Vilnius
Next up, Lithuania's capital, Vilnius.
Now I am a firm believer of visiting a country's capital. As the capital, it is normally the show case of the nation. Some countries, take Turkey and Croatia for instance, have capitals that are criminally ignored by tourists and visitors. The capital can show you what a country is all about, as it's history, and culture are often more concentrated there. However, Lithuania is not one of them (Along with Montenegro)
Vilnius was greatly disappointing. There was very little do there, particularly when compared to the other Baltic capitals Tallinn and Riga. People weren't particularly friendly, the place didn't seem very well looked after, and the constant staring from the people that lived there, not only put me off, but also made me feel very uncomfortable. And this was a different type of staring to when I was in Armenia. There, people stared at me out of curiosity, I don't think six foot badly tanned, long haired English men with feet like Bigfoot are a frequent site on the streets of Yerevan and Gyumri. But in Vilnius, it was a different type of staring. Almost with a curled lip and a glare that said I was not welcome there. And that was that. I left after two nights and vowed not to return. It's funny, because out of most places I visited where I thought I might not be tolerated, actually I was. Turkey, a large Muslim country, felt incredibly safe there, the people were friendly and very hospitable to me. So was actually most countries I visited. Its' funny, the three main cities where I was made to feel very uncomfortable were Vilnius, Podgorica and Bratislava.
You do hear in the news about homophobic attitudes and a general unfriendliness in Europe, particularly in countries who were in the formal USSR. But actually, the overwhelming amount of eastern Europeans I met were friendly, and made an effort to make me feel like i was at home. And usually, you can tell the difference between genuine hospitality, and insincere hospitality, when they are only nice to you for money.
What amazed me most about Eastern Europeans was the sheer amount of bilingual and even trilingual people. Even if people couldn't speak English, they usually spoke another. One person who springs to mind was a waitress in Pula, Croatia. She spoke to me in English, served Italian and German tourists in their own languages, while also speaking Croatian for the locals there. All with the fluidity of water. And it makes me very ashamed to confess I am only able to speak one language. I always made an effort to learn a few basic words in the language, even if I was only in the country for a few days, because people appreciate even just a thank you, a havala, a tanan, or even a sh'nohakal em. (I think I spelt that right!)
But back to Vilnius. There's a castle, and the remnants of a old town, an a museum about Lithuanian history, while failed to wow me at all. the highlight for me was having pork chops at the Akropolis mall, watching a lit up windmill revolve while people had hockey practise in the ice rink in the centre of the mall. And that truly was the best bit. Avoid if you can.
Now I am a firm believer of visiting a country's capital. As the capital, it is normally the show case of the nation. Some countries, take Turkey and Croatia for instance, have capitals that are criminally ignored by tourists and visitors. The capital can show you what a country is all about, as it's history, and culture are often more concentrated there. However, Lithuania is not one of them (Along with Montenegro)
Vilnius was greatly disappointing. There was very little do there, particularly when compared to the other Baltic capitals Tallinn and Riga. People weren't particularly friendly, the place didn't seem very well looked after, and the constant staring from the people that lived there, not only put me off, but also made me feel very uncomfortable. And this was a different type of staring to when I was in Armenia. There, people stared at me out of curiosity, I don't think six foot badly tanned, long haired English men with feet like Bigfoot are a frequent site on the streets of Yerevan and Gyumri. But in Vilnius, it was a different type of staring. Almost with a curled lip and a glare that said I was not welcome there. And that was that. I left after two nights and vowed not to return. It's funny, because out of most places I visited where I thought I might not be tolerated, actually I was. Turkey, a large Muslim country, felt incredibly safe there, the people were friendly and very hospitable to me. So was actually most countries I visited. Its' funny, the three main cities where I was made to feel very uncomfortable were Vilnius, Podgorica and Bratislava.
You do hear in the news about homophobic attitudes and a general unfriendliness in Europe, particularly in countries who were in the formal USSR. But actually, the overwhelming amount of eastern Europeans I met were friendly, and made an effort to make me feel like i was at home. And usually, you can tell the difference between genuine hospitality, and insincere hospitality, when they are only nice to you for money.
What amazed me most about Eastern Europeans was the sheer amount of bilingual and even trilingual people. Even if people couldn't speak English, they usually spoke another. One person who springs to mind was a waitress in Pula, Croatia. She spoke to me in English, served Italian and German tourists in their own languages, while also speaking Croatian for the locals there. All with the fluidity of water. And it makes me very ashamed to confess I am only able to speak one language. I always made an effort to learn a few basic words in the language, even if I was only in the country for a few days, because people appreciate even just a thank you, a havala, a tanan, or even a sh'nohakal em. (I think I spelt that right!)
But back to Vilnius. There's a castle, and the remnants of a old town, an a museum about Lithuanian history, while failed to wow me at all. the highlight for me was having pork chops at the Akropolis mall, watching a lit up windmill revolve while people had hockey practise in the ice rink in the centre of the mall. And that truly was the best bit. Avoid if you can.
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