Mari & Elena, Vytas, Vikki & me.
And Vikki made her first Lithuanian friend - beyond the family, of course.
I woke and headed out ~7 AM for my "usual" Kaunas run - around St. Michael's church to the left, then down and around the Town Hall to the right. About 5K. Saw another runner amid the workers and students on Laisves alega and Vilnius gatve. Back to shower. Vikki was up and ready. We got Mari, Elena, & Sharon and went down for the breakfast buffet. Tepid fried eggs are odd. But I enjoyed the dark rye bread, tomato slices, tilset and caraway cheeses, pickles, hams slices, coffee, and orange juice. Elena discovered and enjoyed the dark rye. And longed for peanut butter - not a Lithuanian thing.
As we finished breakfast, Elyte and Vytas arrived, with 3 bottles of wonderful Lithuanian beer for our fridge. We cleaned up, got our stuff together, and headed out to explore Kaunas.
Around the corner from Metropolis, and we were on Laisves aleja, the wonderful pedestrian mall in New Town.
|
Mari & Elena, Vytas, Vikki & me. |
And Vikki made her first Lithuanian friend - beyond the family, of course. |
Vikki, Mari, Elena, & I know a few words of Lithuania: please, thank you, hello, bread, cheese, eggs, beer, toilet.... Sharon knows those and few phrases - most of which are not for polite company or meeting relatives. The young people, twenties and teens, usually are fluent in English. Those our ages have varying degrees of English. The older relatives do not speak English - it was not one of those things the Soviet Union encouraged. So, because we were useless in Lithuanian, they made sure there was an English-speaker with us. In this case, it was Vytas. Although Elyte does speak English, she's not as comfortable.
So I was walking with Vytas and talking about our plans for the week. Mari, Vikki, & Elena were exploring all over Laisves al. And Sharon was walking with Elyte. On a whim, she turned and asked, "Sprecken zie deutch?" Elyte lit up and said, "Ja, ja, ja!" And that was the move that made our holiday. Sharon went to high school in Germany while her Dad was there with the US Army. She hadn't spoken German in ages, but she was fantastic! Most relatives who didn't speak English did speak German. She was our heroine.
Elena found her own cat. |
And chatted with the presidents. |
We admired the streetscape. The architecture - the whole feel - is so different from what we know.
 |
 |
 |
Then we went through the pedestrian tunnel and up to Vilnius gatve in Old Town. I don't know when New Town (Naujamiestis) was started. But Old Town (Senamiestis) goes back to at least the 1300s. Here in the US, we think "old" is 1700s.
We explored Kaunas Cathedral. The definition of baroque. Fantastic!
The apse. |
The ceiling. |
And around Town Hall Square, Rotus^es aiks^te.
 |
 |
And then to Kauno pilis, the 13th century castle built to defend Kaunas from the Teutonic Knights.
The castle on its hill over the confluence of the Rivers Neris and Nemunas. |
Elena & I are in the battlements, shooting arrows at the Crusaders to defend Lithuania. We won. They went back to Germany. |
Then Elena found the playground above the River Neris - and had a ball. We did some mega-somersaults down the hill - at least 8 flips each. Hey, what are grandmothers for?
 |
 |
Elyte & Vytas then invited us to their home. We made a quick visit to a big grocery store, then got on a trolley. What a new thrill for Elena. We have very little public transport at home. Over Z^alnakalnis (Green Hill) and up the "the even newer town". We got off the trolley and walked through an incredible shopping mall, then down neighborhood streets to Elyte & Vytas's home.
And a delicious luncheon of dark rye, cheeses, meats, cucumbers, olives, little fancy savory things with nuts, "branches" (Elena became a fast fan!), home-made plum torte, candy, beer, tea....We spend a wonderful family afternoon.
Elyte & I share photos. |
Vytas shows Vikki their fantastic garden. |
We met their dog and cat. Well, the dog was not too sure about a bunch of foreigners. And the cat agreed. But that's understandable when the American hordes descend.
Aika, a laika. OK, we in the US all think that the dog that went up in Sputnik II was called Laika: Wrong. She was a laika; a Russian husky. As is this sweet pup. |
Kate (kat-eh), the cat that was left when neighbors moved and who has sort of adopted Elyte & Vytas. But not us Americans. |
Elena got to play, and we all got to chat and eat and relax in their comfortable house and warm garden.
Elena found the swing in the driveway. |
Sharon, Mari, Vikki, Elena, Elyte, & Vytas. |
But, finally, we had to call a taxi van and head back to the hotel. It was such a nice family day. And with two Elenas: Elyte and my Eleniute.
Sharon, Mari, & Elena rested in the hotel. Vikki & I walked down a block to a choice of two Internet cafes - in copy centers. And we emailed our significant others. Then we each went wander Kaunas New Town on our own. Vikki to discover it; me to see how much had changed in a mere 8 years. Then back to the hotel. Sharon & I chatted while Vikki, Mari, & Elena went to get on the Internet. Darius called with plans for the next morning: a visit to Vilnius.
Then we all headed out to find a kavina we all liked from Kaunas in Your Pocket but got all the way into Old Town and back without spotting it. Despite help from some young folks. But Pizza Jazz called to us. So we had Lithuania pizza and relaxed.
"Home" to write some post cards and go to bed.
The next day: 9/26
Lithuania 2008 Main Page
Back to Nancy's Home Page
Back to the Ciaffone Family Home Page