Gvidas and the Ride of the Valkyries

To this point in the trip it has been somewhat rainy, never really a down-pour just something little more than a drizzle. While it has been on and off – it has just been enough to frustrate Lisa who enjoys it sunny and hot – for me, this has been perfect. When we go out – the rain seems to stop – when we are in for the night, it seems to pick-up and the steady drum of the raindrops serves as a nice background noise to fall asleep with. As I write this post for last Tuesday, it is Monday August 15th and the sun is beginning to peek out from quickly retreating clouds. The forecast is sunny and mid-seventies for the remainder of our stay – Lisa is excited!

Back to Tuesday, August 9th with Gvidas and the Ride of the Valkyries.

Gvidas is the son of Aunt Stella, brother to Milda and Vile (check back to the first or second post). Thin with deep blue eyes, his graying crew cut reminds one of the old gym teacher you might see on one of the old television shows that run on Nick at Night or TV Land. Full of life he is eager to help his American cousin and show us the town. Gvidas is retired at this point in his life – “What else do I have to do?” he loudly proclaims. “Anywhere you want to go – anytime, just ask!”

My one request for the trip is to head downtown and have “Viva! Kolduni”, my favorite restaurant from last time. Gvidas “pshaws!” me with a wave of his hand and points out that he knows of a better place not too far out side of town – but he will take us downtown to walk “Laisves Alejus (Freedom Avenue)” – their version of Michigan Ave.

Gvidas is a fearless driver – his passengers however are another story! We make the downtown area in record time – weaving in and out of traffic and around pot holes, the windows of the small red Honda steaming up faster than the little defroster can keep up. Lisa’s father wipes the window down in front of Gvidas as he cracks his side window just enough to allow the rain into the back-seat. This, however, is not a bad thing as it drives Lisa over to my side of the backseat!!

We eventually park in a back alley behind an Office Supply store that Gvidas’s son, Egidijus (E Gee D Us) is an outside sales representative for. He proudly gives us a tour of the small store (which is part of a large national chain) as we pass through. We then go to a bar that Egidijus used to own called “Mr. Max’s” – a small basement place located below a series of retail shops. He notes that the new owners have kept the same successful format or theme of the bar as his son. It is a nice little place with a nautical theme – wooden ships adorn the sills, there is a large iron anchor against the far wall and the place is peppered with wooden picnic like tables – but more solid. Techno music is blaring even at this early, pre-lunch hour. They do love their techno-music here I’ve noted. I am even beginning to enjoy their techno remake of “Axle Foley’s Theme” from the original “Beverly Hills Cop” movie – I’ve heard it at least a dozen times since arriving!

From “Mr. Max’s” we head over Freedom Ave to begin our walk – nothing special, just to meander and check out the shops. It is still summer vacation – so there are a lot of young people wandering around even in the rain. They are all dressed to the nines – especially the girls. There are no shortages of bare mid-drifts and short, short skirts with the high, nosebleed, heeled boots thrown in for good measure. Everyone is very colorful as well. Coming from the Gap dulling colors of the United States – the color parade of neon greens, oranges, reds and purples is something to see. Women out number men her – so they work very hard to attract attention. They are doing a good job!

At the end of Freedom Ave is a church that unfortunately is closed – it is steeped in history that we did not get into, so we make a promise to get back here before the end of our trip. We walk back to down the other side of Freedom Ave – it is a nice leisurely pace that takes up a good amount of time. We note that it is well past our lunch time and that later we have dinner plans with Modestas – so perhaps this is a good time to head to lunch. Gvidas steers us back to the car and as we get in – he notes that there is another church in town that we should see, a Russian church that is just finishing remodeling. We quickly head over there.

