Let the sun shine

One of Lithuania's favourite jazzy pop bands.

Beers ahoy!

Not many people are aware of it, but Lithuania is somewhat of a beer kingdom. Many beers can be found in the country, especially the "gyvas Alus" (Living beer) type, which is unpasturized.

Some of the brewers are really cool looking (see photo of Snekutis brewer).

Lithuania has literally hundreds of microbrewies who are usually operating out of their own homes. A lot of them add a bit of their own sweat to each beers for taste (involuntarily) as they put all their love and attention into their brew. The effect is evident - some of the tastiest beers in Europe. Real Lithuanian beer will also not give you a bad headache, even if you are like me and like to indulge.

Most beers come from the area surrounding the northern town of Birzai. This town is interesting in itself and not just for beers either! It is close to the Latvian border and is almost smack-bang on the road from Riga to Vilnius, so there are no excuses for not stopping there.

People drink so much of the beer that they come out with quotes like this about it: "According to historians, the local beer has been talking to people for more than 1 100 years. Only here you will find that local malt liquor is hard as oak, sweet as honey and strong as dynamite."

I won't go into the many many excellent breweries because it would be unfair if I didn't name all of them, but I do warn you to avoid the major beer labels as they do not put the same care into their beers as all the rest.

Those coming to Vilnius are urged to go to Alaus Namai - the bar where all the good local beers can be tried - without the commercial rubbish.

Something you need to know when going to a Lithuanian bar is how to say "cheers." Locals get really impressed if you can pronounce, or try to pronouce, "I Sviekata" (eeh - svee - kah - tah), which literally means "to health"

Tikras Alus (Real Beer) is a good blog with information on Lithuanian beers - check it out. Some articles are in English, but others can be translated fairly successfully with Google Translate.

I Sviekata!

Born sportsmen

Lithuanians love sport

VECC this week (Aug 2-9)

August has rolled around for The Vilnius European Capital of Culture 2009 (VECC) and the event happening everywhere in the capital.

It is almost impossible to walk around the city without noticing one of the large green markers telling you about and exhibition or event. The best thing is that almost all of the events are free for all.

This weeks events:

KULTFLUX Culture Platform near the Neris Cinema night

Kultflux pavilion near the Neris and the Lithuanian Energy Museum,

Rinktinės St. 2, Vilnius

4 Aug

21:00

Free of charge

CINEMA IN THE CITY, CITY IN THE CINEMA - French film review: Le Samourai / Samurai, directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville, 1967

Vilnius Franciscan (Friars Minor Conventuals)

Monastery, Trakų St. 9/1, Vilnius

5 Aug

21:30

Free of charge

52 Weeks. Cinema Marathon Skalvija Cinema Centre,

A. Goštauto St. 2/15, Vilnius

6 Aug

19:00

6–12 litas entrance

CINEMA IN THE CITY, CITY IN THE CINEMA - French film review: Les Amants du Pont-Neuf /Pont-Neuf Lovers,

directed by: Leos Carax, 1991

Vilnius Franciscan (Friars Minor Conventuals)

Monastery, Trakų St. 9/1, Vilnius

6 Aug

21:30

Free of charge

KULTFLUX Culture Platform near the Neris - Fishday, electronic music party

Kultflux pavilion near the Neris and the Lithuanian Energy Museum,

Rinktinės St. 2, Vilnius

6 Aug

22:00

Free of charge

Exhibition of Andrzej Strumillo PAN catalogue TORS. - Presentation of the book Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (The Grand Duchy of Lithuania)

Vladas Vildžiūnas Gallery, Lobio St. 6A, Vilnius

8 Aug–31 Oct

Opening: 16:00

Free of charge

ARTSCAPE/United Kingdom/Visual art

Fine arts: Roger Palmer, Eglė Paulina Pukytė

Cinema: Red Shoes, directed by Michael Powell; Life of Brian, directed by: Monty Python; Orlando, directed by: Sally Potter; 39 Steps, directed by: Alfred Hitchcock; The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, directed by: Peter Greenaway (shorts)

