Rokas Zaveckas and Laura Pamerneckytė at the opening ceremonies of Innsbruck 2012
Kalnų Ereliai veteran and member of the Lithuanian National Ski Team Laura Pamerneckytė of Vilnius is in Austria this week for the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games. The 16-year-old is one of just six athletes on the Lithuanian team (two alpine skiers, two cross-country skiers, and two biathletes). In Innsbruck, she will compete in the Slalom and Giant Slalom competitions. On the eve of her first race, she took a few minutes to catch up with kalnuereliai.com and provide some insight into her experiences at the YOG.
My favorite word in Lithuanian, grybauti, means “to go mushrooming.” In English the meaning is simple and to the point, but in Lithuanian, the sentiment of the word is much more poetic. I didn’t fully understand it until recently when some friends put me in a pair of rubber boots, handed me a basket and a knife, and drove to a “secret spot” some 20km outside of Vilnius on a cold, damp morning. Wandering through a moss-covered forest with your head down, looking for small brown lumps hidden in the earth, it’s easy to get lost. You never walk in a straight line, glimpses of baravykai and voveraitės pulling you this way and that, so if you were to leave a trail of red paint on the ground it would look like a drunk lost on his way home from the bar, only to wander around and around in circles outside the front door. Lithuanians use the word not just to describe the act of picking mushrooms, but also any time they want to describe someone who is perhaps a little bit lost in life. When one of my ski racers takes a particularly wide race line through the course, we might say, “Nu, kur tu grybauji?” (Where are you wandering?) Or, if taking a wrong turn means arriving late to a party, we might explain our delay saying, “Grybavome!” (We were mushrooming!) The mountain bike race in Anykščiai this year was muddy from a week of rain forcing hundreds of riders to get off their bikes to trudge through the mud, creating a massive traffic jam at the start. I heard riders over and over exclaim, “Ir ka, visi grybauji? Baravykai daug šiais metais!” (So what, everyone is stopping to pick mushrooms? There are a lot of porcini this year!)
When it’s raining in February and snowing in March, it’s nice to know that I can get fresh tulips (they claim they are grown in Lithuania!) at the flower market on Basanavičiaus gatvė. There’s nothing like a large bunch of bright yellow tulips on a wet, gray day to put a much-needed smile on a person’s face!
Kaziuko Mugė (St. Casimir’s Market) was bigger than ever this year. It extended down Gedimino prospektas from McDonald’s to the Cathedral—yes McDonald’s is used as a landmark in Lithuania too! Stalls were not allowed on Cathedral square, but they lined the road a long way past Užupis, and were packed in all the way up Pilies gatvė in the Old Town. Marceliukės Kletis, a popular restaurant serving excellent Lithuanian food, had two cafes set up this year, grilling sashlykai (Lithuanian shish-kebabs) on pitchforks over a fire made in a pair of giant shoes. The grill masters, wearing traditional work clothes and straw hats, stood around with very serious looks on their faces and a bottle of water in their hands to tame the fires. There must be an explanation that I’m not aware of, but Kaziuko Mugė for some reason loves really big things. Besides the giant shoes, there was a giant chair, giant coffee cup, a giant window and giant pot of tulips. A few years ago, they had a giant chicken; I wonder what happened to him?
In Ignalina, Lithuanian Independence Day, Vasario 16-ają, is celebrated with a festival of winter sport called Sportas Visiems at the Lithuanian Winter Sports Center. I went for the alpine ski races, but there was also cross-country skiing, ski orienteering, biathlon, target shooting, ice skating, and a very impressive winter triathlon which consists of cross-country skiing, running and mountain biking through the ice and snow.
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.
A second whole winter away from Lithuania, but somehow Kalnų Ereliai lives on, if not exactly in practice (most of the kids are now part of the national ski team and train with those coaches), but always in spirit. One of my skiers, Ieva Urbonavičiūtė, again took it upon herself to create the 2011 team video. Enjoy!
After the rain stops, September is the most beautiful month of the year in Lithuania. Temperatures are normally in the high 60′s in the sun, the skies as blue as Christmas Day in Aspen. The trees begin to turn yellow, orange and red, so that even the slightest breeze has them sparkling in the sunlight. It also turns out, that despite how small Vilnius is, it actually is possible to spend all afternoon people watching and not see a single person you know.
On such a day, I love to fill my backpack with my book, a couple notebooks, my newest Harper’s and my journal, and set out to find a nice table in the sunshine to pass the afternoon…
Sostinės dienos (Capitol Days) is a good time of year to be in Vilnius. Always the first weekend of September, the city is alive as students and families return from the seaside, sodyba (countryside garden) or grandmother’s house in the village. The tourists have mostly gone home, and Vilnius is left for its Vilnečiai.
For three days, the full length of Gedimino prospektas is taken over by stalls of artisans selling their wares, local restaurants grilling sašlykiai (sishkebabs), griddles frying enormous bulviniai blynai (potato pancakes) and serving troškinys (stew) bubbling hot in large cast-iron pots. To drink there is alus (beer) and karštas punčas (hot wine punch). Near the Parliament building games and activities fill the street with children, a DJ spins favorite teenage tunes while a group of boys plays 3-on-3 basketball in front of the national library.
Lidija Rasutis was singing with her women’s ensemble, Eglė, on a stage set up on Lukiskių aikštė, with the sun setting behind them. Though they were all dressed alike, Lidija still stood out as the most fashionable, dancing and swaying while she sung. The music was old-fashioned, but the crowed enjoyed it.
There were all types strolling along, eating, dancing, listening to music and buying fresh breads and sweets; young families, elderly couples, rebellious teenagers and even a few angels. Life can be hard in this small country on the Baltic Sea, but from the smiles along Gedimino prospektas in September, Vilnius seems to be the happiest, most carefree city around.
Sitting in Aspen, Colorado I silently hum John Denver’s Back Home Again…. “Hey it’s good to be back home again, yes it is…..” until I remember that the “home” I’m thinking of is Vilnius, Lithuania, and suddenly the the song in my head switches to InCulto’s Welcome to Lithuania!
I left Vilnius one year, one month and eight days ago today, but less than a month from now I’ll land once again at VNO, get my bags, and walk through the dozens of people waiting outside of baggage claim with huge bouquets of flowers for friends and loved ones. Hopefully, some of those people will be waiting for me! Sadly, this time I will not be arriving on a one-way ticket, I do have a job to return to in Aspen. I will however pack as much into the 10 days I have there, visiting friends, family, colleagues, and of course my Kalnu Ereliai ski racers! And for my readers, I’ll attempt to gather enough new information, pictures, tips and trips to fill this website until my return.
Stay tuned, as I’ll be posting plans and lists of things to do, and places to go until my departure. But for now, check out one of my favorite Inculto videos, and as always, Welcome to Lithuania!!!
