Laba Diena from Lietuvo

In other words, good afternoon from Lithuania:

Our arrival in Moscow was met with all the legendary Russian bureaucracy that we had been led to believe is some of the worst in the world. We were in the middle of the pack when we were trying to clear immigration, but somehow everybody seemed to be moving, albeit slowly, towards the counter. Everybody that is, except us. In the end, we were able to work our way to the back of the pack and were the last to clear immigration an hour and a half later. Somehow, the lines kept shifting and changing, people going from one line to another, all seeming to understand the rules much better than us.
Everything is going wonderfully well for us. Again having experiences that will last a lifetime.
We arrived half dead in Moscow on my birthday and it was very surrealistic to be driving around Red Square and seeing St. Basils Cathedral while sill on California body time.
But Bella our Moscow host was gracious and patient with her two zombies.
We had a full day in Moscow before flying to Riga to see Andrea, and since Bella had a meeting in a small village so Carol and I went with her and had a great time walking around what Bella called "a true picture of Russia, which Moscow, apparently, is not. Conjure up visions of stereotypical Russian peasants and you have the idea. Spring has not arrived yet, and people were still ice fishing on frozen lakes, stupid people according to Bella, because the ice is ready to break up and she will read in the paper tomorrow that x number of people drowned when the ice broke through and they got up close and personal with the fish they were trying to catch.
Our trip to Riga was uneventful after we were able to board the plane. That portion of the journey was again exciting since Aeroflot had cancelled our flight on the 7th and changed it to the 8th. Since the tickets were for the 7th which had passed, we were confronted with the fact that our tickets were not valid for the flight on the 8th. Lots of miscommunication, sign language, pleading, and finally a woman who decided to actually help and not just say "Nyet" we got the proper stamp, a very simple procedure which took about 30 seconds once it was decided it could be done.
Andrea and Martins were there to meet us. Again, we were the last to clear immigration:-)
She lives in a small village Ikskile about a half an hour outside Riga and we went into town with her to walk the old city, decide how we were going to go to Estonia later on, buy some gifts, and generally enjoy stepping back in time. We got the car and driving here is exciting to say the least. Traffic rules seem to be very flexible, with a level of aggression certainly necessary to get from point a to point b. The problem is finding the proper level of aggression, since too much will prevent you from getting anywhere except the hospital, and too little means you're stuck in traffic for ever.
We had a close encounter of the 1st kind with the Lithuanian police when we went down an unmarked street which turned out to be a one way one, naturally the opposite way were going. Again much haranguing, shrugging of shoulders, pointing to signs, looking up fines, and finally returning passports, car registration, drivers licenses, and sending us on our way, no poorer. Probably a bribe was the proper procedure, but since we couldn't understand and they couldn't directly ask for one, we were all right. Who said that ignorance was a bad thing.
I had left our packet of semi-precious documents at Bella's house. Luckily, I had taken passports, visas, travelers checks and all the other really critical things out previously, but international driver’s licenses, email addresses, and directions to our Lithuanian host's house were not with us.
I emailed our host in Kaunas our first stop after leaving Andrea telling I did not have his address nor his telephone number, and when we arrived in Kaunas we bought a local map, checked the telephone numbers for the Leonard Rinkevicius' and found two. We went to the first one, a shabby tenement house more suited to the lower Bronx, nobody was home, and headed across the town of 500,00 to find the other one. It was a very small lane and we finally found a man in a bar who knew where it was. He left his friends, his half finished beer, jumped in his car, motioned for us to follow and took us there. It was at 91 Darbunininku, a house even shabbier than the first place. We went to the house behind it 91A and were greeted by a very large angry dog, so decided to ask instead at 93A. A 20 something girl said that Leonardas used to live there but that was 10 years ago. I said, Leonardas the professor, and she said no, it was not him. So I decided to check the e-mail and asked her if there was an internet cafe. She was just leaving and it was on her way, so she took us to one at a local library, but unfortunately I couldn't get into my email. So the man running the library asked us which university, I replied, "There’s more than one?" well, there are six!! Finally we found him under the faculty listings for one of them and got his office telephone number. I called his office, but he was gone, but was told his address. Guess what? It was the original residence. So back we went across town, finding incredible views along the way and enjoying the solving of the mystery.
