Vilnius, Lithuania

Arriving in Vilnius, we strolled down toward the activity in the main plaza and were delighted to discover that it was a Lithuanian cultural weekend. What a treat to see the native costumes and dancing and hear folk songs and instruments! We gawked until our jaws were sore, then returned to the hotel for the dreaded meet and greet introductions of our group members. More on group travel later.

The next morning we took a walking tour of the city and after lunch we went to a "wooden house" village where we learned about old Lithuanian customs and living. Our guide was a sweet woman who interjected Lithuanian folk songs into her delivery. Lovely!

Yesterday began with a lecture by an adviser to the Lithuanian President. (The current President is a single woman in her early 40s, the Minister of Defense is a woman, and there are many other women in high political posts.)

Some Lithuanian factoids: The notion of "Baltic States" is a current controversy, since the 3 nations--Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia--have different languages, different currencies, different prejudices. The population of Lithuania is dwindling due to emigration (few good jobs available here and low salaries), and low birth rate. During WWII and subsequent to it, many, many Lithuanians were either exterminated or deported to Siberia, over 100,000 in all. Many Lithuanian Mafia types have landed in Chicago, shaking down illegal Lithuanians for protection money to the extent that Chicago cops are learning to speak Lithuanian.

Jerry's 69th Birthday

On Jerry's 69th birthday we headed up to Malmo, Sweden. Malmo is a city of about 300,000 residents. Tens of thousands of them cross the bridge into Copenhagen daily for work. It has an industrial harbor, and quite a pleasant business/shopping district on large plazas wedged between two canals. Here's Jerry in front of a fountain in the plaza in front of Malmo's city hall. We took a canal boat tour, ate schnitzel at a wonderful outdoor restaurant and walked to the castle and through the beautiful gardens surrounding it.

Kronenborg Castle

On a sunny, rainy, blustery, hailing day, we took a trip up to Helsinger (Elsinore) to visit Kronenborg Castle, the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet. It stands just a few miles across the sea from Sweden, protected by ramparts rising from the earth, canons and double moats. Sitting on a promintory, the castle provided a great vantage point for spotting and combatting enemies from the sea. Like many castles from the 1200s, it was destroyed by fire, then wonderfully restored in the 1600s. It's been home to the earliest Danish kings. Like Hamlet's father, in the 13th century, King Eric VI was killed by his brother Abel, who lusted after the crown. There is no evidence that Shakespeare ever visited the castle at Helsinger. Rather it is thought he learned of the castle intrigues from sailors having brought news to England. It is believed that a play often called "The Original Hamlet" was written by Kyd and that Shakespeare retold the story more dramatically.

P.S.

Scrabble does indeed have the highest game rank, Anna. However...when I tried logging into our game, a message came up saying that Denmark was not an authorized country for Facebook Scrabble. Licensing issues?

Constant rain today, so instead of Tivoli gardens, we're off to explore the castle that was the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet.

From Joy to @#$!@#$^$#@

If anyone is reading this blog, let it be said that blogging is not without its frustrations. I think I should have picked another template and/or tried this out before I left home instead of learning on the fly. Maybe I'd have had better luck if I could have gotten my own computer to connect to this DSL line, but that's another boring story. So here I am unable to post photos for the moment, which was my intention.

We've been busy this past week doing the sights of Copenhagen: canal trip, neighborhood walks, museums, and palaces. The most interesting of the lot was the Museum of Danish Resistance in WWII. Denmark was occupied by the Germans and became the supply station for provisions to the Germans during the war, but there was a very active underground network against the Germans, and almost all the Jews were safely transported into Sweden.

Some observations: We are finding the Danes to be helpful and friendly when we need to find the right train or the place we're looking for, but otherwise fairly reserved. We're told that a Dane never does business at lunch and NEVER takes work home. At 5, the office closes and the Danes are with family. Copenhagen reminds me much of Amsterdam, a canal town, architecturally very similar, art museums nowhere near as interesting. No Vermeer here! Some Danish factoids: Tax on an automobile purchase is 180% of the purchase price. Yes! And when it's sold as used, the new buyer pays 180% of the used price. Driver's licenses cost $2000. As a result, 40% of Danes commute to work by bicycle, the goal being 50% by 2011. Around 10% commute by car, the rest by train. The trains run frequently and are generally crowded. It gets cold here in the winter, but seldom snows.

We went over the bridge by train into Malmo Sweden today. Malmo has an industrial shoreline that's being transformed into expensive waterfront housing like so many coastal areas throughout the world. The town between the canals though, is old and lovely, with large flowered, fountained plazas. There seems to be a big Italian influence in the food. I have to investigate that further. Has there been an Italian migration to Malmo???

Tomorrow it's back into Copenhagen to go to Tivoli Gardens with the children.

First Day Out in Copenhagen

Lara, Tony, Alanna and Rory joined us for our first day out in Copenhagen. First stop: ice cream across from City Hall and the main plaza, dessert before lunch. After lunch we got on the red bus taking the overview narrated tour of Copenhagen's central district.

We stopped at the impressive Rosenborg Castle where we walked the grounds and went down into the National Treasury to view the crown jewels. Copenhagen has a much-loved titular monarchy, one of the oldest in Europe.

From Jetlag to Joy

Two flights later into another day, a 5 hour layover at Heathrow, struggling to stay awake long enough not to miss our final leg to Copenhagen, we sat in the lounge rehydrating and playing cards. Cribbage. I won't divulge how badly I lost. When greeted by the joyful faces at the airport in Denmark, we know immediately why we choose to so abuse our biorhythms. A warm Kohut welcome, dinner, stories and bedtime for the children, then for the grownups, and we are ready for the next adventure.

All Packed

Suitcases packed, open on the floor, still thinking about the contents, adding and subtracting. On Friday, May 21, we leave for Denmark: San Francisco - Chicago, Chicago - London, London - Copenhagen. Already three changes to the itinerary, mostly flight times, one flight change because of strike activity by British Airways. If the winds blow in the right direction putting volcanic ash from Iceland out of our airspace, we'll arrive in Copenhagen around 7 PM on Saturday. We spend a week in Copenhagen with the Kohuts, then fly into Vilnius, Lithuania, where we join an Exploritas tour (formerly Elderhostel) taking us through the Baltics and then St. Petersburg and Moscow by bus and train. From Moscow we fly back to Copenhagen for a couple days, then home on June 16. Extended forecast looks like we're in for lots of rain and we are prepared for everything weather-wise, barring sub-zero temperatures. We're excited about the visit with our nephew's family in Copenhagen, curious about the Baltic States, and wondering what we'll find in Russia!