Rusiskes & Klaipeda, Lithuania

Sept. 29, 2018- Rusiskes & Klaipeda, Lithuania

To fill you in on dinner last night, we joined Mike and Kay from Mnpls for a meal at a modern Lithuanian restaurant recommended by our hotel. We forgot that it was Friday night. Despite a poor economy, the place was full to overflowing. We wandered around until we found Metaxa, a Greek restaurant. It was a pleasant change in cuisine and delicious. 

This morning there was a crowded breakfast where the three OAT groups met up. The groups seemed to start a day apart. We didn’t know this trip was in such demand. 

On our ride to Rusiskes, Bob shared his family history vis a vis the KGB. His grandmother was a partisan who was deported to Siberia where she met his grandfather. His father grew up in the Gulag. The hurt never left. After years of imprisonment, when they were returned to Lithuania, they were regarded as criminals until the Soviets moved out. In the end, his grandmother was disappointed that the pure, free, and equal society she fought for was not achieved. Present day leaders are the same people who headed up the Communist Party she fought against.

It’s obvious why his grandmother was deported, but why his grandfather? The reason shows the irrationality, cruelty, and reach of the KGB. His father was in school one day when the picture of Stalin in his classroom was found on the floor and damaged. Perhaps it fell; perhaps it was vandalized. No matter. The teacher, his family, the entire class and their families were sent to Siberia. Case closed. 

There was a Q&A session where we learned that medical care is free with drugs available for a small co-pay up to a point. Bribery can get you to the head of a waiting list. Private medical care is available for a fee. Dental care is costly. It is worth it to fly to the Ukraine for treatment.

In response to our observation of the freshness, cleanliness, and lack of beggars in Vilnius, Bob told us the city was spruced up for the Pope’s visit, and beggars were banned.

In Rusiskes, we stopped at a 400-acre outdoor museum with buildings depicting Baltic life in the 1800’s that had been moved to that site. It was large enough that we used the bus to get from the rural thatched roofed plain wooden houses to the model town. We were surprised that in the town there was a Jewish home set up for Shabbat. No segregation in villages.

We had just pulled out of the outdoor museum when the bus came to an abrupt halt. There was an old woman on the side of the road. Both Bob and the driver leapt off the bus to embrace her. She was Irena, the curator of the museum of the KGB Gulag.

Whole families were transported for infractions deemed harmful to the State. In 1941, she was 13 years old, when her extended family was arrested. They were loaded onto a freight car (sound familiar) and taken thousands of miles north. The men were separated out and shot along the way. Women and children continued on to their fates. Irena, her mother and brother went to the coldest sector. There they became slaves. They were not given any clothing other than what they wore when captured; they had to scavenge wood and food from KGB discards. Although part of their job was fishing, they weren’t permitted to take fish to eat. They had to build their own shelter from blocks of frozen earth. There was never a complete thaw. Inside the yurt, ice formed on all surfaces including the floor. If they were lucky enough to have a stove made from gathered metal flotsam, the heat caused the ice to drip and refreeze. One third of those taken to Siberia died including Irena’s mother. She and her brother were released in 1958. She is now an active and vigorous 90 years old. Survivors receive 58 euros a month compensation from the Lithuanian government.

After creating havoc in Lithuania, Russia demanded reimbursement for the infrastructure it left behind. I hope they understand what chutzpah means. Irena’s story has been written up in the novel Between Shades of Gray by Rita Sepetys. It is being made into a movie. Irena got no compensation or recognition for it. She said her reward for surviving was that she was chosen to present flowers to the Pope on his recent visit.

Our lunch stop provided us with watery bean soup and turkey blinis (crepes) plus a taste of local honey spread on dark rye with local cheese and chased down with cucumber.  Evidently, they are raising turkeys in Lithuania to encourage healthier eating.

Much to our amazement, there is WiFi on our bus. The news spread like wildfire. Out came our phones and we all got to feed our addiction.

We arrived in Klaipeda, a town on the Baltic Sea and checked into the National Hotel. We seem to be pegged as capable of being on the 3rd floor. At least this hotel has an elevator. This is our second accommodation, and I hope the others follow the pattern. Rooms are decent sized to spacious; bathrooms are updated and clean. There is plenty of hot water; towels are dried in machines so aren’t stiff, and toilet paper is Western style. 

