This may not seem like a remarkable exchange, but it was *very* different from India, where cabbies rarely took 'no' as an answer and swarmed over you in great numbers. Sometimes it is a real pleasure to be left alone. The area of the bank was dustily under construction. Perhaps some stores were being put in. The labor was done to the sound of American rock and roll, the one product we have absolutely no trouble exporting around the world. American rock and roll, even American Afro-pop, thrives wherever it is planted, like zucchini.
Another taxi driver asked if we needed help. We asked what it would cost to get to Litinterp. (We initially had the impression this was like a hotel with several buildings. Our misunderstanding, but we didn't realize that until later and it wasn't a problem. We had also wanted to call, but couldn't find a telephone at the airport, probably because of the renovation going on.) The driver said it would cost $US15. (Taxi drivers love to quote prices in US dollars.) That was orders of magnitude more than the 'Lonely Planet' guide ('Baltic States & Kaliningrad' dated March 1994) said it should be. We wouldn't pay more than US$5. He came down to US$8. (It turns out that most prices seem to have gone up by a factor of about 6, so maybe this was reasonable.) However, there was a bus right there. We jumped on. There were a couple of minor problems with this approach. One, we had no bus tickets, and two, we were on the wrong bus. We could not find out how to pay, but we were getting off right away anyway when we discovered we were on the wrong bus. There was a sign in Lithuanian saying the fine for black-riding was 5.9 litu (about US$1.50). We got off at a junction to try to catch the correct bus. Evelyn tried to find a kiosk to sell us bus tickets and could not make herself understood. We hoped we could pay on the bus.
We were waiting for bus number 1. Unfortunately only number 2 buses came by. We discovered that a bus number 31, which did come by, would have been okay, but we discovered it too late. We ended up waiting about an hour. Finally a number 1 bus arrived. We jumped on, but it was really mobbed and nobody was selling tickets. Somebody asked to see Mark's ticket. Mark pointed to Evelyn, who said she didn't understand what he was saying. (Well, she didn't right away. The lack of sleep meant by the time she realized he was checking tickets, he had given up.) He smiled and let it go, but we really should have paid the fine. (It turns out tickets are 20 cento. A litas is a hundred cento.)
We got off and took a taxi. It was 5 litai. (By the way, you'll notice that sometimes we say 'litai' and sometimes we say 'litu.' That's because the plural varies based on the tens digit *and* the ones digit, and whether there is a fractional part. Maybe we'll just stick to 'Lt,' which is the abbreviation in all cases.) We went where he dropped us, but there was nothing called Litinterp there. Instead there was something called 'Vilnius in Your Pocket.' They turned out to be the publisher of the local 'What's Happening' magazine. You know the kind we mean. If you get a hotel room in Chicago there will often be a little magazine with a name like 'What's Happening in Chicago.' It will have advertisements and maps and listings of activities. They gave us a copy of 'Vilnius in Your Pocket,' which is often given away free in spite of saying 'Price: 3 Lt (as long as it is stable).'
They said Litinterp had moved and gave us directions. They said it was a ten-minute walk. (We later discovered that *everytime* we asked how far a walk something was in this part of the world, it was a tenminute walk.) We had to walk about a kilometer, which wouldn't have been so bad but we had those twenty pounds of books to carry going to the University. Mark put a strap on the box and carried it supported from his shoulder.
It struck us as odd that a hotel might move. Well, it turned out that Litinterp was an agent for several independent bed and breakfast houses. So they got on the phone starting to find a bed and breakfast for us, but at 15:00 supposedly it is hard to reach anyone. We didn't follow just why, but apparently this was when lunch ended or work ended or something. We tried to call Professor Shubas. It took three different numbers and then it turned out he wasn't at the library. We will try him again over the weekend. If we still can't contact him, we can just go to the University and drop the books off. Litinterp tried to call bed and breakfasts again. We decided to give them some time, so we left our luggage there and went out to see the sights of the Old Town. Litinterp is really just about on the campus of Vilnius University. We went out walking and taking some pictures. We walked right by the library.
The Old Town of Vilnius is listed as one of the top ten sights of Scandinavia and the Baltics by the 'Lonely Planet' guide and it is very picturesque, with lots of interesting architecture. (Many of the buildings have plaques that say 'Architekturos Pamlinkas'-- 'Architectural Monument.') The 'worn cobblestones' that Dawidowicz talks about have been replaced in many places by bricks (those some streets are still cobbled), and some of the buildings seem to be in need of repair--though oddly enough, these may be newer buildings, since this area had been damaged in World War II. The Soviets were not known for quality construction techniques.
Evelyn had expected the Baltics to be somewhat drab, but this was not the case. Maybe--probably, in fact--a lot changed during the 1989-1991 revolution, but the buildings (in the Old Town anyway) seem to have been cleaned and generally spruced up. Pastel stonework and painted walls and dome in the *many* churches give it a fresh look. (The churches, certainly, have been worked on. The main cathedral had been an art museum during the Soviet occupation and was reconsecrated in 1989.) And the people all dress in the latest Western styles, not at all like the drab Russian/Soviet clothing one might have expected.
