Day 29 – Belmontas

June 28, 2008
Tomorrow is a calendar month since we left US. The time passed by very quickly. We have less than 2/3 time left here.

It was raining on and off all day long. We’ve tried to go to Kaunas every weekend that we were here and it rained. We will cheat and try again on the 4th of July.


Today is also a working day for most of the people here since they were given Monday and Tuesday off in the celebration of St.John’s. It is kind of silly to make people work on Saturday after giving them two days in the working week off. It basically looked like some employers requested their employees to work on days off and then gave them a day off on Saturday, or there was short working day on Saturday, while others still stuck to the official rules. Based on the crowds of smokers lining the office buildings we passed, many of those who had to show up were not in the mood to work. In any case it is a bit messy and disorganized. I doubt that this arrangement would work in US.

Another unusual thing. When there are other religious holidays, and there are many of them, priests declare celebrations and services to take place on the nearest weekend. It has some religious people upset. But without this hardly anyone would work.
In the morning we took our waffle cake, picked up some sweet buns as a back up and went to Alicia for lunch. When passing by the university we saw some more parents like yesterday carrying flowers. Not sure if I mentioned that a day before we saw the conservatory graduates dressed in their caps and gowns. Their gowns look like togas - with beautiful central rounded piece around the neck, high slits on the sides, and rounded bottom of the material. Georgia called graduates, most of whom were women princesses.

After lunch we went up to the “North town” to go to the Russian book store Homo Sapiens. It looks like there are only two book stores left – this one and the one near the train station. There are lots of educational materials for kids. Price range is the same as for US books and then some. We got some coloring books.

On the way we got a call from Vitalik and decided to go to Belmontas for dinner after Georgia’s nap.

While Georgia was napping I went to Europa mall and tried to get a dress for the wedding. Did not succeed because of the stores sell casual clothing. However the range of designs is impressive.

At 4:30 Vitalik with Dina and Iliyusha picked up up and we went to Belmontas.

Almost anyone we know was advising to go there every time we come to LT. Finally we got a chance to see it for ourselves. It is reception complex one can only get to by driving on the run down narrow road. Once you are there, the grounds are extremely well taken care of and continually extending. There are many picture-worthy spots, multiple buildings in different styles, a water mill, a pond with two black swans, lots of little brooks and ponds with statues, a waterfall. Brides and their parties flock here like flies. Those who can afford it stay for reception as well.

Here is some info in Lithuanian: http://www.belmontas.lt/lt/

The food was really great, service was fast so it is a good place to go to – if you got the car. It rained on and off and we took turns coming out to walk around with kids. We also waited for a lull in the rain to move to the restaurant close to the waterfall. People sat around under umbrellas wrapped in blankets.

We had a really good time and headed back around 7:30. On the way from Alicia at 9 we saw what appeared to be multiple bachelorette parties. There was one in naughty nurse style, one was pirate-styled, and another group was dressed like the free women of the forest. When we got closer to home we started to see some men dressed up too. Maybe it is the graduation thing? We were too tired to ask.

Here is an attempt to take a picture of the angel on St.John's. It may be possible to somewhat see by clicking on the photo link.

Days 27-28 – Getting Lazy, Promise More Regular Posts

June 26, 2008

In the morning Georgia put on her red hat, we stopped at Šviežios Bandelės to get some sweet buns, and went to visit Alicia. She was not feeling well in the last few days. But she kept it well under cover.

We did not see a wolf on the way. But we found Alicia in good spirits but she’s lost some weight and is looking tired. We left her some instant oatmeal, water, and rice pudding.

In the evening we met with Dan’s former classmate at Forto restaurant on Algirdas 17. It is the original one of the Forto chain. 30’s style setting is really pleasant and the menu is different and also very good. We had a very nice evening. Georgia watched cartoons.

Sergey is the main programmer in the company. It was interesting to hear his account of work environment at his first job and the current job as an employee. Both were small privately held companies. In both it is unthinkable to telecommute. Schedule at the current job is 9-6 (considered almost luxurious) with one hour lunch break but you are expected to remain at work during that time. There were periods when things were tough and employees had to work without salaries and management sort of blamed the team. In his first place of work verbal abuse was not so rare. Vacation is at the discretion of the management and you can be told no vacation for a year if the team is working on something. And in the meanwhile he seems totally dedicated and loyal employee and envisions very long engagement with his current company.