The name of the church escapes me, so please forgive my lack of detail on that – but it is one of the largest churches I have seen is some time. Pristine white inside and out – the church almost seems to radiate white light. A large multi-story bell tower runs up the face of the church. Inside everything is bright white and beautiful. Gold trim runs throughout the intricate trim. We light a couple of candles after donating $1 lts each and say a short prayer. Above us there is a terrace on the roof that overlooks Kaunas – it costs us $5 lts each to ride the elevator the three floors to the terrace. Once up there the view over the city is wonderful. The terrace itself is marble with benches situated at each end. Small potted shrubs decorate the ends of each bench adding just enough green to the pristine whiteness of the church. We have our umbrellas up to protect us from the steady drizzle but the temperature itself is very nice. From our high standing we can see the center of the city – our apartments where we are living and lush green scattered throughout. It is a very nice moment to reflect on the beauty of the city and the country. As we shoot several pictures, a very nice Russian family on vacation asks us to snap a photo of them. We do this with pleasure and go on to discuss their background and vacation plans. They are on the tail end of the vacation and have had a very nice time in Lithuania. Soon they will board a train for the 8 hour ride back to Russia. After a short while and some very pleasant conversations, we say our good-byes and head back down to the car.

At this point we are running far behind schedule for lunch (don’t forget, we have dinner plans with Modestas and his future bride) as it is already 3:00 PM. Gvidas hustles us to the car and quickly pulls out – he really wants us to taste those Kolduni and will not take no for an answer. Just as he pulls into the street – the tiny Honda engine winding up into gear as he slams the shift forward, the clouds open up and the rain really begins to fall.

It is now raining cats & dogs as we pull onto the highway – wait – I meant as we hydroplane onto the highway headed towards Vilnius and Gvidas’s restaurant. The little Honda is now a steam bath as we cannot have the windows open for fear of drowning. Lisa’s Dad is wiping the window every few minutes and Gvidas is whipping here and there – around cars, around pot-holes and through some deep puddles that are forming with the sudden down-pour. As we slide through each he lets out a victory cry and raises his hands in triumph! Unable to keep up with the steaming windows – Gvidas opens the driver side window and Lisa is immediately rained on, now wet and wind shorn, she slides over to my side and begins to hang on. With rain flowing into the car, the tiny Honda engine whining in protest to the 120 KM/Hr speed in the rain – I look out the window to see a green faced witch on a broom cackling and screaming: “And your little dog Toto too!” Somewhere off in the distant I can hear the Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” in the distance.

Suddenly, Gvidas realizes that in the blindness of the storm, steam and wind-shear, he missed his exit and we are now half way to Vilnius. The only problem now – unlike American highways – exit exchanges are few and far in-between. You have to find an area to make a U-Turn into other cars that are barreling at you at 120 KM/Hr, in the rain – with cars that are equally steamed up. Now I realize there are witches every where – the cows are flying in circles and Dorothy is screaming for her dear life! We actually find an exchange that allows us to get back on the highway without making a U-Turn (thank God for small favors) and now we are finally heading back to Kaunas.

So once again we are headed down the rabbit-hole, hydroplaning right and left, and steam seemingly erupting from Gvidas’s ears as he valiantly fights the rain, wind, highway and time itself to get us to Kolduni! The restaurant he wants passes us on the right and Gvidas swears something in Lithuanian. Luckily, for him not for us, there is a U-Turn area shortly up the road. We make the U-turn, rain and wind flowing into the little Honda. Now bear in mind – the restaurant is on the right side of the highway – we are on the left…that witch just does not want to let go just yet! Finally, bowels and bladder still intact, we arrive at the restaurant just as the storm passes.

The restaurant itself is a nice little place – maybe twenty or so tables in a room decorated to look like a lodge. Tucked away from the road amongst the trees, it seems like a great place to have a small dinner and then be ready to eat again in an hour! We sit – pull out the menu and find them – the treats that we risked life and sanity to get – KOLDUNI!

Like a gentleman Gvidas takes our orders (you must order yourself at the bar) and minutes later he returns to tell us they are out and we must go elsewhere!

Back into the little Honda we retreat just as the storm kicks up again. Trust me I am not taking artistic license here. God was having a grand old time on our behalf today!

So, we are now facing Vilnius and we need to get back to Kaunas. Yup, another wind and rain soaked U-Turn later and we are headed in the right direction. We stop at another roadside restaurant called Three Brothers – it is a chain in the same vein of Applebee’s or Chili’s. The atmosphere is very nice, the restaurant itself, once again, is made up to mimic a lodge. Out back there are more tables, an outdoor stage, a play lot, and a petting zoo with a gift shop for all of the frightened tourists who are being led along by their Lithuanian Speed Racer cousins! The lunch (4:00 PM at this point) is wonderful and we all have a great laugh over the fortunes of the day. After all, we are in one piece; the food is good and the company even better!

