Lithuania

I visited Lithuania in August 1992, which was not so long after regaining its independence from the Soviet Union. About a year later I visited again, and then also made a side trip to St. Petersburg in Russia.

The friend that I was visiting lives in Vilnius. It is not a very big capital and because of cultrual influences of very different sides, there is a varying architecture.

I was sort of fascinated by the way things are sold in Lithuania. Following are some pictures of street market sales. Because of the transition from state dominated retailing to private enterprise there were peculiar things to see. There were still some state shops for daily food. They were of the type which seems to make it as difficult as possible to buy something: first stand in line for selecting what you want to have, say a pound of cheese. Then you stand in line for the cash registry to pay for what you are going to have. After that you can stand in line again for actually acquiring what you have paid for. It is possible that in the mean time the purchase you wanted is sold out, then you can go into the line at the cash registry again for a refund.

The city of Klaipeda has been part of the German empire for a while, which can still be seen from some of the architecture.

Tatrai used to be the capital of Lithuania, nowadays you can go there to see the old castle from where the country was ruled. I recall they said it is restored, but to me it looks like it is rebuilt mostly.