When we put Georgia to sleep we watched Russia/Spain soccer match. Russia did not do a good job and played on defensive the entire time. Lost with the score of 3:0.

June 27, 2008

The next day Georgia and I went to the market near the Gates of Dawn looking for wild strawberries. The market is highly organized and looks like a big store with multiple stalls selling the same groups of items – meats, vegetables, milk-based products. Everything looks very pretty and smells great. There are also clothing vendors stalls all around and that does not add to the atmosphere.

We found just 3 vendors selling wild strawberries and got ourselves a cup from one of them.

Georgia and I went to our playground downstairs waiting for Dan to come out. There were lots of children. Caretakers, mostly older women, probably grandparents, chatted among themselves and paid no attention to Georgia whatsoever. There was a girl older than Georgia who was blocking access to the slide. Georgia asked her to get through to no avail, then I did too nicely and used the body language in case she did not understand. The little shit just sat there. No one seemed to claim the responsibility for it either. Then Dan came out and stopped contemplation of serious action to respond to the obvious act of aggression against Georgia.

We walked around during lunch. There were lots of people out – I guess it is Friday and lunch time. Many lines to the ATM machines. We tried take out coffee from Paulyg booth that are in several places in the city. They run the same machine they had in the doctor’s office and it gives you a thistle worth for 3LT.

In the afternoon we made waffle cake with Georgia. They have here cocoa and caramel flavored condensed milk over the counter.

We went again out at 6 and Dan found a pretty angel on top of St.John’s. It is really not possible to see it from the street in front of the church. We wanted to walk up the Gediminas tower. However the walkway up is closed and there is a sign indicating to use funicular. We walked on the side of Vilnyale opposite the youth park (where I’ve tried to go before running into an alcoholic. This time there were lots of students drinking beer on the grass clearings along the path. With Dan leading, we bravely moved forward on the narrow path. Georgia was very good and walked quite a long distance without asking to go on a stroller – Dan had to drag it most of the way.

We got some beer and the appetizers on the way home because Dima Khitrov was coming. Turned out we forgot that he is not into pig ears or similar delights. When he came he was just sipped the wine he brought.

His perspective as an owner of the rapidly growing multinational cell phone retailing business was interesting as well. We were very impressed with his future initiatives. He also shared an interesting childhood tidbit about Dan, Dan R, and Gabriel from Omnitel. Dan said given that Gabriel must have eaten his vitamins better, Dan R is on his own. Dima also promised to give us a ride on his boat.

Day 26 – Doctor’s Office 2 & ½ of the Jewish tour

Georgia got a bit cranky in the past few days and we decided to take her to the doctor to check out her cold. Both Alicia and I tried to make an appointment for today at Northway. I wrote about them before. They were resisting and suggesting to come tomorrow at 4pm. We were resisting too and compromised for 11:45 today. Alicia used Russian, I used English.

Only after we arrived to the office we realized that because they really did not have available pediatrician on duty they’ve scheduled me, not Georgia with a general physician. After an argument they’ve allowed Georgia to go instead of me. The rest of the office is great. They took blood from Georgia’s finger with a little pen-like device. She did not even notice – the nurse kept her busy looking around the room to spot hidden candy. They process it really quick and it goes into the general computer system. However Georgia refused to pee into a little bottle. The only thing that worked was turning the water on and telling her that lady doctor needs her to fill the bottle to water her flowers.

The doctor concluded that Georgia does have a cold virus but ears, lungs, bladder, and other areas are OK. Dan and I, however, are the weaklings who succumbed to the tonsillitis. To make us feel better she gave Georgia 5 prescriptions for different body parts to use if needed.

Dan managed the final part of the doctor’s appointment (when Georgia decided it was time to go) on his own because I left to meet with Len and Susan for the Jewish tour. He was very heroic and held the “Mamma”-sobbing kid for two hours.

Len, Susan, and I waited for Tamara from the Jewish museum for 24 minutes and then too off to find the Jewish museum. At first we looked on Pamėnkalnio 12 for the Holocaust museum but could not find it. Then we went to Pylimo to find the real thing.

