The last few days have been fairly "normal," with no trips or adventures. But even "normal" is pretty interesting - at least to us.
For example, riding the bus. Sometimes you get on and take out one of the tickets you've purchased at Lietuvos Spauda (Lithuanian Press) -
you go to a little device on the bus, stick in the ticket, and cancel it. We haven't encountered one of the ticket checkers yet - I'm not sure how they would know if you'd cancelled the ticket on that journey or if you were using an old ticket. Anyway, on other buses there are no cancelling devices; instead there's a conductor who comes around and sells you a ticket.
The other day we needed some more bus tickets from the Spauda and I decided to do the purchase in Russian, and it worked - hooray! When we came here I thought the Russian language would be resented, but it just seems pretty common and no big deal - although Lithuanian would be preferred. (Good luck with that, Mike!)
Another common thing in Europe - the waiter won't bring the bill until you ask for it. It gives a nice feeling of not being rushed out the door. But we remember our Austrian friend, Wolfgang, who much preferred the American way of bringing the bill right away. He hated having to wave at the waiter again and again, trying to get the bill. - The other night we were at a nice pizza place - Basilico. We were perched at a tall table and had a good view of the customers, and we watched in amusement as two guys sat at a table and basically ignored each other. Each one had a phone and a tablet and were busy with both devices; there was almost no interaction between them. (And we watched to see if possibly they were talking to and texting each other, but we don't think so.) Maybe they were both trying to get dates, and not having much success. - One other thing: the waiter doesn't offer to bring a box for your leftovers - you have to ask for one. Oh well, the leftovers usually are pretty pathetic the next day anyway. Why bother?
A couple days ago we went to the movies at the Akropolis mall. ("The Hobbit") We probably won't do it again, but, hey, why not do it once? It was Friday afternoon - typical "senior" time for a movie. Sixteen litas - about six bucks. The cashier called my attention to a computer screen on which I had to select our seats - reserved movie seats! (Haven't seen those since a gala presentation of "Exodus" at a fancy theater in Chicago back in the 1950s!) Of course, we stopped at the restrooms before going in. I mention this important fact only because, apparently, there is a big problem with movie theater restroom drug use - and, thus, the restroom lighting is extremely dim and very blue - I guess so that we aren't able to see our blue veins for proper injecting. - The theater was very comfortable and not crowded - reservations really weren't needed. The show itself was disappointing - way over the top, in my view. An extended experiment in video/computer game technology - the story, the characters, were lost in the midst of gigantic underground goblin lairs and orc battles that seemed even longer than my sermons!
In the last post I forgot to mention that last Sunday we went to the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet to see "Spragtukas" (The Nutcracker). We had great seats in the first balcony and enjoyed the show very much. Liz thought the guy (the nutcracker) was the best, and I thought the girl was best. Actually the dancers who were really the best were the little kids during the intermission who found a small platform in the lobby and were spinning and leaping and bowing, doing their best imitations. Really cute. Lots of kids in the audience, all dressed up for the holiday show.
OK - the neighborhood, as my title said -
In front of our gate on Vokieciu (German) street there's this sign post - a sign pointing to our church, a sign to the nearby St. Nicholas church (one of the oldest in town), to the town hall, and to tourist information. Here in the Old Town you find these sign posts pretty often - with English.
Our street these days has gone back to a nice winter look. And we even have a phone booth.
Nearby buildings with some nice architectural and decorative details.
This is the high school just down the street in the next block.
A couple blocks away, after Vokieciu street has turned into Vilnius street, is this very handsome building, and the sign (lower right) says this -
I'm old enough to remember Heifetz as a real superstar in the 40s and 50s. He grew up here in Vilnius!
And a violin competition will be held in his honor in late February and early March.
The flag of Lithuania.
One of the better pastry shops in our neighborhood, with typical "decoration" - Vilnius is badly in need of a graffiti cleanup.
Just down from Marks and Spencer is Tiger, one of our favorite shops - sort of a small Woolworth's - all kinds of cheap, useful stuff.
A watchdog with glasses.
Yesterday was Freedom Day, or Defenders of Freedom Day, remembering January 13, 1991, when 13 (or 14 or 15 - I've seen different numbers) young people were killed by Soviet tanks as they resisted the Soviet takeover of the TV tower. At the same time many thousands gathered at the Seimas (parliament) and successfully repelled Soviet troops.
This is an area beside the parliament building where the concrete blocks, tank traps, and barbed wire from that day are preserved.
On Saturday, the eve of the holiday, I just happened to be out walking and saw preparations being made outside the parliament, and streams of people going into the building, so I joined in. A small military band was just starting a concert,
so I listened to that while walking around inside, looking at photos from that time and at the people around me, many older people (my age) with old uniforms and military medals, and an area set aside for children to do crafts and projects celebrating the day (below):
I headed home and for the rest of the evening we watched the events on TV -
including a huge bonfire, and a long speech, without notes, by Vytautas Landsbergis, age 80, who, in 1990, was elected parliamentary chairman - at a time when, side by side, the Soviets still occupied the country while the Lithuanians had already gone ahead with free elections.
I don't think I can express what it feels like, but I would like to try - it's like I'm living in the brand-new United States of America in 1798, just a couple decades after the Revolutionary War. I'm rubbing shoulders with Washington and Adams and Franklin, all wearing their old, too-small uniform jackets and sporting their cherished "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" buttons. Washington gets up and makes a speech, and some people listen, while others keep mingling and joking with old comrades-in-arms, maybe even smirking at the way old George DOES rattle on. . . Dr. Landsbergis, before his speech, was part of an informal quartet that led the singing of a a couple cherished folk songs, and then the others sat down and he started to speak. It's so fresh, immediate, sort of like a small town ceremony, where people know each other, and yet it's national, it's vastly important, as the political balance in this part of the world is still tippy and uncertain.
So glad, and privileged, to be here!
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