We decided to spend the summer in Vilnius, Lithuania. This would give us the taste of living in a different culture and prepare us for more extended trips. Dan was born here and I am from the former SU republic myself and so many things should still be familiar. We are looking forward to getting back in touch with many relatives and friends in this part of the world. Also, we are hoping it would be a good experience for Georgia who will be starting her first pre-K here. We plan to telecommute through the summer.
The trip here was pretty easy. We arrived on May 30, 2008 by Finnair. Even though the plane for the Transatlantic portion seemed pretty antique and did not have front row TVs, the service was great throughout and stewardesses were really attentive to Georgia. We were able to change the layover in Helsinki to take the earlier flight to Vilnius. During the 40 minute layover the airline also changed the seats so that we could be all together.
We got to our apartment at around 5pm. As we were on our way, Oleg, parent's friend, saw us from his car and waved and snapped a few pictures while standing in traffic. It is nice to have our visit documented from the beginning :) The day was really sunny, warm and pleasant.
Having seen some apartments in our last visit with the street entrance and beautiful lobby and stairs areas, we did not anticipate to be getting in through the little old backyard packed with cars, to the unlit and dirty entrance and stairs. The apartment itself is very nice and spacious and in the great part of the city but having seen the place only in pictures we did not expect that the furniture would be quite this old. It could also be cleaner (but we did get brand new blankets, pillows, and linens). Most importantly, the Internet was not working and it is a pretty crucial component for us to stay here. The owner met us and the agent joined shortly after. We decided to stay for 6 days to decide whether to stay here or to move.
We went out to Lokys (the Bear) for dinner. It is in a very nice location with outdoor seating. Only foreigners seemed to be here but there were other families with children. The dishes are interesting, especially the game and the old Lithuanian specialties like the Blue Nose (ravioli with blueberries). But it is way overpriced for the taste.
While waiting for our dishes to be served, Georgia and I walked around and realized that we can access our little multi-angled backyard from multiple streets around in just a few steps. That was a great discovery!
Georgia went to sleep as soon we opened the story book. But we had a hard time falling asleep since our windows faced the main street and at that time it appeared to the the center of city's night life. Finally the things quited down after 2am and we went to sleep till noon the next day.
The next day we walked back to Alicia. Grabbed some awesome cappuccino from Coffee Inn on the way. Walked along Neris riverbank. Georgia got to waddle around the water.
Pretty much relaxed through the day. Georgia got to hang out with a little Lithuanian girl in the backyard and we were happy to see them talk - she speaks Russian and the little girl did too. Took a long walk back. The city is beautiful and is continually renovating.
We rented a Mitsubishi Colt for 100LT to go to Trakai tomorrow. We get to keep it till Monday morning. A young couple dropped off a brand new looking car in Alicia's backyard and drove off in the motor bike.
At home, the Internet was working! We stayed up till 1am but the street was much quieter than yesterday. The biggest issue is the motor bikes. But that would be a nuisance everywhere. The old furniture is not so bad when you have a kid. We decided to keep looking on Monday but this place can definitely be lived in with some improvements.
Onto the new day!
The trip here was pretty easy. We arrived on May 30, 2008 by Finnair. Even though the plane for the Transatlantic portion seemed pretty antique and did not have front row TVs, the service was great throughout and stewardesses were really attentive to Georgia. We were able to change the layover in Helsinki to take the earlier flight to Vilnius. During the 40 minute layover the airline also changed the seats so that we could be all together.
We got to our apartment at around 5pm. As we were on our way, Oleg, parent's friend, saw us from his car and waved and snapped a few pictures while standing in traffic. It is nice to have our visit documented from the beginning :) The day was really sunny, warm and pleasant.
Having seen some apartments in our last visit with the street entrance and beautiful lobby and stairs areas, we did not anticipate to be getting in through the little old backyard packed with cars, to the unlit and dirty entrance and stairs. The apartment itself is very nice and spacious and in the great part of the city but having seen the place only in pictures we did not expect that the furniture would be quite this old. It could also be cleaner (but we did get brand new blankets, pillows, and linens). Most importantly, the Internet was not working and it is a pretty crucial component for us to stay here. The owner met us and the agent joined shortly after. We decided to stay for 6 days to decide whether to stay here or to move.
We went out to Lokys (the Bear) for dinner. It is in a very nice location with outdoor seating. Only foreigners seemed to be here but there were other families with children. The dishes are interesting, especially the game and the old Lithuanian specialties like the Blue Nose (ravioli with blueberries). But it is way overpriced for the taste.
While waiting for our dishes to be served, Georgia and I walked around and realized that we can access our little multi-angled backyard from multiple streets around in just a few steps. That was a great discovery!
Georgia went to sleep as soon we opened the story book. But we had a hard time falling asleep since our windows faced the main street and at that time it appeared to the the center of city's night life. Finally the things quited down after 2am and we went to sleep till noon the next day.
The next day we walked back to Alicia. Grabbed some awesome cappuccino from Coffee Inn on the way. Walked along Neris riverbank. Georgia got to waddle around the water.
Pretty much relaxed through the day. Georgia got to hang out with a little Lithuanian girl in the backyard and we were happy to see them talk - she speaks Russian and the little girl did too. Took a long walk back. The city is beautiful and is continually renovating.We rented a Mitsubishi Colt for 100LT to go to Trakai tomorrow. We get to keep it till Monday morning. A young couple dropped off a brand new looking car in Alicia's backyard and drove off in the motor bike.
At home, the Internet was working! We stayed up till 1am but the street was much quieter than yesterday. The biggest issue is the motor bikes. But that would be a nuisance everywhere. The old furniture is not so bad when you have a kid. We decided to keep looking on Monday but this place can definitely be lived in with some improvements.
Onto the new day!
