Lithuania - Settling in..

Well what can I say about Lithuania?

Quite a lot in fact.
It was a very interesting place to spend two weeks or so. A real contrast in many ways.

I took an overnight bus from Warsaw to Vilnius. I tried to get some sleep on the nine hour journey but this proved
difficult due to the three huge men a few seats back drinking vodka, laughing and ...later, snoring.
As I whiled away the time looking over the half lit fields there were worrying signs. Patches of darker patches in the fields.
It couldn't be snow could it? In fact it could. It must have been above ten in Warsaw and I hadn't anticipated anything cooler.
Temperature on arrival was about 0 , snow was everywhere on the ground and early morning navigation to my hostel in the old town tricky. Eventually I made it though and slept most of the day.

When I did feel up to it, Vilnius - Lithuania's capital city, was a treat.
It appeared on my radar last year and is many travel pundits pick of the 'next big thing'. Cobbled streets, lots of churches,
and an historic Baltic culture all packed into a city of about 600,000.

My first few days were pretty slow. Being Sunday and Monday there weren't many other travellers around so I amused
myself by exploring the city and eating new foods. Climbing up to historic Gedimina tower on a hill overlooking the city was a highlight. This is all that remains of Royal Palace of Lithuania and is an important historic and cultural icon being depicted on local 'Lita' coins.
It's once again the centre of Lithuanian nationhood and the tri-colour yellow, green and red flag flies from it's tower since independence
in '91. Inside there's a museum which documents both ancient and modern history ' Swords, suits of armour and coins for example are displayed alongside photographs of the independence movement in the late '80s. The Baltic Way, a human chain designed to highlight Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia's solidarity and desire for independence from the USSR began here in Vilnius. In nearby Cathedral Square the first of two million hands interlocked in a chain stretching 600 km across the three capitals,Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn Estonia.

As for the Food, Lithuanian cuisine encompasses a lot of hearty potato based specialties. Lots of bacon and sour cream too.
The first I tried was Cepellins (so called as they are the shape of a german 'zepellin')
It is made of pureed potato with minced meat and onions inside. Covered with sour cream and bacon bits.
Very nice but huge portions and I was almost sick due to the unfamiliar volumes of potato and the unusual glutenous texture of it.
I actually didn't know it was potato until after. I wouldn't say i didn't like it though!
Such is the passion for sour cream it seems to be served with everything. A friend's father even introduced me to beer and sour cream. That's right
beer with a generous helping of sour cream mixed in. It would be rude not to try it.
It was actually rather good. Gave it a milky sweet taste and took away the slightly bitter aftertaste of the beer.
Again I think it would be rather sickly if you had three pints say!