Užsienyje

November 16, 2009

(Abroad)

The thing about living in a small country in north-eastern Europe, is that no matter how much you love being there, you’ll always want to travel a lot.

It’s not as easy as it used to be though with FlyLAL going bankrupt, and Air Baltic routing all flights out of Vilnius through Riga. The bus takes forever, but fortunately the roads through Poland are slowly getting better. I dream of the day that there is a real four lane highway from Lazdijai to Český Těšín!

When you do manage to get out of town, the excitement will turn into an energy pulsating throughout your body, like a sparkler on the Fourth of July. As you cruise down the bumpy roads of northern Poland stuck behind a 19^th century tractor, you’ll dream about all the wonderful things we don’t have in Lithuania… snow-capped mountains, the warm water of the Adriatic sea, department stores with glittering perfume counters, and Burger King.  The big yellow letters of IKEA will stand out from the grimy city of Warsaw like a dream and you’ll think, “Why am I living in Vilnius?”

For the first few days, you’ll revel in the sights and sounds of Budapest, Berlin, San Francisco, or Auckland. You will be mesmerized by the brightly colored shop windows full of wonderful things that seem to be much cheaper than in Lithuania. With your pockets stuffed full of euros, dollars, or Swiss francs, you’ll wander the streets looking for something to buy, and find that you’re happy simply sitting on a park bench, watching the locals rush to work, school, or play, and wish that you too lived in the magical city of… Ann Arbor.

After a few days though, you’ll begin to start sentences with the words, “In Lithuania…” For example, “In Lithuania the beer doesn’t taste like water,” or “In Lithuania we have heating and insulation.” You will find fault with the famous Viennese coffee, wonder why the pubs are closing so early, be outraged at paying 20€ for a ten minute taxi ride, and dream at night of the cheesecake at Pilies Kepyklelė. You will remember with fondness a warm summer day spent by the lake grilling šašlykiai, and how nice it is to run in Vingis park.

Sure, you‘ll have plenty of stories about swimming in the Pacific ocean, tasting unknown foods, and shopping at Galéries Lafayette, but when your Czech Airlines plane finally touches down at Vilnius International Airport, you‘ll know that in just a few minutes you‘ll be in an inexpensive taxi pulling up to your door, and you‘ll step off the plane and take a deep breath, filling your lungs with the smoky, pine-scented air, and think how good it is to be back in Lithuania.

Filed under: Daily Life,Lithuania,Traveler Tips

Tags: cafe, driving, food, Lithuania, Vilnius