Day 25 - July 22, 2018; Goodbye Wilna!

Today, it was time to leave Vilnius. I woke up early and packed(stuffed) all of our clothes into my backpack. Then, Dad and I took a stroll around the city for the last time. Sadly, almost everything was closed due to the fact that it was a Sunday and not even nine o’clock. We got back to the apartment, finding Isabella upset at leaving her alone with Grandma and Grandpa. We got pastries for breakfast, took even more for the road trip, and left. I got a pastry with cottage cheese, but Isabella got a pastry with sausage inside. Then, Grandma stopped us at a hat vendor. She got everyone hats, including Sasha and Vika. We went back to the apartment, where a woman was waiting for us to give her the keys to her apartment. 

 We drove to the nearest Maxima XXX, the biggest one, to get supplies for the trip and Irish Cream for Grandma Lilia. Soon enough, we left the Maxima and drove to Grandma Lilia’s house. Grandma was really sad to see us go, but alas, we had to leave. We drove out of the city and carried on for the next hour until we came to a forest. We got out and went looking for mushrooms. Instead, we found wild blueberries and started to pick them and stuff our mouths with them. I felt something crawling on me so I looked down, and there was a tick on me! We left pretty early after that. 

In two hours, we came to Augustus. We ate lunch in a restaurant called The Albatross. While the food is being prepared we left to go look around the city. Grandma and Grandpa also left so when we came back the servers were standing with our food at our table, scratching their heads looking at our table, not knowing where we had gone. It was very funny. After that whole debacle, we had ice cream. Isabella wanted a different kind of ice, but when they gave her the ice cream, it looked like neon chemicals had barfed on it. Isabella tried it and said, "Ew, I’d rather have something else." Well, that took a lot of time. Finally, finally, we left and took an uneventful trip, consisting of at least three hours and a lot of stress. Then, we finally came to our apartment! Whoo! And that’s how this day went down in history. July 21, 2018.

Day 24 - July 21, 2018; Oleg’s Дача

Today we went to Oleg’s summer home. In the morning, Dad, Isabella and I went our favorite pastry place and got everyone breakfast. Then, we went to Crustum, and got six cottage cheese pastries for everyone at the дача. We also got donuts for Grandma Lilia. Then, Grandpa ordered an uber to take him Grandma, Isabella and of course, myself to Grandma Lilia’s house. We got Grandma Lilia and drove to the woods. On the way, we told stories, listened to the really horrible starting sound our car had and watched the city stream on by. 

When we finally came to Oleg’s house, we saw Oleg throwing crab apples a d birds which were eating his cherries. We had a basket with us, which was almost immediately filled with his black currant berries, apples, cucumbers, raspberries, and cherries. Isabella and I went into the bathroom and changed into our swimsuits. Then, we went swimming. We walked with Grandma, Grandpa and Oleg to the lake, stopping for wild raspberries and wild blueberries. We played in the water. Soon, though, it was time for lunch.

We left the lake, though Oleg promised to take us fishing after lunch. For lunch, Oleg had made a weird soup. The main component of the soup was Kvas. It was bette than delicious. In addition, his wife Lena gave me a recipe for her really great white bean fry. Mmmm. It makes me drool just by thinking about it. Grandma Lilia especially liked the zucchini patties Lena made. After lunch, we busied ourselves with catching crickets to use as bait when we went fishing. The forty-five minutes went by like this, (I’m supposed to snap here). 

When the forty-five minutes were up, we went to the lake again. Isabella caught her first fish, but we let it go because it was tiny. When I caught the next fish, the hook got lodged in between the gills. When we tried to take it out, the fish swallowed it in even more. We had to take it with us, because it would have died anyway. After that, I caught two more fish, while Isabella caught one. We went back to the house, and then, we left shortly after. 

Of course, Isabella had to forget her bathing suit, but we didn’t know about that until we were already in Warsaw. Anyway, we drove to our apartment, where Dad was waiting for us. He took Grandma Lilia home, because in the morning, Grandpa had accidentally driven by a car and left a tiny dent. It was no big deal, but Grandpa was worried and didn’t want to go back there. I went with Dad and told him about our whole day. Then, we drove back to the apartment, left the car there and went for a stroll around the city. Eventually, Grandma took Grandpa to a restaurant and we ate dinner there. After that, we had desert in Crustum. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 21, 2018.

