View from our apartment
Our very first Christmas tree....ever! A little anemic but it got us in the holiday spirit!
I arrived in Vilnius in late December 2011 to 35 degF temperature, apparently quite warm for that time of year yet very cold for this California native. During the previous winter season, snow hit the ground in early December and did not stop coming down until late March. 4 months of daily snow/ice/slush? Yikes. So, I suppose I should be thankful for the moderate winter Vilnius has had thus far! Only recently has it started snowing and the snow on the ground is slowly creeping into mounds - it has gone from snow-angel making time to snow-man making time. My wardrobe is adequately prepared for the Lithuania winter, complete with long, thick jackets, heavy coats, scarves, hats, gloves, and perhaps the all important Ice Trekkers (shoe attachments with tiny spikes that cut through and, in theory, keep you from losing your balance and falling). Although I was born in a European country (Yay Romania!) and tend to like aspects of the European lifestyle, I don't think I can ever, ever comprehend how women here are able to wear heels AND skirts AND short jackets while walking around town on streets filled with so much snow and ice! I mean, that would ruin my heels and freeze my bum off! And the craziest part is that I am the abnormal one wearing jeans almost all the time when I go outside while the typical female wardrobe consists of black tights, black skirts, black heeled boots.
My typical indoor foot attire
Indeed, more weather related posts to come in the future, but for now time to focus on another aspect about life in Lithuania......the food! Contrary to popular belief, Vilnius is a modern city with a truly international cuisine (the Chinese restaurants are ubiquitous in this city!). Lithuanian food is heavy on meat and potatoes and light on the "light"food. One typical and traditional dish is the make-sure-your-heart-still-pumps-after-eating zeppelini. It's comprised of a potato that has been mashed but reformed into the original shape, then stuffed with minced meat and lard, lightly fried, topped with more lard and bacon bits and for a healthy note, sprinkled with dill (the Lithuanian word for dill is crapas.......haha). Oh yes, don't forget two heaping spoonfuls of sour cream on the side. I've tried this dish once, and probably for the only time, and it tasted great and very hearty! But, I will save my guilty pleasure for the kepta duona dish, my favorite Lithuanian bar food (listed on menus as "food with beer") I order nearly every time I see it on a menu. The simplicity of this dish does not do it justice. Its comprised of fried black bread slivers (about the size of your finger) accompanied by garlic cloves and sometimes topped with melted cheese. You take the garlic clove and rub it all over the bread sliver and it is to DIE for....if you like/love garlic of course. You may smell of garlic for days but believe me, it is totally worth it. Yum!
Delish, delish, delish!
About two weeks ago, after dropping off Damian's dad at the airport in the wee hours of the morning, Damian and I called a local taxi company. Of course, there were plenty of available taxis waiting outside the airport, however, we knew that those taxis typically charge an exorbitant amount, anywhere from 2-5 times as much as other companies. On so many other occasions when we called a local taxi company, a driver came within minutes, but as luck would have it (or perhaps since it was 4am!) the taxi never came. By this point I was getting cranky and impatient (who, me?) and we buckled down and selected the first taxi waiting outside the airport. I mentally calculated how much the cost should be based on mileage and came up with a number that I was not willing to go over. When the cab dropped us off, he quoted a cost that was 3 times as much as it should have been and I said to Damian, in Romanian, that I didn't want to pay more than twice the amount. We decided that we would not budge and, using our recently acquired Lithuanian skills, accused the driver of ripping us off. He stuck by his guns and showed us the meter and bla bla bla. Luckily, we live close to the Ukrainian embassy, where a police officer is located outside 24 hours a day so we told the driver that we want to speak to the police. The police officer did not speak any English so again, we used our Lithuanian skills to tell him that we were getting ripped off. Whether it was our unyielding stance and translation skills or the sight of the police officer, in the end the taxi driver relented and we paid him the amount we wanted. The hustler/haggler Romanian gene paid off again!
To finish off this first blog post, I want to write about how much fun Damian and I, along with some of our friends here, had at last weekend's Burns Night event! I would have never expected to attend my first Burns Night, an annual event dedicated to the 18th century most famous and beloved Scottish poet Robert Burns, in Vilnius! Along with Scottish dancing (where I was sweating profusely), the traditional haggis was fantastic! If you have never attended a Burns Night (also called Burns Supper), I HIGHLY recommend that you do at some point. What an experience!
Burns Night....fancy pants
The Scottish band and the presentation of the haggis
Haggis and it's trimmings (and crapas of course)
