I was getting my manicure with Natalie... she does amazing work by the way - the most thorough and painstaking manicure I have ever had! She speaks some English, so I always look forward to our time as I try to get her to explain various things that I don't understand.
I asked her about when school was starting and she said September 1st. I was a bit surprised as this was a Saturday. She explained that school always started on September 1st regardless. The kids would really only attend for a couple of hours, getting their class materials and meeting teachers etc. But because this was a Saturday this year, this meant that there would be NO ALCOHOL of any kind sold anywhere in Lithuania that day!! I was naturally confused, thinking I was misunderstanding her. Remember this is a country where alcohol can be purchased everywhere and drinking is a national past time. When asked to elaborate she reiterated, no alcohol would be sold anywhere....not in the supermarkets, kiosks, restaurants or bars. If someone had a private function, such as a wedding booked, they had to have all the alcohol purchased in advance as there would be none available for purchase on September 1!!!!!
Why were they doing this, I ask. Apparently, some of the students make this day into a celebration and take it too far! Therefore they wanted to ensure that none of them get that drunk this year.
Not sure how to take all this as it seems like a taking a fly swatter to an elephant, but what the heck...
I told Tom and he didn't believe it either until he found a front page article about it in the Baltic Times. It will be funny to watch the reactions of the some of the expats on Saturday when they can't order a beer with dinner!!!!!
In the meantime, I am off to the local Maxima store to stock up....................IKI.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
When a walk in the park becomes a visit to a Soviet missile silo!
SO lets have a picnic say I......Tom is finally going to have an afternoon off so I pack up some chicken sandwiches and some of the excellent cheeses and sausages we have on hand. The plan is to head out to Pilatelai area. Pictures of the some of the general region are shown on my entry about the trip to the yacht club with Cheryl. Tom had driven through the area before I had arrived but had never had the time to really explore.
So off we go.
We arrived in Pilatelai, which is really just the town in the middle of this big regional park area.
As I had only explored it the one other time, all I knew to do was to head down to the yacht club.
Tom was less than thrilled with this as it quickly became very apparent that the place was clogged with all the Lithuanians who had escaped their lakeless towns and cities. The one curiosity at the yacht club though was the scuba rental shop. We watched some of the diving and it didn't look all that safe with divers surfacing right in the line of row boats coming in.
We chose to try an alternate way into the area and found a parking lot on the hill that was at the nature walk trail head. Taking the path, we saw the usual sights...lots of pretty wild flowers, berries and mushrooms, a variety of deciduous and coniferous trees, and the lake shore where Tom hoped to find a spot from which he could fly fish.
Unfortunately we could not really find a suitable place for the latter that would not have entailed wading out quite a ways from the shoreline and he had not brought any suitable footwear for this.
We did find this interesting carved fellow along the route....looks a bit like a troll atop an elephant!
Tom was intrigued with the anthills that they had surrounded with fencing throughout the park in order to 'preserve'. We are not sure why they were being protected in this manner.
Finishing the loop on which we did not meet many people ( they were all down at the beach) we sat in the ruins of some old fortification overlooking the lakes and had our picnic lunch.
Where to next? Well lets go explore further up the road.
We had read about a couple of old interesting churches in villages near by. Unfortunately , they were closed even though it was a Sunday. I guess you have to be on time for mass, and we certainly weren't.
Tom had heard about a military exhibition that was supposedly near by. We found the cut off and followed it down a dirt road until we came to signs that pointed to the exhibit. This was a former USSR MISSILE SILO BASE.....unused now of course, except to serve as a reminder to the Lithuanians about their not so distant past.
I found this link that explains the exhibition and former site better than anything I could write,
http://www.liw.lt/archive_vid.php?shid=1141920046&id=1141919774
I can say though that it was very eerie experience, one that not many people can say they have had. The pictures don't really tell the whole story so please look at the link above as well.
The tour itself was in Lithuanian, but even without understanding what was being explained, we still could feel the impact this had on the group and got some of the general gist.
We started the tour on the outside and noted the 4 rusting domes sticking up from the ground which had housed the missiles. We then proceeded to go inside the bunker which led to soldiers quarters, training rooms and the actual silos.
Note the diagram identifying various military aircraft : bottom left is Canada.
This tour would not happen in North America in this format. If you followed the link I provided about the site, he mentions that the similar American facility has recently been purchased with the intention of making it a tourist attraction as well. What will be different I am sure, is the WAY in which it is presented. On this tour we went roaming around very poorly lit tunnels and climbed up into the silo on our hands and knees. Getting out was of the silo was very difficult for some of the women and even for the older men. No one thought twice about it though and seemed to accept that this was all part of the tour and you took it at your own risk. In the USA, liability issues would ensure that the no one could be injured. By default, this would mean altering the site and this would strip away some of the intensity and realism.
Once finished with the exhibit, we went on another hike which basically was the perimeter of the base. We came across what appeared to be a former bunker.
So this day had turned out to be a great walk out in the Lithuanian countryside. Just to cap it off, so to speak, here is a nice photo Tom took of a 'natural' hair ornament. IKI!!
So off we go.
We arrived in Pilatelai, which is really just the town in the middle of this big regional park area.
As I had only explored it the one other time, all I knew to do was to head down to the yacht club.
Tom was less than thrilled with this as it quickly became very apparent that the place was clogged with all the Lithuanians who had escaped their lakeless towns and cities. The one curiosity at the yacht club though was the scuba rental shop. We watched some of the diving and it didn't look all that safe with divers surfacing right in the line of row boats coming in.
We chose to try an alternate way into the area and found a parking lot on the hill that was at the nature walk trail head. Taking the path, we saw the usual sights...lots of pretty wild flowers, berries and mushrooms, a variety of deciduous and coniferous trees, and the lake shore where Tom hoped to find a spot from which he could fly fish.
Unfortunately we could not really find a suitable place for the latter that would not have entailed wading out quite a ways from the shoreline and he had not brought any suitable footwear for this.
We did find this interesting carved fellow along the route....looks a bit like a troll atop an elephant!
Tom was intrigued with the anthills that they had surrounded with fencing throughout the park in order to 'preserve'. We are not sure why they were being protected in this manner.