Day 23 - July 20, 2018; Bloggin’ From Vilnius

On this lovely, hot day in Vilnius, we did not do that much. In the morning, we woke up and had a Lithuanian breakfast, consisting of black bread, white cheese and black currant jam. After breakfast, I wrote my blog and then we went to the park. We played on the new playground and Isabella tried the climbing course there. If you see Sasha, please tell her for me that the fun spin carousel from which we almost fell off is in working order. They actually fixed that thing up!

When we finished playing on the playground, we fed some ducks and waded into a nearby stream. Then, we waited for Grandpa and went to the main square, Cathedral Square, to wait for Oleg and Lena. We stopped by the white Cathedral to wait there. Grandpa pointed out to me that the huge statues on the roof were not at all in proportion to the rest of the chapel. You see, the statues were made to look modern, while the rest of the chapel looked exactly as it would have back when Grandpa was a kid. Dad called and asked whether or not we wanted to have lunch with him. Grandpa told him that we were having lunch with Oleg. We left the Cathedral and went to the front of the square. 

On the way, I had the idea that Dad should pick us up and go to lunch with him. Unfortunately, Grandpa said that we couldn’t get to Dad in time. Then, I called Dad and asked him to come to the place were waiting to pick us up. Then, we went to him and everything was confusing, but it was all sorted out in the end. Dad, Isabella and I went to Kibin Inn. Dad got three kibinais and then we went to a cafeteria for Isabella’s lunch, after which we decided to catch up on our blogs and diaries with Dad. We rushed through the whole city in the heat to get the house keys from Grandpa. Then, we rushed back to our apartment, grabbed the iPads, and rushed to the nearest Caffeine, their Starbucks Coffee. We spent the next three hours writing blogs, talking and playing some games. 

After the work day was through, we walked over to Grandma Lilia’s house to meet up with Grandma. Then, we went to our very distant relative Nina who in turn gave us plums and apples. Then, Dad was called back to work, so Grandma bought us dessert in the city. I had vanilla ice-cream with cherries, while Isabella had plain lemon sorbet. Later, when Dad was done with work, he and I walked around town. When we came back home, Grandma and Grandpa were asleep so they only let us in after ten minutes. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 20, 2018.

Day 22 - July 19, 2018; Vilnius n’ Vilnius

When we woke up today, we were magically in Vilnius! Wow! Amazing! How did you do it? Aww, I always love to hear from my fans. Anyway, we had Lithuanian white cheese with raspberry jam for breakfast. After breakfast, we drove over to Great-Grandma Lilia’s house. She met us with open arms and smelly cats. We brought her a cute towel, a teacup with cats on it, a reusable table cover, and a lot of sweets. She really has a sweet tooth. I went outside and saw a cat sneak up on a bird and try to eat it. Then I studied a snail named Mika. It was really cool! Soon enough, Oleg, one of Grandma’s friends, came to give Grandpa Lithuanian SIM cards. 

He brought along black currant jam for us, made from his very own garden. He and Grandpa talked about SIM cards, while Grandma Lilia told us about one of her four cats. She said that someone had hit him really hard on his back when he was a mere kitten, so his back legs are longer than the front ones. She told us that she took him to the vet, put him into temporary sleep, took out two of his teeth, completely shaved all his hair off, disinfected him, and washed him. Now, he is still smelly. 

Later, Grandma Lilia compiled a list for Grandma, and we went to Maxima XX, the medium sized Maxima to get her items needed around the household, like munchkins. When we finished getting Grandma everything she needed, Oleg offered to get the kibinais I had longed for the whole year. I agreed, so pretty soon, we were going to Grandma’s house with a bag full of steaming, savory kibinais. After lunch, Oleg drove us home. Soon, Grandpa went to sleep, so Grandma, Isabella and I went to the old city for a walk. 

