A Country Not a Nation
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| Cedelinai |
VILNIUS, LITHUANIA After a day of trapsing around the Old Town, Gediminas Castle, St. Anne's Church, and the Cathedral-Basillica of St. Stanislaus (the incense in these places make me cough), it's nice to sit back, have a glass of wine, and enjoy the local culinary delights. Cedelinai, a combination pork and beef stuffed in a potatoe dumpling, covered in a crunchy white meat sauce and topped with sauer cream, is almost worth the price of the bus fare here. More fun though is meeting fellow travelers and sharing experiences. Like the articulate Ausie, who collects countries (145 so far) and advocates for AIDS victims around the world. When I noticed he was keeping a big fat diary, I asked him why he doesn't keep a blog so others could learn of his cause. His mouth dropped, "Now that's not a bad idea. I think I'll do that." A young German, attached to the German consulate in Minsk, explained why Belarus had fallen under the sway of the maniacal dictatorial powers of Alexander Lukashenko. "It's a country, unlike the Baltics, that had always been occupied and never experienced nationhood. They didn't know what to fight for," he told me. A Vilnian woman, with an American husband, relayed her experiences of living under collectivization and in one of those concrete block buildings. To which she added, "When the wall came down, I learned English, learned how to drive, and married an American!"
My time in the Baltics has been too short. I've learned of other places I should visit but the transportation system, without considerable hassle, doesn't allow it. For example, I'd like to go to Druskiminkai, Lithuania, which is on the Polish border, where you would think you could catch a train, or at least a bus, to Warsaw or Gdansk. Not so. There are no trains or buses that go to Poland except from Vilnius where you can either fly or take the bus to Warsaw but nowhere else in Poland. I thought of renting a car, or a driver, but the price is astronomical as there are no drop off points for cars taken out of Lithuania. The bus to Warsaw, is a possibility, but it takes nine hours, an unimaginably long time to be on a bus. So, after weighing my short list of options, I've decided to fly to Warsaw tomorrow. Of course, it's worth noting that it's only been 20 years since the Baltics have gained their independence. It may take them another 20 to develop the infrastructure and mindset to exploit the commercial benefits of their new found freedoms.
