well folks, this is going to be a long one...sorry it has been a few days! i've also realized that my posts are a bit bland without pictures but again, sorry, you will just have to wait until i get home and even then, i don't take many pictures so you will just have to ask me about it =)
so...Leaving Poland amid fireworks and celebrations, i thought that perhaps i should have stayed, especially because the overnight bus ride to Vilnius wasn't the most comfortable trip i've ever experienced. Seeing Vilnius' old town spread out down the hill toward the river and getting to experience what that city has to offer were well worth any discomfort i might have had! Vilnius is a great city and I really hope to go back not just to see the city but to see other parts of Lithuania that a great guy, Andrius, told me about. Andrius spent several hours yesterday showing me around the city and we had such intelligent, honest, fun conversation! He showed me his favorite places in the city, from an excellent lithuanian restaurant, to the hill no one else knows about. I had already been up the hill that Vilnius' fort sits on, and the view was great but Andrius, of course, knows the secrets.
There is a really neat part of town called Uzupis, which even has its own constitution, giving its citizens rights such as "everyone has the right to be wrong" and "everyone has the right to feed the dog" and other such nonsense but also "everyone has the right to love" and "everyone has the right to not have rights" and in the end it really does make sense. They also declared independence on April 1st, which is similar to our April fool's day =) Uzupis is the counter-culture area of the city and the river Vilnia runs along the edge of it. There is a thriving arts community with lots of sculpture along the river. There are two bridges that hold a unique tradition in Vilnius. Couples that get married in the nearby churches buy padlocks and attach them to the railing of the bridges and then throw the key in to the river Vilnia!
Andrius took me to another church in a different area that is decorated lavishly and intricately in the baroque style and while we were there 2 different couples got married...i think it would be so odd to get married with all these strangers looking at you, or not paying any attention to you at all. Andrius was really interested in why i thought my wedding probably wouldn't look anything like that =)
There is a KGB/genocide victims museum in Vilnius that I went to on Friday. They have lots of really neat information on the partisan resistance of the Lithuanians to the Communist takeover after WWII, but the best and creepiest part of the place was the basement. It used to be a prison and the cells still hold that musty, dank odor. There were 2 torture rooms that could be filled with cold water and prisoners were made to balance on a small round platform, each time getting drenched with cold water if they fell off. How miserable! There was also a padded room...i didn't want to imagine what went on in there. Just standing at the end of the hall and looking at all of the doors, imagining what horrible things people had to endure there...not a pretty sight.
Vilnius has all kinds of different architecture and the styles mix and swirl together in a really beautiful array of colors and shapes. The old town is pretty large and the streets are all windy and curvy and narrow. I've decided, though, that no matter how gorgeous a city is, it will always be better with people like Andrius, and like the people I have met and who have helped me so much today in Tallinn.
I came on the overnight bus with much fewer people and therefore more comfortable, although there were a couple of obnoxious brits and an equally loud and obnoxious american on there too...sometimes, i tell ya...lol...anyway, I arrived here early this morning. I had corresponded by email with members of the church and knew where the church building was so I walked there. It is such a great feeling to be in the presence of believers, even if not all of them speak your language, just knowing that everyone there loves the same God is a blessing beyond description for me! There were several people there that spoke great English, though, as well as Ron and Judy Warpole who are the missionaries here in Tallinn. They all welcomed me with open arms and hearts and great big smiles! Nickolai taught me a little Estonian, though the majority of the congregation here is Russian and the service is in Russian. Anna, Nickolai's daughter, speaks flawless American English and has generously allowed me to use this computer that I'm typing on right now. I went to lunch after services with several members of the congregation and we had a great time and some good food too. Then Anna took me to the train station and, more blessings from God, helped me buy my train ticket from here to Moscow as well as my ticket from Moscow to Novosibirsk! That makes it much easier for me because English speaking Moscow train ticket people are a rare breed indeed (that could be a poem if anyone wants to have a go at it =)
So...so far my experience in Tallinn has been awesome and hopefully the next 3 days will be just as great. I will be leaving Moscow for Tomsk on Thursday, arriving in Novosibirsk on Saturday and then Tomsk Sat night.
Love you all,