed there a whole day.
We ended up doing some more walking in Old Town later on in the day, another bright and beautiful afternoon. Packed and ready by midnight, we had to get up at 4 am to meet a taxi at 5 am on Sunday. The taxi ride ‘blessed’ us with a medley of Weird Al Jankovic, with 2 lines from most of his songs. And that’s how our ~24 hour trip back home started. 5 hour layover at Copenhagen was spent eating, sleepwalking, and reading.
Arrival to Washington DC required a little adjustment. Lithuania does not have a
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Square leading to Pylimos street in Old Town high level of obesity and the majority of the younger crowd are high fashion. I don’t think there is a word in Lithuanian for fleece, we have not seen a single fleece item through our whole time there, while Amy and I sported it every day. Half of the clothing zippers, buckles, stitches, and labels serve no function other than fashion. I found shoes there that had laces down the middle, buckle on the right side, and a zipper down the left. That to me exemplified the national fashion sense. Also, the designers of men shoes seem to be competing on the number of holes that can coexist in a single shoe. Yes, there were a few non-perforated shoes, but the majority of dress, casual, workout shoes, even loafers and sandals had massive numbers of mini-holes in them. And that’s in a country that has quite a bit more rain than California. I think my invention of invisible shoes (ultimately perforated) would make money there… But, I digress.
Back to Washington. The crowd was very American. To say it lightly, not the most fashion conscious or fit crowd and proud of it. An old cowboy from head to toe, carrying
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Outside wall of a tea shop on the corner of Bernardinu and Pylimos a whipped cream-topped Starbucks drink…. A couple with matching grey oversized T-shirts with “Titties and Beer” screen printed in large font… Ahhh, it’s good to be back.
In a general sense, Vilnius looked different in the sun (the second half of our trip) than in the rain. It seemed more hopeful, cleaner, and upbeat. The city is filled with old neighborhoods that have not changed for over 15 years, yet new construction and restoration projects are about. Across the road from my old neighborhood there used to be a large section of unused land that I used to take my dog Eddie to. Small and large ponds, natural and man-made hills, grass fields and trails. Passing by on the bus on our trip, I could not see a single unused area. It now houses a giant sports arena, a huge car dealership and at least three construction projects are ongoing. Crime is low, we walked late and never felt threatened. The people were not very friendly. It’s not a sense of threat, but indifference or frustration. They usually seemed bothered when they had to deal with someone who did not make their lives easier. Waiters, sales people, bus drivers all
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Other side of the wall. had the same air of “Do I really have to deal with you now?” There were friendly and smiling people, but few and between. We are not sure if it was our status as American tourists that brought this on or not. The food and sites, however, were superb.
It is a city rich with history and remembrance of the past as well as a bright look toward the future. While we can’t say that we felt necessarily welcomed with open arms; we achieved what we set out to do, what’s possible in a week’s time. We had a chance to see the old and sometimes crumbling, sometimes preserved sites and buildings of eras gone by, a glimpse into public and personal history. We witnessed the new era in full bloom; even though winter has barely melted away - this city is full of life, vibrancy and new growth. And we took grastronomic adventures that have left us wanting more. Thank you, Vilnius.
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