Finishing the loop on which we did not meet many people ( they were all down at the beach) we sat in the ruins of some old fortification overlooking the lakes and had our picnic lunch.
Where to next? Well lets go explore further up the road.
We had read about a couple of old interesting churches in villages near by. Unfortunately , they were closed even though it was a Sunday. I guess you have to be on time for mass, and we certainly weren't.Tom had heard about a military exhibition that was supposedly near by. We found the cut off and followed it down a dirt road until we came to signs that pointed to the exhibit. This was a former USSR MISSILE SILO BASE.....unused now of course, except to serve as a reminder to the Lithuanians about their not so distant past.
I found this link that explains the exhibition and former site better than anything I could write,
http://www.liw.lt/archive_vid.php?shid=1141920046&id=1141919774
I can say though that it was very eerie experience, one that not many people can say they have had. The pictures don't really tell the whole story so please look at the link above as well.
The tour itself was in Lithuanian, but even without understanding what was being explained, we still could feel the impact this had on the group and got some of the general gist.
We started the tour on the outside and noted the 4 rusting domes sticking up from the ground which had housed the missiles. We then proceeded to go inside the bunker which led to soldiers quarters, training rooms and the actual silos.Note the diagram identifying various military aircraft : bottom left is Canada.
This tour would not happen in North America in this format. If you followed the link I provided about the site, he mentions that the similar American facility has recently been purchased with the intention of making it a tourist attraction as well. What will be different I am sure, is the WAY in which it is presented. On this tour we went roaming around very poorly lit tunnels and climbed up into the silo on our hands and knees. Getting out was of the silo was very difficult for some of the women and even for the older men. No one thought twice about it though and seemed to accept that this was all part of the tour and you took it at your own risk. In the USA, liability issues would ensure that the no one could be injured. By default, this would mean altering the site and this would strip away some of the intensity and realism.
Once finished with the exhibit, we went on another hike which basically was the perimeter of the base. We came across what appeared to be a former bunker.
So this day had turned out to be a great walk out in the Lithuanian countryside. Just to cap it off, so to speak, here is a nice photo Tom took of a 'natural' hair ornament. IKI!!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
A Hash...but not really...in Vilnius
SO as the good Harrierette that I am, I checked out the HASH website for Vilnius. Small website and not too much info, so I contacted the website master who promised to put me on the mailing list should any events be upcoming. Usually their runs were every other Sunday, but were even sparser in the summer months as people took off for other places. For the Vilnius Hash House Harriers check out this : http://www.vilniushhh.blogspot.com/
Although it occurs to me that you may not know what the Hash is so...check out a superior website ( aka the Calgary one) here: http://onon.org/asm/
Wednesday, Aug 15 was the feast of the Assumption of the the Blessed Virgin... a big day in the the Catholic calendar and as such one of the big holidays in Lithuania and much of Europe. The VHHH was therefore planning a special midweek run for that date and I thought this would be a good opportunity to go and at the same time check out the capital city of LT. As Tom and the the rest of the American crew had every intention of working on this holiday, I convinced Cheryl that Hashing would be a friendly and fun way to meet some people in Vilnius.
As Vilnius is about 320 Km away from Vilnius, this would mean an over nighter if we wanted to sight- see, SHOP and make the HASH. We therefore planned to make the most of the trip and scheduled 2 nights stay, arriving Tuesday and coming home some time on Thursday.
Vilnius is the largest city in LT and has a population around 700,000. It has endured many occupiers.....we were told that one of the main streets ( Gedeminas as shown below) has been renamed at
least 10 times, depending on the current invader ( Poland, Russia, Germany) and who was in favour in the ruling party( Lenin, Stalin, etc)..
We managed to find our way easily enough to Vilnius despite some adventures - a car fuel gauge that read empty but was full and a worrisome check engine light, the lack of of clear road and street signage and general navigational incompetence on my part. Actually the largest challenge to driving in Lithuania is dealing with the truly insane driving mentality of the Lithuanians. I can't tell you the number of times we had to pull over to the shoulder to avoid a head on with an idiot passing in the other lane. Apparently this country has the highest traffic accident rate of Europe and I can well believe it.
So arriving in Vilnius about 5:30 we found our way to the hotel I had booked, the Mabre Residence Inn. As we drove into the courtyard of this 4 star hotel tucked into a corner of old town, we were delighted with its appearance. However, once inside we were greeted with the usual stern reserve of the desk manager and and then a bit of disappointment when we saw our room. I had asked for 2 double beds but were told there were only singles. Well this was a tiny room with 2 tiny twin beds...nothing very special in terms of history or style, and Cheryl was extremely disappointed in the lack of air conditioning. The one thing that made it interesting though was the picture over the bed.
Hotel Art
Check this guy out! who has ever seen art like this in a hotel room? Usually you get the calming scenery type or at least abstract colours, but this guy was out of a nightmare. All in all, I didn't feel it was that bad as a place to sleep and as breakfast was included and it was very close to all the action, I thought it would do fine.
We went out in search of dinner and to get our bearings for the next day. It didn't take us long to find Pilies g. which is one of the 2 main avenues in Old town...the other being Gedemenas as mentioned above. Pilies is thought to be the oldest, dating back to 1320 or so and has most of the linen, amber and outdoor cafes. Situated right next to the university it is also alive with young folks as well as a constant barrage of tourists from around Europe. I get the sense that rest of the continent has discovered that the Baltic is very accessible, beautiful and relatively inexpensive!
Pilies Street
The next day we shopped for linen and amber...I bought a knit linen dress, and 2 capes all for about 300 LT which is about $12o....This was really a great deal so I was basking in the glow of retail therapy all day!
we wandered around looking at old churches and famous poets residences etc. and then sat down for a late lunch in a cafe right on the street. This is was a "movie" moment ....just what you always expect Europe to be like according to Hollywood.
Top- view of Pilies street from town hall square, which is below. Right- Presidential Palace
Back to the hotel for Cheryl to have a nap and get ready for the HASH. Being a hashing virgin, she did not know what to expect and I tried to reassure her, but in truth I wasn't sure what sort of hash this would be as little info was available on their blog/website.
