Here is a photo of the full moon over Gediminas castle in Vilnius. This is the beginning of my sixth month of sabbatical.
It is now the beginning of spring in Lithuania. On Thursday there was a snowstorm, with freezing temperatures, and today, Sunday, it is warm and sunny.
The streets of the old town at night are picturesque and probably hide a lot of ghosts of the city’s long history.
The days are longer and people are emerging from the hibernation. This is best seen by watching the masses of people at the annual Kaziuko Mugė, which is a huge street fair. People are selling their handicrafts from all over the country. The items that I have seen many times are delicious breads, honey, ceramics, verbos made of dried flowers, wooden bowls and spoons, baskets, handmade soaps, sausages, dried fish, knitted items, and the food stalls selling traditional Lithuanian cuisine. There are few factory made items, and little from outside of the country (with a noticeable exception of Latvian cheeses). The streets of the old town of Vilnius are absolutely jam-packed with walking halted to a stand still. I live on Didžioji, one of the main streets, and it has been hard to exit onto the street these last three days. People have come to participate from the whole country, from the villages and the other cities. It is a mass of Lithuanian humanity and culture with exhibitions of folk music and dances, plus street musicians and performers, all celebrating St. Casimir, and basically the near end of winter. Here are a bunch of photos from the weekend’s event.
I am completely impressed by the lack of alcohol, and the happy family atmosphere. I have been to many street-fairs in San Francisco, and I am sorry to say that there the events end up with trash everywhere dominated by beer and drinking, that leads to the inevitable violence. Despite the reputation of Lithuania being a heavy drinking nation, I haven’t seen any signs of drunkenness or violence. It is remarkably organized and wholesome. I am enjoying the refreshing artistic spirit, with no signs of hi-tech or hipsters. I of course have bought some things, a nice sweater, my favorite black bread, a wooden cutting board, and a very nice ceramic mug.
I found a new vegan store in Vilnius, Veggo. They sell imported vegan cheeses and fake meats. I hope that eventually they will make their own stuff. But basically, it is clear that there are some alternative types living here who value animal-free foods. However, the vast majority of Lithuanians love their sausages, bacons and smoked fishes.
I feel a little uncomfortable taking photos of the Lithuanian fashions, but it is certainly different than Stockholm or San Francisco. Here women still have somewhat different haircuts and hair colors, and it is rare to see a hipster beard on a man. It is only a one hour flight to Vilnius from Stockholm or Copenhagen, but still far more Swedes have been to Thailand or the USA than Lithuania. I know for a fact that any tourist would enjoy the show of people here during the Kaziuko mugė.
