Killing Time

Abandoned Soviet-era bunker, now home to the local bat colony

I'm at roughly the halfway point of my enforced bachelorhood in Vilnius. The girls are currently back in Taiwan, leaving me to revert to the wild, crazy days back when I was single - namely bad dietary habits, laziness and ennui. It isn't much fun without my wife and daughter around, and I'm not embarrassed to say that I much prefer the married, family lifestyle. The job keeps me focused during the workweek, but on weekends it's a challenge finding something interesting to do. Mostly I go for a lot of walks, during which only occasionally do I tread new ground or come across things I hadn't noticed before. The following are a few photos of the past few weeks holding down the fort until my better halves return to the fold from the mystical, far-off lands of the Orient...or at least Taiwan, anyway...

The sometimes rainy weather produced this spectacular rainbow. You may notice the outlines of a second arc in one of the photos, a phenomenon I comment on in the video at the end of this post:

On one Saturday afternoon I drove to Lithuania's second largest city, Kaunas. Unfortunately, the tower of the St.  Francis Xavier Church & Monastery (pictured below) turned out to not be open on weekends (and so went the opportunity to take in the best view of Kaunas' Old Town, at least according to Lonely Planet), while the Sugihara House, home of the Japanese diplomat who saved 6000 Jewish lives by issuing transit visas to those escaping the advancing Nazi terror (and against his government's orders) was closed due to renovation work. A three-hour round trip for nothing:

There have been some interesting or amusing scenes on my evening walks around Vilnius:

I revisited Vilnius University one afternoon, after having gone there with Amber back on a cold afternoon in late January. Unfortunately, the campus bookstore I was hoping to check out turned out to not be open on weekends (I'm sensing a pattern here), despite my guidebook's claim to the contrary. At least I did get to see the Seasons frescoes on the upper walls and arches of the Lithuanian Philology Center:

The 19th-century Arcade Courtyard:

The late 16th-century Library Courtyard, with its astronomical instrument frescoes on the fourth floor of the old observatory building and the bronze doors of the university library:

I took a walk along the Eroziniai Kalvynai Cognitive Trail, which, if Google Translate is to be believed, means "erotic mountains". I alas did not have any sensual encounters, but I did learn two very important things:

1. There are a lot of mosquitoes in the woods of Lithuania
2. There's a good reason why the roadside isn't included as part of the marked trails, unless you're the kind who enjoys brushing up against passing cars on shoulderless bends in the road

Still, it was good to be out in nature, even if the trails were only a few minutes' drive from the center of Vilnius:

The aforementioned former bunkers. Despite several of them being unlocked or ungated, I didn't go inside. Mosquitoes are one thing, but I've had enough of having to deal with bats while living in Taichung County 台中縣:

Another time I walked the length and breadth of Gedimino Prospektas, the capital's most fashionable street (but surprisingly devoid of crowds the afternoon I was there). A failed attempt at a selfie reflection in one of the windows of the Parliament House:

Looking toward the TV Tower on the left and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Saint Virgin's Apparition:

Žemaitė was a 19th-century Lithuanian writer:

Washington Square plays host every year on July 23 to a ceremony commemorating the Welles Declaration, in which the U.S. government refused to recognize the forced annexation of the three Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) into the Soviet Union. This never fails to annoy the Russian media (heh heh):

The interior and exterior of the 15th-century Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, one of Old Town's most atmospheric houses of worship:

A gathering of cats in a courtyard. A fourth cat was crossing the lawn in the background as I was taking the photo. I looked down afterward to check out the pic and saw a fifth cat at my feet, looking up at me:

Vilna Gaon, "the saintly genius from Vilnius", standing on the site of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, destroyed surprisingly by the Soviets and not by the Nazis:

It's still another two-and-a-half weeks until the family comes back to Vilnius. I can always bide the time by marveling at the wonders of nature

Meanwhile, back in Lithuania...