Dinner At Milda’s

Being here means having to give up a lot of freedom. Let me explain that – first and foremost we are at the mercy of whom ever our translator is – in most cases that is Lisa’s father, who does a great job of translating but we are also aware that he enjoys just turning himself lose in our conversation – so we try not to ask what is being said if we can’t get it form someone else. That being said – it is worthwhile to note that a majority of the young folks speak English or are learning – so in most cases we have a handy translator besides Lisa’s father.

The other freedom is movement. To get to and from where we want, we have to rely on the goodness of the family and their transportation. For the most every one is amiable and volunteers themselves up quite readily (or their kids up for that matter!).

We now find ourselves waiting for Saulius to come pick us up to go to Milda’s, his mother, house. Milda does not live far from our current base of operations so it is a quick ride – even quicker with the Lithuanian version of Speed Racer behind the wheel.

Some background on Milda – she has spent the last three years of her life in the States working as a caregiver to earn money. Bear in mind that he original Visa was a travel one and only good for 6 months! This means that she can never return to the United States again – but when you visit her house you can see how it has paid off. When they started – the house was something of a wreck. The walls we full of dry rot, the windows and roof barley held the rain out and everyone told her it was a mistake to by it – but Milda had a vision and wanted to see it through. So while she toiled in America, acting as a live in care giver for a woman with Alzheimer’s – giving baths, changing diapers, feeding, keeping company – basically on call 24 hours a day – she would send every penny back to her son who would then invest it back into the home.

Basically they built a brick frame around the dying wooden structure – once which was complete – they gutted the inside and started all over. The entire configuration of the interior was re-written in Milda’s vision. From a decrepit, almost ready for destruction house to a beautiful home in less than three years is quite an accomplishment!

When you pull into her driveway, built of interlocking paver bricks, you are immediately struck by the unique siding on the house. It is actually sprayed on concrete that is painted. The prayed concrete gives a very unique texture that is much nicer than the standard stucco that we have in the United States. The color is complete unique as well and screams out Milda (who is something of a free spirit – at least in my eyes). It is not quite as lime green as you might think – but more of pastel lime green. It looks much better than it sounds and if we have more time – we will take some pictures to post. Inside the floors are oak as well as the beautiful staircase that winds it way up towards the second floor. As you stand in the door to your right is the kitchen – tastefully decorated in soft purples with stainless appliances and marbled tile floor. Like most kitchens in Lithuania it is small as you do not normally eat in them. Located off the back of the kitchen is the master bedroom occupied by Milda. A good size room that seems to have a bit of Oriental flair to it. The master bed – a queen size I think – is located close to the floor – as most are I’ve noted. The bathroom is also located to the immediate right – a huge soak tub takes up the majority of the space in the blue room. In front – slightly off to the right – is the blond oak stair case that winds it’s way to the second floor – an open air staircase (that is you can see straight though) it is a nice modern touch in this very old European country. If you walk straight from the front door – you will walk into a very tastefully decorated front room/living room/dining room, as in all cases with most Lithuanian homes – the front room does double as well as triple duty. The walls are a soft peach color and the room itself is inviting. It is here that we will eat, talk, drink and gather!

Going up the oak stairs you are struck by the openness and light from the skylight in the center of what is a loft office are. There are two more rooms up her – one for Saulius and his fiancée and a spare room that is being made into a media room. All of the rooms have these wonderful light fixtures the likes that I have never seen before. They all smack of creativity! For example, within Saulius’s room, the lights in the ceiling track in a lazy curve – with white twinkle lights embedded into the ceiling, giving a starry effect to the room. Tasteful cans provide the main lights for the room. In the loft area, hidden rope lights give off soft pink hues across the ceiling. All in all the lighting is used to not only shed illumination but to provoke a feeling as well.