We had been told to show up at the Curiolonus street entrance toe Vingus park at 7:30 and that this would be a slightly different than normal hash which would eventually end up at Nightingale pub ( inside the park).
We decided to take a Taksi rather than drive so arrived shortly after 7. Looking anxiously around I accosted anyone who looked at all like a runner and asked if they were part of the VHHH. Most looked at me oddly ...probably thinking I was looking for some hashish!
Finally at 7:30 a girl pulled up on a bike and yes, she was Needles, the hare for tonight's hash. She was not hopeful about who else would show up though as she felt most people were out of town for this holiday. We waited for another 15 minutes and only 1 other Hasher arrived, TheLastVirgin ( Liliana) .This was perfect as she was a walker and could accompany Cheryl while Needles and I ran. As promised this was not a usual trail...the plan was to toss a coin at each path junction - left for heads and right for tails. keep doing this for about 20 minutes and then head towards the pub for drinks.
Strange but it worked ok...it was a hot and humid evening so the running was a bit tough...but since the alternative was to stand still and get eaten by mosquitoes, I ran ( for those who have seen me run, this is more of a fast walk!) At the end of our 20 minutes we headed for the outdoor pub and met up with the other 2 and ordered some much needed beer. Cheryl was delighted to hear the performer playing country western music ( badly).
Needles is late 20ish and from the Midlands, UK. She has been living and working in Vilnius for the past 2 years in an art gallery/ museum and has the job of interacting with new artists around Europe. She told me that she has not managed to learn much of the LT language except for some things related to work, but can speak good 'cafe' so can eat well!. However she also speaks a smattering of at least 5 other languages so I think she is being modest.
Interestingly, she has been to Canada and her big ambition is to move to Vancouver as she thinks it would best suit her lifestyle.
Needles said that the VHHH usually runs on alternate Sundays and has up to 50 possible members, who are more likely to attend in the fall and winter months. The make up is quite transient with an embassy crowd and people on short work permits augmenting the locals. Apparently there are a couple of very good runners ( marines from the US embassy) and the past Hash Master was the British Consul.
The other hasher who came to this, Liliana, is 50 ish and works for the Ministry of Transportation and Communication ( not very high up she says). Her husband is a retired construction engineer who is very well known in Vilnius for having built many of the bigger buildings and sport facilities during the 70s and 80s... all which have that distinctive Russian block style.
Liliana was just a lovely woman and kindly offered to help sort out the problem with our car with her son...she also urged us to meet her the next day for a quick tour of the city. She shared a ride back to our hotel in a Taksi and spoke to the driver about our car troubles to get his advice. Back at the hotel she and the driver also spoke to the doorman about is and they all had a little committee meeting and decided that it really wasn't our problem as it was a rental car. Somehow the fact that this was rented in Mazeikiai through a local, not a big car rental agency, did not translate so this got us no where and we privately decided that we would just take our chances driving home the next day and call the guys in Mazeikiai if the car stopped totally.
We did agree to call Liliana the next day though before we left. SO after a leisurely breakfast and packing up, we met Liliana at the cathedral square as arranged. She was taking an hour off from work to do this tour as she already had a standing lunch appointment, so we were very appreciative of the attention.
Unfortunately though we opted to drive and this meant negotiating Vilnius traffic, traffic circles and tourist bus clogged parking lots. As a result much of the hour was spent driving in circles looking for a parking lot and then trying to get into it.
St Peter and St Paul Cathedral
We finally did arrive at the first destination...the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul ( there is one in every major centre it seems!). The pictures speak for themselves as to the incredible art work in this place...
Liliana filled in some historical info and local folklore...the most interesting piece being this statue below that they appears to have a wig on...they say that the hair is growing!!!
After this she took us to multi story mall which offered a view of the skyline where we were able to take some more photos...again lots of church steeples.
Liliana went back to work and Cheryl and I stopped to check out the Vilnius Opera and Ballet Centre. Strangely, this was the one place in the city where no one spoke english and so we took a brochure to check out on line later.
National Drama Theatre on Gedeminas Street
National Opera and Ballet Centre
We then headed back to Mazeikiai and fortunately did not have any car problems enroute. We stopped once for propane ( dujos) and tried to get a bite to eat in the restaurant. However, there does not seem to be an option of a simple sandwich in most of these places......just full meals or more of the fried bread type of snacks. We decided to grab an ice cream instead and keep driving.
And so back to our respective apartments. I have to confess a certain amount of depression in leaving Vilnius...it is so nice there and so much more to do and see.... Both Cheryl and I felt this quite strongly the next day. However, there will be more little trips such as this. Tom and I are hoping to go to Riga for the opera and I know Cheryl wants us to go to Prague in the fall. SO more adventures to follow.
ON ON and IKI!
Although it occurs to me that you may not know what the Hash is so...check out a superior website ( aka the Calgary one) here: http://onon.org/asm/
Wednesday, Aug 15 was the feast of the Assumption of the the Blessed Virgin... a big day in the the Catholic calendar and as such one of the big holidays in Lithuania and much of Europe. The VHHH was therefore planning a special midweek run for that date and I thought this would be a good opportunity to go and at the same time check out the capital city of LT. As Tom and the the rest of the American crew had every intention of working on this holiday, I convinced Cheryl that Hashing would be a friendly and fun way to meet some people in Vilnius.
As Vilnius is about 320 Km away from Vilnius, this would mean an over nighter if we wanted to sight- see, SHOP and make the HASH. We therefore planned to make the most of the trip and scheduled 2 nights stay, arriving Tuesday and coming home some time on Thursday.
Vilnius is the largest city in LT and has a population around 700,000. It has endured many occupiers.....we were told that one of the main streets ( Gedeminas as shown below) has been renamed at
least 10 times, depending on the current invader ( Poland, Russia, Germany) and who was in favour in the ruling party( Lenin, Stalin, etc)..We managed to find our way easily enough to Vilnius despite some adventures - a car fuel gauge that read empty but was full and a worrisome check engine light, the lack of of clear road and street signage and general navigational incompetence on my part. Actually the largest challenge to driving in Lithuania is dealing with the truly insane driving mentality of the Lithuanians. I can't tell you the number of times we had to pull over to the shoulder to avoid a head on with an idiot passing in the other lane. Apparently this country has the highest traffic accident rate of Europe and I can well believe it.