Gallery Vartai,

Vilniaus St. 39, Vilnius

Until 8 Aug

Opening: 18:00

Tue to Fri

12:00–18:00

Sat 12:00–16:00

Free of charge

2nd Polish Organ Concert - Henryk Gwardak (Finland-Poland)

Vilnius St. Casimir’s Church, Didžioji St. 34, Vilnius

9 Aug

13:00

Free of charge

52 Weeks. Cinema Marathon

Skalvija Cinema Centre,

A. Goštauto St. 2/15,

Vilnius

9 Aug

21:00

6–12 litas entrance

CULTURAL PROGRAMME OF THE FIRST WORLD CONGRESS OF VILNIUKAI: Retrospective and art exhibitions What Was Hidden in the Repatriates’ Suitcases?

House of Polish Culture in Vilnius,

Naugarduko St. 76, Vilnius

9–31 Aug

Opening: 17:30

9:00–18:00

Free of charge

Photography exhibition - European Eyes on Japan

Contemporary Art Centre,

Vokiečių St. 2, Vilnius

Until 16 Aug

Opening: 18:00

Tue to Sun

12:00–19:30

Sun 11:00–17:00

4–8 litas entrance

Sculpture: Puskalnis (Half Mountain) by R. Antinis

Neris embankment near the Seimas building, Vilnius

Runs until 31 Dec

Free of charge

Sculpture Dviaukštis (Two-Storey) by M. Navakas

Neris embankment near White Bridge, Vilnius

Runs until 31 Dec

Free of charge

Sculpture Krantinės arka (Embankment Arch) by V. Urbanavičius

Neris embankment near Mindaugas Bridge, Vilnius

Runs until 31 Dec

Free of charge

Network of Footpaths of the Balsiai Mythological Sculpture Park, sculptural park benches

Vilnius

Runs until 31 Dec

Free of charge

EUROPEAN ART SCHOOL NEU/NOW Vilnius’09 - Presentation of the 150 best European art students’ works

www.neunow.eu

Until 31 Aug

Free of charge

NEW CITY FACE - Lithuanian poets’ audio-visual poetry installation 'Poetry Pillar', curated by Julius Žėkas

Vilnius Bus Station,

Sodų St. 22,

Vilnius

Runs until 31 Aug

Mon to Sun

12:00–18:00

Free of charge

EUROPEAN ART SCHOOL - Art-o-thlon International Art Championship

Vilnius Academy of Arts, other public places in Vilnius

Until 31 Aug

Free of charge

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It should also be noted that Plunge is the Lithuanian capital of culture and is definately worth visiting with different walking trails, concerts and more.

Plungė – Lithuanian Capital of Culture 2009

Different locations in Plungė and district

Runs until 1 Dec

Free of charge

Ignalina - not all that bad

People know Ignalina for the nuclear power plant, but after going there this week, I have found that it is among the most pleasant spots in Lithuania.


View Larger Map

People are amazingly friendly, the city is good looking (outside the Soviet built centre) and it is cheap as hell.

Even those coming from Vilnius will notice how cheap the place is because it isn't a capital city and is off the tourism map.

What many people don't know is that Ignalina, where the country's nuclear power plant is located, is that it is on the edge of the Aukstaitija National Park (ANP). ANP is arguably the country's nicest inland location with beautiful lakes, forests full of berries, wild camping in the forests, fishing and more. ANP was the location for the esoteric Lithuanian film, which is worth seeing, "Aš esu tu".

When I went there, there was good weather, a breeze smelling of fresh forest flowers and great scenery. Perhaps the only bad thing about the city is that its only real restaurant is not easy to find. Of course, once you get there, it will be a great experience - in fact it was probably one of the best Lithuanian restaurant experiences I've had in recent years.

Getting there is really easy too - take the train from Vilnius to get there. The train costs around 15 litas and various discounts are available for those under 26 and more. Check the train website for times.

Relaxing traditional music

A song that all Lithuanians know. Be warned - this may soothe you!

Seaside bliss - go there while you can!

Palanga is the seaside resort that Lithuanians, Russians, Latvians, Swedes and Germans alike flock to in the summer time looking for a nice beach.