After the tour – we adjourn downstairs to start dinner. As with most meals in Lithuania – rice is on the menu. Now you would think we would be treated to local cuisine – but in most cases so far in the trip – we have been treated with fairly “American” food. In this case we had these wonderful, marinated pork chops (of which I had two I must confess). As it turns out – Milda wanted us over for dinner on Sunday and when those plans did not bear fruit – the pork chops ended up being marinated for an extra day – and by my judgment it did them no harm at all!! Of course Vile, her husband Edmundas, and their grand-daughter Migla were there. (Milda and Vila do virtually everything together you cannot see one without the other, which is very nice.) So the drinking began early – starting out with two home brews, from Milda we have sweet black currant liquor and from Milda a raspberry currant brew – after trying both, Vile teasingly asks me which is better – to which I reply: BOTH!

Dessert is a tasty array of wild strawberries (which are a quarter the size of strawberries and grow on a tree), watermelon, a fruit cake and ice cream. Being the polite guest and foreigner – I try every delicious morsel!

Milda is a wonderful host and we end up staying well beyond our planned time.

Saulius, however, left early to go eel fishing. Now while that might not sound too strange – here is the story. Saulius is a diver and enjoys spear-fishing, so he has an opportunity to go spear-fishing with a friend for eel at night. Again, not too strange. The strange part is that they are going eel fishing in a gaming preserve, illegally – not only which, the father of Saulius’ friend is the GAME WARDEN at the preserve they are going to! He is going to let them in! As it turns out – they catch three and they are smoking as I write this!

I mentioned Migla earlier – she is the youngest daughter of Linas, son of Milda and Edmundas. She is a very energetic three year who took a bit of time to warm up to us as the strangers in the house. After about twenty minutes or so of coaxing, she and I become best friends! We play catch me as she tries to sneak around my chair and at one point – while sitting on my lap pulling my beard – she launches into a litany of Lithuanian of which, of course, I do not understand. So instead I raise my eyebrows at the correct points, shake my head and tell her “Yes!?!” as if I know what she is saying and she continues on! At one point, she grabs Lisa by the hand and chides: “Tata (Auntie), come play with me!” In Lithuanian of course. So they disappear into another room that now drips with giggles and screams of delight.

As I mentioned before – I will try and post some photos as soon as I get caught up. It is now getting late – so I will end this post for now and continue tomorrow and try to get caught up as quickly as possible.

Suffice to say – a great time was had by all. Milda was a lovely hostess!

Monday..Monday..You know the tune!

Sleep! So welcome and inviting! Once our heads hit the pillows - we were out until Monday morning! We awoke around 8:00 AM - a little later than we had hoped but our bodies needed it.
For the most part the bed was comfortable - but then again we were exhausted and the floor would have been fine at that point. The weather here is nice, late summer - early fall cool - just the way that Lisa's father and I like it. For Lisa however it is a bit cool and she is now glad that she packed a few long sleeve outfits. By cooler weather I am referring to mid-60's, just perfect in my book! So now we are up and alternating turns in the shower - which is basically a hand-held wand! The soap here is strange - no deodorant - just soap! So I make a mental note to pick up soap when we shop for supplies and exchange money at the Maxima.

Oh, I forgot to mention in the last post that before going to bed the previous night - after Modestas left - we walked down to the Maxima to buy some breakfast food. The Maxima is pretty cool - they have several versions of them. Think of a Super Wal-Mart or Super Target and then you have a vision a Maxima in your mind. There are several types of Maxima's: Mini-maxima (much like a White Hen), Medi-Maxima (much like a Jewel), Maxima (the Super Wal-Mart) and Hyper-Maxima which is actually a mall - more on the Hyper-Maxima later! So, showers no completed by all - Lisa is without a hair-dryer as none of the converters we bought accommodate the wattage required for a hair-dryer - we are out the door to walk the few blocks to Maxima.

Looking at the Maxima you would think that this country is not struggling at all. It has everything you could possibly want and then some. The only problem - not many people can afford the prices - even as super low as these are. When you convert the prices to American dollars it is very comparable - and as I mentioned before while the prices on goods may be equal, the amount of their salaries is not - so it creates a vacuum of sorts. Add to this the future of the Euro, which is set to go into effect during July 2007 - they are even more worried. Being a part of the European Union (EU) Lithuania must convert their currency over to the Euro by July 2007 - the issue with this - once the conversion is finally made, the cost of goods will adjust but the value of their salaries will not. Businesses are only required to adjust at a 1/4 of the rate over the course of several years. This is intended to help keep business afloat during the transition - but it will only serve to increase the financial strain on the people who work for a living. On the other side of the coin - the older generation who had jobs given to the by the Communist - do not have the skills of the younger folks - so people like some of Lisa's relatives who had very well paying jobs are now out of work in the free economy and do not have the skills that a free economy requires. It is a vicious circle to be in right now - that is why we bring so many suitcases brimming with clothing and other goods to help them get through this.