So arriving in Vilnius about 5:30 we found our way to the hotel I had booked, the Mabre Residence Inn. As we drove into the courtyard of this 4 star hotel tucked into a corner of old town, we were delighted with its appearance. However, once inside we were greeted with the usual stern reserve of the desk manager and and then a bit of disappointment when we saw our room. I had asked for 2 double beds but were told there were only singles. Well this was a tiny room with 2 tiny twin beds...nothing very special in terms of history or style, and Cheryl was extremely disappointed in the lack of air conditioning. The one thing that made it interesting though was the picture over the bed.
Hotel Art
Check this guy out! who has ever seen art like this in a hotel room? Usually you get the calming scenery type or at least abstract colours, but this guy was out of a nightmare. All in all, I didn't feel it was that bad as a place to sleep and as breakfast was included and it was very close to all the action, I thought it would do fine.
We went out in search of dinner and to get our bearings for the next day. It didn't take us long to find Pilies g. which is one of the 2 main avenues in Old town...the other being Gedemenas as mentioned above. Pilies is thought to be the oldest, dating back to 1320 or so and has most of the linen, amber and outdoor cafes. Situated right next to the university it is also alive with young folks as well as a constant barrage of tourists from around Europe. I get the sense that rest of the continent has discovered that the Baltic is very accessible, beautiful and relatively inexpensive!
Pilies Street
The next day we shopped for linen and amber...I bought a knit linen dress, and 2 capes all for about 300 LT which is about $12o....This was really a great deal so I was basking in the glow of retail therapy all day!
we wandered around looking at old churches and famous poets residences etc. and then sat down for a late lunch in a cafe right on the street. This is was a "movie" moment ....just what you always expect Europe to be like according to Hollywood.
Top- view of Pilies street from town hall square, which is below. Right- Presidential Palace
Back to the hotel for Cheryl to have a nap and get ready for the HASH. Being a hashing virgin, she did not know what to expect and I tried to reassure her, but in truth I wasn't sure what sort of hash this would be as little info was available on their blog/website.
We had been told to show up at the Curiolonus street entrance toe Vingus park at 7:30 and that this would be a slightly different than normal hash which would eventually end up at Nightingale pub ( inside the park).
We decided to take a Taksi rather than drive so arrived shortly after 7. Looking anxiously around I accosted anyone who looked at all like a runner and asked if they were part of the VHHH. Most looked at me oddly ...probably thinking I was looking for some hashish!
Finally at 7:30 a girl pulled up on a bike and yes, she was Needles, the hare for tonight's hash. She was not hopeful about who else would show up though as she felt most people were out of town for this holiday. We waited for another 15 minutes and only 1 other Hasher arrived, TheLastVirgin ( Liliana) .This was perfect as she was a walker and could accompany Cheryl while Needles and I ran. As promised this was not a usual trail...the plan was to toss a coin at each path junction - left for heads and right for tails. keep doing this for about 20 minutes and then head towards the pub for drinks.
Strange but it worked ok...it was a hot and humid evening so the running was a bit tough...but since the alternative was to stand still and get eaten by mosquitoes, I ran ( for those who have seen me run, this is more of a fast walk!) At the end of our 20 minutes we headed for the outdoor pub and met up with the other 2 and ordered some much needed beer. Cheryl was delighted to hear the performer playing country western music ( badly).
Needles is late 20ish and from the Midlands, UK. She has been living and working in Vilnius for the past 2 years in an art gallery/ museum and has the job of interacting with new artists around Europe. She told me that she has not managed to learn much of the LT language except for some things related to work, but can speak good 'cafe' so can eat well!. However she also speaks a smattering of at least 5 other languages so I think she is being modest.
Interestingly, she has been to Canada and her big ambition is to move to Vancouver as she thinks it would best suit her lifestyle.
Needles said that the VHHH usually runs on alternate Sundays and has up to 50 possible members, who are more likely to attend in the fall and winter months. The make up is quite transient with an embassy crowd and people on short work permits augmenting the locals. Apparently there are a couple of very good runners ( marines from the US embassy) and the past Hash Master was the British Consul.
The other hasher who came to this, Liliana, is 50 ish and works for the Ministry of Transportation and Communication ( not very high up she says). Her husband is a retired construction engineer who is very well known in Vilnius for having built many of the bigger buildings and sport facilities during the 70s and 80s... all which have that distinctive Russian block style.
Liliana was just a lovely woman and kindly offered to help sort out the problem with our car with her son...she also urged us to meet her the next day for a quick tour of the city. She shared a ride back to our hotel in a Taksi and spoke to the driver about our car troubles to get his advice. Back at the hotel she and the driver also spoke to the doorman about is and they all had a little committee meeting and decided that it really wasn't our problem as it was a rental car. Somehow the fact that this was rented in Mazeikiai through a local, not a big car rental agency, did not translate so this got us no where and we privately decided that we would just take our chances driving home the next day and call the guys in Mazeikiai if the car stopped totally.
We did agree to call Liliana the next day though before we left. SO after a leisurely breakfast and packing up, we met Liliana at the cathedral square as arranged. She was taking an hour off from work to do this tour as she already had a standing lunch appointment, so we were very appreciative of the attention.
Unfortunately though we opted to drive and this meant negotiating Vilnius traffic, traffic circles and tourist bus clogged parking lots. As a result much of the hour was spent driving in circles looking for a parking lot and then trying to get into it.
St Peter and St Paul CathedralWe finally did arrive at the first destination...the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul ( there is one in every major centre it seems!). The pictures speak for themselves as to the incredible art work in this place...
Liliana filled in some historical info and local folklore...the most interesting piece being this statue below that they appears to have a wig on...they say that the hair is growing!!!
After this she took us to multi story mall which offered a view of the skyline where we were able to take some more photos...again lots of church steeples.
Liliana went back to work and Cheryl and I stopped to check out the Vilnius Opera and Ballet Centre. Strangely, this was the one place in the city where no one spoke english and so we took a brochure to check out on line later.
