Day 35 - TV Tower, and Usupis-Antakalnis walk

Did not write for a few days. New things to report are getting more and more scarce as our Vocieciu-Vilnius-Pilies circuit is repeated for the n-th time. We are paying homage to our homeless guy who follows the same track day in and day out multiple times a day. When I see him again, I'll snap the picture from the front. Maybe someone would recognize him. I wish I knew why he is doing it. He is a big guy and I am aftraid to come up and talk to him. He also did not take a shower for a few years. He is not too old - maybe 40-45. Does not look like an alcoholic. What really bothers me is that he too was a kid one day, and his parents loved him. Potentially. And now he seems to be a waste of a human being. You look at your kids and just hope that this fate would spare them.  

On a happier note, we went to the TV tower yesterday during lunch. There was a Nazi-looking elevator attendant. We rode with a family of two kids aged about 12, with their grandma and mom. One of the kids was snickering. His grandma slapped him. It was not a friendly "Stop it" slap. Good thing Georgia did not see it or she would be asking questions. Anyway, back to the happier note :).

It was nice to see the town from up high. It is interesting to wonder why the city grew like it did. It is very small but pretty spead out and there are still plenty of green areas. Dan says there are lots of new roads and buildings. It is nothing like the ocean of buildings we saw in from the hill-top viewpoint in Jaipur. Glass covered platform on the TV tower rotates with a creaking sound and it is kind of amuzing too.

We made a tactical mistake and did not feed Georgia lunch prior to coming. We were hoping to eat at the tower, but ambience suggested that they have still be serving the leftovers from the Soviet era so we opted out. Georgia was not expecting it and having taken a one look outside, insisted that we go out and grab some food or "she might get too weak." So we went to Acropolis mall and had lunch at serve-yourself restaurant. The one in Tallinn is better and better tasting too. Dan wondered if an idea of an eatery like that would take in US food courts. 

Georgia and I checked out the Russian Orthodox church near the Gates of Dawn. It had a service going on with beautiful male and female chorus. Georgia was really impressed. She said "everyone likes it and they are bowing, I would like to bow too."

As we passed Pilies earlier we saw a guy play on Kang Cymbal - looks like 2 cymbals stuck together. The upper one on which you play has protuberances and dips for the different tones. Incredibly beautiful sound. And it looks pretty being played. Incidentally the street is full with college kids playing/singing something every few meters.  

In the evening, Dan and I walked through Uzupis and past Antakalnis back into the old town. The old town is very hot, even in the evening. You feel the heat emanating from the building as you approach Pilies. There were lots of black visitors in town today. I would imagine that those who are from the hotter areas Africa might find the climate to their liking.