Ok, so we exchange our good 'ol American Greenbacks at a rate of $2.77 lt per $1.00 us - nearly tripling our money. Now while this is good, Lisa's father complains that it used to be $3 and $4 to $1! By the time we make it through the line and pay for our goods it is lunch time and what is staring us in the face but my favorite restaurant from the last time we were here: Viva Koldounai (Coal Dough I). Koldounai is this tasty little treat that is basically a meat dumpling smothered in butter, onion and bits of bacon. Basically a heart attack on a plate - but ooooo soooooo good! I wolf down about a dozen and proclaim this to be my new home! Luckily we walked to the Maxima - I proclaim that we will work off the additional calories on the way home!

Once home it is time to put everything away and get ready for our dinner at Milda's!

Modestas & Jolanta Pay a Visit

So it is at this point of the trip – still the very beginning – that we have been up for roughly 30 hours – give or take the hour or two that we slept on the plane and napped after the ladies left the apartment.

As I mentioned in the earlier post – one of the reasons that we are here is to attend the wedding of Modestas and Jolanta – because they feel so honored that we have done this – Modestas wanted to stop by to introduce his future wife and invite us over to dinner.

So now we are finally meeting Jolanta – a vibrant young woman – shorter than Modesats she fits nicely into the crook of his arm. Thin, but no too thin, her bright blue eyes sparkle from a frame of light brown hair. They are a handsome couple and you immediately can see that they care for each other quite a bit. It is a good partnership as Jolanta is not afraid to speak or show her personality – a nice compliment to Modestas’ shyness.

Jolanata speaks English and is trying to get Modestas to do the same – so when ever he falls into Lithuanian talking to Lisa’s father – she gently pokes him and tells him to speak English! It is very amusing! She works for a retail outlet that is along the lines of Home Depot or Lowes for us called “Sneukai” (Cen Nuke A) – in personnel (HR). There is an interesting story behind Sneukai – besides being a huge chain – located all through Lithuania, and most of the Baltic, it’s owner spent ten years in jail and was heavily involved in the mafia – but once released he went straight, started the company with very little money and is now a huge success. Working for Sneukai is a good job as they take good care of their employees.

So we visit for an hour or so when Jolanta notices that we are getting very sleepy – I know my head bobs up and down a few times and I think Lisa’s is as well. Taking the cue – she politely rises and tells Modestas that it is time to go to allow us to rest – by this time it is nearly 11:00 PM.

So with Jolanta and Modestas now departed we begin the ritual of preparing the pull-out couch for bed – an interesting ritual as we take the cushions and place them under the mattress to create some resemblance of comfort. We toy with the idea of sorting through some of the suitcases – another ritual as I mentioned before – and decided to leave it for the time being and just go to bed. 36 hours later!

Beruta, Whisky & 36 hours without sleep - Du (2)

A little housekeeping - First, Aunt Jane is actually 92 not 80ish!! She just looks a young 80ish!

Second - Please forgive my spelling and grammar errors (in reviewing the posts the next day after publishing I've noted a few, minor errors.) Bear in mind that I am generally writing these at 2:00 AM or so after a very long day. I have decided to not re-edit the posts to correct these errors - mainly because this is now Thursday and I am still writing about Sunday!

And finally, there are more children as well as sisters & brothers of Grandma Mary Dapkus that I have not mentioned yet - either because they are currently in living in America (Uncle Joe - her son) or we have not visited them yet (Uncle Bill her brother for example). We will get to them next week I think...

So onward to the story - I will try and post a couple of times over the course of the day today to get caught up - it has been a very busy weeks with a few brushes with death to talk about...caught your interest yet? ;) So make sure you are checking the time of the post so that you can read in the correct order.