Bob took us on an orientation walk along the river where we were shown statues introducing us to a pagan legend on which Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid was based. Neptune’s daughter, Jurate, fell in love with a human. When she brought him to her father, he flew into a rage destroying her palace built of amber. She was so unhappy, she cried amber tears. The tears and remnants of the palace were washed ashore for beachcombers to discover. Amber is a huge business in Lithuania. There is jewelry to be bought from pushcarts and fine jewelers. One of the jewelers near our hotel listed his wares in several languages. I figured out that “bernstein” meant amber stone or burning stone. Never knew that.

We all ate dinner at the hotel and had tender, yummy, beef bourgonion. There was chocolate dessert to top it off. Bob and Rana, our Turkish OAT guide in training, joined us. Rana is the daughter and granddaughter of senior military leaders who retired when Erdogan gained power. She is very outspoken in Turkey. Her family has warned her to be careful. She tried to reassure us that the US is protected from the fall of democracy that took place in Turkey because of our checks and balances. We disabused her of that, but her faith in our system is stronger than ours. 

Tomorrow we take a ferry to the Curonian Spit, an island, to “explore nature.”

Toby

 

Irena near stove

Memorial for Lithuanian Jews lost in Gulag

Jurate and Me

Yurt

Trakai, Lithuania

Sept. 28, 2018- Trakai, Lithuania

We found a Hippo!! It’s only the second day of our trip and David found a ceramic hippo for our granddaughter Rylee’s collection. If you’re new to my travel emails, we have successfully searched out hippos for her in every place we’ve been. Sometimes it’s a group effort and sometimes we get lucky as we did today. Sigh.

At 8:30 AM we were held captive by a lecture from a brilliant man who had spent his career representing Lithuania globally. He had a thick accent and recited the ups and downs of the country through occupations and into the EU. After bemoaning the exodus of youth, he told us their primary destination. It is Ireland. The reason is higher unemployment compensation there than Lithuania. Try as they may, they can’t even get Syrian refugees to come here. The EU assigned Lithuania to accept 1150 Syrians. About 18 families came. Once they had documents they fled to Sweden. There are a million Lithuanians in the US. Some 95% voted for Trump. They thought he’d be tough against Russia.

There is linguistic evidence that eons ago Lithuania was more appealing. Northern Indians were among the first settlers. Trakai was the first capital and its rebuilt 14th century castle was our destination. We floated across a windswept lake to the island fortress and walked many steps to see replicas based on supposition. There were no original plans or drawings on which to base the restoration. It was a fly by the seat of the pants project furnished with items guaranteed not to be authentic. The exercise was pleasant and the weather held.

We walked to lunch at a restaurant owned by members of the Karaite community. They were originally from Northern Turkey, but in the early 14th century, while living in Crimea, they were taken as prisoners of war. They became loyal to the Lithuanian rulers and were made into guards by the 15th century. Karaites don’t consider themselves Jews (even Hitler determined they were not). A Google search lists them as a Jewish sect. They follow only the Old Testament and translate it from Aramaic into the language of the country where they live. They do not follow Talmud, nor do they have rabbis. Instead, they have priests who are elected. They celebrate biblical holidays and follow biblical dietary law. For example, they don’t eat pork or shellfish, but do mix dairy and meat. They pass their traditions to their children at home and at summer camps.

We were lucky enough to have a cooking lesson making krinis. They are baked meat pies formed into crescents. We donned hairnets and aprons and followed the demonstration in rolling the dough and crimping the edges. The filling had been pre-mixed and was dropped onto our dough rounds. Pies were labeled with our names and became part of lunch. The meal began with chicken soup served in a crock covered with thin dough similar to a pot pie. They served their proprietary drink, Karaimu, and, after tasting it, we had a chance to buy a bottle. We didn’t. I don’t know anyone I would punish like that. 

Our last stop for the day was at the Museum of Genocide victims. Housed in the KGB prison, the main thrust was depicting the processing, execution, and deportation of Lithuanians under Soviet rule. There was a small room dedicated to Nazi extermination of Jews, but this is covered more thoroughly at another venue. Our guide said that most Lithuanians today were touched by a loss due to the KGB. Most in our group reacted with horror. As inhumane as the place was, we’ve seen worse. Some said it was being in the actual place where atrocities occurred rather than a “museum” such as the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC that moved them. To us, being at Auschwitz-Birkenau was our litmus test.

