Grutas Park ~ Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Good as a scratching pole, too. 

We left at 10 a.m. in the pouring rain to Grutas Park. By the time we got there the rain was just a drizzle.

Grutas Park is a bizarre creation, a theme park devoted to Lenin and the era (1941-1990) when the USSR imposed communist rule onto Lithuania.  So how come the first thing we saw when we walked in was a llama?

cute bears in an awful cage

Imagine a family-oriented park in the country complete with a few farm animals lolling around the pasture, a zoo with cages of fowl and mammals, a restaurant, picnic tables, swings and other simple playground equipment good for 3-8 year olds.

Soviet-era music resonates
through the trees from old
prison watchtower.

These are set alongside a black-topped path through the woods alongside a stream.  Every few yards appear the actual statues of Lenin, mostly, but also other Soviet leaders and heroes and “ideal types” (Soviet partisans, well-muscled and attractive farmers) that had been placed in public spaces in Lithuania and nearby Baltic states. 

huge Soviet partisans

Written explanations (in Lithuanian, Russian, and English) give a short biography of the person’s life and the achievements that merited the statue-making, acts like “ordered the deaths of 5,000 Lithuanians in such-and-such forest in 1956-1960” or “responsible for sending 30,000 to imprisonment in Siberia” or “committed acts of genocide.”   (Genocide?  Did the Soviets commit acts of genocide in Lithuania?  Hmm. . . . More on that tomorrow.)

Stalin and Jackson

There were also several inside exhibit rooms alongside the path with explicit displays of Soviet-era art work, uniforms, medals, souvenirs, and other items upon which were imprinted pro-communist symbols or messages.  One exhibit displayed world and local newspaper articles reporting Soviet oppression, criminal trials, and violence from diverse perspectives.  There were copies of horrific photographs that the communist regime would put on display, showing the fate of Lithuanian resisters who had been caught. 

Here’s the idea behind the combination family-fun-learn-about-communism-outing:  the little kids play and see the animals while Mom and Dad and teenagers absorb lessons about the cruel and despicable Soviet rule.  We were both little kids and adults at Grutas Park. 

The bus ride there and back, in our cozy and comfy bus, was an occasion for catching up on much-needed sleep!  Leonardas stopped at the side of the road so we could buy wild strawberries and blue berries from the sellers.  He got us around a clogged street by driving down the left-hand side of the highway and then moving back just in time.  

Back in Vilnius, we had free time.  Some went souvenir shopping in the on-and-off rain, some ate, some stayed in the hostel and wondered where everyone else was.  Vilnius was nearly closed-down at the end of its national holiday.  Us, too. 

soccer ball with the colors of
the national flag of Lithuania

That night most people hung out in the common room and watched the World Cup. 

Trakai, Ponary, and our first exposure to Vilnius ~ Sunday, June 22, 2014

Walking toward the island castle in the mist

Our new bus driver arrived promptly, and we loaded our luggage and headed toward Vilnius in the rain.  Leonardas won our hearts by turning on a Russian music video (after 20 minutes we begged him to turn it off), allowing us to eat in the bus, entertaining us with creative driving maneuvers, and talking animatedly in Russian with Prof. O’Sullivan throughout the trip.  He also agreed to let us spend one hour in the Trakai Castle, while he went and fetched us the famous local main-dish pastries, kibinai.

From here you can see them making kibinai

The Trakai Castle was built on an island in the 14^th century by a Lithuanian grand duke.  It had glorious red stone walls, drawbridges over moats, and turrets.  The Soviets restored it as a gift to Lithuania after World War II, and it is a popular tourist destination.  Some rooms had exhibits of Victorian-style china, coins, and purses, while others contained paintings.  We raced through the rooms and squeezed up the narrow flights of stone stairs.   Our visit to Trakai was over far too soon.  We gathered at the bus stop and welcomed Leonardus and his precious booty, kibinai stuffed with lamb, pork, chicken, or cheese.  

Just outside of Vilnius we stopped at Ponary, or Panierai. 

one of the Jewish memorial stones

Making our way through the rain we went into a little museum and were greeted by an old and eloquent guide who pointed to the museum exhibits and told of the horrendous events that occurred here.  Panierai was a village alongside a rail line, and nearby were large pits built by the Soviets for oil storage.  The Germans used the site for mass murdering 100,000 people here and using the pits as mass graves.  Later they tried to hide their crimes by forcing prisoners to cremate the dead.  About 70,000 of the victims were Jews from Vilnius and the surrounding areas, many who had been imprisoned into the Vilna Ghetto.  The rest were soldiers and civilians who were non-Jewish Lithuanians, Poles, Romani, and Russians.  We stopped at the stone memorials and sculptures honoring the victims.  It was melancholy and beautiful, the forest and grass damp from the misty rain.  A moment of grace occurred when a moose appeared on a path between the trees nearby the students.  Noticing us, it disappeared into the woods.