OK - so I am on my third shot of petrol - excuse me, whisky, with Beruta and the room is beginning to spin just a bit. Everyone is laughing and shooting insults back and forth in Lithuanian. Someone encourages Beruta to show of her English language skills, she places two big hands over her mouth and giggles loudly while shaking her head "No", eyes watering and face red with embarrassment. Beruta had been to America a few years ago and learned the phrase "Mother F*&%@er"! She does know that it is a swear and insult and took great pride in the fact she could say it.. So the party trick for the afternoon was to get Beruta to swear - I have to tell you, it was one of the funniest things I have seen in a while; Lisa and I were wishing the kids were there to experience this - next trip I am sure they will be with us.

At this point it is nearing 3:00 PM and we have been up since 4:00 AM the day before - our butts were beginning to drag and the ladies had noticed this. Jonas got up and left after the third shot - knowing full well that Beruta would be relentless in her quest to get her brother in-law smashed. Also - Lithuania has very strict drinking and driving laws - more so than the US, so most folks - especially the older folks - are very responsible concerning drinking and driving. Jonas walked home. In either case - we begin to clean up the mess of the day so that we can start to settle in and get some rest. Little do they know that Modestas (Beruta's Grandson) will be stopping by later with his future wife to pay a visit. Did I mention this - one of the reasons we came at this time was to attend Modestas' wedding - which will be next Friday. More on that later.

So, now the apartment is clean - aside from our baggage everywhere, the ladies have left and we have a little down-time before Modestas arrives. Now comes the really exhausting part.

Remember at the beginning I mention the 6 - seventy pounds each - bags? These bags are filled to the brim with cloths, coffee, aspirin, assorted medications, shoes, a couple of CD Players, an electric razor, an electronic thermometer, toothpaste, soap, and other generally "stuff" that they can either not get here or simply can't afford to get here. The drill - we go through each and every piece, size it up and then size up a potential recipient for the gift. Then the piles are sorted in the order that we will visit each person. The only exceptions to that rule are Vila and Milda, they get to come over and pick anything they want for themselves. So we start to do this and realize just how big of a job it will be and decide to leave it until later. We will follow this ritual for many times over the next few days - pull out a bag, look through a couple of things, sign "bullshit" and then decide to do it later! That is until it is absolutely required that we get it done because we are going to see this person or that person. Then in frantic mode we go through and make piles. While it does not sound productive - it actually is quite productive as we all work better under pressure!

But, now, at 4:00 PM or so - we realize better to take a short nap before Modestas arrives and worry about everything else later. An hour passes quickly when you’re exhausted and we are splashing water on our faces preparing for Modestas to come over.

A little background on Modestas - he is well over 6'4" and a young man. His is a quiet guy - a bit shy and unassuming, always proper and polite with short cropped dark hair and deep brown eyes. He works at the local prison processing prisoners as they enter and leave. A very good, stable job I am told. He speaks a little English and is eager to help us out. On our last visit he was our chauffeur for a few days and was very accommodating - patiently waiting for us to take our silly pictures or answer our goofy questions. So he does have a special place in our hearts (as they all do I guess!). In either case, Modestas is honored that we decided to come to the wedding - so he wants to stop by to introduce his fiancé and invite us over to dinner later in the week. Modestas arrives on time with his fiancée Jolanta (Yo Lon Ta) in tow. She is nothing like him... to be continued - we have to head out the door!! I promise to catch up tonight!

Beruta, Whisky & 36 hours without sleep...

Beruta, Whisky & 36 hours without sleep...

We arrive at the apartment in Kaunas, Lithuania in the car of Lisa's cousin Vile (Vee-La) and her husband Edmundas - a very kind and gentle guy whom I am sure has the wisdom of the ages locked behind his bright blue eyes. It is really too bad that he does not speak English and I do not speak Lithuanian (although I am trying to learn thanks to Pimseluer and iPod) - I would love to have a conversation with him. Lisa is especially fond of him as she is quick to point out his gentle nature. That being said - that gentle nature fades once he is behind the wheel. In fact, most drivers in Lithuania would scare the hell out of drivers on the Dan Ryan Expressway! Driving at near light speed - weaving in and out between cars and sometimes pedestrians, Edmundas would make a NASCAR driver proud as we make it from the airport to the apartment in record time!

