“Ok, everyone please point to Vilnius on your maps.”
(Crickets)
“Hmm, ok how about pointing to the Baltic countries.”
(More crickets, and a few Spring Peepers)
“Well then, let’s get out that big map and get everyone going in the right direction! Timmy, show me where the Baltic countries are located please.”
Timmy points to a definitely veiled area in an attempt to hide what he is sure might not be quite the correct answer…. he doesn’t have a clue. He’s thinking Baltic Avenue.
“Congratulations Timmy, you’ve managed to point to the map.”
“But did I pass GO and can I get my $200?”
“Wrong game Timmy, now go and take your seat back in Marvin Gardens,”
Now not only are the crickets and Spring Peepers making noise, but they are joined by the now inordinately loud ticking emanating from the clock on the wall.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
We had a meeting this morning with our now entire Group. The pre-trip to Poland is behind us, and the Main Trip, The Baltic Capitals, has begun. There were three folks that joined us this morning for the rest of the two weeks of the trip. Our Tour Leader, Aida, (the ‘Phil’ of this trip) went over the various points that she wanted to emphasize to us. One of them was that on this trip we will not be visiting Bosnia.
Which is in the Balkans.
Not the Baltic.
Apparently during one of her past initial group meetings some guy asked when they were getting to Bosnia.
Oops! Wrong trip!
You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to!
So, where is Vilnius anyway?
I will confess that I didn’t know!
This part of the world is a mumbo-jumbo of seemingly alike sounding countries that have boundaries that get moved and swapped with reckless abandon at the whims of geopolitical forces that keep mapmakers as busy as they can possibly be, never mind throwing in those other “B” places….. the Balkans! (Yes, that was one sentence and Mrs. Tee, my 7th Grade English teacher, is probably not happy!)
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and I know that you’re probably sick of me writing this, but it couldn’t be cuter, or nicer if it tried! Old city, new city, medium city, it doesn’t matter, this place is great! English is almost the second language as it is taught from the Second Grade on and they need to pass an exam to continue on in school, so communication is not a large issue. It’s as clean as it can be, no litter, no graffiti….and quaint cobblestone streets (even the newer ones!)
Note the makeup of the street pavement!
We will be visiting Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. The first three are contiguous, with Finland just a ferry ride across the Baltic Sea. The first three were also part of the old U.S.S.R. and if you don’t think that they are scared to death with what’s going on in Ukraine you would be badly mistaken. There are signs of solidarity with Ukraine wherever we go, and these countries have pledged support, both militarily and financially, to their friends in Ukraine. It’s kind of a ‘All for One, One for All’ situation.
They all remember what it was like under the control of Moscow and no one wants to go back there!
What’s fascinating about these small regions is that they all have their own languages and customs. In reality, they are no larger than a few of our States. For example, Lithuania and Latvia are the size of West Virgina in area but speak a different language than the folks in (Maryland) and (Virginia) and Estonia is around the size of New Hampshire or Vermont. All of this can be traced back to the old pre-Germanic Tribal days with so many different reasons why they were easily kept separate that it would take an entire semester and then some to get familiar with the nuances of the roots and differences of all of them!
We’re not going there!
We’re just happy that they all have some nifty and delicious regional foods to sample!
We had a walking tour of Vilnius yesterday; it could not have been a nicer day as you will soon see. Gorgeous blue skies, great contrast, beautiful colors…. Incredible architecture…. a photo-takers dream!
I hope that you enjoy your tour!
Below you will find an assortment of photos, some identified, some not, because in some cases it just doesn’t make any difference!
Here is a Cepelinai or Zeppelin. It is a large, oval-shaped potato dumpling stuffed with minced meat, cheeses, or mushrooms and boiled. The side contains the ‘sauce’ which is bacon cracklings and sour cream.
One reply on “Vilnius?”
Mrs. Tee would be very proud of all of the geography lessons that you are giving us. It was her favorite subject.