Culture is a hard concept to describe...it involves every part of one's existence from the country they were born in, to their values, to their appearance and to their form of dress. I personally can describe my culture as something that is a form of thinking, what one was brought up as. I am Lithuanian (Eastern European) and value this dearly, it is a culture of many things; of potatoes and pork, of large heavy wool and linen folk costumes, of rainy weather, of flat farmlands, of vodka and good beer, a mix of Christinity (and religiousness), of highly valued post-secondary [View Full Entry]

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Today saw us up and out of Klaipeda and off on the bus to Vilinius (the capital of Lithuania). The first thing that we had to do before we could leave Klaipeda was to take a photograph us all of the card carrying members of the Olympic Casino. :) The weather deteoriated as we got closer to Vilnius until it was raining pretty constantly when we were getting off the bus. This gave me a bit of a dilemma. What was I going to do with Pugsy. He has a bag to ride in, but the bag is pretty full with [View Full Entry]

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Day 10-11 (May 12-13) Moving time again and now it was a trip up north 2 hours by local train to stay in the Aukštaitija national park. We were collected at the station and driven to our local host families home where we were staying (they move out into a little cottage next door while we were there). The family speak little English but were so welcoming that we soon felt right at home. We had a room with window and balcony overlooking the lake. The national park was proclaimed with the villages still to remain inside it, as part of [View Full Entry]

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Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe. ~Anatole France May 11, 2009, Monday, Trakai to Vilnius, Lithuania, “A Problem Day… Somedays are just not easy”, or “The Day Kel almost lost it”. As the rain came down, we parked and rushed to the bus, but we didn’t have the correct amount. (Why would the price change from yesterday?) Maureen rummaged through her purse and paid the additional amount, we took a seat. Ten minutes later, Maureen can’t find her wallet? PANIC sets-i [View Full Entry]

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Day 8-9 (May 10-11) A four hour journey by local bus took us from Klaipeda to Vilnius the capital of Lithuania. Vilnius is a place with many churches and preserved buildings. It has one of the oldest universities (1500’s). The next day we visited the old capital at Trakai about an hour away, and it’s feudal castle and museum surrounded by a lake. Rather amused by the three dimensional picture of a royal speaking from one of the rooms. My room-mate and I found a great place by the river for a leisurely lunch of local fare - a zeppelin. This [View Full Entry]

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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 manufact [View Full Entry]

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April 2, 2009 We are back in Vilnius. Our first class train ride was wonderful. There are several differences to first and second class. Both compartments were structurally the same with the exception of the first having only 2 beds. These were fully made up with mattress pad, fresh sheets (grey stripped), freshly covered duvet and pillow - all covered over with a spread. There was also the requisite towel. There was a TV for video viewing. They showed a Leonardo DiCaprio film in Lithuanian. You have no need to go to the dining car as your dinner and breakfast are [View Full Entry]

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This year Lithuania celebrates the 1000 year anniversary for the mentioning of its name. The first time Lithuania was mentioned was in 1009 in the Saxonicae Annales Quedlinburgenses, where apparently a Saxon missionary named Bruno of Querfurt was struck in the head after trying to baptise the people living in Lithuania. The year of 2009 is therefore perfect for Lithuanian capital Vilnius to be the European Cultural Capital, though this has not been a success story until now. One might actually draw comparisons between the old and bloody recordings of Saint Bruno and the rather scandalous b [View Full Entry]

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In the morning of Wednesday it was raining pretty hard so we had a late start. First, we went to visit where I (Denis) grew up until we left for US (17 years ago). It was quite amazing how little the neighborhood changed since that time. The changes that are noticeable are mostly not very good ones. The central doors to the complexes used to stay open all the time, they did not have any locks in them. Now, key or number combination locks. Pretty much all lower floor balconies are fenced up. A lot more graffiti is visible around (actually [View Full Entry]

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Do you know the supposedly American expression of "a good burn", often used by the character Michael Kelso in "That 70's show"? Well in Lithuania they really like a good burn. Having lived in Vilnius for a little more than two months, I have become quite accustumed to the Lithuanian version of a good burn. I live in an apartment block between Neris and the old town, and in the driveway into the yard we previously had several large plastic containers for garbage use. But one morning coming down the stairs, my colleague and I noticed that the containers were no [View Full Entry]

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