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Published: September 5th 2009
Saturday night fever - or it could have been without the Rivers stowaway parka in the camera bag - not to mention the pullout cover for the camera bag to keep it a little drier. Cos it did get a little wet here later today - in fact the light rain started about 6pm and was around while I climbed the hill to the fortress tower Gediminas Castle. However when I walked down and into the bottom of the town main street leading up to the main square it really started to pour down - and it was heavy man! I sheltered under a shop awning for some 15 mins or so - then it started to ease off so though I had better make good getting to the chosen restaurant.
The In Your Pocket guide had some nice things to say about the Lithuanian food at Graf Zeppelin which has adopted the Zeppelin theme - but has some really weird sorta music going - mostly English between the wars sort of tunes - not exactly "Take me back to dear old blighty" but it seemed very close at times, which seemed a bit incongrous. There were old Zeppelin pix
on the wall that sorta thing in a German tavern sort of way. And although the guide says Lithuanian it seemed more German in a way. Apparently they make the biggest cepelinai (type of floury dumpling (national dish)- which I must admit I have not had yet) - in the shape of a zeppelin no doubt. I was going to order one as an entree (pricing was that of other entrees) and the guy shook his head and said it is very big! - so I had some baked eggplant filled with eggplant and celery and some tomato and melted cheese on top - 3 rounds were a very nice starter. The Frau Martine's (or something) special - which was essentially a pork schnitzel, surrounded by bits of shredded potato dumpling like pasta - and two pear halves (which saved me ordering dessert!) with stewed billberries or such all over it. It was good honest fare and pretty filling - and they had a good german language rev-head car mag for me to browse while I wondered how the rain was going (it still was) - so it was parka hood over my head and cover over the camera bag
again and we were off for the damp trudge back to the hotel - which I found with no difficulty, having trudged around that entire block last night (not in the rain fortunately) looking for a hotel - but this time I followed the map faultlessly (unlike Tallinn where the irregular streets really had me beat and I lost the hotel a couple of times).
Now about last night - 4 Sept. - yes never arrive almost in the dark - I thought there must be some hotel near the bus/rail station - yes, the Panorama - but I did not feel like paying 298Lt (150AUD) just for one night. I found another that looked pretty flash down the hill going in a vague Old Town direction - but they also said about 300Lt - the reason for the "about" I realised is that they would likely be priced in Euros for Germans and Finns etc- well I aint paying on no credit card, gimme a price in "real" local money, Litas thanks. So after wandering around and around it was after 9pm - other people were out dining and I was still dragging a wheeled bag around looked
for a hotel. I knew that the SAS Radisson was rather expensive - like 300AUD - so did not bother there. Then hauled up at the Europa Grand which had 4 stars but I thought I would try anything by then and just have to pay whatever for one night and get another in the morning. He quoted me Euros at first, then 274Lt - so I thought at least that is cheaper than 300 so took it (and the pictures of previous guests in the foyer, like the Secy-Gen of NATO - reassured me!). I think they barely have any single rooms - quite often the case - and this was pretty small for the price - but the bathroom tiled floor was heated (only had that in Helsinki I think before - handy in the winter)- even tho the TV was an old 14inch which really should be upgraded to a flat screen - and the sound did not seem to work - the man came and fiddled with the back and it then worked. Anyway blogging til all hours so had to set an alarm to get up for breakfast at 10am.
Decided I would simply
ring another place using the hotel phone - they charge like wounded bulls but a $2 call to get another hotel was OK. So walked a bit round the world to find the Rinno which is where I now is - the 176Lt room was not that tiny - the mini economy single - so decided to splash on the larger twin suite (virtually) for 250Lt per night - the bathroom is huge (about the size of the whole room at the Europa), has twin beds, an arm chair to smoke my pipe in (interesting the fine for smoking in the room is 100Lt here - it was 200Lt at the Europa).
Anyway got here at 1pm and flopped for a bit - then at 3pm it had fined up so made a bee-line downtown to the Museum of Applied Sciences - which had a really excellent exhibition of the Art of the Balts - 13th and 14th cent. silver pins and brooches and rings, that sort of thing. There were some large magnifiers which you should slide around and up and down to examine the detail of the pieces, whcihwas nice. The mini catalogue was cheap - but
could not buy one on the way out as they had all disappeared so will have to go back tomorrow. They also an interesting exhibition of historic documents on the history of the Lithuanian state - the earliest was an actual paper document from 1255 or something - all of these had wax seals hanging off them. There has been a long association with Poland over some centuries, until Lithuania virtually disappeared off the maps and became submerged in the 1700s or so - and of course later it was caught up in the secret annex to the Molotov-Ribbentrop treaty betw. Germany & Russians.
So thats about full circle - some quick snaps then beddy byes.
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Bob Davis
non-member comment
Hi Mike Your bloggs are very detailed and good to read. I get the sense that you have somewhat relaxed into your journey. Why are there so few photos? Keep on enjoying yourself. Amani Bob