Riga and Environs

Oct. 3, 2018- Riga and Environs

At 7:30 AM we were on the road passing ghostlike birch forests with only coffee to sustain us. We were going to be guests of a family who was hosting our breakfast. Their 10-acre farm was in the town of Ligante, about an hour away. Their business is making fruit wine, but the fifth generation now living on the property came to that by way of an interesting history. 

The family were farmers. The recent generations lost almost everything to the Soviets. They were given good advice by a neighbor that allowed them to fool the officials into thinking they were poor peasants. The woman told them to put blankets on the windows instead of curtains and place a huge bowl in the kitchen to appear as if that was their only washing facility. That ruse allowed them to keep their house but not their land. Since their family was large enough to fill the quota, no strangers were moved into their home. They buried the family silver in the garden with trees as markers. After 50 years under Soviet rule, they can’t find the burial site. They reclaimed their land with the pullout of the USSR and began a lucrative furniture making business. The most popular birch wood products were cutting boards. Eventually, they contracted to make them for Walmart and Costco. The family prospered until 2006, when there was a fire in their factory. Overnight they lost everything. They would have lost their property and home if they weren’t such hard workers and entrepreneurs. The father went to work in Norway and earned enough in six months to pay off the bank. Then he went to Finland to study wine making. After much experimentation at home, they came up with their formula. The business has grown and their fruit wines have won awards in the Baltics. They do not yet export. To complete the circle, the son is a woodworker who sells birch cutting boards and spoons on a small scale. We “helped” him carve a spoon and I noticed tiny wooden Stars of David all over the floor. He said they were leftovers from snowflakes he carved. I started picking them up and the group joined in. He was clueless. 

A special treat was traveling down the road to meet the matriarch. She’s 75 years old, a widow, and lives with the boyfriend she met on the internet in the Soviet apartment where she raised her family. It has 2 bedrooms, a bath, kitchen and living area. People who have seen such apartments elsewhere say it was identical in layout to those in other countries down to “OO” marking the door to the toilet. The furnishings are basic. The apartment was given to her when the Soviets left.  For 199 years, the only industry in Ligante was a paper factory. She worked there 44 years during which time she earned her degree in economics and rose through the ranks. The factory survived the Germans and USSR, but went out of business in the last few years. Rumor has it that a Lithuanian living in the US wants to buy it and restore the industry. When asked, grandma said she preferred the Soviet times when she didn’t have to worry about getting a job or paying rent & utilities. Interesting how people forget about neighbors disappearing to Siberia.

Not far from the village was our lunch stop. A couple in their 40’s decided to move from Riga and live off the grid. He consults in IT and works from home. Their three children are in their 20’s and live in Riga. Ten years ago, they bought 4 acres and moved a log house from 100 miles away. They dug a basement and reassembled the house. They’ve remodeled the interior and are growing a limited amount of produce for their own use. They tired of raising rabbits and are considering chickens. Although they were told they’d only need electric radiators for heating, they couldn’t fill the chinks between the logs well enough to prevent the North wind from sneaking in. They resorted to siding the exterior and installing a wood fired boiler type furnace in the basement and piping hot water under the floor for radiant heat. I can attest to its efficiency.

We had the usual conversations about the Soviets. The wife said that she was in school at the time and the only changes she saw were in the language taught and the textbooks. The teachers stayed the same. The couple were not optimistic about the upcoming Saturday elections. They think that the Russian party will win the most seats. But the mood was lifted when a birthday cake appeared and we celebrated with one of our group members. We sang “happy birthday” in English, Canadian (French), Hebrew, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Russian. Then Rana, our Turkish observer, sang it in Turkish. What a hoot. This is an amazingly cohesive group.

Speaking of divided heritage, Bob told us of a town in southeast Latvia where the majority is the Russian ethnic minority. Latvians were so worried about an uprising from that town they considered building a wall around it. In effect, they would make it into a ghetto. The effort failed.

We came back to our hotel at 5:30 PM and were too tired and full to eat dinner. At least we have a later departure tomorrow. We’re off to Estonia.

Toby

Winery kitchen

David woodworking

Communist apartment kitchen

Log House for Lunch

Riga, Latvia

Oct. 2, 2018-Riga, Latvia

Our brains were challenged and stimulated at an after-breakfast lecture by a professor of political science. He described the pullout of the Soviets in 1991, and establishment of a free Latvia saying, "Be careful what you wish for." 

Latvia was ill prepared to set up a government and ancillary services after 50 years of having been "taken care of" by the USSR. The youth who were the primary freedom fighters took control and behaved as if they were dividing a birthday cake. They were 20-somethings who decided "you can be Secretary of State, and I’ll be in charge of the military." The language changed, there were no institutions in place (eg, medical, educational, utilities, etc.). Property was privatized and returned to the original family owners except for the Jewish community where they were either dead or had fled. In buildings that had been made into apartments, tenants were kicked out, and original owners staked their claims. Somehow, they figured out hybrid socialized and private health care, a unicameral parliament that elects the president, universities that are pay as you go for a nominal fee, and have adapted to several currencies on the way to the Euro.

