Saturday, June 22
One of the brochures Jim brought to Ardith when she was ill described a walking tour to statues and monuments, That's what we picked for today. Our path led us down a street that had a great deal of charm, even though buildings were a bit run down. After Jim took the first picture below, he paid attention to the posters filling windows of the building on the left. A less than stunning model is wearing less than stunning clothes in each of them. The posters are photos taken in front of the most fashionable shops, showing their brand names.
We also passed a reminder of when milk was delivered to our doorsteps (for people our age).
A man was walking his large dog on the railing of a bridge to our first destination, the Republic of Uzupis. The dog seemed quite happy to be doing its balancing act, just like some kids enjoy doing similar things.
What? The Republic of Uzupis? Aren't we in Lithuania? We need some background here. In the 1930s, Vilnius was 40% Jewish. Uzupis, which means "Behind the River" is separated from the old town of Vilnius by the Vilna River. It was a Jewish ghetto before World War 2. Between the Nazis and the Soviets, the Jewish population was driven out or killed.
Uzupis became run down and attracted the undesirables of society. After Lithuanian independence, artists were attracted to the area, due to low rents. It grew and began to thrive. In 1997 they declared independence. This reminded us of The Maritime Republic of Eastport in Annapolis. In 1998, the bridge separating the Eastport section of Annapolis from downtown was closed for several months for extensive repairs. A group of locals declared their independence and the tradition of rivalry has persisted. Each year there is a .05K race across the bridge and a tug of war across the water. Uzupis outdoes Eastport by having a constitution that is displayed in multiple languages on metal mirrors. The constitution has some sensible stuff and a fair amount of wackiness. Here are a few articles:
The symbol of Uzupis is an angel (Gabriel) high on a pillar above the Republic's main open space.
There are lots of examples of nuttiness evident here. There were almost no people, though. We suspect that was due to very late partying celebrating midsummer last night.
Heading down the hill to the other bridge connecting Uzupis with the mainland, we could see our next destination peering over the rooftops.
The Bernardine complex consists of two Catholic churches, a monastery and offices for some organizations. St. Anne's Church was finished in 1500. It is an amazing brick structure. One group of scholars said there are 33 different shapes of bricks there. We are surprised that the number isn't bigger.
The larger church in the complex is Saints Bernardine and Francis of Assisi. It is 25 years newer than St. Anne's. At one time, its walls were part of the city's defenses. During Soviet times, it was used as an art students' studio. Many parts of the interior were incorporated into student works. The interior is slowly being restored.
A statue on the grounds is of Adam Manciewicz, a poet whose 19th century writings inspired Lithuanians in the 1980s to push for their freedom.
Every time we were near a church today, we saw babies in baptismal gowns. This was especially concentrated here. We saw about a dozen in the half hour we were here. We saw that people who wanted to have their child baptized went into the church office and signed up for a time. Saturday is a the usual day for baptisms. Tomorrow is St. John the Baptist Sunday, so that is probably regarded as a special day to have your baby brought into the church.
We saw a tree all dressed in its finest knitwear. This reminded us of Hobbywool in Riga, but Hobbywool was more tasteful.
As we approached the main tourist street, we saw a teacup sticking out of a wall, then more. This was the wall of a shop featuring tea.
While we were on the main tourist street, we poked our heads into shops selling amber. Amber and honey were the main export goods in Lithuania at the time of its large empire. The Baltic countries are still the largest source of amber in the world. Ardith ended up buying a pair of earrings.
We went down to Cathedral Square and hydrated ourselves while enjoying a small snack. While we were sitting and enjoying, we heard what sounded like bugle calls, except they didn't sound like they were coming from a bugle. Soon a guy came into view playing a long straight horn. He was followed by people with an Olympic torch, an Olympic flag and 2 other flags with Lithuanian colors and Olympic symbols.
We came to Cathedral Square because we wanted to experience the next "monument". This is actually a tile in the plaza floor. It marks the spot where the human chain from Vilnius to Riga to Tallinn demanding freedom for the Baltics was intended to start. (Due to overwhelming turnout, it went farther). The letters on the tile spell "miracle" in Lithuanian (Stebuklas). Legend says that if you stand on it, close your eyes and make a 360 degree clockwise spine, your wish will come true. Jim suspects that Ardith wished that he didn't start walking more slowly or straying away to take excessive numbers of pictures.
Not far from there we got some surprises. These were good ones. The main street closes for a time on Saturdays for a special market. There are lots of things for locals and tourists.