It is a nice little museum and it located in the former Jewish school. The staff was really friendly and kept the place open even though they were supposed to have a lunch break. We called Tamara – turns out she thought we are meeting at 11 – and agreed to meet with her at 3pm. Len & Susan got a little treat by finding a poster featuring Samuel Bak whose works they like.

Close to 3pm we met up with Tamara who turned out very pleasant. She started by showing some really neat things we pass by every day and don’t notice. She even showed a hiding place Samuel Bak used during the war.

I could not stay much longer and I left Len and Susan with Tamara. We agreed that Dan and I will do another tour with her.

When Georgia woke up we went to the playground and waited for Len and Susan to join us for dinner. We went to Forto Dvaras. Upstairs was full so we stayed in the cellar, which also filled up later in the evening. We got a bunch of local specialties and had a really good time.

We had a chance to get to know them a little better and are looking forward to keeping in touch when we are back.

As we were walking them to the gate at around 10pm (and still light outside) we saw police cars, special services and a small crowd around the National Philharmonic Hall. Then we saw the queen of Netherlands get into a car about 5 meters away from where we were standing. She was wearing a blue dress and she waived as her car went by. We did not have our camera with us but here is a recent picture of the queen: http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/english/content.jsp?objectid=18161. Georgia was super excited.

Days 24-25 – At home for the holidays

Monday and Tuesday were national holidays – sort of extended eclipse celebration. So we mostly stayed at home and nothing much happened. On Monday it was raining in the morning. We sat on the windowsill and counted different colored umbrellas. Black was predominant.

Georgia still had a bit of the runny nose so I gave her some honey. She said “Nichego” (not bad). This is new. Usually she says “Daa” with a sigh. Asked for more.

During the rain break we went out for lunch and looked for new restaurant that’s open. The one on Voikecu 4 seems small on the outside and has a lunch specials menu hanging outsite It is enormous inside. It is made to look like a saloon, including the smell. We've managed through the tea and soup but asked to pack our meat-potato pancakes to go.

In the afternoon there was intense thunderstorm. It looked like we were in the rainforest. Barely anything was visible through the sheet of rain. But the good thing about Lithuanian rain is when it stops, it stops – and sun comes out and sky clears out like the rain never happened. It rained so hard that it washed up the sand between the cobblestones. There are piles of sand around and some cobblestones were washed up too.

Walking around we met Len and Susan and went to Bistro 18 for dinner. Half-way through Georgia got really bored and Dan ran home (less than 1 block through our backyard) and brought his laptop so she could watch her cartoons. So we were able to have the desert we’ve missed last time. Just great.

Len and Susan finished their 13th annual tandem bike ride to raise money for Lou Gehrig’s disease (http://community.alsphiladelphia.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=364&srcid=7070&srctid=1&erid=125900). This one was through Baltics starting from Tallinn. They had some really bad luck with the weather on the way and must have brought the storm in the afternoon :). They will be here for two days.

On Tuesday morning Dan and Georgia headed to the youth park, while I walked around with Len and Susan. It was a beautiful day.

We went to Uzupis first. There is a beautiful mermaid statue on one of Vilnyale banks. Went in St.Anne, St.Bernadine, Cathedral. Took funicular to go to the upper castle. They went up the tower and I’ve stayed down and counted the churches I still don’t know the names of. Saw the opera house, the green bridge, and looked at the museum of Genocide building of We walked till 12:30 and then I met up with Dan and Georgia and we went Amatininku Uzeiga for lunch.

The place is enormous inside as yesterday's lunch place. However the bathroom is a hole in the ground type and apparently a lot of people miss the hole. The food was OK. What was nice is that they seem to make a lot of staple dishes themselves: kvas, pig ears appetizer. Can’t say that it tastes any better than the supermarket version but it was nice to try another variety. Incidentally Len and Susan said they were there as well for lunch.

I have to warn that the next paragraphs is pretty mean. So if you want to retain the same image of me as you always had you don’t have to read them.

