Lithuania

I know I'm really behind on my blog, but after 2 months I'm getting a little lazy. Some days when it's a choice between taking a nap and writing the blog, well... Here's the post on Vilnius. The rest of the Eastern European trip, Krakow and Berlin, should be up by the end of this week.

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The old town of Vilnius has yet another feel from the other two cities. It's a little bigger than the other 2, and also the most cosmopolitan of the three. The main town square is like the Beverly Hills or Madison Avenue of the city with quite a few brand name shops like Salvatore Ferragamo, just housed in old buildings surrounded by lots of cathedrals and churches.

A lot of activities happen at main square. One afternoon there was a concert to show support for Georgia. The banner on the right in the picture reads "Georgia and Lithuania - Friends Always Stand Together"

Another afternoon people were gathered in front of the big TV screen that's been set up for the Olympics to watch and cheer for the Lithuanian athelets.

An interesting thing about Vilnius is the special beer snack section on the menu. The best one is the fried bread sticks - rye bread sticks rubbed with garlic and salt and then deep fried. Garlicky, salty, and deep fried. Need I say more? It is sooo good with beer. Another local favorite is sliced smoked pig ear and pig snout?! For some it''s even better than the bread sticks. We tried it, of course, but I personally think the Chinese version is more flavorful.

For the past month or so, we were really good about not shopping too much. For some reason we found a lot of things to buy in Vilnius. Here's a picture of me sporting my new hat:

Just across the river from old town is an area called Uzupis, known for its bohemian vibe. It's been compared to Montmartre in Paris, but I think it feels more like Berkeley, San Francisco.

People living there declared itself an independent republic with its own quirky 41 point constitution. Some articles in the constitution include:

1. 3 Everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation


2. 6 Everyone has the right to love


3. 12 a dog has the right to be a dog


4. 14 sometimes everyone has the right to be unaware of their duties


5. 24 Everyone has the right to understand nothing


6. 29 No one can share what they do not possess

We found a restaurant in Uzupis with a nice outdoor deck (restaurant Torres) by the river with a view of church spires of old town to enjoy our last night in Vilnius.