National Drama Theatre on Gedeminas Street
National Opera and Ballet CentreWe then headed back to Mazeikiai and fortunately did not have any car problems enroute. We stopped once for propane ( dujos) and tried to get a bite to eat in the restaurant. However, there does not seem to be an option of a simple sandwich in most of these places......just full meals or more of the fried bread type of snacks. We decided to grab an ice cream instead and keep driving.
And so back to our respective apartments. I have to confess a certain amount of depression in leaving Vilnius...it is so nice there and so much more to do and see.... Both Cheryl and I felt this quite strongly the next day. However, there will be more little trips such as this. Tom and I are hoping to go to Riga for the opera and I know Cheryl wants us to go to Prague in the fall. SO more adventures to follow.
ON ON and IKI!
Friday, August 10, 2007
Klaipeda opera night
During one of our previous trips to Klaipeda we had discovered the Klaipedos ValstybinisMuzinkiis Teatras and purchased tickets to the Moonlight Sonata aboard the Musical Ferry ( see a previous post) We also bought tickets for the opera, Don Zuanas (Don Giovanni).. So on August 9th, I met Tom out at the Mazieikiai Nafta plant about 5:30 pm and started out on the 120 Km drive. The weather was extremely hot that day, so Tom had the 240 air conditioner going (2 open windows while driving 120!)
I was worried ( cause that is what i do best) about getting to the theatre in enough time to park, get seated, etc. Well my worry was unfounded. We breezed through town with no traffic snarls, and drove right into a nearly empty parking and free (!!!!!) parking lot right next to the theatre. Looking around I was a bit bemused by the fact that it was approximately 30 minutes before the start of the opera but no one was around. Going inside we found we among the first to arrive and in fact the performers and musicians were still arriving.
We had time therefore to look around this small theatre. It boasted numerous photos of various visiting "star" ballet performers, but oddly no pictures of the musicians or previous operatic productions.
We were greeted immediately by 2 young girls handing out what they referred to as 'lottery' forms for us to complete. We still are not clear what the prize is or when the draw is, but we complied with their request as it was free! I had of course worried about what one wears to the opera in Klaipeda. I opted for a simple black dress, heels and a shawl. For the first time in Lithuania, I felt that I was a bit overdressed, as these girls were in jeans and many of the arriving patrons were dressed fairly casually. In hindsight, I think this is more a reflection of Klaipeda attitudes ...it is not what we would see at an opera in Vilnius I think, but we will find out I am sure sometime later in the fall.
While having a glass of wine we watched the crowd arrive. In trooped about 20 naval cadets accompanied by an officer. The cadets were very respectful and were careful to never crowd in front of line ups ,etc.,despite their youth.
When we received the 5 minute warning and went in to find our seats, these cadets waited until everyone else was seated prior to taking their own seats at the back of the hall. The officer sat with some other companions near the front with us.
Unfortunately no pictures today to show so I must try to describe the venue. It was a very small intimate theatre which would likely hold at the max about 300 people. In attendance tough fro this performance was about 75. So obviously it was a sparse crowd with lots of seating available. We noticed that people hung back to the last and then filled in the seats at the front. So even though we had purchased very good seats at the front, those coming in at the last were able to sit right in front of us. ( We changed at intermission!)
There was nothing ornate about this theatre and it had standard red velvet curtains etc. So we did not know what to expect. The orchestra started warming up and then played the opening.
The curtains rose to a very minimalist set.But from that moment on I was captivated. This has to go down as one of my favourite opera performances. One of the female leads, Dona Ana, played by Asmik Grigorian was extremely good. She easily outshone and out sang everyone else, despite being quite a bit younger. However, what the some of the others may have lacked in voice they made up for in their acting ability.
This opera was performed in Lithuanian, though did retain some of the Italian words. Another refreshing aspect was that in casting the parts , they made very believable choices. For a change you could truly believe that this guy had the testosterone to be a Don Juan! I checked Asmik Grigorian out on Google later and found that she is a very respected up and coming singer who has performed in England as well as the other Baltic operas and in Russia. You can listen to her singing on YOUTUBE if you google her.
After the performance, back in the lobby, we watched as all the cadets lined up under the direction of the officer. He then gave them a command and they in unison hollered out "Aciu!"(pronounced just like the sneeze) which means Thank You!
This little adventure has whet our appetite for more...I am sure that some of the larger operas houses will have even more spectacular performances as they have such a wealth of talent from which to choose. SO...I have started to look into Riga and Vilnius productions....but who knows...maybe even Prague or farther afield.
IKI!
I was worried ( cause that is what i do best) about getting to the theatre in enough time to park, get seated, etc. Well my worry was unfounded. We breezed through town with no traffic snarls, and drove right into a nearly empty parking and free (!!!!!) parking lot right next to the theatre. Looking around I was a bit bemused by the fact that it was approximately 30 minutes before the start of the opera but no one was around. Going inside we found we among the first to arrive and in fact the performers and musicians were still arriving.
We had time therefore to look around this small theatre. It boasted numerous photos of various visiting "star" ballet performers, but oddly no pictures of the musicians or previous operatic productions.
We were greeted immediately by 2 young girls handing out what they referred to as 'lottery' forms for us to complete. We still are not clear what the prize is or when the draw is, but we complied with their request as it was free! I had of course worried about what one wears to the opera in Klaipeda. I opted for a simple black dress, heels and a shawl. For the first time in Lithuania, I felt that I was a bit overdressed, as these girls were in jeans and many of the arriving patrons were dressed fairly casually. In hindsight, I think this is more a reflection of Klaipeda attitudes ...it is not what we would see at an opera in Vilnius I think, but we will find out I am sure sometime later in the fall.
While having a glass of wine we watched the crowd arrive. In trooped about 20 naval cadets accompanied by an officer. The cadets were very respectful and were careful to never crowd in front of line ups ,etc.,despite their youth.
When we received the 5 minute warning and went in to find our seats, these cadets waited until everyone else was seated prior to taking their own seats at the back of the hall. The officer sat with some other companions near the front with us.