The meat seller had a boar's head at his booth and a woman had a unique delivery vehicle for caffeine.
We wished we hadn't snacked because there were a lot of great looking edibles, but we passed everything by.
As we neared the end of the market area, the sounds of a busking accordion player were replaced by the wail of a siren. Police cars came into the main street then continues on. They were followed by perhaps a thousand bicycles, pedaling furiously. A great sight, too bad it didn't last longer.
Next, we hunted down the statue of Romain Gary. He was a French writer, diplomat, pilot, etc who spent his boyhood living in the house adjacent to the statue. The statue recreates a scene from his autobiography when he was trying to win the attention of a girl named Valentina by cutting up and eating what the descriptions call a gumshoe. When we were kids, we called them rubbers. We haven't seen kids or adults wear them for ages.
The final monument on our tour was the giant Easter Egg. Supposedly a symbol of revitalization of its neighborhood, its paint is peeling, thus in need of revitalization itself.
Along the way, Ardith did a double take. She thought she saw her name on a wall. There was a company in a small office building called Ardita.
As we neared our hotel, we passed through the Gates of Dawn. This was one of the gates in the old defensive walls of the city. The "outside" of the gate is plain, with a few bullet holes to help recall bad times. Above the opening on the inside is a chapel with a famous image of the Virgin Mary. There was a worship service happening as we passed through. Jim recorded some of the singing. Hes especially liked the fact that the woman next to us began singing something that was very familiar to her, softly at first, then full voice.
Jim recognized that Ardith was quite tired from the day's activities and suggested a place to eat that was very near the hotel. Its outdoor eating area was in an alley-like area off the main street. It was totally charming farther back in there. We were the first to come for dinner, thus had full attention of the wait staff. We had a fry bread that was shaped like large French fries. If we didn't share, that amazing dish would have filled one of us. Ardith recalled how her grandmother made fry bread that was quite different than this, but was one of her favorites. Jim was enchanted by the idea of a poached pear tower, and that swayed his decision to have the duck breast in a berry-wine reduction with polenta and spinach. All was wonderful, especially the pear. Ardith was quite happy with her chicken croquettes, fried potatoes and warm cucumber and tomato slices.
Here are just a few buildings or features we especially liked today.
One of the brochures Jim brought to Ardith when she was ill described a walking tour to statues and monuments, That's what we picked for today. Our path led us down a street that had a great deal of charm, even though buildings were a bit run down. After Jim took the first picture below, he paid attention to the posters filling windows of the building on the left. A less than stunning model is wearing less than stunning clothes in each of them. The posters are photos taken in front of the most fashionable shops, showing their brand names.
We also passed a reminder of when milk was delivered to our doorsteps (for people our age).
A man was walking his large dog on the railing of a bridge to our first destination, the Republic of Uzupis. The dog seemed quite happy to be doing its balancing act, just like some kids enjoy doing similar things.
What? The Republic of Uzupis? Aren't we in Lithuania? We need some background here. In the 1930s, Vilnius was 40% Jewish. Uzupis, which means "Behind the River" is separated from the old town of Vilnius by the Vilna River. It was a Jewish ghetto before World War 2. Between the Nazis and the Soviets, the Jewish population was driven out or killed.
Uzupis became run down and attracted the undesirables of society. After Lithuanian independence, artists were attracted to the area, due to low rents. It grew and began to thrive. In 1997 they declared independence. This reminded us of The Maritime Republic of Eastport in Annapolis. In 1998, the bridge separating the Eastport section of Annapolis from downtown was closed for several months for extensive repairs. A group of locals declared their independence and the tradition of rivalry has persisted. Each year there is a .05K race across the bridge and a tug of war across the water. Uzupis outdoes Eastport by having a constitution that is displayed in multiple languages on metal mirrors. The constitution has some sensible stuff and a fair amount of wackiness. Here are a few articles:
- Everyone has the right to hot water, heating in winter and a tiled roof.Everyone has the right to die, but it is not a duty.A cat is not obliged to love its master, but it must help him in difficult times.Everyone has the right to be happy.Everyone has the right to be unhappy.
The symbol of Uzupis is an angel (Gabriel) high on a pillar above the Republic's main open space.
There are lots of examples of nuttiness evident here. There were almost no people, though. We suspect that was due to very late partying celebrating midsummer last night.
Heading down the hill to the other bridge connecting Uzupis with the mainland, we could see our next destination peering over the rooftops.