I had a bitching match with 3 people with a count 2:1. First it was with the bar waitress who refused to break 10LT note so we could leave a tip to our waitress (lost that one - she walked away). Next was with the cleaning woman who came today to fix the areas she's missed (1:1). And the final one was with the cashier in Hyper Maxima. I asked her to be more careful in throwing my packages in Russian and she said she is not required to speak Russian to me. I was pretty sure it would happen at least once this summer so here it was. After a short exchange, I looked up her name Diana Mitskevich and went to look for administrator.

Administrator was really professional: she apologized, went to speak with her, and asked me to make a written complaint for a different kind of administrative punishment. She also said was that Diana is not even Lithuanian. I decided not to do it – it may potentially mess up her work history and she is young, stupid, and hopefully will learn from experience. Plus I’ll try to go to her again in the future.

I guess that’s it. Georgia and I have this game. She taps me on the shoulder and turns me into the animal that I then impersonate. Georgia does not turn into any animal because she is “Maria-Tzarevna.” She like to turn me into the wolf the most. I wonder why :)

At home we had a feast – potato blinies with meat, chicken Kiev, kibenai. Georgia really enjoyed herself. Tomorrow night we may go out with Len and Susan since it is their last night, on Thursday with Sergey Glebov, Dan’s former classmate, and on Friday with Dima Khitrov.

Not sure where to stick this pic. Len had a picture of a similar bio-tualetos with the side panel still attached with a comment that Baltic countries beat China with regard to the public bathrooms. Well, Vilnius public bathrooms beat the Baltic bathrooms in general because they are are truly public.

Day 23 – Kernave

Today we were planning to go to Sasha’s dacha. So while waiting for them to wake up we went to our bandeles place for breakfast. Unfortunately they were closed on account of the holidays. Dan specifically went there on Saturday morning to confirm that they would be open. They must have put that piece of paper up late last night. I guess it is a learning experience to warn a week in advance your loyal language challenged customers who don’t watch local television.

But enough ranting. We relocated to the comfortable couches in the Coffee Inn next door and had coffees with coffee flavored cheesecake. Georgia had a chocolate chocolate-chip cookie. We convinced her to try the cheesecake and she liked it. So she continued by holding a cookie in one hand and a fork with cheesecake in the other. Finally, after we spread some cheesecakes on the cookie (I can feel certain grandparents grumbling), she seemed the happiest.

The city decorated the sides of the river with two signs made up of flowers. Danik said the one of the left says "I love you," and the one on the right says "I love you, too"

Then we went to Europe mall. We stopped on the way near the opera house to play in its many water fountains.

At the mall we rode escalators up and down again at first and then got Dan some jeans – one of his went bad.

After that we went to Tzarskoje Selo for lunch. This place never disappoints – great service, environment, and food. Interestingly they are not listed in the guide and I could not find any references to them online. They’ve brought a basket of Legos for Georgia to play with. And she also played by the little fountain near the stage.

When we got home Sasha called and we decided to go to Kernave instead of dacha on account of the day being a bit on a cool side. The best time to go really would be on June 23 because they will be having the continuation of the solstice celebrations. But we hope to back again on July 6-7 when they will be having the Archeology Day with something similar to Trakai but more scientific and in-depth.

We met up with Lazutka’s on the gas station and followed their car.

Here is some info about Kernave: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernav%C4%97 & http://www.mjr.lt/arc/mjr2004/htm/e_kernava.htm (this looks informative but LT only: http://muziejai.mch.mii.lt/Sirvintos/kernaves_archist_muziejus.htm). We picked up Alicia and went. It is only 35km from Vilnius – about the same as Trakai.

When we got a little further into the town – a village really we saw a bunch of parked cars and a crowd of bikers. So we realized it must have been the place and parked ourselves near the cemetery. They Then we walked down a wide alley to the beautiful Kernave church. The people must have been hanging out somewhere else because we saw really few visitors.
There are lots of old crosses around that look different than crosses everywhere in Europe. One website said the design is due to the combination with pagan symbol.

There is an interesting statue of Moses and ten commandments in directly front of the church. I’ve never seen arrangement quite like this before. On the left of the church there is a museum with more similar crosses, smelly pond with beautiful water lilies, some beautiful little trees, and a weird little garden / pet cemetery with little stone houses. Underneath the bench there is a bunch of the wild strawberries gone wild. I guess no one wants to pick near the sacred place.