Unfortunately no pictures today to show so I must try to describe the venue. It was a very small intimate theatre which would likely hold at the max about 300 people. In attendance tough fro this performance was about 75. So obviously it was a sparse crowd with lots of seating available. We noticed that people hung back to the last and then filled in the seats at the front. So even though we had purchased very good seats at the front, those coming in at the last were able to sit right in front of us. ( We changed at intermission!)
There was nothing ornate about this theatre and it had standard red velvet curtains etc. So we did not know what to expect. The orchestra started warming up and then played the opening.
The curtains rose to a very minimalist set.But from that moment on I was captivated. This has to go down as one of my favourite opera performances. One of the female leads, Dona Ana, played by Asmik Grigorian was extremely good. She easily outshone and out sang everyone else, despite being quite a bit younger. However, what the some of the others may have lacked in voice they made up for in their acting ability.
This opera was performed in Lithuanian, though did retain some of the Italian words. Another refreshing aspect was that in casting the parts , they made very believable choices. For a change you could truly believe that this guy had the testosterone to be a Don Juan! I checked Asmik Grigorian out on Google later and found that she is a very respected up and coming singer who has performed in England as well as the other Baltic operas and in Russia. You can listen to her singing on YOUTUBE if you google her.
After the performance, back in the lobby, we watched as all the cadets lined up under the direction of the officer. He then gave them a command and they in unison hollered out "Aciu!"(pronounced just like the sneeze) which means Thank You!
This little adventure has whet our appetite for more...I am sure that some of the larger operas houses will have even more spectacular performances as they have such a wealth of talent from which to choose. SO...I have started to look into Riga and Vilnius productions....but who knows...maybe even Prague or farther afield.
IKI!
Monday, August 6, 2007
The Musical Ferry...(or how I spent my weekend on the Baltic)
A couple of weeks ago we happened upon the Klaipeda State Music Theater. After checking out the upcoming slate of events, Tom purchased tickets for Don Giovanni which would be on August 9th, and the Moonlight Sonata on August 4. From what we could make out from the brochure and the vague instructions from the ticket seller, the latter event was to take place at 10:00 pm somewhere near the old Ferry terminal in Klaipeda.
As this was going to be late night affair on a Saturday, we planned to make it an overnighter. We had spotted the Europa Royale hotel in the old city area on our previous trip to Klaipeda, so Tom made reservations for their "spa weekend" special.
In researching the upcoming musical event, we found that this was part of a concert series that took place on a ferryboat that crossed between Klaipeda and Juodkrante. Details were sparse and confusing except for the fact that it would feature a Russian pianist, Sergej Glavatskih. Being female, I fussed of course about what to wear. Would this be on the ferry? Was it enclosed or open to the elements? Dressy or informal? What if it rained? Unfortunately no hints were available that i could find and Tom was not particularly sympathetic to my concerns.
We got to the hotel on Saturday afternoon with just enough time to check in and then hurry off to the spa which was not part of the hotel, but actually several blocks away.
( the picture is from our hotel room window) The promised spa weekend was really only an hour in the the pool and saunas. If you wanted any of the other services you had to book them separately. Regardless of this we still had a very nice and relaxing time as you basically had this all to yourself for the hour.
Walking back through the streets of Klaipeda we mused on the number of parties of young women that we came across that featured at least one gal in a veil or flowers in her hair. Tom alertly called the situation...these were stagettes. Since Megan (my own pride and joy) had hosted one of these herself for her friend Brigetta just a week ago in Calgary, I thought this was interesting. There were several different groups that we came across they were very evident in a smaller uncrowded place like Klaipeda .
We decided to dine in the hotel restaurant as the menu appeared good and the location quiet. The front desk had assured us that there was no need for reservations, so upon entering we were not surprised to find the place virtually empty and the servers standing idle. Oops.... spoke too soon......we should have picked up on the hint that things would not remain that way when the waiter asked if we were part of the German group. Within 15 minutes, in they came ...and they were very loud. And with them came all sorts of other folks and the place was full. As this was very obviously a tourist hotel, it sounded like the the united nations , with multiple languages. It was a great meal as always in Lithuania.....except my advice would be.. don't ask for Caesar salad ......they do not grow romaine lettuce in Lithuania and it is not the same with iceburg.
Ok...I know everyone is dying to know about the main event...The Musical Ferry. The docks were only 2 blocks away so Tom carefully navigated me in my heels over the cobble stones to the docks. The brochure had said something about 8:30 so we assumed that the loading was to start then and the actual concert would be later. However right in the middle of the pathway, I spotted a fairly new grand piano and joked to Tom that this was probably the piano for the concert and they hadn't loaded it yet. Turns out I was right! Upon checking at the ferry, we were met by one of the crew members...a very cute young lady in extremely short shorts, high heels and a sailor's cap, who told us that the ferry did not load until 10 for this particular event. Going back we came across a group of men standing around the piano getting ready to carry it aboard. I offered to help and the leader suggested I hop on! Lucky for him and the movers, I declined!
Ok...having seen the gal in the outfit, I recognized that this was going to be another evening of Lithuanian contrasts..or as Tom would say...from the ridiculous to the sublime!
Having to kill an hour or so, we headed back to the cobblestones and old city.
In our wandering we came across a delightful little area that we had somehow missed previously. From the main street it looked like a doorway, but it opened up into a whole street of outdoor kavas and baras. We sat down for some tea and dessert and were pleasantly surprised to hear Dianna Krall playing on the sounds system. You must understand that in Lithuania, most of the time you hear the heavy thump of techno pop everywhere you go...driving down the street, in the bars, and especially in the supermarkets. I have always thought of myself as fairly eclectic in my musical tastes, but I had always disliked techno pop. But here you are inundated with it. Hence our extreme relief to hear some light jazz (and Canadian at that!)
We wandered back to the ferry at the appropriate time and took our seats ...front row and centre directly in front of the grand piano. Unfortunately these particular seats, though the most expensive at 70 Litas each ( about $28), were hard plastic and made for people not as short as I. Oh well..
The ferry left harbour right on time and the announcer proceeded to give some history of the Curonian spit area. As it was in Lithuanian, we did not understand any of it of course so spent some time people watching. Lots of interesting folks as always..... the crowd was made up of single women of all ages, many families with very young children,and couples, young and old.