The Bernardine complex consists of two Catholic churches, a monastery and offices for some organizations. St. Anne's Church was finished in 1500. It is an amazing brick structure. One group of scholars said there are 33 different shapes of bricks there. We are surprised that the number isn't bigger.
The larger church in the complex is Saints Bernardine and Francis of Assisi. It is 25 years newer than St. Anne's. At one time, its walls were part of the city's defenses. During Soviet times, it was used as an art students' studio. Many parts of the interior were incorporated into student works. The interior is slowly being restored.
A statue on the grounds is of Adam Manciewicz, a poet whose 19th century writings inspired Lithuanians in the 1980s to push for their freedom.
Every time we were near a church today, we saw babies in baptismal gowns. This was especially concentrated here. We saw about a dozen in the half hour we were here. We saw that people who wanted to have their child baptized went into the church office and signed up for a time. Saturday is a the usual day for baptisms. Tomorrow is St. John the Baptist Sunday, so that is probably regarded as a special day to have your baby brought into the church.
We saw a tree all dressed in its finest knitwear. This reminded us of Hobbywool in Riga, but Hobbywool was more tasteful.
As we approached the main tourist street, we saw a teacup sticking out of a wall, then more. This was the wall of a shop featuring tea.
While we were on the main tourist street, we poked our heads into shops selling amber. Amber and honey were the main export goods in Lithuania at the time of its large empire. The Baltic countries are still the largest source of amber in the world. Ardith ended up buying a pair of earrings.
We went down to Cathedral Square and hydrated ourselves while enjoying a small snack. While we were sitting and enjoying, we heard what sounded like bugle calls, except they didn't sound like they were coming from a bugle. Soon a guy came into view playing a long straight horn. He was followed by people with an Olympic torch, an Olympic flag and 2 other flags with Lithuanian colors and Olympic symbols.
We came to Cathedral Square because we wanted to experience the next "monument". This is actually a tile in the plaza floor. It marks the spot where the human chain from Vilnius to Riga to Tallinn demanding freedom for the Baltics was intended to start. (Due to overwhelming turnout, it went farther). The letters on the tile spell "miracle" in Lithuanian (Stebuklas). Legend says that if you stand on it, close your eyes and make a 360 degree clockwise spine, your wish will come true. Jim suspects that Ardith wished that he didn't start walking more slowly or straying away to take excessive numbers of pictures.
Not far from there we got some surprises. These were good ones. The main street closes for a time on Saturdays for a special market. There are lots of things for locals and tourists.
The meat seller had a boar's head at his booth and a woman had a unique delivery vehicle for caffeine.
We wished we hadn't snacked because there were a lot of great looking edibles, but we passed everything by.
As we neared the end of the market area, the sounds of a busking accordion player were replaced by the wail of a siren. Police cars came into the main street then continues on. They were followed by perhaps a thousand bicycles, pedaling furiously. A great sight, too bad it didn't last longer.
Next, we hunted down the statue of Romain Gary. He was a French writer, diplomat, pilot, etc who spent his boyhood living in the house adjacent to the statue. The statue recreates a scene from his autobiography when he was trying to win the attention of a girl named Valentina by cutting up and eating what the descriptions call a gumshoe. When we were kids, we called them rubbers. We haven't seen kids or adults wear them for ages.
Next on the agenda was something quite odd for Lithuania - a statue of Frank Zappa. This was commissioned by the local Frank Zappa fan club shortly after independence and replaced a bust of Lenin. He has no connection to Lithuania, but represented a type of freedom.
Along the way, Ardith did a double take. She thought she saw her name on a wall. There was a company in a small office building called Ardita.
We also passed the synagog where the Karaite sect mentioned in yesterday's blog worships. They managed to escape most of the ravages of Nazis and Soviets because they weren't "real Jews", but most of the remaining Karites are living in Israel.
Jim recognized that Ardith was quite tired from the day's activities and suggested a place to eat that was very near the hotel. Its outdoor eating area was in an alley-like area off the main street. It was totally charming farther back in there. We were the first to come for dinner, thus had full attention of the wait staff. We had a fry bread that was shaped like large French fries. If we didn't share, that amazing dish would have filled one of us. Ardith recalled how her grandmother made fry bread that was quite different than this, but was one of her favorites. Jim was enchanted by the idea of a poached pear tower, and that swayed his decision to have the duck breast in a berry-wine reduction with polenta and spinach. All was wonderful, especially the pear. Ardith was quite happy with her chicken croquettes, fried potatoes and warm cucumber and tomato slices.
Here are just a few buildings or features we especially liked today.
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