Being a citizen is complex. If you lived in Latvia before 1940, you were automatically a citizen. If you weren’t Latvian and qualified under the 1940 rule, your children weren’t citizens. Russians have to learn Latvian and take a test to gain citizenship as do their children yet to be born. Several Russians prefer not to be citizens and not vote in order to hold a "non citizen" passport and be able to freely visit relatives in Russia. A fear of Latvians is that too many Russians will gain citizenship and Latvians will become a minority in their own country. Skilled workers are needed, but refugees aren’t welcome. Latvians say they have enough trouble figuring out their own destiny let alone taking care of displaced people with a host of unique problems.　

Latvians are primarily Lutheran due to their Germanic roots. With that, they struggle with their complicity with Nazis in WWII, their identity as victims, and their own singular extermination of Jews. Rumbale Cemetery was too far from town for us to visit. It is the only Soviet site mentioning Jews who died in WWII. We did not walk past the memorial to the synagogue that was burned down with 200 Jews inside three days before the Nazis entered Riga. We did, however, see the one that survived and is in use. Built in 1903, it sat between Nazi occupied buildings. It was thought too dangerous to burn the synagogue lest the German buildings caught fire.　

The future is uncertain. There was an economic collapse in 1998, and 2009. The Russians are licking their lips hoping the Russian minority residents will ultimately fall into line or be brought into line as in Crimea and Ukraine.

Our local guide met us for a taste of Riga on our own. We rode to the old city on a trolley (electric bus). The route was along the river and past manicured parks linked by bridges and paths. We spent time in the sprawling market and were introduced to Black Balsam (good for what ails you) which is only tolerable when flavored with black currants. We walked around squares and old buildings trying to absorb which was what.

Lunch was pork cutlets (chicken for us) and some strawberry gelatin dessert (ick). The "on our own part" came after lunch. Bob abandoned us. We split up for wandering time. Using actual paper city maps, we navigated our way back to the hotel. We found a modern multi-story mall and ducked in looking for toilets. We failed. Toilets were found at the stylish Grand Hotel Kempinski where we walked through the lobby and to the bar.

We joined Bob at Singh’s Indian Restaurant across from the hotel. Excellent. Bedtime is early. We leave for a day of exploring villages and meals with local hosts.

The story of the cat in the photo below is: the owner of the building had a feud with a nearby guild. He placed sculptures of a cat on each of two turrets. To give the guild his version of the finger, he placed the cats with their rear ends facing the guild hall. Over time, the cats have been rotated so the more acceptable end faces the guild. 　

Toby

Beautiful old architecture

Synagogue

Black Cat

Central Market Bra Stall

Klaipeda, Lithuania to Riga, Latvia

 Oct. 1, 2018-Klaipeda, Lithuania to Riga, Latvia

The roads here are good, but I wouldn’t say they take you on scenic odysseys. The terrain is flat. Most hills are manmade. That includes one considered among the creepiest places on earth. The Hill of Crosses has a dual background. Legend says that a farmer and his wife prayed for a child to no avail. Eventually, they were blessed with a daughter. At age 14, she became ill. There seemed to be no cure. One night, the farmer dreamed of an enchanted valley. The dream showed that he had to build a cross, carry it to that valley, and leave his sins behind. His daughter’s health returned. A more historic version is that between the 10th to 14th centuries, a small chapel was built for soldiers moving from one battle to another. By the 1800’s it became a pilgrimage destination where people could meditate and leave crosses to show they’d been there. At last count, there were 400,000 crosses. The Soviets attempted to remove the crosses, but after three tries, they realized more would be placed to fill in for those destroyed. They gave up. The custom is for visitors to bring or buy a cross at the conveniently located shop. To our surprise there were Stars of David and Muslim symbols for sale. 

I’ve never seen such a massive display of crosses. It outdid even the cemetery in Normandy. As I got closer and walked among them, it was as if an army surrounded me. I felt constricted and unwelcome. Negative feelings of the oppression that crosses symbolize to me weighed me down. We’d bought a Star and carried it along almost as a totem until we found a place to leave it. No site was comfortable until we came upon a large placard of a Star of David shining in the mix. We hung our small token and felt better for it.

By then it was lunchtime. We haven’t repeated foods the last four days despite eating Lithuanian cooking every meal. Lunch was cabbage rolls served with pickles and mashed potatoes. Our rolls were stuffed with minced chicken instead of pork. Can Latvian cuisine be much different?

We had long drives between points but we’re all good nappers. Bob used the time to fill us in on our next site and wax philosophical about religion, politics, and humankind. I think he’s in his 30’s and has a generational naivety about him. 

