Vilnius, the Italy of the Baltics

---

Vilnius, city of cobbled streets and numerous churches. Architecture from every influence; Gothic, Romantic, you name it it's here.

Watch the world go by outside one of the delightful cafes in the old town.
Gaze in amazement as impossibly tall thin women manage to negotiate the cobbled streets wearing impossibly tall thin heeled shoes (even in winter)

I arrived here on a wet and cold evening, and found my apartment, which was tucked away in a typical old-town location, narrow cobbled street and tall building.

I'd reccommend picking up a copy of the now essential In Your Pocket guide, at 5 litas. There are other guides given out free of charge along the same lines as In Your Pocket such as Exploring Vilnius, which can be found in hotel lobbies and tourist information centres.

The whole of the old town here is UNESCO world heritage listed, and as such is protected against inappropriate development. (in theory, anyway)

My usual tactic is to find a bar for a quiet beer..so no problem in vilnius. The beer here, although light in texture in flavour is roughly 50% stronger than UK beers and lagers, but very palatable.

The food is certainly interesting, and i'm talking about the local cuisine found in the smaller cafes dotted everywhere.If you are feeling adventerous, how about a dish of "pigs hands with peas and mustard"?
or maybe mashed tongue with cabbage and pickles? No part of the animal goes to waste

If you simply must have a Big Mac and Fries then you can. Pizza? no problem. In fact you can eat whatever your heart desires. If you're a veggie you may struggle to find a varied selection; dont forget your'e in pork & potatoes land!

The steaks here are simply the biggest i've ever seen. Quite how they manage to get the entire cow on a plate is beyond me, but they do. (cheap too....even the best steak house in town it cost about £10 (50 Litas, $18). That was with all the trimmings and a couple of beers too.

Probably the most famous dish is the fearsome Cepelini, (Zeppelin)...somewhat reminiscent of grannie's under-cooked suet pudding when i was a lad. its a huge airship shaped mound of suet, stuffed with any combination of meats, cheese, mushrooms, or whatever. If thats not enough, the entire thing is topped with a cardiac-arrest inducing rich sauce. So, if youre undergoing chemotherapy or a training to be an olympic rower and need billions of calories a day, then try one. Try one anyway, you won't finish it.

For some reason, Vilnius has acquired a little enclave of poets, artists, wanderers and musicians, and i think the city is generally the richer for it. One night, I found myself having a chat with a Canadian journalist, Norwegian poet, Danish boat-builder and a few others. It made for a really interesting evening!

When i finally surfaced the following morning, well ok afternoon, i found there was no better way to revive myself than a large milky coffee at a riverside cafe.

Your money will go a long way here, so for a few examples, bearing in mind £1 = 5 Litas:

Large Beer (500Ml) 5
20 Marlboro 4.75
light snack 3-5
blow out 30-50

Vilnius is a great place to pick up souvenirs, the most famous local products being amber, flax & linen goods and pottery.

There are also stalls selling leather goods, pottery and wooden gifts.

If you fancy a genuine russian furry hat ( i did, 50 litas) medal or pilots watch you will find numerous people selling these from stalls or just by the road. I was seriously tempted by a MiG fighter pilot's helmet!

The people here certainly deserve their tag as the "Italians of the Baltics. Considering Lithuania's position between Poland, Latvia and Belarus, hardly known as the cheeriest nations on earth, the folk here are much more likely to break into a smile than their Baltic neighbours. Despite their downtrodden past (vist the chilling KGB museum for a taste of what tens of thousands of people had to endure) the lithuanians have emerged from the old days with a cheery disposition and a real willingness to embrace Europe.

Between the cathedral and the bell-tower you will find an in scribed plaque (superstition forbids giving the exact location) where the human chain between Vilnius and Tallinn (Estonia) started as a protest against Communist occupation. In 1991 several Lithuanians were killed when Russian troops stormed the T.V tower. This was the nail in the coffin for the Communists, and shortly after all three Baltic states declared independence.

Along with many other European countries during the second world war, the Jewish population of lithuania suffered horrendous losses, and here 95% of jews were sent to their deaths, some 200,000 people. Despite this, there is now a small but vibrant Jewish community here with various sites which will be of interest to all, irrespective of faith. There is also a Holocaust Museum and a spine chilling "mass murder site". Sobering stuff.

Once you have taken in some of the sites, and you will need comfortable shoes for this city, choose any of the pavement cafes for a beer and delicious "beer snack" which is usually something like toasted sticks smothered in melted cheese....gorgeous!

There is a museum, church, or gallery in practically every street in the old town, and if you want to really want to get beneath the skin of this beautiful city you will have to return again and again.

---