There is a beautiful viewpoint behind the church. We walked down and climbed some of the mounds (except Alicia). They are pretty tall and have neat little stairs going to the top. Then we all walked to the river and picked wild strawberries in the forest along the river. Georgia really enjoyed that. She and I learned to string the berries on a blade of grass.

On the road to Kernave Sasha noticed an Dukstos oak park sign so we’ve stopped there on the way back. It was really beautiful little oak and birch park with wood carvings of what looked like pagan gods. There were stories about this area in Lithuanian on the story boards around.

It was a great trip. Back in the city Dan dropped off the car and got a bunch of delicious dishes from Hyper Maxima for dinner.

Day 22 – Green Turgus and Dacha

In the morning we went to the Green Market on the Gediminas prospectas. It was just a small

portion of what the market usually is during the Kazukas holiday. There was a lot of booths selling herbs and herbal products and some food and beer/kvas booths. We walked around, got Georgia a mushroom and then a chestnut and went home for a nap.
In the afternoon we went to Vitalik’s parents dacha for Diana’s and Ilyusha’s b-days. Diana sent us maps so we had some idea where to do. We knew they are about 25km from Vilnius so happily drove that much before panicking and calling Vitalik. He told us to turn around, get to 17th km mark, locate the clearing, the bus stop of the clearing and make a right there, since there is no sign. We drove through the dilapidated village where holes in the rode were complimented by the speed bumps. Then we got to the no entry sign on the side road and went up that way. Inside the development there was a neat gravel road.

Dacha is very nice and has beautiful grounds. There were lots of enjoyable features to keep Georgia busy through the evening: pool (too cold to swim, but OK to dip hands into), rocking horse, flower garden, dog, cartoons, and a pleasant company. There was an 8 year old boy who helped entertain the little ones.

We had a great time and got home after 9pm. By the time we were done with cartoons it was too late to ask Alicia to stay over so we stayed at home. There was some singing outside at night but not too much – most of the restaurants around were closed.

Day 21 – 3rd Week Anniversary

Can’t believe we had been here for three weeks already. Georgia got a runny nose so we kept her at home to reduce further exposure. We got up late, hanged out, did some drawing, and went to Hyper Maxima for some research. Dan not included in any of the above.

Here is a list of things we found missing:
· Life-sized plastic cutlery – that they have are dessert-sized spoons and forks, and there are some normal sized single use wood cutlery (what a waste to use these).
· Normal dispensers for sanitizing kitchen wipes – they are sold in a plastic bag that cannot be resealed.
· Mesh scrub covered in the cleaning solution
· Zip lock bags
· Buckthorn juice – used to be my favorite. Even though there are lots of juices, variety has down and most have sugar added
· Thicker aluminum foil – the type that is here is candy wrapper thin and rips up easily.

Wading through the things they did have I forgot to ask about the meatballs. Will be back soon enough.

For lunch we went to the recommended Bistro 18 and recommend it further down. Incidentally it is our 21 eatery. Magnificent environment, service, food, and prices are reasonable too. They have extensive bar menu and Tuscan wine they served for lunch would probably satisfy even a wine-tasting nut. We left the same amount for our dinner meal in Double Coffee and it does not even compare.

There was a thunderstorm in the afternoon. We opened all the windows. It was very pleasant and with wet foliage swaying all around felt like we were in the rainforest, at least from the side of the backyard.

We came out for dinner at 7 and it was over already. There were groups of people standing on the streets by the looks of them deciding where to go – most of the outdoor eating options are shot – everything is still wet.

They were playing a music clip in Double Coffee, which provided the pagan perspective on the solstice celebrations. Great amounts of women’s nudity and some sparkle covered men’s. I bet this one will not be playing at home.

Here is another question to all the readers. There is this metal contraption on the Novotel hotel right on the central Gedomino prospect. Looks like a very sturdy metal box with some stair access. Any ideas of what this thing is for?

They are putting up stages around the city for tomorrow’s events.