Last year, there was a hotel they were building for a long time. This year, we finally got to see their masterpiece. It was a modern/old looking house, perfectly fitting in with Vilnius’s other structures. We went on our favorite roads, then rushed back home, because Grandpa would start worrying if we weren’t back soon. Later, Dad came back to the apartment. He took us on a walk to Grandma Lilia’s house. We got caught in a horrible thunder storm, so we had to wait it out under a bridge. Grandma was very excited to see us. She kissed Dad and kept asking him if he was hungry. Then, the half bald cat Karlusha tried to sit on Dad’s lap.

Then, we walked back and had dessert in Krustum, one of my favorite pastry places in Vilnius. After dessert, we walked back home where I diligently wrote my blog and went to sleep. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 19, 2018.

Day 21 - July 18, 2018; Lithuania, Here We Come!

Yay! Today we finally came to Vilnius. First time this year! In the morning, we woke up and packed our bags for three days ahead. Then, we had breakfast and went to the mall for some last minute shopping. We got some pretty school books and some more Polish sweets and delicacies for Grandma Lilia. After getting everything we needed, we left the mall in the blistering heat and walked back to our apartment. As I have said, the heat was blistering and very, very hot; because of Grandpa’s knee pains and Grandma’s hate of the heat, we had to stay inside for the remainder of the day. At about 2:30, Dad came home so we left to get the car that was able to go to Lithuania. It’s really weird how they don’t let German cars into Lithuania. 

I must admit, the views at times were very beautiful. We saw a blood-red sunset over a grassy area, a bird hunting for mice, emerald green and moss green and pine green forests. Small villages and even gardens overflowing with fresh apples and pears and berries. Finally, after a six hour ride, we came to Vilnius. The owner of apartments led us to our rented apartment. It had air-conditioning, a large living room, a kitchen and a dining room. It was great! And that’s how this day went down in history, July 18, 2018.

Days 19 & 20 - July 16 & 17, 2018; Double Dog Dare Ya

WARNING: I am writing this blog a little differently today. Since we didn’t do much on Monday or Tuesday, I am combining the two days. Here goes:

Monday:

Today we went to the mall near our house to get presents for Grandma Lilia. She has a very big sweet tooth. We got her some Krowkas which is basically caramel with gooey caramel on the inside. We also got her candy with some sort of filling on the inside. In addition, as if that wasn’t enough, we got her cookies. After getting Grandma all those very healthy treats, we went to the second floor of the mall and to the huge kids’ slide. We slid down a few times and had quesadillas for lunch.

After the mall, we went home. Later, we went to the old town with Dad. 

Tuesday:

Today we went to the oldest park in Warsaw, called Park Lazenki. It is famous for its castle, Chopin monument, peacocks and half tame red squirrels. We saw all of the above, minus the first one. First, when we got into the park, and we immediately saw a beautiful peacock showing off to its mate. He would open his feathers and waltz to the girl peacock. Then she would shake his tail to show off the glittering parts. It was all very romantic, well it would be if the girl was paying him any attention. After seeing the performance of the peacock, Isabella got it into her head that she wanted to feed the peacocks instead of just watch them. We got a ice cream cone for $.40 so we could feed birds. 

First I fed some ducks, then a whole group of them clustered around me. Even a red squirrel came. Isabella ran off in fright, but I bravely tossed him/her a piece of the waffle cone. The spoiled creature didn’t even look my way! I saw him scamper up a tree and disappear. We took a few turns and saw a group of tourists feeding some other squirrels. We came to the Chopin monument and then decided to go to an orangery. Unfortunately, the orangery was not open, but at least, we took a photo with Grandma’s favorite childhood writer. Then, we walked over to a cafe, Flora Caffe, to wait out the rain that didn’t even start. 

After the cafe, we went to a botanical garden, near the cafe. It was like the botanical garden near Kingston. I found many snails and even saw a glimpse of some garden mice. Isabella stole Grandma’s iPhone and took about 100 photos of flowers, mostly roses. 💯. Soon enough, we got hungry, so we called a cb to take us back to our apartment. We ate lunch, then went walking with Dad around the old city. 

And that’s how those days went down in history, July 16 and 17, 2018.

Day 18 - July 15, 2018; Can you See the Sea?

