Silale, Raseiniai, Kaunas, and Trakai
On Friday, the B&B delivered breakfast to our room in a picnic basket. Breakfast consisted of a plate of meats, cheese, and tomatoes, bread with butter and strawberry jam, yogurt, fruit, coffee, tea, and juice. It was delicious!
After our picnic breakfast, we headed out for a drive to visit the villages where Joe and Denise's grandparents are from. First we drove to Silale, which was about 267 km (166 miles) from Vilnius. This is the town that their maternal grandfather was from. Then we drove to the town of Raseiniai, where their maternal grandmother was from. After that, we went to Kaunas, which is the second largest city in Lithuania. We were trying to find a place to eat in Kaunas, but had trouble finding a good place where adequate parking was available, since we were in the city center and the streets were very narrow and crowded. We finally pulled into a mall parking lot, thinking that there would be a place to eat in the mall. As soon as we made the turn into the parking lot, there was a gate in front of us. Apparently you had to pay to park in the mall parking lot. It was too late to back out; cars were already behind us. There was nowhere to go but forward. The gate opened and Denise rolled down her window to take a ticket, but there was no ticket forthcoming. There were instructions, but they were in Lithuanian. So we drove into the parking lot, pulled into a space, and then didn't know what to do. Were we parked illegally? Would we be able to get out of the parking lot without a ticket? Who, where, and how do we pay? Oh, the dilemmas you face in a foreign country!
Soon a man approached the car that was parked right beside us, so I told Denise to roll down her window and ask him if he speaks English. Fortunately for us, he did. We asked him about the parking situation and he said that the first 3 or 4 hours are free. I guess the mall doesn't want you to shop longer than that, which seems strange. Then we asked the nice man who spoke English for a recommendation of a place to eat, and he said there was a good restaurant across the street.
The restaurant was a buffet that offered, as the waitress told us, "all you can eat for as long as you want." Well, given our parking situation, we only had 3 or 4 hours. Basically the buffet consisted of stir fry vegetables, which you choose and then take your plate to the chef, tell him whether you would like the elk or the chicken, then he cooked it up for you together with the vegetables you had chosen. Denise chose the elk while Joe and I went with tried and true chicken. The food was very good.
On our way back to Vilnius, we visited Trakai Island Castle, a castle that is located in the city of Trakai on, as it's name implies, an island.
After touring the castle, we headed back to Vilnius. We walked to a nearby Lithuanian restaurant and again tried some of the local food, again all very good. We've decided we like Lithuanian food. If you were to ask a Lithuanian what constitutes Lithuanian food, he would say "meat and potatoes." And they do it very well.
After our picnic breakfast, we headed out for a drive to visit the villages where Joe and Denise's grandparents are from. First we drove to Silale, which was about 267 km (166 miles) from Vilnius. This is the town that their maternal grandfather was from. Then we drove to the town of Raseiniai, where their maternal grandmother was from. After that, we went to Kaunas, which is the second largest city in Lithuania. We were trying to find a place to eat in Kaunas, but had trouble finding a good place where adequate parking was available, since we were in the city center and the streets were very narrow and crowded. We finally pulled into a mall parking lot, thinking that there would be a place to eat in the mall. As soon as we made the turn into the parking lot, there was a gate in front of us. Apparently you had to pay to park in the mall parking lot. It was too late to back out; cars were already behind us. There was nowhere to go but forward. The gate opened and Denise rolled down her window to take a ticket, but there was no ticket forthcoming. There were instructions, but they were in Lithuanian. So we drove into the parking lot, pulled into a space, and then didn't know what to do. Were we parked illegally? Would we be able to get out of the parking lot without a ticket? Who, where, and how do we pay? Oh, the dilemmas you face in a foreign country!
Soon a man approached the car that was parked right beside us, so I told Denise to roll down her window and ask him if he speaks English. Fortunately for us, he did. We asked him about the parking situation and he said that the first 3 or 4 hours are free. I guess the mall doesn't want you to shop longer than that, which seems strange. Then we asked the nice man who spoke English for a recommendation of a place to eat, and he said there was a good restaurant across the street.
The restaurant was a buffet that offered, as the waitress told us, "all you can eat for as long as you want." Well, given our parking situation, we only had 3 or 4 hours. Basically the buffet consisted of stir fry vegetables, which you choose and then take your plate to the chef, tell him whether you would like the elk or the chicken, then he cooked it up for you together with the vegetables you had chosen. Denise chose the elk while Joe and I went with tried and true chicken. The food was very good.
On our way back to Vilnius, we visited Trakai Island Castle, a castle that is located in the city of Trakai on, as it's name implies, an island.
After touring the castle, we headed back to Vilnius. We walked to a nearby Lithuanian restaurant and again tried some of the local food, again all very good. We've decided we like Lithuanian food. If you were to ask a Lithuanian what constitutes Lithuanian food, he would say "meat and potatoes." And they do it very well.
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