Lake Druskonis 

If you've been following this blog, you're probably tired by this point of posts about our trip in late June to England and Scotland. You might be asking yourself what I've been doing since we returned to Vilnius at the beginning of this month (then you again, you might not be). The answer is "not a hell of a whole lot". My wife and daughter are spending this summer in Taiwan, while I'm between supervisors, meaning I have to stay in Vilnius and man the fort at work. However, just after the three of us got back from London, and just before the two of them jetted off to Taipei, Amber, Shu-E and I managed to squeeze in an overnight trip from the capital by taking advantage of the Fourth of July holiday (and by virtue of my taking the following day off from work). We drove ninety minutes in sometimes heavy rain to Druskininkai, described by Lonely Planet as "Lithuania's oldest and most chic spa town."

It's certainly one of the most attractive towns in the country. We'd previously visited Grūtas Park (aka "Stalin World"), the region's most famous attraction, so this time we concentrated on seeing what Druskininkai itself had to offer. The first thing we did was to drop off our bags at the Medūna hotel, across the street from the vibrantly blue Joy of All Who Sorrow Church (Russian Orthodox):

No criticism intended for Medūna, which was fine for spending a night, but my first choice of accommodations had been the Aqua Hotel, in the same complex as Aqua Park. I had hoped to take advantage of some sort of family package for the waterpark, but my computer's antivirus software strongly warned not to open the hotel's website. We went ahead and visited Aqua Park, but it would've been more enjoyable not having to keep track of how many hours we had paid to use the swimming pools, waterslides, saunas, wave pool etc. Still, it's a fun place for a family outing, though the I thought the adult spa area was a little disappointing (no photos allowed inside the waterpark):

Enjoying a bottle of Retro Baikal after the pool:

Returning to the outside world after several hours inside Aqua Park, we took a stroll along the scenic Nemunas River:

My daughter stands in front of the Fountain of Beauty:

M.K. Čiurlionis Statue, depicting Lithuania's most famous painter (and musician) who has a strong association with Druskininkai:

This upside-down house was closing up for the day at the time we came across it, so we made a note to visit it the next day...and then forgot all about it:

A rainbow on Lake Druskonis:

Dinner, drinks and dessert at The House:

The day after Independence Day we took another walk through Druskininkai and down to the lake:

Could this be a relic from Lithuania's time as a Soviet republic? Or some young architect's idea of retro chic?:

A memorial cemetery to Soviet soldiers killed in Lithuania during the Second World War:

The magical healing powers of the local mineral water can supposedly be sampled at the Mineralinio Vandens Biuvetė fountain, but for some inexplicable reason the building housing it was locked, despite a sign on the door indicating otherwise. I had to content myself with unavoidably placing myself in the frame while trying to get a shot of the stained-glass windows inside:

While my wife did some browsing of souvenir stands, Amber and I went to see the sobering Museum of Armed Resistance, hidden away on the second floor of the Cultural Center. The displays focus on the armed resistance to Soviet occupation and the mass deportations of Lithuanians from their homeland, as well as cultural resistance to Communist rule. Russian media and government officials have recently been criticizing the Forest Brothers, accusing them of murdering civilians and Soviet soldiers, but ignoring the question of why those soldiers were in another country (Lithuania) in the first place:

The Soviet-era Druskininkai Spa:

Enjoying lunch at the local branch of the Forto Dvaras restaurant chain, serving traditional Lithuanian grub and grog:

While the girls lingered at the end of the meal, I went next door to have a look at the M.K. Čiurlionis Memorial Museum, located in the artist's childhood residence:

These stained-glass windows were created in 1996 from drawings made by Čiurlionis in 1904:

The museum also has a number of copies of some of the artist's paintings - the originals can be seen at the M.K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art in Kaunas, which Amber and I had visited last year:

 Stillness (copy of 1904-5 original)

 Sonata No. 5 (Sonata of the Sea) - Finale (copy of 1908 original)

Lake in the Alps (copy of 1932 original)

Our last stop before the drive back to Vilnius was at Girios Aidas (Echo of the Forest), a museum showcasing pagan- and nature-themed wood carvings:

We were back in Vilnius on a Wednesday; on Saturday the girls left for Taiwan and won't be back until the middle of August. They're having a good time, but it's lonely around here. It ain't easy being a family man who is temporarily sans family and I don't miss those bachelor boys of long ago - they were fun back then, but certainly not now. Expect a dearth of posts until the wife and daughter return...

Ready when winter comes