Fall in Lithuania

On the way from the aeroplane, I quietly observed other passengers, realizing I probably exaggerated with my fluffy winter jacket. Everyone is wearing sweaters or thin fancy coats!

On the way from the airport to the train station, I change my mind, when freezing wind tangles up my hair and freezes my nose. I try to warm up my hands and face on the train ride to the city centre of Lithuanian capital – Vilnius.

Short train ride confuses me. I thought it will take me much longer to get to the city and doubtful I ask the driver whether he is sure this is where I’m supposed to be. In broken English, he tells me that that’s it! I arrived.

I make my way to the main entrance of old train station where my friend surprises me by jumping on me. Energetic Lithuanian girl, whom I met while chasing waterfalls in Costa Rica, invited me to spend the “Day of the dead” holiday with her in Lithuania. You can tell she is extremely passionate and proud about her country, exactly the type of person I want to explore the country with.

We spend the following two days walking around the capital, in and out of charming cafés, preloved bookshops (gosh, I love this name), passing by numerous outdoor art exhibitions, listening and dancing around to the jazz music.

She is showing me her favourite spots around the capital and I get to see the country through the eyes of a local.

Cafés

Mint Vinetu – a preloved books store and a café with a character.
There are only two cafés I’ll mention. Out of all the wonderful cafés in Vilinus this one is my favourite. Hiding between bookshelves we sipped on our coffee and hot chocolate, listening to the beats of jazz music and picking up interesting books in many different languages. A soft light coming from the street lamp and colourful lightbulbs hanging above the street make the front of the café magical when the night falls.

Chaika - is a second café and bakery on two different locations. Ieva took me to a tiny vintage place where you have a wide offer of vegan dishes. Space gives you a soviet-union vibe with the walls clothed in green tapestries, sofas and many interesting vintage details accompanied by spooky Halloween music and amazing banana – chocolate vegan cake.

Nature

Wherever I go, I NEED to spend some time in nature. Lithuania was no exception. A 60 min train ride from Vilnius to Kaunas takes us through foggy and mysterious flat landscape covered with forests bathing in “50 colours of fall”. Surrounded by darkness we arrive to my friend’s house. The next morning her dog wakes me up coming to my bed for a cuddle and for the first time I notice the trees surrounding the house. Is it necessary to mention how much I enjoy that? There is something about the trees that calms me. After cinnamon apple porridge we take a long walk through the forest, Ieva shows me a natural wonder called “pine sisters” all the way into the open.

We sit down by the lake and watch the dog play on the open flat fields in silence.

Street art

The streets of both cities I visited, Vilnius and Kaunas, surprised me with interesting outdoor art exhibitions, colourful abandoned huts, and memorandum walls. My favourite is in Kaunas. A yard gallery called “Kiemo galerija” where an art exhibition among grey houses pictures some of the painful memories Lithuanians went through in the past century. However, this place also has a different function. People living there form a warm community perfectly described in a text hanging at the entrance:
“Only among other people, we can be truly happy, as real joy and satisfaction in life is determined by our good works – selflessness, sacrifice, and love for others – things that are impossible and meaningless if we selfishly care for ourselves alone.”

People

“This is probably my favourite thing of all”, I think while I listen to Ievas’ friend, with the angelic voice, Liucija playing her new song on the ukulele. I also meet her boyfriend Ignas, a professional collector of Pringels boxes and Luca, an extremely studious and sporty girl, all while we eat warm pumpkin soup. All of them are so nice and welcoming, considering it’s their first time meeting me. They all love jazz and try hard to teach me “swing-out” (a complicated “lindy-hop” move).

“I have no idea where the time went”, I think while I sit on the train reaching the airport. The past few days flew by and there are so many things I haven’t seen, read, tasted. However, these few days I have spent in this wonderful country are enough that I already start planning my return in the summer.

Lithuania is promising so many adventures and memories; long backpacking trips by the coast, sleeping under the stars in the sand dunes, dancing through warm evenings at the Lindy-hop festivals, listening to endless performers/interpreters of jazz music, watching the sun set behind Vilnius from the top of the hill, all the way to learning more about the sad history of Lithuania, reading “Vilnius poker”, listening to some children’s tales and visiting some of the most important historic museums.. the bucket list of “things to do and see” when I come back continues, while I try to find a fridge magnet in “duty free” that would represent all the beautiful things I have seen and done in Lithuania.

Ana Marija Udovič