Sadly, it was today that we had to part with Mom again. In the morning, we woke up and walked to the cafe where we had first gotten breakfast. I got milk and an apple pastry, Isabella had grapefruit juice and her usual cheese covered pastry. Meanwhile, Dad had a sandwich like he had the day before. After breakfast, we went back to our apartment to pack up our bags. We left them in our car, while we went walking around town again. We went back to the river, stopping at a closed restaurant and walking around a half-island under construction. We stopped by the gallery where we had gotten the three pieces a couple of days before, but didn’t get anything else. Finally, it was time to get Mom to the airport. 

We went back to the apartment, gave our keys back to the owner and left. Isabella almost started crying because she was upset at Mom leaving. When we pulled into the airport, we saw a massive, modern building where we were supposed to drop Mom off. We gave Mom two beli naliv apples, so she wouldn’t be hungry, hugged and kissed, then we left. 

Dad drove us to the Baltic Sea, because it was on the way back to Warsaw, and we had brought our bathing suits. First, it was very difficult to find parking. We finally just parked off the road on some dirt. Then, we had to walk for a kilometer until we could see the grey-blue sea and beehive yellow sand. Isabella was eager to jump right into the cold Baltic water, while I was a bit more hesitant. There were many pieces of wood washed up on the coast, so I went about the business of trying to find amber in the woody mass. When I could stand the heat no longer, I changed and dove into the refreshing water. Eventually Dad told us that we had to get home. We stopped by a fish-shop to get lunch-dinner. 

The ride back to Warsaw was a long and tiring one lasting about four hours When we came home, we ate a snack and almost immediately went to bed. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 15, 2018.

Day 17 - July 14, 2018; Mom, Gdańsk and Malbourg

Today we had a lovely day with Mom. It started out in the cafe with the orange-haired woman. We had breakfast in style, right across the street. Dad and I had a breakfast sandwich with ham, native to the city of Gdańsk. Mom had something similar, consisting of a sandwich with cheese, salmon and rocket. Isabella, choosing the most unhealthy choice out of all of us, went with her taste buds’ choice; a chocolate croissant. I was a simple and elegant breakfast, after which we went to their bazaar. We got some beli naliv, but unfortunately, it was not ripe at all. 

After the bazaar, we went to see one of Gdańsk’s churches were Dad and Mom went after college. There was a mill on the other side of the road, which you could see from the top view on the top of the tallest tower in the church. That was a mouthful. It was there where we had the pleasure of meeting salesman of, "Gdańsk Tours". First, a newbie came up to us and offered a tour of the city. When we declined the offer, he went back to his car and a more "experienced" salesman came up to us. First, he offered us to go on a tour of the whole city. Then, when we didn’t want to do it, he got mad at us and yelled at us to go back to where we came from. A few heated words were exchanged. Thank goodness it didn’t lead to a fight. 

After the unfortunate incident, we went strolling down a few streets and ourselves facing an old train station. We marveled at it for a while until, Isabella decided that she wanted to go to a mall. We saw one on the next street, so we went there. On the way, there were some advertisers getting ready for the day. They were dressed as spices in saltshakers. Here’s the recipe for their look:

1. Take a saltshaker with a soft bottom.

2. Enlarge about 20 times.

3. Add a pinch of sweatiness.

4. Mix with weird dance moves

5. Allow to sit in music for one to two hours.

Eventually, we did get to that mall. We got everything we needed, so we went back to the center of the old part of town. Dad found a place he wanted to explore, but he needed the proper materials first. We quickly went home to get the things he needed. Then, we split up. Mom, Isabella, and I walked in to a street called, Marsuchka or something of that matter. We though we would find something in an interesting gallery, but there was only amber, amber, amber. Eventually, we were called by Dad, who told us to meet him at a cafeteria we found near his shop. The meatballs I had were really good. 

We met up with Grandpa and Grandma, so we could go to one of the biggest and most protected castles in Poland, Malbourg. On the way to the castle, we passed a beli naliv tree. When I say passed, I mean, stopped at to get some apples. In Malbourg, we had initially gotten tickets with audioguide, but we decided to explore on our own. We parted with our grandparents and going to the inner castle. The castle had three ways of protection. The river on which the castle was located, one outer wall, and one inner wall. It was all really quite amazing. The castle even survived World War II! 