This white sands getaway is beach, beach and more beach (something like 18 kilometres of uninterrupted sand) with some other nice features to boot. While you're not relaxing on the beach getting a tan, you can go shopping for souvenirs and other kitschy rubbish on the central Basanaviciaus street where they have restaurants blaring out Russian pop and kalinka classics. On the side of the street is an amusement park with rides and other entertainment.

Of course that's not all folks - there is the Palanga botanical gardens which has a number of attractions of its own such as Birute's hill - an archaeological site of a town covered by a sand dune. The gardens also have the museum of Amber, which the Lithuanians are famous for. The museum used to be the Tiskeviciu palace and is surrounded by gardens, fountains and statues.

Despite all these other attractions, the main reasons people come to Palanga is still the beach and to party, which often occur at the same time. While lazing in the sun, on your towel soaking in the rays, you can buy beers and fried bread. Often people working in the restaurants will come to you with the food ready. While this can be pretty annoying when you don't want a Ceburekas (deep fried pancake with pork filling) or Kepta duona (fried black bread with garlic and salt), it is nice when you are getting a bit peckish. Beers usually go for 1.20 and the bread is about one quid.

Be aware that you can get burnt in this sun!

Swimming is good even though you can't see your feet in the greenish water once you are in knee deep. The water is clean, but has some algae and seaweed floating in it, clouding the view, but never fear.

Food in the city is all traditional Lithuanian and Armenian for some reason. It is the only place I know in Lithuania that has any noticeable Armenian cuisine and it is voluminous. Make sure you go to the restaurants hungry, but also bring enough cash because it is more expensive that other places.

Finding a place to stay in Palanga is easy as pie - just turn up and find one of the old ladies at the bus station who will take you to their house. A room can be anywhere from 40 litas (about 10 pounds at the time of writing) to 100 (25 pounds) for a fairly nice room for two. These are usually near the beach, but be aware that conditions vary significantly. You get what you pay for.

As the Lithuanian saying goes "a greedy person pays twice (later)"

Getting there is easy - there are trains to nearby Kretinga or you can take the bus or fly to the Palanga international airport.

Unseen Lithuania

Unseen Lithuania is the English version of Neregeta Lietuva, the famous aerial photographic series by Marius Jovaisa.

The whole series is devoted to the landscape of Lithuania from the air.

Lakes, rivers, dunes, islands, churches, cityscapes and more are shown in panoramic photos taken from over 50 helicopter journeys – and like the name of the series suggests, it is something that not many people have seen before or expect from the small Baltic nation.

There are two books available in English – the 2008 and the 2009 editions, but both show excellent scenes of the country. A DVD has also been released with a selection of the best photos from the shoots.

I would personally recommend the books as the best way to go for many reasons – first and foremost is that the book is big and has large and thick pages with the photos in excellent colour and perfect focus. This is not the case with the DVD – there is a very noticeable loss in quality that is off-putting. Plus the photos on the DVD move around in the slide show making them hard to look at.

Perhaps the funniest thing in the series is “Lithuania in the World” where photos from Lithuania are compared to other locations in the world. The only reason I can think for including this is to enforce the nationalist illusion that most Lithuanians have that “our country is the same as everywhere in the world!” Either that, or better than everywhere.

Whats funny about this segment though is that the authors of the series get a photo from some place in the world and get a similar looking photo from Lithuania and place them side by side. For example, a bird’s eye view of a shallow reef in the Maldives is compared to tufts of grass and dirt poking out of a bog in Lithuania. Crystal clear turquoise water compared to muddy brown/green water. Not exactly the same, is it?

Anyway, apart from that terrible mistake they made of comparing mundane geographical locations to world wonders, the series is great and shows the natural beauty of Lithuania and the cities too.

It would make an excellent coffee table book or present.

Lithuania all over the world

Brilliantly detailed Lithuanian art for VECC

Part of the Vilnius European Cultural Capital 2009 (VECC) are the art exhibitions going on around the centre.



I went to a the Old Town Youth Gallery (my own translation from Lithuanian), which is at Totoriu street, number 22. It is in a small courtyard behind the bar Transylvanija and there is a red plane suspended in the court yard.


Go into the gallery on the left to see some great canvas paintings of Lithuanian life.