In the evening we got another breakthrough. Georgia discovered that she is free to move around her room when we are not there. So we were listening to her go through the drawers in her wall cabinet, throw her pillow on the floor and come down to try to get it. She even got out of her room but stayed in the hallway. Probably she was not sure on the reception she will get if she keeps going into the living room. Dan said in a very stern voice: “Mom and Dad are unhappy with your behavior. Please go back to your bed.” It was very difficult to keep a straight face. We sat there with sheepish smiles until this repeated ten more times.

On the subject of breakthrough, we went to the pharmacy yesterday looking for something to make Georgia give her special gift more often (through from re-reading the blogs this would not look like something one would want any more often than it is :)). Georgia was hanging around with me. I had explained that we would like to see a bit more regularity. The pharmacist suggested a little enema with a low dose of medicinal solution. Just as she said it, Georgia chimed in to inform us both that enema will not be necessary tonight.

Here is a picture of the abominable Woo. Don't get deceived by the comfy look of blankets.

Day 20 – Planning the next move

Thanks to uncle Isaac for his comment about syomga – it is a noble kind of salmon, so the small print was not lying.

Not too many interesting things today. Here is a beautiful top of the university chapel.

After several “so so” restaurants we needed to regroup, rethink our strategy, and consume perishables in our and Alicia’s fridges. The next move will be according to the recommendations of the Vilnius in your pocket guide. They agree with us on a very important point: they too said woe to Woo.

So I’ve spent some time planning activities for the next few weeks. On the solstice night there would be many different events in the city throughout the night, anyone want to join? http://www.culturelive.lt/en/events2008/events2008-7/. Alicia will stay over. We will also try to go to Kaunas, weather permitting, on Saturday.

Then Len and Susan are coming on the 24th and we will go on the tour of Jewish Vilnius with a rep from the Jewish museum. 2 official companies offer the tour: http://www.city-discovery.com/lithuania/tour.php?id=311 (102€ for 1) http://www.holidayguide.lt/id-jewish_life_in_vilnius.html (72€ for 2)
We called the first one having found it first. The director said yes, we offer the tour plus for another 100LT per person we can take you to Paneriai where “a lot of… hmm, Lithuanians died, some of whom were of.. hmm.. Jewish origin.” So we tried the museum next to see if they can suggest anything. Will see how it goes.

As we sat at home sipping coke from our paper cups and I noticed that they smell like coffee – maybe at the factory they make coffee too. Dan had a brilliant idea to put a bag with coffee, sugar and creamer on the bottom of the cup so that the only thing that needs to be added as hot water and sell to offices as a pack.

Here is a pic of another bachelorette. She chose a different alternative to the angel consume. There was a small group people around and we did not figure out what she needs help with.

Day 19 – Back in Business With Loaner Camera (updated with pics)

Hurray!! Dan’s parents friends loaned us the camera – not a little soap dish we had but an SLR no less. So we are back in business. Incidentally we got it at night on 18 - which is what this blog entry covers so we have just a 2 pictures on that day.

The morning started as usual. Then Georgia had lunch at the kindergarten again. It tastes good and is a balanced 3-course meal. The teachers were playing train around the tables to keep the kids away while the food is being distributed. All the kids were together still but in one of the main kiddy rooms. Tomorrow they are said to be splitting. One of the teachers (maybe she is the nanny), elderly lady, seems very kind and attentive. Everyone calls her grandma. Georgia has already monopolized her and gets uncomfortable when she gets out of the room. Teachers are supposed to have their meal with the kids but they down their food in minutes and spend their time walking around and keeping the peace.

We met up with Dan and went to Woo restaurant for lunch. Quick preview: Woo restaurant in Vilnius SUCKS!! Read further only if you have eaten very recently…

It is supposed to be casual Asian-fusion. In the basement there are 2 waitresses and a waiter. We waited for 10 minutes. Finally I approached one of the waitresses and startled her because she was on a programmed cycle to set the table: “Bring one fork, think, stare, bring one knife, think, stare, bring one table mat, think, stare, find a second placement on the same table, think, stare, bring one fork… She called the second waitress apparently assigned to our table. We asked “English or Russian.” She said confidently “English,” then looked at us and said “Russian.” She hardly knew either. We pointed to the items we wanted on the menu and waited for 15 minutes. During that time she and the first waitress went through the table setting cycle and completed one table. There were two more tables to clear so they had their afternoon full. Our waitress brought us coffee and cider. We waited for another 20 minutes, watched another table being set, paid for our drinks, and left. She caught us on the street and said that our food was ready. A little too late.

