Vilnius!

Rode the tram back into Riga this morning, then caught my bus south to Vilnius. Heading south out of town, we passed a draconian building that could only be attributed to Stalin. Very similar by sight to the seven (ugly) sisters in Moscow--seven identical buildings around one of the rings in Moscow, all build by Stalin, all very forboding looking.

The busses here have seat assignments that are sometimes enforced. Two young people who were friends sat in front of me when they realized their assignments were in separate rows. Pretty soon, a "Mr Cool" type who had been outside squeezing his girlfriend got on, and insisted they move because he wanted the window seat, which was his assignment. Jeans, black muscle shirt under white striped dress shirt, black denim jacket with the white collar out over the jacket collar--disco style! Wore sunglasses the whole trip, even when raining. Bobbed head up and down in rythm to unknown music emanating from ear buds.

We stopped in several small towns on both sides of the border to pick up and drop off people. Just over the border--this time we had a dog sniff his way through the bus--we stopped at a log cabin roadside restaurant. Wonderful hand carved stuff around--I'll post a picture or two.

Another hour down the road, Mr Cool apparently had too much to drink at lunch, and headed for the WC on the bus, which was not in service that day. I confess to smiling to myself as he squirmed in his seat until the next stop.

In Vilnius, I noticed a young lady in a bus next to us making a disgusted expression at our bus, and I realized Mr Cool had mouthed or motioned something to her. She then avoided looking at our bus altogether. A bit later, we passed a bus with some maybe 13 year old school children, and pretty soon all the girls were waving and smiling at Mr Cool. I'm sure his girlfriend would have been impressed.

Getting off the bus, I tripped Mr Cool and watched him scrape his face and pretty white shirt across the muddy pavement--no, not really, but it's nice to think about...

Trouble finding the right tram, so I grabbed a cab--about $3.00 US to the hotel--well worth it.

Vilnius, what I've seen so far, is a great city! They're wide awake and have embraced their new day. Old buildings are restored and look great, the ugly apartment blocks have been updated with architectural features and color, the people walk around with a sense of purpose that I rarely saw in Riga. There is a concert of Lithuanian composers by the National Symphony tomorrow evening, and I'm going to try to grab tickets. I'm looking forward to my day tomorrow!

JP