I’ve witnessed young ladies rollerblade through fountains shrieking with joy, a crazy busker in oversized clown pants plead love to his woman, and a pianist entertain a man/statue assemblage..
… Continue readingThe people of Łódź like to air their flair
One viral advertising campaign declared Vilnius as the G-spot of Europe: ‘Nobody knows where it is, but when you find it, it’s amazing.’
… Continue readingVilnius – the city that refuses to be defined
It would take a heart of stone not to be moved by the sight of over 100,000 crosses standing erect on a hillside in the middle of the Lithuanian countryside. Kryžių Kalnas (Hill of Crosses) in Siauliai is the site where hundreds of thousands of souls are commemorated, hundreds of thousands of lives are recalled, hundreds of thousands of loved ones are remembered.
… Continue readingKryžių Kalnas (Hill of Crosses): a place for hope, peace, love and sacrifice.
Latvia, it seems, is a cash based society. It’s fortunate that I purchased some Euros on the crossing, because the young lady at the kiosk is shaking her head. “Sorry, no cards.”
Much can be gleaned about the psyche of a nation by whom, or indeed what, they choose to celebrate…
Speak to any Latvian about the 1930s and their eyes will go misty eyed as they reminisce about a golden age of their history. Before the Germans occupied, before the Russians occupied, before the Swedish banks moved in, they had a thriving culture, one they could be proud of….
Haapsalu first delighted visitors in 1825 when its first mud spa opened in 1825. News spread to Saint Petersburg and the Russian aristocracy soon brought their weary bodies to be restored in the healing sea mud…
The secret Russian submarine base, according to the guide, is ‘on the coast – down a little track that says there is CCTV.’ How enticing. I don’t know about you but I love a little secret, the thrill of gaining privileged information, the responsibility of keeping it.
The dilapidated villas of Kruunuvuori creek and groan with age; their end is nigh. And yet as the last rays of the day pierce the canopy, the mansion before me reveals its former splendour. The debris on the ground melts away, the trees retreat from view, and the house stands, erect and proud again, to command its position overlooking the gulf of Finland.
Whilst Super Mario can sprint across the Mushroom Kingdom in under 5 minutes, Lithuanian Vytautas Kirkliauskas can navigate the course of the World Wife Carrying Championship with his wife on his back. No burden is too heavy for this super husband.