Vilnius, Lithuania

Although the term may have originated in the Czech Republic, Absurdistan seems the most accurate description of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.



From snarling furnaces to ridiculously mustachioed men, the scenery was surreal and the activities bizarre. For example, Andy and I were eating our standard dinner of bread, cheese, and tomatoes when we noticed a little old woman stealing flowers from a soviet era statue to make the perfect bouquet for her man, Jesus.


We spent most of our time in (the Republic of) Uzupis, a secessionist district in Vilnius with its own flag, president, constitution, and army.

Much like Christiana in Copenhagen, Uzupis is the center of artistic life, as well as a meeting place for the city's drunks and homeless. There are several studios and galleries as well as overpopulated squats and trendy cafes.



Separated from the city center by the Vilnia river, almost all of the art was temporary. One day an entire furniture set (sofa, love seat, recliner) appeared in the river, as if someone didn't know what else to do when their old furniture didn't match the ambiance of their new home.





As if the circumstances weren't odd enough, we ended our stay in Lithuania with the most uncomfortable bus ride Andy had ever experienced (I've seen worse). Our 1970s era bus wasn't designed with opening windows because it featured air conditioning. Unfortunately, the air conditioning wasn't working for our 8 or 9 hour bus ride back to Warsaw. The bus driver also stopped at his leisure (to buy berries from a stand on the side of the road, or to treat his son to a popsicle and an arcade game) leaving Andy and I suffering inside the bus or under the searing sun. Andy repeatedly poured a liter of water over his head to stay cool.


The pace was a little slower in Vilnius. Our trip was relaxed, we didn't bother to see any monuments and spent most of our time just 'hanging out'. The grocery stores sucked, and the mosquitos were ridiculous, but I enjoyed the break from intensive travel. And we hardly met any other Americans!

Older Riga

Wow. A little late for a smooth follow up. Sorry. Next to Prague, Riga has the largest collection of original Art Nouveau buildings in Eastern Europe. Although the buildings are largely restricted to three main streets just outside of the city center, the ability to leisurely stroll the streets and really examine the architecture makes the art nouveau of Riga infinitely more enjoyable than the crowded streets of Josefov in the grown-up Disneyland that is Prague.







As highly esteemed as it may be, I question the validity of some of the architecture. For example, I was under the impression that Egyptian themes were more art deco, as exemplified by the Paramount Theater in Oakland; but one of these buildings had a sphinx at the entrance. Maybe I'm just being too restrictive and I should give them the benefit of the doubt; either way, these are definitely some of the most hideously gaudy buildings I have ever seen.

old riga

some additions when Riga was part of the USSR, not Latvia.

Stalin's Birthday Cake looks pretty similar to the Culture Institute in Warsaw. Andy and I paid our 2 lat a piece and were personally led by an old Latvian man (who spoke no English but claimed to love America, although he only knew about George Bush) up several elevators and staircases to the outdoor platform. With the doormat shoved in the door to keep it open, he told us to close the door when we were done and left us alone (mind you, this was in broken Russian and German with Andy interpreting). The wind off the river was freezing, but there was an amazing view and we were completely alone.

HUGE market spilling out of 4 hangars. Much like in communist times, everyone sold the same things: cheap clothes, dense dark bread (this stuff is crazy, it will last for 3 weeks in the open), honey, pastries, and Baltic amber.

Train station just south of the Old Town.

Not sure what this building was, but it was certainly hideous.

Typical Social Realist statue in front of the Museum of the Occupation (in an old Communist government building).


Two communist strong holds in a predominantly art nouveau neighborhood.

riga, latvia

riga was much more interesting than tallinn.









1: an old university, stepped steeples like this were also really popular in poland. 2: new and old in old town. 3: house of the blackheads. 4: most squares in the old town now have outdoor cafes. 5: i squealed so loudly when i saw this dog that he lunged at me. it was love at first sight, but the owner didn't get it and took the dog away from me. 6: orthodox. 7: squat. 8: my little pony in the gardens at the western border of the old town. 9: i saw a few wooden horses like this while driving through latvia and lithuania, but i couldn't figure out their significance. they reminded me of deborah butterfield's horse sculptures though.

tallinn, estonia

the only way to make a trip to the baltics affordable was to fly from warsaw to helsinki and take a ferry over to tallinn, then work our way back down to poland from there. what we hadn't planned on was just how expensive finland was. to save some money, we decided to skip the hostel and instead spent the night on benches outside the ferry terminal.

it wasn't all that bad because the sun never fully set (this picture was probably taken around 3 am.) but it was damn cold. and there was an annoying seagull pushing around an empty beer can for about two hours.

first day in tallinn. the old town is 'picturesque' but not very exciting if you've seen the castle thing before.

still light out at midnight.


all the baltic countries had different personalities; estonia was very scandinavian.

a days worth of food and another lesson in frugality.

we should have been looking for the controversial soviet statue, but sadly, it was in the suburbs, inaccessible to us. so instead, we slept in parks.

starting up again

it's been awhile. the end of our trip was very hectic. we ended up in new york without internet (but with nick and kayt, who are better anyway) for two weeks, and the following month in the bay area was a lost cause as far as accomplishing anything. then andy had to prepare for stanford and i had to prepare for san diego while my parents prepared the house to move. but i've finally settled into my new apartment in hillcrest, and my neighbor's open wireless network has a strong connection, so i promise to stop abandoning this blog and to post the rest of the photos from europe and new york soon. promise.

Warszawa, Poland

after the ghetto uprising and the warsaw uprising, the city was practically leveled. elsewhere in europe, this may have been a great opportunity to re-build a modern, attractive capital; in poland, hideous cemet-block housing was the solution.










1: the culture forum (aka stalin's birthday cake) 2: communist statue (similar to one in budapest's statue park) 3: andy and the pink reindeer 4: puzzling crosswalks 5/6: bridge across the vistula river 7: textile factory converted into artist workshops, galleries, and a cafe-bar with boiler left intact 8/9: modern mall beside the central train station 10: escalators in the mall