As an update, we learned that the piano in the river and bridge with locks pictures in yesterday’s email were taken in a community called Uzupis. It declared itself an independent territory where fairness and equality rule. It is similar in concept to Christiania in Copenhagen, a place where drugs are available and undercover police roam. Here, it is more an art community.

Tomorrow we travel 4 1/2 hours (with sites along the way) to Klaipeda. It is a beach town. Should be a good change.

Toby

Castle at Trakai

Ready to Bake

Krinis

Vilnius on Foot

Sept. 27, 2018-Vilnius on Foot

The weather cleared from last night’s downpour and sun broke through. It was perfect for our 3 1/2 hour walking tour of an admirably immaculate old city. At this point I don’t readily recognize people in our group. Most have gray hair. I’m afraid that I’ll end up following another one of many tours and end up on a river cruise.

Christianity was late coming to Lithuania. By the 1400’s the pagan Thor-worshipping Vandals were toast and the Church was installed. And they kept on building installations. We saw most of them today. The original founders opened the borders to all regardless of religion. That brought a large number of Jews. Our local guide took us to Jew Street and the old ghetto with a pretty accurate history. There had been 220,000 Jews in the country before WWII. That was a third of the population. After the war, thanks to the Nazis and locals joint venture of extermination, there were 3,000 left. Vilnius went from 100 synagogues to one, which we drove by. It is still operating along with a community center and Jewish school. What is housed in the homes of murdered Jewish families today? Upscale shops.

There is a concept here that is foreign to us. Eighty percent of the population is Lithuanian. Our local guide, Amy, self-identifies as Lithuanian. Bob, our tour leader, identifies as Russian. Amy was born in Lithuania, which makes her identity understandable. Bob, also born here and living in Denmark, identifies as Russian. I asked at what point does a person of Russian or Polish lineage identify as Lithuanian. The answer was “never.” Ethnicity and politics aren’t separate. There’s even a Polish political party. When I explained that my grandparents were Polish, immigrated to the US, and I’d never say I was Polish, she was puzzled. If I lived here, I’d be Jewish, never Lithuanian. Even with full rights and privileges of citizenship, you never get to be even hyphenated (eg Mexican-American) on the way to adopting the identity of your birthplace.

Our visit to the university provided a chance to meet a student and friend of Bob’s. The man is a third year psychology student. His mother is a psychiatrist and his father, a businessman. Education is mandatory until tenth grade when you may choose a trade or college track. University education is merit based by admission exam and pay as you go. There are scholarships and loans. The tuition runs about $9,000 for FOUR years since the university is heavily subsidized by government. The most popular majors are orthodonture and medicine. There is a brain drain because of students going to foreign universities or leaving for better paying positions abroad.

In 1989, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia joined hands (literally) and celebrated their separation  from the Soviet Union. There is an elected parliamentary government now. It is elected by popular vote as is the president. She is in her second and last term and is known as the Steel Magnolia (she has a black belt in karate). 

Although there is a separation of church and state, Bob said that social reform regarding LGBTQ issues won’t come anytime soon. He came out to the group today when he took us to the Russian Orthodox Church where he was baptized as an adult. His parents are spiritual, but not churched. His grandparents were ardent communists and atheists. When he felt a need for a church, he went to a Catholic priest who told him he was an abomination. The Russian priest embraced him as God made him. He and his fiancé will continue to live in Denmark where they will eventually be married. Of the Baltics, Estonia is the only country recognizing LGBTQ equality including marriage. 

Bob showed us to a favorite restaurant for dinner where we were introduced to fas, a non-alcoholic beer. It was yeast extract and honey. Actually pretty tasty. We shared an order of potato pancakes and each had a bowl of cold beet soup. Definitely not latkes and borscht, but a close cousin.

I won’t be taking as many pictures as I used to. I just finished purging our photo albums and digitizing the pictures I wanted to keep. How many pix of mountains, churches, and buddhas do I need? Not to worry. I’ll still send you the ones from this trip I think are interesting. Today we have waddling pre-schoolers decked out in safety vests and two funky “art” displays. One is locks on a bridge railing over the Vilna River and the other is a piano on said river bank. 