Finally the pianist, Sergej, was introduced. Out came this tuxedo ed young man we thought might be 19 or 20 at the most. He played very well technically ... a product of the Russian classical music factory, I thought. At various points he was visibly frustrated with various challenges ..... an appreciative, enthusiastic but uneducated audience who clapped at inappropriate times, a decidedly cool breeze as we headed up the channel, kids running around, the untuned piano that had been recently plopped on board. Still he played with some truly fine moments and obvious fervour. The program contained a variety of the romantics...Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, etc, with my favourite being his performance of a Debussy.
During the intermission they played CDs ...first some Edith Piaf and then some polka type music that got everyone tapping their feet and the little kids bouncing...Suddenly the announcer said something and everyone clapped and ran excitedly to the sides of the boat. We watched amazed as the ferry then proceeded to spin donuts out in the middle of the channel to the beat of the polka! What a hoot!
We debarqued about 12:30 and headed back to the hotel and a night cap. All in all, a very delightful evening.
The next morning, we had a leisurely buffet breakfast and then went out to tour the old town a bit more. We walked through the Turgus and bought some fresh cinnamon rolls and fruit. then back to the amber market where we both made some jewellery purchases from the lady below.
Checkout was noon so we did that and then decided to head up past Palanga and try to find a beach as the weather was perfect. The coast line in this area is pretty much all uninterrupted beach but access is the issue and we did not want to join the huge crowds in the more popular spots and fight the parking mob scene. I think all of Lithuania is either at the sea or their parents' home for dinner on a nice sunny day in the summer and who can blame them.
We spotted one road that we thought must lead down to the beach and sure enough we soon came across a long row of parked cars so knew were in the right spot. Tom lucked out and found a great spot to park in the shade relatively close to the walking path. Being the observant folks we are, we noticed right way that this beach was bit different. First of all the path was a carefully constructed board walk leading down to the beach. Next there were numerous people of all ages and conditions in wheel chairs. On the way in we had passed a large complex and it was my belief that this was a some sort of facility/home for the disabled. Later research confirmed a large number of "sanatoriums" in the region. Obviously families came to visit their loved ones and brought them down to the beach here. All sorts of wheelchairs were seen, many which were easily propelled through the sand and, in some cases, the surf.
This beach was also more family oriented...lots of kids and older folks. Not the "see and be seen" type of bikini beach that you would find closer to Palanga. The sand was very fine but packed smooth and and the beach remarkably clean all along the long shoreline. Though lots of people, it was really not packed by any means, so it was a very enjoyable way to spend a few hours relaxing in the sun. Tom noticed that the folks up in the sand dunes were quite often nude bathers (what a good eye he has !!) A family casting from the shore reeled a flounder as we watched. A few sailboarders were out as well, but mostly it was just people playing in the surf and sand. You could see a big tanker and tug boat far out on the sea.
After realising that Tom probably had exposed his lily white skin too long, we decided to head back to Mazeikiai. By taking the back roads, we found ourselves in a little village called Mosedis that I had remembered reading something about in the guidebook I had inconveniently forgotten at home.
But what was it...we soon figured out it was something to do with rocks as we came across what looked to be glacial erratics. Actually they were part of a the Lithuanian Museum of Rocks that displayed boulders from all over eastern and northern Europe. We are not sure how they got them there. There was an exhibition set up in a converted mill house, but of course all of the information was in Lithuanian. The display continued outside in a beautifully landscaped park area.
Hungry after doing the tour, we sat down had one of the local favourite appetizers - fried bread and beer ... "snacks to beer" as they call it. Not healthy at all but very tasty tidbits of bread, deep fried and coated with garlic.
We had hoped for something more substantial but were told by our waitress (through the kind intervention of the neighboring table who translated for us) that we could not get a meal for over an hour and only light simple appetizers were available. We had run into long waits for meals before and I think it has to do with the careful marinating and slow cooking technique they must use to consistently produce such tender meat dishes. We didn't usually receive a warning in advance though and appreciated it in this instance.
So home again to our little apartment, sunburned and tired but all in all a very nice weekend.
IKI!!
As this was going to be late night affair on a Saturday, we planned to make it an overnighter. We had spotted the Europa Royale hotel in the old city area on our previous trip to Klaipeda, so Tom made reservations for their "spa weekend" special.
In researching the upcoming musical event, we found that this was part of a concert series that took place on a ferryboat that crossed between Klaipeda and Juodkrante. Details were sparse and confusing except for the fact that it would feature a Russian pianist, Sergej Glavatskih. Being female, I fussed of course about what to wear. Would this be on the ferry? Was it enclosed or open to the elements? Dressy or informal? What if it rained? Unfortunately no hints were available that i could find and Tom was not particularly sympathetic to my concerns.
We got to the hotel on Saturday afternoon with just enough time to check in and then hurry off to the spa which was not part of the hotel, but actually several blocks away.
( the picture is from our hotel room window) The promised spa weekend was really only an hour in the the pool and saunas. If you wanted any of the other services you had to book them separately. Regardless of this we still had a very nice and relaxing time as you basically had this all to yourself for the hour.Walking back through the streets of Klaipeda we mused on the number of parties of young women that we came across that featured at least one gal in a veil or flowers in her hair. Tom alertly called the situation...these were stagettes. Since Megan (my own pride and joy) had hosted one of these herself for her friend Brigetta just a week ago in Calgary, I thought this was interesting. There were several different groups that we came across they were very evident in a smaller uncrowded place like Klaipeda .
We decided to dine in the hotel restaurant as the menu appeared good and the location quiet. The front desk had assured us that there was no need for reservations, so upon entering we were not surprised to find the place virtually empty and the servers standing idle. Oops.... spoke too soon......we should have picked up on the hint that things would not remain that way when the waiter asked if we were part of the German group. Within 15 minutes, in they came ...and they were very loud. And with them came all sorts of other folks and the place was full. As this was very obviously a tourist hotel, it sounded like the the united nations , with multiple languages. It was a great meal as always in Lithuania.....except my advice would be.. don't ask for Caesar salad ......they do not grow romaine lettuce in Lithuania and it is not the same with iceburg.
