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!
1 comment:
Great read Maire. We look forward to your next entry. Be safe.
Henry and D
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