The Hungry Eastern Bear

While traveling around any of the Baltic states, a recurring subject with unavoidable reminders everywhere is Russia. Historical occupation, awful atrocities, continued use of the Russian language, Russian foods and drinks, Orthodox churches, leftover Soviet architecture, residual communist mentalities and culture, echoes of past traumas, modern cyberattacks, online propaganda, implicit and explicit threats, military buildups, […]

Eurovision, Lithuanian-style

Summary: I attended a live Eurovision Song Contest qualifier for Lithuania while in Vilnius! TL;DR Details: For decades now, I’ve been intrigued by the motley collection of songs across all musical genres from acts from around Europe (and now beyond) that constitute each year’s Eurovision Song Contest. From ABBA’s winning performance of “Waterloo” in 1974, […]

Lithu-WOW-nia!

Ironically, while Lithuania has been the most frustrating, especially in terms of walking, at the same time it’s also been my favorite Baltic state! It’s the one I definitely wish to return to (in the summer), and it’s where I have the most I want to share stories about but have the least time because […]