Monday, June 18, 2012

Vilnius: Part the Fifth

Another update of what I was up to my last few days in Vilnius, and just some pictures I happened to like.

If you remember back from a couple of posts ago, I posted two pictures of a park, one of which included mass bubble-blowing. Well, on Saturday night, after I returned from Kaunas, it got better. As part of a city wide cultural festival that included films, installations, museum open-houses, and open-air musical performances, this part featured a stage with a series of pianists performing selections of roughly one-half hour from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am. This is convenient because the one of the major music academies in the country is right across the street.
As you can tell from the pictures, the evening could not have been better, nor the sky bluer.

I recently was shown by one of my gracious hosts a part of the city I can only describe as "funky." Užupis means "Over the River" in Lithuanian, and refers to a small quarter of the city, near the old town, separated from it by this river:



[Jessa and Doug, note the kayakers, I see an opportunity to expand!]

It's got winding narrow streets, a sort of shabby feel and artsy community that is pretty cool. Apparently this was once the poorest part of the city, but once the artists started moving in, they helped ensure that basic services and measures were provided by all.


Also, they have a constitution:

These I merely submit under the rubric: "pictures I think are pretty."






2 comments:

Mike P said...

True story: that neighborhood also has its own passports. Because they've declared themselves "independent."

Aaron said...

I'm not at all surprised. I apparently witnessed the "president" walking home, arms full of groceries.

Also, I failed to take a picture of the prominent sign at the bridge that says "Welcome to the Republic of Užupis."

I think Carrboro could learn a thing or two.