As we were returning from the castle, we stopped by the tree again. We thought we had gotten enough apples to last us a lifetime, but unfortunately, they only lasted for two days. For dinner, we found a fish restaurant. Here’s a new tongue-twister I invented: A Fishteyn eats fish in a fish shop. After dinner, we walked around the river again for a long time. Then, we went back to our apartment. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 14, 2018.

Day 16 - July 13, 2018; Misfortune in Gdańsk

Today we had a misfortune in Gdańsk, hence the name of the blog. The day started out fine; we woke up, Isabella and I had our morning routine argument, and we went to the city. Then Mom called and said that she was waiting for another flight because her first plane to Copenhagen was late, so she missed her second plane. She also informed us that she was extremely upset. So were we. We got pastries for breakfast and sat down for a cup of coffee for the adults and some juice for me. Soon, we took Dad to a Costa Coffee and left him there for work. 

We went down a random street, going into a wonderful gallery, filled to the brim with lively statuettes, glass figures, and amazing statues that my parents, Mom and Dad, like. Grandma was, how should I say it? hesitant, to part with the gallery, but we insisted to go to another place instead. We went around the corner and came to a bazaar. It was oddly similar to the bazaar in Vilnius, Lithuania, with a big building that situated cheeses, sausages, meats, clothing and candy, and small hut-like tents that had fruits and vegetables, coupled with unfriendly faces of the grannies who sold the produce. 

There was nothing we wanted to get there, so we passed on to a playground. There were swings, a slide, a rock wall, a wall where you had to climb up using a rope, and some strange pieces of wood sticking out of the ground. The wood had steps attached to it, so I figured out that it was for climbing. We stayed there for a good few minutes until Grandma decided she wanted some of the stuff in the gallery. We went there again, getting about ten pounds of ceramics and glass. I joked that they had gotten half the stuff in the gallery, but it actually did see that way when Grandpa lifted the bag, grunting. We dropped the fragile mass off at Dad’s place in Costa Coffee, so that we could walk without the burden. 

We then completely switched direction and went to see a different part of the city. We saw a copper horse on the roof and a really big house, seeming like a castle. We went to another set of playgrounds. Then, Grandpa decided to go to the Marines Museum. I found a route on my phone, and we set off to the Museum. The reason that Gdańsk has a Marine Museum, is that they are situated near the Baltic Sea. There is even a river that cuts through the whole city. 

On the way, we got hungry, so we stopped by a restaurant for lunch. The food was ok. I mean, I’ve tasted better soup, but I’ve also tasted worse. Just then, Dad called Grandpa with news about our new apartment. He told us to meet the person with our keys. I led us to the assigned place, but there was no one there. Seeing a small cafe on the other side of the street, the cafe was almost seemingly invisible from the street, we went there to wait out twenty minutes for the key-person. We met a young woman with sizzling red hair. Grandpa almost mistook her for one of our relatives, but she was actually the girlfriend of the manager. She came up to us and asked us a weird question: if you were on an inhabitable island, and you could pick any three desserts to take with you, what would you take. Isabella was very scared, cowering behind Grandpa’s back. On the other hand, I answered her, "Poppy babka, and that’s it." Thinking on it more, I probably should have also said, chocolate potatoes and coconut macaroons. Anyway, Grandma got a small, two inch, spherical cake for us to share. We found out that the woman was from a very musical family. She had lived in Poland for three year, so her Russian was a bit accented, but she could speak two languages and was a jazz singer. 

After twenty minutes passed, we parted with the small, but lively bakery, and walked back to the apartment. We met the owner of the apartment. She was a plump lady with a Polish accent. She led us to a beautify square in the middle of some buildings. Isabella immediately loved that apartment, calling it Angel Lane. I don’t know what she thought. The apartment was indeed really, you know, amazing. Sporting a spacious bathroom, facing the door, and a small kitchen inside of the living room, plus a not very private bedroom. Actually, it was kind of cramped there. At least the view was of a private courtyard with a statue of Neptune, the protector of their city. 