Lisa's father is traveling in a tricked out mini-van owned by Lisa's cousin, Saulius. A Burgundy Toyota Mini-van with the center seats removed to accommodate the largest sub-woofer I have ever seen - this baby had its own amp and power supply! To demonstrate, Saulius begins to turn-up the volume and I watch the windows begin to vibrate along with my teeth! I am glad that I am in the relative safety of Mario Edmundas' car - which at worst will be blaring Lithuanian Country and Western - a very interesting listen by the way..
I suppose this is a good time to try and identify the players here - get a note pad - I hope I get it right - it is after midnight here and everyone is sleeping....
Mary Dapkus (who passed away) is Lisa's Grandmother. Mary has several sisters: Stella (who passed away) and Jane are the ones I will be concerned with today - there are more to mention later.

Stella has four children: Vile (Vee-La) and her twin sister Milda; Gvidas and Ramius (Ray-Mus) the two brothers - they all have children as well:
Vile - Rasa (who is married to Vaidas) and Linus (I fought his wife's name but he has two little girls: Eve and Migla) Milda - Saulius Gvidas - Egedias (who is also married and has a little son)
I am not sure about Ramius as of this writing.

Jane has several children as well: Beruta, Aldona and I think a couple of more that I will have to fill in later.

So these are the players for today! Vile & her husband Edmundas along with her daughter Rasa & her husband Vaidas, Milda & her son Saulius with his fiancée are there to greet us at the airport and transport us to Kaunas. Two yellow roses are handed to Lisa as we are lead bleary eyed to the cars.

So - now we have come to a screeching stop in front of the apartments. If you can visualize the Cabrini Green Projects - you can visualize the apartments we are staying in. Remember, Lithuania was under communist control for decades - housing was supplied by the government - everything was built the same and pretty basic. I really don't know how they could raise the large families they have in such a small space. In either case, when they became a free nation, the occupants of these little apartments we given the opportunity to purchase them. Most took the offer and now the apartments are passed through the families like inheritance. Real estate and apartments are now very expensive and difficult to come by - having one, even these little things, are like having gold.

We stayed here three years ago, so it felt a bit like coming home - which is nice after such a long flight. We walk into the door - lugging seventy pound bags behind us - and we are greeted by Aunt Jane, Beruta, Aldona and her husband Jonas. Greetings are heaped upon us in a flurry of hugs, kisses and meaty hand-shakes. Aunt Jane (who had spent quite a few years in the states) was calling "Lisa, Bobby!" while kissing our faces. It was the warmest, most wonderful feeling in the world - filled with genuine warmth and love; the perfect tonic after a long flight. The best part - I am treated like family and not just as an in-law (a German one to boot!). Now, in their arms and in their eyes, I am Lithuanian. And you know what? I am very proud of that fact!
We are lead into the apartment - Saulius and I begin to carry in the bags, while Lisa and her father greet the family and begin to visit.

A brief layout of the apartment - as I said this will be the base of operations for the next two weeks - we are located (Thank God) on the first floor. You enter into the doorway and immediately to your left is the kitchen - about the size of a walk-in closet. Straight ahead form the door is the family room/dining room/extra bedroom that is about the 3/4 the size of our master bedroom at home. To the right of the hall is a bathroom - just a toilet with barely enough room to stand let alone sit down when the urge bellows from below. In fact, when you do sit to relive some much needed pressure - you will crack you head on the door if you lean forward. Oh by the way - note to self - no ventilation - choose your time of entry carefully! Next to the bathroom is a room that is just twice the size that has a sink/tub and small Russian wash machine. The sink and tub share the faucet - only one person at a time though - otherwise you will fall into the tub as soon as the door is shut. This is where we also dry our laundry - we have a wash machine but the dryer is nothing more than the air that God provides. Across from the bathtub cubby is a spare room where all 6 (again, count 'em 6) seventy pound each bags are now sitting next to the bed that Lisa's father will use. Roughly half the size of the living/dining/extra bedroom. So as you can see - space is something of a luxury that we do not have - but it is home and we enjoy it. Oh did I mention: no cable, no high speed connection, no ice, little refrigeration, no A/C, no screens on the windows but a warmth and hominess that far outweighs any convenience we could ever miss. In other words, a well loved home.

How am I posting this blog you may now ask? Linas provided me with a GPRS card that allows me to connect to the internet through cell towers - so I can post this, but more important we can remain in contact with the kids throughout the stay.