Tomorrow we bus to Trakai Castle.

Toby

Funky art-piano in a river

Locks on a bridge

Pre-schoolers waddling in safety vests

Vilnius, Lithuania

Sept. 26, 2018-Vilnius, Lithuania

Thank you for joining us on our latest adventure. We’re touring the Baltic’s (Lithuania, Latvia, & Estonia) and Russia (St. Petersburg & Moscow). David’s family is from Lithuania. This is one part of the world where no one asks us how to spell “Horowitz.”

The trip started with delays. Weather kept us waiting for our Chicago flight that connected to a Lufthansa flight to Frankfort where our flight for Vilnius was held up leaving Madrid.  David worried about storms in Cleveland. It worked. They were long gone by the time we left. He failed to worry about the rest of the trip, and that’s where we ran into problems. Worrying works. Pretty much whatever I worry about doesn’t happen. In any case, the lightning displays kept us entertained.

We did manage to sleep on the overseas portion and David managed to break his glasses. They fell off as he dozed and he stepped on them. Due to the wonder of cataract surgery, he is able to see well except to read. I’ll either be his menu interpreter or we’ll find readers for him to use. Oh wait! He took his backup ones and they work!!!!

For the first time we invested in upgrading to premier economy. I only expected more leg room, but the seats were considerably wider, cushier, and we had a footrest. We only bought it for the long overseas flights. Worth it. We’ll never go back to regular economy. We’ll probably never fly business class either.

We’ve installed What’s App on our phones so we can text when we have WiFi. We didn’t get an overseas phone package for this trip.What’s App should suffice for our needs. I guess we can also use our regular texting without charge when we’re in a WiFi zone.

We arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania an hour late. The day has run an hour behind. When we got to the Mabre Residence Hotel, our home for three days, we’d missed the orientation meeting and dinner with the group. Bob, our group leader met us and gave us a thumbnail version plus ordered our meal. The caprese salad and salmon were just right. The fresh raspberry sorbet hit the spot.

Bob was unexpected in appearance and personality. He’s blond, bearded, tattooed and large with an over-the-top presence. We’re guessing he’s gay. He confused us when we mentioned the Pope’s visit to Lithuania last week and said he preferred the former pope to this one. It will all sort out. 

Tomorrow we walk the city.

With that, we’re off to sleep in a BED.

Toby

Savannah, Georgia-Not Over 'Til It's Over

Feb. 2, 2018- Savannah, Georgia-Not Over 'Til It's Over

Our adventures continue, albeit with humor.

As we checked into our hotel tonight, a large group was at the desk also checking in. They looked as if they walked out of a casting call for the film, Deliverance. They had Alabama hats and t-shirts and many were carrying battered cases. One of the women turned to a teen-aged boy and asked if he was "packing." I looked at the cases again and realized they didn't have musical instruments in them. They had guns...large guns. 

Relieved that there was a vacancy for us, we checked in. David asked one of the men if they were here for an "event." He was told that this is a big weekend for these kids. They're juniors and seniors in high school and are competing for college scholarships in skeet and trap shooting.  

The sickest person from our group made it home, but is in the hospital. She's on IVs for dehydration. She'll be fine, but the severity is her own fault. The others all medicated and hydrated. She doesn't like water so didn't drink for two days. 

Toby

Home Soil

Feb. 1, 2018- Home Soil

Our flight left Havana on time and we arrived in Miami early. We're starting our trek home. We'll take it easy and may take three days. Our own bed will feel so good. 

Thanks for coming along on our latest adventure.

Toby

Last Day in Havana

Jan. 31, 2018- Last Day in Havana

We were serenaded at breakfast by a guitarist and violinist playing Yiddush music. Maybe they're available for bar mitzvahs?

Our speaker this morning was Martiza Corrales, a historian and professor. Everyone here seems to be a professor of some sort. She insisted, by using statistics and social history that, despite four popes visiting the island, Cuba is not a Catholic country. They are not Communist either. They're religious, but not attached to any faith or institution. They're superstitious. They cover their bases and do what's expedient. They wear symbols of many religions interchangeably and display them at home. This is not a change since 1958. Cubans have always been that way.