Back on the bus, it was a short, quiet ride to the capital city.  The hostel was not yet ready for us, so we left our luggage and walked into Old Town Vilnius.  The air was cool and clean, and people were playing games in the midst of the street shut off from the traffic.  We could see that we would enjoy our last four days of our trip in this pretty and lively town.

fried onions, sour cream, and butter on top
of potato dough and a bit of stuffing

That night we had a group dinner featuring the national Lithuanian dish, cepelinai.  It’s sort of like a dumpling, but with moist, thick, bland outside, and inside is a mystery meat (or, in the case of the vegetarian version, a mystery cheese).

Perhaps the 2.9 million Lithuanians love it, but let us just say that for most of us, it was the first and last time cepelinai will pass our lips.

An Užupis wall tile commemorating a poet, writer,
 and diplomat from these parts who refused to identify
himself as either a Lithuanian or a Pole

And, to top off the day, we went to yet another cemetery.  It was in the charming section of Vilnius known as Užupis.  Prof. O’Sullivan’s friend Aurimas took us on a tour of this artsy neighborhood which has declared itself a separate, independent republic.  “Everyone has the right to be unique,” “Everyone has the right to be unhappy,” “Everyone has the right to love and take care of the cat,” and “Everyone has the right to celebrate or not celebrate their birthday” are among the 39 articles of their constitution.







Wire, ceramic, tile, and stone sculptures are placed between the trees, on the buildings, and in the square.  We loved their quirky humor.

Aurimas insisted that the pretty, wooded cemetery established in the 19^th century was not a site to miss. It appeared strangely normal, filled with graves of people who mostly lived and died like they were supposed to.

We returned to the hostel.  Some students stayed up to watch the World Cup, others collapsed onto their clean beds.

Church pilgrimage, fortress, and boat ride ~ Thursday, June 19, 2014

We woke up to Corpus Christi day – a Catholic occasion for honoring the body of Jesus – and so of course we had to go to the nearby pilgrimage site called Swieta Lipka and learn about the local traditions.  There were hundreds of people who came, and several masses scheduled throughout the day, with overflow crowds outside the church each time. 

The baroque Cathedral was awe inspiring, a true religious marvel depicting the devotion of its faithful in physical form.  Its walls were illuminated by a wide range of color, and adorned with intricate architectural designs.  One inside wall included elaborately positioned angels with trumpets that moved in time with the notes of the Cathedral organist (see video tab). 

The service was more musical and engaging than the one we’d seen in Warsaw.  Altar boys led a procession into the church with priests holding silver containers containing smoking incense.  The lovely voices of the choir resonated through the high-arched interior, and the priest chanted melodically.  Again, the sermon and prayers were entirely in Polish.  Then the entire group of clergy, choir, and altar boys, followed by the congregation, formed a procession that wound around the front of the church into the town. 





At several stopping points, the priest enacted a ritual that used holy water and tree branches, and after he moved on to the next site, people took the little branches and moved on.  

We, too, eventually moved on to a restaurant adjacent to the town square.  We are getting quite expert at de-coding Polish menus, however some of us are still surprised by what the waitress brings! 

This is how horror movies start.

We spent the afternoon in a 19^th century fortress in Gizycko which had been built by an earlier Prussian king and named after his Minister of War, von Boyen.  The fortress was also used in World War I and II and is still intact.  There were other tourists there, and one stranger took the opportunity to photo-bomb Krystle as she posed next to a tunnel. 

The unique aspect of the fortress design is that it is placed between the two lakes next to Gizycko and it is shaped like a 7-pointed star; if the intruders penetrated to the center of the fortress, they would be completely surrounded by defenders at the points of the star.  The perimeter walls are actually reinforced by man-made hills.  It seems impossible to penetrate, and yet Prussia/Germany continually lost battles there.  We enjoyed walking on the paths, hiking through the dense trees along the edge, and exploring the empty buildings. 

First group's route 

Despite being in the fortress, we lacked military discipline and soon unintentionally split into three separate groups that lost each other.  One group ended up in the low fortress center trying to find a way back up, while the second group – trying to find the third group – went the opposite direction and meandered through dark tunnels in search of a path to the light.  The third group possessed the only map and easily reached the exit and spent some time wondering what happened to the others. 

Afterwards, we went for a relaxing boat ride on the Gizycko lakes and canal.  The boat had a large upper deck with rows of benches, tables, and a snack bar.  We watched sailboats, fishermen, and kids waving from the shore.  Some of us slept while others talked non-stop.  After landing, we again split into smaller groups in search of food and other entertainment. 

Calm waters