Can only make it so far ….

From Berlin I caught the overnight sleeper train to Warsaw then switched trains again. Thirty six hours after leaving Copenhagen I arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, where I checked into the Fliaretai Youth Hostel (www.filaretaihostel.lt) for one night. The hostel is clean and cheap (less than 10 Euros per night) and is located ten minutes walk from the Old Town, in the Uzupis district.

I had to laugh when one of the guide books I read compared the deshevelled Uzupis neighborhood to Copenhagen’s Christiana district. Having only been in Denmark a couple of days ago, I think it would be safe to assume that the residents of Christiana would think the buildings in Uzupis are like palaces next to their dilapidated warehouse homes. They’d also be bored titless since there doesn’t seem to be any of the personality, activity, color, people, music, or drugs that they’re used to. (I may be wrong, though, since I didn’t stick around long and am just judging a book by its cover).

Seeing the dozens of swaying drunks around, though, there’s definitely plenty of alcohol in Vilnius. When I got on the Number 34 bus from the station to the hostel, one very kind gentleman peed on the seat in front of me and then ever so thoughtfully offered it up to the next drunk that stepped on board. He sat down to enjoy the ride and didn’t seem to notice the disgusting dampness seeping through his clothes.

And churches? Seriously, just how many churches does a tiny city need? There’re over 100 of the buggers. They’re everywhere you look. I don’t think the Guiness Book of Records was around at the time when they were built, between the 13th and 18th Century, so I’m not sure what the residents were striving for.

Anyway, onto Utena.

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