Class and color matter more than religion. An example was that Batista wanted to join an exclusive yacht club while in power. Although there were Jewish members, he was blackballed because he had some African blood. When the English were here, they came with their families. Spanish did not. They mixed with slaves, but invented "white certificates" for their offspring. In future generations, as they married whites, the progeny would have proof that, in the beginning, they were "officially" white. We teasingly asked Jose if he had his certificate. His mother is Haitian and he is dark. He said his family is so mixed it's a United Nations.

Few Muslims were here when Cuba decided to give them a small area for a mosque. Cubans were afraid the Shiite and Sunni wouldn't get along among themselves and would cause religious dissent. Things were ironed out and now Muslims have a real mosque where both sects pray together. One part of history Cubans are ashamed of is when they rounded up Jehovah's Witnesses and homosexuals and placed them in concentration camps together. The Jehovah's Witnesses refused to salute the flag or serve in the army. Cuba knew JW's hated homosexuals and hoped they'd destroy each other if in the same camps. That's in the past.

Survival is the goal. Protestantism became popular as a way to stick it to Spain via the Catholic Church. All Protestant denominations are represented in Cuba except Scientology. Cubans are too poor for them. Schools are strictly secular. Whenever there's an increase in socio-economic problems, religiosity increases. As outsiders, we see Che and Jose Marti becoming objects of worship. In his will, Fidel strictly forbid streets bearing his name or making him into a deity.

The Fine Arts Museum was next. The art displayed was indeed fine, the five-story ramp we climbed to begin the tour wasn't. The elevator didn't work. Surprise! The docent described what we saw as Cubanity, a melting pot of religious and cultural influences as well as a blend of the masters the Cubans studied abroad. Some were exquisite. All were fascinating. During the 1958 revolution, artists and museum workers lived in the building armed with guns to defend the treasures. Fortunately, the war didn't come to Havana.

We drove into the Miramar neighborhood towards Casa Espanola, our lunch stop. Miramar houses Embassy Row except for those of Spain and the US which are elsewhere in the city.

We enjoyed lamb and chicken. Although the lamb tasted like beef, it was a nice change.

Still awake and ready for another encounter, we went to see the Havana Queens. It wasn't what I thought it would be, a drag show. It's a group of forty 18-30 year-old dancers who do everything from acrobatics to hip-hop to rhumba with a Cuban beat. They've performed overseas and leave tomorrow for Germany. They rented an auditorium in an old school now used as a cultural center. To say it was falling down is an understatement. The stair railings were in pieces or gone except for deadly metal sticking up from the treads. The ceiling in the auditorium was pocked with bulges of rain damage, mold, and decay. Pieces were hanging over us waiting for the next deluge before collapsing. Our guides are seriously considering not taking groups to that venue again due to safety issues.

One more pass and photo op at "the most important" revolution square, and we were done. Or so we thought. Manuel had a surprise back at the hotel. He hired 1957 convertibles for a half hour cruise around town. It was a treat and we acted like teenagers taking pictures of each other in our three-car parade.

Cuba is just coming out of Communism into a more Socialistic society. What can be expected? Growing pains. What can be the end game? Bulgaria and Romania, which we toured last year, have many more years of freedom. Their progress has been facilitated by embracing democracy and free enterprise. We've been living in a democratic republic for almost 250 years & still haven't mastered it. We're all works in progress.  Maybe Cuba's mistake was in not losing a war to a rich country and cashing in on its own Marshall Plan.

Our farewell dinner was a long ride from the hotel. Usual food. A more upscale atmosphere. We didn't get back until 9pm. We're more or less packed. Trying to get those liquids in order. We'll wake up at 4 AM, breakfast at 5AM, and leave the hotel at 6:30 AM. Our plane is American's first to leave Cuba on its shuttle to Miami, so we should be on time. 

What this group really needs is a healer. There are three sick enough with "tourista" to stay in their rooms and not tour and two with "funny tummies." They're improving and will be able to join the flight tomorrow. It was touch and go for some. 

Toby

Hemingway's Fave For Daiquiris

Juan (driver), Manuel (U.S. Guide), Jose (Cuban Guide)

Dancing Queen

Ceiling in Rehearsal Hall

Ready to Ride

Hotel Nacional