Elaine and I were in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, October 6-9. I made a presentation at the Baltic Conference on Canadian Studies held at the University of Vilnius. We flew Baltic Air from Helsinki and the airline was actually better than I expected. We had intermediate stops both ways at the airport in Riga, the capital of Latvia.
The weather was very nice for the first couple of days, followed by some rain and cooler temperatures.
The old part of Vilnius is gorgeous and very walkable. Almost all of the photos below are in the old city and at the University of Vilnius, which is also in the old city. Lithuania's population is only slightly larger than Utah's. However, it suffered great devastation and massive loss of life during WWII and then had to endure being absorbed into the Soviet Union until 1991. Until the Great Recession which began in late 2007, the country was doing quite well economically. However, it has recently had a significant economic downturn and it will take time for Lithuania to get back on its feet.
What stands out about Vilnius is the large number of churches scattered around the city. We came across several weddings on Saturday as we walked around. Notice the old caddie and buick which were used by one wedding party. Many of the restaurants in the old city also have downstairs' caverns, and we enjoyed several meals in these caverns. We stayed in a small B & B and Elaine shot some scenes of the courtyard in front of the door heading up to our room. We didn't have a TV, but the wifi worked so we could watch some programs on the Ipad.
With such a limited population, it is also amazing that Lithuania has one of the finest national basketball teams in the world. U.S. players are fine athletes and great at dunking, but Lithuanian players are very good at teamwork on offense and defense, and superior in shooting free throws and 3-pointers.*
We met some very nice people at the conference, conferees who came from Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Canada, and Poland. Most of the panels dealt with Canadian literature, while I spoke about Canada-U.S. relations since 9/11. In effect, our topics and areas of interest tended to be quite different. Nonetheless, we had a great time and enjoyed this very historic city and the fine people whom we met there.
*Note from Elaine: The guide on our tour told us about the heated rivalry between the teams of two cities - Vilnius and Kaunus. She mentioned that there were 3 million people in Lithuania and there were 3 million basketball fans. In fact she said that the Religion of Lithuania had 3 Bs. Bible, Beer, Basketball. At a reception that evening, I met a woman from Canada who had immigrated to Lithuania and become a citizen. She teaches at the university in Kaunus. I casually mentioned to Milda that I had heard there was a fierce rivalry between the two cities. With a very serious voice and a straight face, she told me that Vilnius did not have a team. I had been misinformed. Kaunus was the only city in Lithuania with a basketball team. Obviously the tour guide had it right.
The weather was very nice for the first couple of days, followed by some rain and cooler temperatures.
The old part of Vilnius is gorgeous and very walkable. Almost all of the photos below are in the old city and at the University of Vilnius, which is also in the old city. Lithuania's population is only slightly larger than Utah's. However, it suffered great devastation and massive loss of life during WWII and then had to endure being absorbed into the Soviet Union until 1991. Until the Great Recession which began in late 2007, the country was doing quite well economically. However, it has recently had a significant economic downturn and it will take time for Lithuania to get back on its feet.
What stands out about Vilnius is the large number of churches scattered around the city. We came across several weddings on Saturday as we walked around. Notice the old caddie and buick which were used by one wedding party. Many of the restaurants in the old city also have downstairs' caverns, and we enjoyed several meals in these caverns. We stayed in a small B & B and Elaine shot some scenes of the courtyard in front of the door heading up to our room. We didn't have a TV, but the wifi worked so we could watch some programs on the Ipad.
With such a limited population, it is also amazing that Lithuania has one of the finest national basketball teams in the world. U.S. players are fine athletes and great at dunking, but Lithuanian players are very good at teamwork on offense and defense, and superior in shooting free throws and 3-pointers.*
We met some very nice people at the conference, conferees who came from Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Canada, and Poland. Most of the panels dealt with Canadian literature, while I spoke about Canada-U.S. relations since 9/11. In effect, our topics and areas of interest tended to be quite different. Nonetheless, we had a great time and enjoyed this very historic city and the fine people whom we met there.
*Note from Elaine: The guide on our tour told us about the heated rivalry between the teams of two cities - Vilnius and Kaunus. She mentioned that there were 3 million people in Lithuania and there were 3 million basketball fans. In fact she said that the Religion of Lithuania had 3 Bs. Bible, Beer, Basketball. At a reception that evening, I met a woman from Canada who had immigrated to Lithuania and become a citizen. She teaches at the university in Kaunus. I casually mentioned to Milda that I had heard there was a fierce rivalry between the two cities. With a very serious voice and a straight face, she told me that Vilnius did not have a team. I had been misinformed. Kaunus was the only city in Lithuania with a basketball team. Obviously the tour guide had it right.
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