Central Europe, Lithuania - Vilnius
I have oftain said that during the cold war our governments lied to us. Those who are old enough to remember will recall how we were all told how dangerous it was to travel to the communist bloc countries.
"They'll steal your jeans" was often one the main shouts. I am sure we all invisaged massive ugly, intimidating guys. Small, downtrodden old ladies in traditional black dresses. No religion, no churches and no life. While it was obviously no fun being watched and even tortured by the KGB all the time (I have seen the proof), it certainly hasn't held back the Lithuanians of today.
Today's Vilnius is a modern, vibrant city. The populants dress immaculately, enjoy a coffee bar lifestyle, often speak very good english and are extremely warm and welcoming. The quality of most of the restaurants is second to none, as good as you will find in any of the major European cities. And the monuments, statues and churches are well worth a visit.
One crucial difference between Lithuania and many of the other former iron curtain countries is that the Lithuanians do not want to forget their past, in fact if anything, they are only too happy to remember it. It is after all an important part of their history. Lets face it - it did happen. One of the must see sights in Vilnius for instance. is the KGB museum properly known as the Museum for Genocide Victims
The museum is at the end of Gedemino prospektas street, one of the main designer shopping streets in the new town area. You may remember the television pictures of this street while Lithuania was trying to fight for their independence. Who could forget the image of a young woman forced to the ground about to have her legs crushed under the tracks of a tank. The museum is full of further images in the same vein. It also contains a comprehensive archive of freedom fighters, Russian occupation and the fight for freedom. The part however, that is unmissable is the lower floor where they have managed to preserve an entire KGB prison floor. I won't bore you too much with the details but, if you are ever in Vilnius it is an absolute must see. The upper floor also has a complete KGB listening station where they would evesdrop on western tourists and other 'undesire-ables' who would be staying in the hotels of the capital city.
But that was the past and as vital as it is, you have to take Vilnius today as it is. Gedemino prospektas Street is full of designer shops kept in business by wealthy Bulgarians who cannot shop to this extent in their home country. But you can still find bargains. If you are going in the winter as we did then you can find reasonable priced, fashionable boots for women with good grip for around fifteen to twenty five euro's. There are many other modern boutiques where you will find all sorts of clothing but if you are stuck - there's always Marks and Spencer!
Don't expect everything to be cheap though! There are an abundance of shops selling enormous amounts of products made from amber, but it pays to shop about as prices vary considerably. The main shopping malls have electronic goods such as mobile phones, camera's etc., glass and crystal goods, kitchen equipment and furniture, but you would be as well waiting until you are back home.
Restaurants in Vilnius on the whole are superb as is the service, but it is in the latter where you will often find a big variance. You will rarely find yourself rushed by the waiters but one restaurant we visited did take things to extremes. We waited on average an hour between courses which meant that our entire visit took us around five hours!
An example of the sort of dishes we tasted were Rabbit in a mustard sauce with boiled potatoes - surprisingly delicious. And chicken breast stuffed with dried fruit. If you look carefully down a little lane in Pilies street you can find an excellent Rioja shop which sells only Rioja wine. I never knew there were so many varieties of Rioja: white, red and rose. Mind your head on the low roof when exiting!
If wine isn't your thing, there is a fantastic tea shop around the corner with a massive range of loose tea leaves. They also sell a range of traditional tea cups which have a separate top section which holds the tea leaves so they brew in the water, and a lid which not only keeps it warm, but also serves as a tray to hold your strainer. A wander along Pilies will also take you to the Dawn Gate.
If you like to look at churches then you won't be dissapointed, Vilnius is full of them as well as a cathedral. One local I was speaking to told me about how they had to sneak to church during Soviet times. The churches remained but the KGB were always on the lookout for people trying to use them. Christmas was banned but people still celebrated in silence. The KGB would patrol the city listening for sonds of people celebrating. Everyone at school knew that others had been enjoying Christmas but no-one would talk to each other about it for fear of being overheard.
Vilnius castle sits atop a hill which affords a magnificent view of the city with a panorama to point out all the major places. and you can also look over to the hill of the three crosses which is also well worth a visit. It to has an interesting history dating back to the Soviet era and long before.
Attractions that are a must outside Vilnius include the village of Trakai with it's recently restored castle. The village also has a superb chocolate shop. It was also in a traditional restaurant in Trakai where we were able to try the local delicacy - Kybynai. These are little pastry dishes a bit like Cornish pasties. They are available with a selection of different meats. Very tasty and well worth a try
There are plenty of parks in and around Vilnius such as the Europos Parkas and Pavilniai Regional Park.
There is of course much more to Vilnius and Lithuania than this so all that remains to be said is to go there yourself and find out. There are plenty flights available. There are also good quality hotels - we stayed at the Shakespeare hotel which is close to the city centre and is excellent as well as being a little quirky, and most people seem to have a good understanding of english.