Ok...I know everyone is dying to know about the main event...The Musical Ferry. The docks were only 2 blocks away so Tom carefully navigated me in my heels over the cobble stones to the docks. The brochure had said something about 8:30 so we assumed that the loading was to start then and the actual concert would be later. However right in the middle of the pathway, I spotted a fairly new grand piano and joked to Tom that this was probably the piano for the concert and they hadn't loaded it yet. Turns out I was right! Upon checking at the ferry, we were met by one of the crew members...a very cute young lady in extremely short shorts, high heels and a sailor's cap, who told us that the ferry did not load until 10 for this particular event. Going back we came across a group of men standing around the piano getting ready to carry it aboard. I offered to help and the leader suggested I hop on! Lucky for him and the movers, I declined!
Ok...having seen the gal in the outfit, I recognized that this was going to be another evening of Lithuanian contrasts..or as Tom would say...from the ridiculous to the sublime!
Having to kill an hour or so, we headed back to the cobblestones and old city.
In our wandering we came across a delightful little area that we had somehow missed previously. From the main street it looked like a doorway, but it opened up into a whole street of outdoor kavas and baras. We sat down for some tea and dessert and were pleasantly surprised to hear Dianna Krall playing on the sounds system. You must understand that in Lithuania, most of the time you hear the heavy thump of techno pop everywhere you go...driving down the street, in the bars, and especially in the supermarkets. I have always thought of myself as fairly eclectic in my musical tastes, but I had always disliked techno pop. But here you are inundated with it. Hence our extreme relief to hear some light jazz (and Canadian at that!)We wandered back to the ferry at the appropriate time and took our seats ...front row and centre directly in front of the grand piano. Unfortunately these particular seats, though the most expensive at 70 Litas each ( about $28), were hard plastic and made for people not as short as I. Oh well..
The ferry left harbour right on time and the announcer proceeded to give some history of the Curonian spit area. As it was in Lithuanian, we did not understand any of it of course so spent some time people watching. Lots of interesting folks as always..... the crowd was made up of single women of all ages, many families with very young children,and couples, young and old.
Finally the pianist, Sergej, was introduced. Out came this tuxedo ed young man we thought might be 19 or 20 at the most. He played very well technically ... a product of the Russian classical music factory, I thought. At various points he was visibly frustrated with various challenges ..... an appreciative, enthusiastic but uneducated audience who clapped at inappropriate times, a decidedly cool breeze as we headed up the channel, kids running around, the untuned piano that had been recently plopped on board. Still he played with some truly fine moments and obvious fervour. The program contained a variety of the romantics...Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, etc, with my favourite being his performance of a Debussy.During the intermission they played CDs ...first some Edith Piaf and then some polka type music that got everyone tapping their feet and the little kids bouncing...Suddenly the announcer said something and everyone clapped and ran excitedly to the sides of the boat. We watched amazed as the ferry then proceeded to spin donuts out in the middle of the channel to the beat of the polka! What a hoot!
We debarqued about 12:30 and headed back to the hotel and a night cap. All in all, a very delightful evening.
The next morning, we had a leisurely buffet breakfast and then went out to tour the old town a bit more. We walked through the Turgus and bought some fresh cinnamon rolls and fruit. then back to the amber market where we both made some jewellery purchases from the lady below.
Checkout was noon so we did that and then decided to head up past Palanga and try to find a beach as the weather was perfect. The coast line in this area is pretty much all uninterrupted beach but access is the issue and we did not want to join the huge crowds in the more popular spots and fight the parking mob scene. I think all of Lithuania is either at the sea or their parents' home for dinner on a nice sunny day in the summer and who can blame them.
We spotted one road that we thought must lead down to the beach and sure enough we soon came across a long row of parked cars so knew were in the right spot. Tom lucked out and found a great spot to park in the shade relatively close to the walking path. Being the observant folks we are, we noticed right way that this beach was bit different. First of all the path was a carefully constructed board walk leading down to the beach. Next there were numerous people of all ages and conditions in wheel chairs. On the way in we had passed a large complex and it was my belief that this was a some sort of facility/home for the disabled. Later research confirmed a large number of "sanatoriums" in the region. Obviously families came to visit their loved ones and brought them down to the beach here. All sorts of wheelchairs were seen, many which were easily propelled through the sand and, in some cases, the surf.
This beach was also more family oriented...lots of kids and older folks. Not the "see and be seen" type of bikini beach that you would find closer to Palanga. The sand was very fine but packed smooth and and the beach remarkably clean all along the long shoreline. Though lots of people, it was really not packed by any means, so it was a very enjoyable way to spend a few hours relaxing in the sun. Tom noticed that the folks up in the sand dunes were quite often nude bathers (what a good eye he has !!) A family casting from the shore reeled a flounder as we watched. A few sailboarders were out as well, but mostly it was just people playing in the surf and sand. You could see a big tanker and tug boat far out on the sea.
After realising that Tom probably had exposed his lily white skin too long, we decided to head back to Mazeikiai. By taking the back roads, we found ourselves in a little village called Mosedis that I had remembered reading something about in the guidebook I had inconveniently forgotten at home.
But what was it...we soon figured out it was something to do with rocks as we came across what looked to be glacial erratics. Actually they were part of a the Lithuanian Museum of Rocks that displayed boulders from all over eastern and northern Europe. We are not sure how they got them there. There was an exhibition set up in a converted mill house, but of course all of the information was in Lithuanian. The display continued outside in a beautifully landscaped park area.
Hungry after doing the tour, we sat down had one of the local favourite appetizers - fried bread and beer ... "snacks to beer" as they call it. Not healthy at all but very tasty tidbits of bread, deep fried and coated with garlic.
We had hoped for something more substantial but were told by our waitress (through the kind intervention of the neighboring table who translated for us) that we could not get a meal for over an hour and only light simple appetizers were available. We had run into long waits for meals before and I think it has to do with the careful marinating and slow cooking technique they must use to consistently produce such tender meat dishes. We didn't usually receive a warning in advance though and appreciated it in this instance.So home again to our little apartment, sunburned and tired but all in all a very nice weekend.
IKI!!
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