So, once again, for spidering purposes: Woo restaurant in Vilnius SUCKS! Yes, indeed: Woo restaurant in Vilnius SUCKS.

We walked around old town in the evening waiting for Dan’s parents friends to come. Tried to go to Medinikai but they were full serving a group of German tourists. So we went across the street to the Chinese restaurant set in the old building. The room was very nice and comfortable with red velvety tablecloths and Chinese knickknacks. The waitress set our expectations low early on – they only have 1 cook, so dishes will be sequential and the wait time is 30 minutes. But they overdelivered on the time. The food looked Chinese but was a bit bland. Having read the latest copy of Vilnius in your pocket (VIYP), I tend to agree with authors that service is a great part of the experience and it is OK to come back to a place with great service and “so so” food for a possibly better chance than to come back to a joint with shitty service (does not hold true when the food is truly exceptional like in Csarda).

To be fair, there is little in a way of a culture of tipping here. People leave insultingly low tips like a few cents after a meal worth $40-50. So hardly anyone wants to do this job and they either recruit people from villages and don't train them or keep the same perpetually disgruntled staff. I agree with VIYP guide that the culture has to be developed by the customers who should appropriately tip when the service is good and leave nothing when it is not.

Quick note on piles of bottles and trash in the backyards and on grass and just about everywhere. These may look bad to visitor, but they have a pretty dynamic character. For example, almost every morning I pass by the big white building on top of Tauro hill. The piles of trash behind the cars on the parking lot are different every time.

There are street sweepers responsible for most of the areas in the city and they take care of the desolation from a day before. I think the fact that someone exists to clean up the trash develops mentality that it is OK to not take care of your crap because someone else will. It also would not hurt to charge extra for plastic (beer) bottles used mainly by kids and alcoholics so that they could be returned to the store. On a positive note there are far more paper/bottle recycling containers than at home.

A question for fish experts out there. I bought this thing that in big letters said Syomga and did not notice the small print "made from salmon." It looks like salmon, tastes like salmon. I am feeling it is salmon, but I am not completely sure.

Day 18 – (6/17/2008) - Acne Jeans & Lost Camera

Sad update. While we were walking around with Georgia waiting for our dessert in Cancan Pizza (food again, crappy BTW) in Hyper Maxima, we had to go to the special place to leave Georgia’s special gift (special gifts again :) ), and I left our camera in that place. And so it is lost forever and ever. We are trying to borrow one from Dan’s parents’ friend, to hold us over until Dan’s mom comes. So will have to ration the remaining pictures (2, below).

Back to the start of the day. It was raining today. Georgia said on the way to the kindergarten that she would not cry. And she sat sullenly in the stroller but really did not cry. But when we got to there she did start to cry. Kids came over to say hello and asked for her name. Between the cries she managed that. During a short break I slipped out. The pic is the view from Tauro Hill in the rain.

Even though restored buildings look great, some old buildings that had not been restored have some kind of charm that disappears (see the old missionary church pick from the day ago). Exterior restoration seems to happen at incredible pace. There was a scaffolded building on Basanavicaus that got plastered and painted and done in the two weeks we were here. Now the batch of buildings next to it just got plastered up.

Just-in-Time operations would be really helpful to the crew that is responsible for removing pavement stones – they are removed in large portions of the city and are lying around in piles especially around intersections. There is work going on in two or three places tops. Maybe there are two teams competing – one that removes the stones and the other that puts them back, and the former one is winning.

I saw a wonderful name of the store that either went out of business or is just starting up. In case it is unclear from the picture, it is ACNE, not ACME. Would explain why they went out of business if that is the case.

They served lunch early and Georgia was eating when I came in. When one eats, one does not cry :). The food was really good. Tomorrow they would be separating into their groups and moving to their rooms and there will be about 6 kids, all girls, in Georgia’s and two teachers. There are two older Asian kids (one half-Japanese) and many have really interesting names for the place, like Edwin.

Alicia came in the afternoon and we went to Maxima. The end is in the beginning.