Vilnius
Roughly as many people live in Lithuania as live in Houston, though Lithuania was once Europe’s largest country. Since its Middle Ages peak, Lithuania has been occupied by Poland, Germany, and the Soviet Union.
Lithuania boasts more basketball players, per capita, than anywhere else. The team’s peak was the 1992 Olympics, where they beat the Unified team for a bronze medal; Lithuania had split from the Soviet Union only 10 months prior.
Fictional Hannibal Lector is from Vilnius, though you will not find a monument for him in the capital. You will, however, find one for Frank Zappa.
During the 1960s, the Soviets turned the city’s largest cathedral into an auto repair shop. As of the 1980s, Vilnius Cathedral is back to being a cathedral, even blessed by Pope John Paul II.
On Assumption Day, I walked into a Hare Krishna street parade.
In Vilnius, Lithuanian food was fine (go to Kitchen, order the soup, whatever it is) and Ukrainian food excellent. Borsch has better blinis and decor (cash hanging from the ceiling, cheesy collectivist wall art) and free vodka, but Varenyky had better borscht and dumplings.
Vilnius’ Old Town is actually used by locals, not just tourists. Užupis, another downtown district, declared itself an independent republic on April 1, 1997 and announced its own constitution, currency, and prime minister. (First article of the constitution: “Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnelė, and the River Vilnelė has the right to flow by everyone.”) A former mayor of Vilnius now lives in the neighborhood. It all seems semi-serious at best, but this tourist enjoyed taking photos of its town hall, a bar. Is Užupis the only place that uses a constitution to market itself to outsiders?
Vilnius immortalizes Lithuania’s most famous authors in street art and is filled with bookstores beside. The Baltics’ biggest book fair is held here. The French bookstore is in the building in which Stendhal stayed with Napoleon on the way to Russia.
I imagine living in Vilnius is sleepy but otherwise nice. The city is walkable, parks are high quality, and prices are still low. I found it the most pleasant of the Baltic capitals.
The question I was asked most often was why I came to Vilnius. “No one knows about Lithuania!” locals would say.
I found a book vending machine at the bus station and a contact lens vending machine at the airport. Would that these conveniences spread more widely!
August 2016
