First Snow

September 25, 2011

From Lithuanian Heritage November/December 2006

I was eating lunch a few weeks ago with a couple of British ex-pat friends who were recounting the events of a recent business trip back to London. They spoke of traffic jams and commutes, the astonishing price of a simple cup of bad coffee and the security hassles at Gatwick. They finished by declaring how happy they were to be back “home” in Vilnius where good coffee is cheap, a trip to the airport is never more than a quick in and out, and work is only a ten minute walk from home. The traffic jams are the same though. The work abroad business is booming in Lithuania with hoards of young people—some educated, some not—lined up for the chance to work in London or Dublin. On the other hand, Vilnius has become a haven for British, Danish, Dutch, and French businessmen looking for lucrative emerging markets and cozy lifestyle.

This year marks the 15^th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Britain and the Baltic States. The construction workers were laying cobbles day in night in Rotusės aikštė (town hall square) in preparation for the Queen of England’s first ever visit to Lithuania in the middle of October. Two days before she arrived, the streets were swept, flowers were planted and the last unfinished corners of the square were surrounded with barricades pronouncing Vilnius the Cultural Capitol of Europe. On the long-awaited day, Queen Elizabeth strolled through the square with President Adamkus happily collecting bouquets of fresh flowers from blond-haired children.

Halloween is celebrated here only among young people looking for any excuse to have a party. November 1^st is a national holiday that I always knew as All Saints Day, but in Lithuania, they call it Vėlinės or Day of the Dead. I can’t explain it, and neither can my friends, but somehow it seems the Saints have disappeared from Lithuania. Vėlinės is the day that everyone goes to the cemetery to visit their dead grandmothers. In Maxima, the “special events” section is filled with colored lanterns and silk flowers for placing on the graves. Visiting a cemetery on this day is an eerie experience, much spookier than any Halloween I can remember. I usually use the day to sleep in and catch up on laundry.

Without Thanksgiving to mark the kickoff of the holiday season, Christmas lights appeared on Gedimino prospektas about the same time as the Queen. On November 2^nd, the lanterns in Maxima are replaced by Christmas trees and ornaments. As the city gears up for the holiday season with holly in the shop windows, concerts in Cathedral square and McDonald’s announcing a new holiday sundae, it’s the first snow that I look forward to. On the day of the first frost, I was holding a training session with the Kalnų Ereliai, the ski club I am head coach of. The afternoon was crisp, and the smell of winter was in the air. There was a new energy running through the kids, and excitement that only the promise of upcoming ski trips can bring. Even if it’s only for an evening training session on Liepkalnis, the chance to strap on a pair of skis and slide as fast as possible down a snow-covered hill give this particular group of kids a new reason for being.

We had just returned from a ten-day training camp high up on a glacier in Austria, when Vilnius got its first snow. It didn’t stick, but throughout the afternoon, the drizzle that had been in the early morning had decidedly turned to wet, white snowflakes. That afternoon I got several phone calls from parents wanting to know about the next trips, and even a few emails from new kids who want to join the club. Despite the lack of mountains, skiing has caught on here in Lithuania. The rest of the fall will be spent training with the kids in the park. They will do jumps and tucks and run the stairs of the amphitheater in Vingis park on Sunday afternoons while the US Marines play American football in the field beyond. After training, the kids will sell “Ski Lithuania” t-shirts to raise money for equipment for the club.

The darkness falls in the late afternoon now. Strolling down Gedimino prospektas on my way home from Thanksgiving dinner with ex-pat friends, the wind swirling the fallen leaves beneath my feet, I look up to admire the colored lights and notice a few more white flakes falling from the sky. Benetton has shiny ornaments and bright ski jackets in the windows and my thoughts shift from the holidays back to the ski club, fresh snow and this winter’s upcoming ski trips.

To buy a “Ski Lithuania” t-shirt and support the Kalnų Ereliai ski club, visit the website at kalnuereliai.com or email jenn @ kalnuereliai.com

Filed under: Daily Life,Festivals and Occasions,Lithuania,Skiing

Tags: clips, Kalnu Ereliai, Lithuania, Lithuanian, Lithuanian Heritage, one way ticket, one way tkt, onewayticket, onewaytkt, ski, Skiing, Sports, Vilnius, winter