We stopped at a kiosk and got some ice cream. It was a small cone but it wasn't bad for 0.9 Lt (about US$0.23).
This is a more modern city than we expected. Evelyn keeps saying we didn't get here in time. We see things like bands of Krishnas walking the streets and graffiti saying things in English like 'Fuck you.' Actually, a symbol you see a lot is an 'A' inscribed in a circle with the bar extended to be a diameter of the circle. Evelyn thinks it may have something to do with anarchy, but Mark says he would be surprised if there was a strong anarchist movement. How would it ever get organized? Who would be its leaders? Who the loyal followers?
We walked through a park on the campus before going back to Litinterp. They did have a bed and breakfast for us. The cost would be 750 Lt for the six nights we would be in Lithuania. We could even charge it on our Visa card at a rate of 4 Lt per US dollar. That's about US$31 per night. That is probably a tad high for what we get, but not too bad, particularly considering other Lithuanian prices.
The family who runs the bed and breakfast sent their daughter to show us the way. We followed her. The room was okay--not great, but okay. There is really not enough light in the room and it is quite cold. The heat has been turned off now that spring is here and the hot water is out until tomorrow. As Mark writes this the first night it is getting very cold in the room, probably below 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees centigrade). Evelyn observes, 'On the one hand, a more comfortable room would be nice; on the other, this certainly gives us more feel for how people live here. The people we are staying with are very literate--the room is full of books (all in Lithuanian or Russian, alas). There is a set of books something like the 'Harvard Classics' with great works translated into Lithuanian, and there are even three Jules Verne novels: MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, and one other we couldn't identify.' There is also an encyclopedia, and a bunch of books we couldn't recognize.
We went to the room and wrote in our logs. Evelyn took a nap and even Mark fell asleep while writing. About 20:00 we went out to find dinner. We found a place recommended in the 'Lonely Planet' guide (Kavine Arkadija). We walked a fair distance looking for it, then it turned out to be on the same street as our bed and breakfast. What we ordered turned out to be a very lightly fried chicken breast, nearly unfried potatoes, and peas. It was fairly small, served on a plate only five or six inches in diameter. Cost was 15.80 Lt (about US$4) for two. We were hit up on by a little boy begging.
After dinner, we walked for a little while, seeing some of the Jewish section and a marble plaque commemorating the Jewish community destroyed by the Nazis. We are curious if the attitude is 'this is what the Nazis did to Lithuania,' or if they acknowledge that there was anti-Jewish feeling and co-operation in Lithuania.
Excerpt from Mark's log: 'I think it may be time for a history lesson. One for me actually, since I am reading about it as I write, but I will bring you along with me. In the 14th Century, Lithuania's Grand Duke Vytautas openly invited Jews to settle in Lithuania. Vytautas, incidentally, is the great national hero of Lithuania. With his cousin, King Jogaila, he defeated and threw out the Teutonic Order in a stunning victory at the Battle of Tannenberg (a.k.a. Grunwald). He conquered parts of Ukraine and made Lithuania, for a while, the largest state in Europe. Every piece of Lithuanian paper money bears a watermark that is a picture of Vytautas on a horse. At that time Poland and Lithuania became one due to a marriage between the ruling families. Jews came to both Poland and Lithuania for their tolerance of Jews.'
'Vilnius (in Yiddish, Vilna) became a great center of Jewish learning. When there were philosophical differences between Orthodox Jews and the newer Hasidic movement, the center of the Orthodox resistance was in Vilnius. It also had a synagogue the size of a cathedral, even though land-owning was still forbidden to Jews. Vilnius and Kaunas (sixty miles away) were great Jewish cultural centers.'
'But there was also resistance to Jews in the Baltics. When the Soviets got control of Lithuania in 1940, some Jews supported them as a power that could oppose the Nazis, though most Jews liked neither Soviets nor Nazis. Because of this minimal support of the Soviets by Jews, the initial massacres in the Holocaust in this region did not even involve the Germans and were conducted by partisans and volunteers who saw what the Germans were doing to the Jews and decided to do the same. This may have been also in part to curry favor with the Germans. It is not clear it did them much good.'
'It is claimed that the government is still not interested in pursuing Lithuanian war criminals and that the government still does not accept that Lithuanians had a big part in the genocide. Others say the government has accepted this. In any case, the truth seems to be known. Even today there seem to be strong anti-Jewish policies by the government and the Jewish population continues to decline. The governments of the Baltic states condemn the Holocaust, but have never admitted the magnitude of this part of the Holocaust. There is certainly still anger on both sides. If the government really thinks that Jews supported the Soviets and Balts did not, they have not explained why more Jews than Balts were exiled to Siberia during the Soviet occupation, in spite of the fact that Jews were never a large proportion of the population by that time.'
Mark concludes by adding, 'The preceding is based on descriptions in the 'Insight' guide. When we travel Evelyn likes the 'Lonely Planet' guidebooks, which are very good but also very compact. 'Insight'guides are big and heavy, but they are better at telling you about the region. They are so cumbersome, partly because they are full of really good photography that really shows you the region in detail and captures a spirit. Also, Evelyn had to agree in India that some of the city tours were better explained in the 'Insight' guide than in the 'Lonely Planet' guide. |