After the first apartment, the owner increased her pace, walking down two blocks before reaching a small, overgrown courtyard. It looked a bit like my great-Grandma’s house, but it was falling apart more. Isabella immediately frowned and said, "I want to live in the other one." She didn’t even look in the second one! We climbed up two sets of stairs. The owner opened the door to the apartment, which by the way, was as good as any a hotel. After viewing both of our choices, we went to get Dad. We showed him the apartments , then, picking up our speed, we speed-walked all the way to where we had left our car the night before. We hopped in and drove to Grandpa, where we deposited his Kindle so he could read. Finally, we rushed off to meet Mom at the airport. It was about a twenty minute drive to the airport, so Isabella and I kind of, maybe, doze off. When I woke up, we were already at the airport. We grabbed our "Welcome Mama! 🙂" signs and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, Mom came out. We were so excited to see her. There were many hugs and kisses exchanged. Since there was a car accident on the busiest road, the drive to the city was a long one. 

We dropped off our car and our bags in our smaller apartment. (Thank you Isabella! 😕) we walked along the same streets that we had walked with Grandpa and Grandma. But somehow, it was better with Mom. We went to a gallery were we got three ceramic souvenirs, a flying man, a horse, and something else. Grandma found a Lithuanian restaurant, so we came to join them for dinner. Mom and I shared five kibinis. Most of them, though not traditional, did taste delicious. I loved the corn/mushroom/cheese mix, and the cottage cheese one. On the other hand, Mom liked the weird Mexican themed one. We split up with my grandparents again, walking around the city, near the river, and ate Soprano ice cream at the first ever Soprano ice cream. Finally, tired from the day’s adventures, we went to our rented apartment. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 13, 2018.

Day 15 - July 12, 2018; Great Days(with Mom) Ahead!

What a great day. Today Grandpa, Grandma, Isabella, and I went to a Holocaust\Jewish museum near our apartment. First, there was a temporary exhibit on March 1968, when Jews in Poland were forced to leave Poland. It started with marches and protests from students. Then, Jews were forced to leave. You could even listen to the stories of Jews who escaped. After that we went to the permanent exhibition, which showed the plight of Jews, starting with the Medieval Times. Turn out, there was even a Jewish queen of Poland. 

When we got to World War II, it was all really sad. They showed a list of all the ghettos in Poland. I didn’t count how many there were, but it sure seemed more than a hundred. It could be informative, but we breezed through it since we were too sad to look. 

After the museum, we went to an exercising station, where Grandma and Grandpa met an old Polish woman who told them where a good place to eat was. We went to that place. The service was so-so, but the food was really good. I had a burger called burger Jaga the Witch. The server said, it’s gonna be a little spicy. I told her, I can handle that. Unfortunately, adult don’t remember that kids have more sensitive taste buds. As she only brought me a tiny glass of water, I had to change with Grandpa so my taste buds wouldn’t flat out die. While we waited for our food, I brought Grandma a “Inside Warsaw” magazine. She saw a cafe there she wanted to go to, called Aromat. 

After lunch, we went home for an hour. Later we set out for Grandma’s Aromat. It took us half an hour in the blistering, dusty heat, but we got there. I was a bit confused to see a tiny shop with about ten pastries and only one customer. Grandma got two almond croissants for the long trip we were about to have. Oh, I forgot to tell you about the trip. We were supposed to go to Gdańsk, pick up Mom from the airport, and travel around the city with her. We rushed home to wait for Dad and pack. Later that night, we set out for Gdańsk. 

The trip was long, so I spent the 2 and a half hours writing my blog that I missed (Sorry!). Later, we pulled into a crumbling neighborhood. It really looked bad until the street opened up and we saw Gdańsk’s old city. We parked, dropped our bags off at our niiiiiiiiiice apartment, and ... did nothing for the next ten minutes! But the apartment really was were basically in the attic, but it was very well made. There was a big kitchen, slanted ceiling, two huge bathrooms and two huge bedrooms, etc.. After our doing nothing (really hard work), we decided to have a late night snack and a boost of calcium. We went down the street and saw a pub. We sat down, and Dad ran to get Grandpa and Grandma from our apartment. Isabella and I ordered a cheese platter for the table, while Grandma had fish soup, Dad had ‘wings’ and Grandpa had apple crumble. The pub had a best beer in Gdańsk. It used to be a storage for goods, but was remade into a restaurant. Later, we went to our apartment. Dad went out on a stroll. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 12, 2018.