Okie dokey - back to our welcoming! The living room/dining room/spare room is loaded for bear with food. Spread out on a small coffee table is a wide variety of luke-warm foods: smoked chicken, breaded/fried chicken, chicken tenderloin, rice, breads, salmon on bread, cucumbers, tomatoes and various cookies. Remember, food is expensive here; this spread alone must have set them back considerably, at least a couple of hundred litas. We are all invited in and told to begin eating.

Eating is something of a contact sport here. You are required to do it often and with gusto! Anything short of the food flowing out of your nose is considered a failure. No sooner is a plate empty that Aunt Jane is filling it again for you. Aunt Jane is a marvel! Blue eyes that sparkle with life rest in the body of an 80 something woman with a Prince Valiant hair cut! So full of life she is not afraid to speak her mind or give a very friendly ripping to her daughters. Always smiling she looks on at her family with love and pride - but, that being said - she is known to make plenty of people crazy! As most older people who have survived Siberia, Nazis and the Russians are allowed to do! Sitting next to her is Aldona, her daughter - a tall drink of water who looks to be the youngest of the bunch. Quiet and a bit mousy - Aldona smiles at her mother and occasional lets fly some gentle ribbing. Next to Aldona is Beruta - her name sounds like her, a bit of a bear. A little bit older than Aldona, Beruta is wearing a knitted mesh top with only her bra underneath and she does not care! She quickly whips out some shot glasses, a bottle of whisky and two shots later she is filling a third for me! This whisky by the way is home-made and can power several electrical plans for days. As this goes on - we have not slept yet and we still have to head to Vile's for dinner.....

The Travel Day Begins!

The Travel Day Begins!

Now that you have the background on Lithuania and the brief history - let's move onto this trip.

We began on Saturday, August 6th around 4:00 AM. Excited, worried and a bit under the gun with packing and last minute details - we could not sleep. So rather than just lay there and stare at the ceiling - we started out the day with a relaxing showing of "You've Got Mail" - one of our favorites. That small bit of pleasure took us until 6:00 AM - but the flight was not scheduled until 5:30 PM - which means that we need to be at the airport by 3:00 PM or so to get through security.

Security always has me on edge - I always seem to be singled for spot checks - most people believe it is because of my darker skin (although as I age I seem to be getting more pale - like my Dad!) and goatee beard - I must look like a terrorist or something! So I like to get to the airport early just in case.

However we have a lot of chores to accomplish: get to the bank, pick-up a voltage converter, pick-up the kid's school schedules, drop off Steven' bags for Band Camp and just generally make sure all of the loose ends are tied - something that really never gets done.

Finally - after a frantic search for an 85 Watt converter - we are headed to the airport with 6, count them 1,2,3,4,5,6, bags of luggage each weighing 70 pounds! Plus - a carry on each and a briefcase each (I am loaded for bear with technology - digital camera, iPod, lap-top, iPaq and a variety of DVD's to watch). We are flying LOT this time (last time we flew Air France - something I will never do again - the absolute worst flights I ever took - both ways - rude, uncomfortable - just downright a bad flight) so we are hoping for a nicer flight.

Check in was great - we breezed through without an issue - I even got United miles for my legs of the flight as LOT is part of the Star Alliance in partnership with United. I attempted to sweet talk our way into an exit aisle (more leg room) by using my MS as an excuse - while the agent attempted to so this for us, the flight was too full!

The flight itself was uneventful and relatively comfortable. The food was actually pretty good! Roasted turkey, potatoes and carrots with wine for dinner and breakfast lunch meat in the morning! Lisa and I watched "Under a Tuscan Sun" on my laptop before she finally drifted off and I was able to watch a couple of blood and guts films! Nothing like some quality samurai films to pass the time through the wee hours. I did doze a little - but I have never been able to sleep on a plane.

We landed eight and half hours later in Warsaw to catch out next flight, a mere hour later, to Vilnus, Lithuania. From Vilnus we will catch a ride to the hometown of Kaunas - this is where our base of operations will center from for the next two weeks.

So after nearly thirteen hours we find ourselves in an apartment about the size of most living-rooms, surrounded by old ladies shovling food in our direction!