We entered Latvia without drama or notice until the signage changed. We drove to Rundale Palace and were in for a surprise. Even Bob didn’t know an HBO special on Catherine the Great was being filmed. Although Helen Mirren was starring, she was not in evidence. There were many costumed extras being prepped and spruced for the next scene. We gawked and took photos until our local guide came, then we followed her like the obedient ducklings we have become. The palace was built in 1736, by a local duke who was in favor with a Russian princess. When she died, he, his wife and three sons were exiled to Siberia. They were permitted to return to complete the palace years later, when Catherine the Great took the throne.  The original architects were those who designed Catherine’s Palace in St. Petersburg and the gardens of Versailles. The rooms have been restored with care down to the silk wallpaper. Furnishings are of the period with some being donated by the remaining family who live in Germany.

We pulled into Riga, the fastest growing city in the old Soviet territory, in time for dinner. Bob gave us a thumbnail history saying that the heaviest influence is Germanic stemming from the Livonian Knights who occupied the area. Today 47% of the citizens identify as Russian including the president. I have a feeling we’ll be frequently crossing the Daugava River between the old and new towns. One of the pluses of this location is that it flows into the Gulf of Riga then the Baltic Sea.

Our bags were dropped in our rooms at the Hestia Hotel Jugend and we learned the answer to the question of whether there will be differences in Latvian food. The answer is “yes.” Most had lasagne and panna cotta for dinner. Well, we had chicken breast and panna cotta.

Tomorrow we walk the city.

Toby 

Hill of Crosses

David placing Star 

Actors waiting

Klaipeda, Lithuania-Outdoor Day

Sept. 30, 2018- Klaipeda, Lithuania-Outdoor Day

Winds blew in and clouds raced across the sky. The temperature dropped a bit and we awoke before daylight. These are among some of my favorite things. NOT! But group travel is regimented. When they go, we go. For a day spent in nature, it wasn’t the most auspicious, but it was, to borrow a phrase, one of the “funnest” days we’ve spent here.

Our bus boarded a ferry for the Curonian Spit (peninsula), a UNESCO site, which separates the lagoon from the Baltic Sea. We sailed 7 minutes across the Curonian Lagoon, hiked up the Hill of Witches, and traipsed among the pines on a well- groomed path. Around each bend were intricate wood sculptures of witches (80 in all) done by varying artists in 1979. Our guide relayed tales and legends as we gawked, took photos, and made crass comments about our interpretation of some of the poses. The sculptures illustrate creatures from pagan legends and culminate in a clearing where Midsummer Night revelry is still celebrated. We celebrated surviving the cold with shots of 3-9’s. It is an amber liquor with 27 herbs, thus the name.

The Spit has evolved since its settlement in the 1200’s. The Baltic side had “walking dunes” made of fine sand. By the 1600’s, the trees that held back the movement of the dunes had been harvested and the sand was encroaching on and burying towns. Trees were replanted and are carefully monitored. The woods serve as home to moose, deer, and wild boar. No hunting is permitted. Since the 1800’s the Spit has been a resort and artist’s destination.

That is, no animal hunting occurs. Hunting for amber is a different point. We were treated to a walk on the beach in a modest gale to hunt for those precious pieces of resin. I found several that were so tiny I had to step on them to hold them in place so they wouldn’t blow away. All of the 16 childlike seniors in our group stumbled down to the beach and braved the blowing sand and waves that threatened to bury or drown us. The only damage was that David’s shoes and pant legs got soaked and our driver had to vacuum sand from the bus.

Lunch was a hoot. Our hostess was a former singer who still yearned for an audience. It wasn’t long before she had us clapping, dancing, and singing after a lunch of cabbage soup and fried local pike. To me, the song’s refrain sounded like we were repeating “Lipitor, Lipitor.” Very appropriate.

And now we were off to learn to be expert amber analysts and finishers. On a day of whimsy, our teacher was a blowsy blond woman who chanted our instructions as if she were a kindergarten teacher. We sat at a picnic table outdoors (these are hardy folk) and eventually joined her in singing, “sand the amber up and down then round and round;” “ wet the string and put it in the hole, put it in the hole.” It was bizarre, we were in stitches, and all had fun. The finale was standing in a circle holding hands as she threw amber dust on a fire to please the spirits. 

I slept on the return to our hotel but did manage to hear that Klaipeda was settled by Germans in the 18th century and became Russian after WWII. There is still a piece of Russia, Kaliningrad, on the mainland at the south end of the Spit. The explanation of how a piece of it is still Russian though separated from the Motherland by Lithuania and Belarus remains a puzzle to me. 

Six of us had dinner with Bob. It’s a safe bet he knows the good restaurants. I really wanted mushroom soup, but it was made with bacon. I ended up copping out with salmon on salad. David had cheese filled dumplings the size of baseballs. They were too dense for my liking. Bob promised to give us the recipe for the chocolate dessert we had. It requires no cooking. It’s crumbled shortbread with a dense chocolate batter poured over it. I don’t think I was fond enough of it to bother. 

We leave for Riga, Latvia tomorrow.

Toby

Us on Hill of Witches

Amber we found

Looking for amber

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