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[phantym_56]

I am Vilnius'd out. Three days wandering the same small city.

I admit, my first impressions of the place weren't great. But Thursday - I found food, I had a good look around, I saw the view from the hill. I learned to trust the city from Cathedral Square onwards.

Yesterday I filled in a few gaps, ventured off the tourist trail a little bit, began to feel comfortable in the Old Town as well.

Today I have done my shopping. I have bought my obligatory amber. Chose necklaces for mum and sister then remembered the amount of money I'd left hidden in my notebook in case of the unlikely event of getting mugged. 'Excellent,' thought I. 'If I spot some amber I like the look of, I have some money for it.' Unfortunately, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the one I bought for my sister. I had to take my spare money and spend hours trying to choose another one. I wasn't going to buy myself any amber. Rings have to fit perfectly or they're just annoying. Bracelets rattle. And I'm already walking around with three necklaces on. I have my silver dragon which has been around my neck for ten years, give or take five very harrowing days this time last year when it fell under a stage. A chunk of jade that I've been wearing since August. And whenever I travel I wear a gold St Christopher which my grandad gave me for either my 18th or 21st birthday. Can't remember which but it was a significant birthday. They're all different lengths so they don't jangle or get tangled up and I wear them between different layers of clothing anyway.

God knows what to take back for Dad. Another mug? A keyring? And yet... Amber jewellery is a no. He doesn't wear jewellery. He doesn't even have a wedding ring. Never has done. For years I found it odd to see men with wedding rings. So amber, no. I thought about Lithuanian snacks but other than the language on the packet, everything seems much the same as at home. Any suggestions?

So I've had three days here. I don't know if I could truthfully recommend it as a holiday destination but I quite like this city. What I think sticks out here is the little things. Old ladies crossing themselves as they go through the Gates of Dawn. The 'God Dog' cafe (I will show you a picture of the sign when I get home. Until then, I have no way of getting my photos off my card). The 'Laugh :)' graffiti on the side of a building. Puddles in the road so cars splash pedestrians. Cars chirruping when they're remote unlocked (the first time I heard this I stopped dead. That's not a real sound, that's a sound effect! It's illegal in the UK, so Dad tells us every time it happens on TV. Not in Lithuania). Snow. The way they name their days as 'First Day', 'Second Day' etc. Pica (Does not mean small. Much more obvious, at least when you know that 'c' in Lithuanian is pronounced 'ts', as in 'cats'.). The way the belfry is perfectly straight in real life yet leans terrifyingly in photos. The buttons on pelican crossings! There's no button, you just lay your hand on the box and the light comes on. I love it! Teapots embedded in a wall. The Segway party I came across. The unicyclists I didn't have time to take a photo of yesterday. Effeminate statues. Long-handled dusters. Gediminas the Zombie King.

So there are plenty of small things I have enjoyed and been entertained by here. Tomorrow I would love to get the bus to Trakai. Vilnius is lovely but I've run out of things to do here. Bus travel involves being brave and also hoping I still have enough litas for a return ticket.

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Comments

[chamekke.livejournal.com]

Your descriptions are enthralling! I was going to say 'I can hardly wait for the pictures' but your word pictures are really wonderful in and of themselves. And it's actually the everyday differences that are most disarming, don't you think? (When I was in Japan It was the toilets and vending machines and public signage that captivated me.)

Very glad to hear that Vilnius was interesting (if non-touristy) and that you're heading out for greener pastures. What's drawn you to your next destination?

As for a gift for your Dad... what about Lithuanian schnapps, or whatever the national alcoholic speciality may be? Assuming your father isn't a teetoller, of course.

[phantym-56.livejournal.com]

I still find it weird every time I walk past the sign saying Minsk this way. Minsk seems like another world, it's impossible to think it's only a few miles away. There are so many odd, interesting and entertaining things here. I think the time difference is the thing that's thrown me most. It's only two hours but it means things like I've been out for hours and am exhausted and ready to come home for the evening yet it's only early afternoon back home. Or I've been sitting around watching TV and writing up my day but I can't phone home because everyone's still at work.

Well, Trakai is a town in the middle of five lakes and is apparently an easy day trip by bus. The guidebook even suggests making it your base in Lithuania instead of Vilnius. I could get the train to Kaunas, which is the second city but it's an hour and a half away and doesn't look nearly as pretty as Trakai. Not to mention the fact that the station is a fairly huge distance from the city itself.

The thing is, he kind of is. One glass of wine a week and a bottle of beer once in a blue moon. And besides, I'm taking everything as hand luggage and thus am restricted to 100ml of all liquids/gels etc. Even getting it at the airport on the other side of security isn't an option because I have to do it all over again in Brussels.

[chamekke.livejournal.com]

It's a shame about the jet lag. They say it's worse going west-to-east than the reverse ... and from my own experience I think it's true (e.g. going from Canada to the UK is far harder than going from Canada to Japan). I hope the worst of it passes off soon!

Looked up Trakai on the interwebs and wow, does it look attractive. At the very least it should make an interesting day trip. The Karaim museum sounds really intriguing.

I thought of an amber-related gift for your Dad, but I'm not sure... what about a small string of amber worry beads? When I was in Greece, the men there were always playing about with them; it's considered a dignified, manly way of fidgeting. I found recordings on YouTube of men using both the rosary-style one (komboloi) and the string style (begleri). Not that they're actually used by Lithuanians AFAIK, but Lithuania definitely exports them! There are even tutorials for those who want to use them authentically ;-)

[phantym-56.livejournal.com]

I hadn't thought of it as jetlag. It's just vaguely frustrating that the world as I know it is quite a step behind me - and it's only really an issue when I get back in the afternoon. I quite enjoy knowing that I'm awake at 5am 'normal time' Of course, it'll be irritating if I do wake up at 5 on Tuesday...

*sighs* He is difficult. It's like this every birthday and Christmas. To be honest, what I suspect he'd like more than anything is as many local bus and train timetables as I can carry. Men.