Upon arriving there we were told that he would not be able to host us since his daughter was ill. He took us downtown where we got a hotel and we all went out to dinner and had a nice evening talking. On the way back to the room, I asked Leonardas if he knew about the Lithuanian Basketball shirts which I had purchased when they were raising money to send the basketball team to the Olympics. It was a joint project with the Golden State warriors and the Grateful Dead. When the team won the bronze medal at the Olympics, the whole team wore the shirts on the medal stand. Leonardas said they are like gold here. Everybody loves them, but nobody knows how to get them. I told him I had the one from the 92 Olympics and one from the 96 Olympics as well. His eyes got very big. I asked Leonardas if would like one, and he replied that yes, but of course, he'd really like two. So I gave him both of them, and I thought he was going to go through the ceiling. It was one of those moments when you can do something for someone that has so much meaning to them, and yet costs you so little. I would have liked to keep one of them, and wear here in country, but that's an ego thing, and it was a national pride thing for him, so naturally, it was a no brainer. My suitcase is lighter, and there is one joyous Lithuanian who has a shirt for each of his two daughters.
He gave me the list of names that I had forgotten in Moscow, and I noticed that one Lithuanian host is located at 93 Darbininku, the same place we had been before. The irony was just too much for me and we decided to go check it out again the next day. Just as we drove up, a young woman came into the yard and I asked her if she was Kristina a Servas host. She said yes, we laughed at how we had been there the day before, she invited us in and we had a wonderful afternoon talking and Carol playing on the floor with her too children one and two years old. She invited us to stay for the night, but Leonardas had found another host who accepted us for the evening so we declined, after promising to send movies which she and her husband Marius love but can't get in Lithuania. What a neat family and a great ironic adventure it all was.
I want to tell a little about the shabbiness of the tenement block houses. They are all leftovers from the Soviet occupation of 50 years. Bella's in not any better. They all look terrible outside. Just grey cinder block, grafted and dirty. But inside, each person is able to create a very livable and lovely home. I felt ashamed that I had judged them so poorly. Again, I have to listen to the spirits who tell me not to be so judgmental.
Our drive today was a snow filled morning followed by sunshine. Back roads revealed lots of storks nesting on tall power lines or unused chimneys, horse drawn plows tilling the soil, carts drawn by horses, and every home with a water well, complete with rope and bucket. Their only supply of water comes from drawing it from the earth. More about the poverty level and the difficulties the people are having in a later letter.
When we were driving around Moscow with Bella, we laughed at the McDonalds, and she said that everybody loved them. They're huge!! and jam-packed with people. They are about twice as big as a Denny's at home. I asked her why they were so popular since the food was so terrible, and she said it was simple. It was just so refreshing to find a place in Russia where everybody smiled at you, the place was spotlessly clean, the food was cheap, and service was fast. The guide books tell us that the only people who go out to restaurants are foreigners and business people. Hence they're expensive, running around $50 per person for simple fare. In Moscow restaurants, you’ll find - surly waiters, poor service, and dingy atmospheres. Only 1% of the people in all of Russia eat out more than once a year. A staggering fact to us. Here in the Baltic’s food is cheap and with the new spirit of independence, places have sprung up which are good and dining experiences akin to home/ Well, I've used up my allotted time here, and there are dozens of kids waiting to play Mortal Combat, Commando killers, duel to the death, or some such mind improving computer experience.
We're having a wonderful time, Sunday is Easter and we're very comfortably ensconced in a nice hotel across the square of the national cathedral. Lithuania is a very, very catholic country and we're told it will be quite an experience. Naturally, we're looking forward to more wonderful people, sights and sounds on our latest journey to the big wonderful world.
I'll write more when I can.
Until then, we remain,
son, father, mother, friend, uncle, aunt, cousin to which of you these may apply,

love,
Carol and jim