August 12, 1995
87 kilometers to Sergei’s house in Vilnius. One of those wonderful, serendipitous, days that make cycling touring so addictive.
Woke to a sunny but cold morning and, after a brisk bath in a stream beside the road, cycled into Vilnius through rolling terrain and lovely pine forests. The last 12 kilometers were on a tree canopied cycle path into the city. Just as I got back onto the city streets and was cycling into the center of the city, I was passed by three bicyclists who greeted me and stopped their bikes to chat. Two of the cyclists were Germans from Weimar who had been doing a tour of Lithuania and had been staying with the third cyclist, Sergei, an ethnic Russian Lithuania from Vilnius. Sergei was escorting the Germans to the train station and invited me to stay the night at his place. I quickly accepted the offer, whereupon we all cycled to Sergei’s office (an undefined "import-export" business) where they dropped me off (to take a most luxurious shower) and left for the train station.
I am fortunate that the German cyclists were with Sergei to vouch for him. Otherwise I would have thought twice about his invitation as he was a character right out of the darkest recesses of Dostoevsky – a powerfully built man with piercing dark eyes who had the look and presence of a zealot. But in this case first appearances were deceiving. When Sergei returned, he insisted we ride out to his dacha for lunch. Sergei told me that it would be necessary to make friends with Yurgi, his oldest child, and so we rode over to a local toy store, walked our bikes right into the store, and selected a toy train and doll. We then cruised the five kilometers through city traffic to Sergei’s dacha on the outskirts of Vilnius.
Sergei’s wife Kristin was surprised to see that he had dragged home another cyclist, but nonetheless welcomed me in fluent English. Sergei said that she would be glad to practice her English with me, and he was right as she was a most gracious hostess the whole time I stayed with them.
After a lunch of vegetables grown in their garden, Sergei took me on a tour of Vilnius in his 1968 Volga. The Volga was a classic – no shock absorbers or seat belts made for a terrifying ride down as Sergei drove like a madman over pot hole filled roads (my head actually hit the ceiling twice when we hit particularly big holes). At my request, Sergei took me first to Panerei, the location where the Nazis had massacred the Jewish population of Vilnius. Vilnius was once known as the Jerusalem of the north because of its large and religious population. More than 100,000 were murdered by the Nazis and there are only a few still living in Vilnius. Sergei told me that anti-Semitism is still strong even today. Panerie had been saved as a monument by the Russians. There was a museum documenting the holocaust and, as we were the only visitors, we received a personalized tour in English from the guide.
After Panerie, Sergei took me to Pilduski’s grave in the center of Vilnius. Sergei told me that Pilduski was the Polish George Washington and only his heart had been buried in Vilnius. From there, we went to Catholic holy site where miracles had occurred. There was priest reading a prayer while a large group of people (mostly women) knelt or stood around in prayer.
After that, we were off to a Russian Orthodox church where a service was in process. This was a marvelous cathedral, with the interior painted in the brilliant colors typical of Orthodox architecture. The monks had long flowing beards and hair and were chanting prayers in the middle of the church. One monk walked throughout the church swinging a box filled with incense from the end of a chain. The church was full and the believers were trembling in their faith. It was a spectacular experience to see this service.
From there we visited the only remaining synagogue in Vilnius, which was unfortunately closed. And then on to Sergei’s flat in central Vilnius. This was on the 7th floor of one of the concrete monstrosities typical of eastern Europe. This was the first time I had been in one of these apartment complexes and it was an eye-opener. Not only was the exterior concrete, but all of the interior walls were gray concrete as well. Despite the fact that the building was 9 stories high there was no elevator. Sergei told me that during the winter of 1991 the Russians had shut off the heat supply to Lithuania and the apartment was like an icebox.
We then returned to the Dacha where Sergei has given me the garage (with an attached sauna) to stay in. The German cyclists had mentioned their incredible "sauna experience" and so when Sergei recommended we take one, I eagerly accepted. They were right – the sauna experience was one that I will not soon forget. Sergei cranked up the heat to a level that forced me to put my face to floor just to breath, and then he gave me a great massage and beat my back and feet with birch branches. What a delicious experience!
As I said, Sergei has a very powerful presence and has chutzpah to spare. He is a Doukhobor (or "Old Believer" as he termed it) whose parents had almost disowned him when he married a Lithuanian woman. It is not clear what his work is, but it seems like he is reaching for every opportunity that comes along. In the breakup of the old soviet system it is people who are able to hustle and grab every opportunity who will survive, and Sergei will definitely be a survivor.
Sergei’s wife Kristin is a former computer engineer. Her English is fluent and she had been a translator for the BBC during the "days of shooting" (January 13, 1991). Both she and Sergei were in the middle of the action during the independence protests. They had some marvelous black and white photographs of Russian tanks (they reminded me of scenes from "The Unbearable Lightness of Being") and of protesting crowd scenes. The fact that the photographs were in black and white made them all the more powerful.
We spent the rest of the evening in conversation and I learned a great deal about the situation in Lithuania. Sergei told me that he earns about $200 a month or a bit more than the average wage in Lithuania. They supplement their income with food from their garden and with hens that they keep for eggs and meat. Since prices for food are roughly comparable to American prices, it must take a great deal of ingenuity for Sergei to raise his family of 5 on such a small sum. Sergei told me that petty graft is a fact of life and that he is fairly cynical about the future of Lithuania. He was less cynical about the future of Russia, however, noting that the huge size and diversity of the country make it unlikely that a return to totalitarianism will ever occur.
After Sergei and Kristin went to bed I returned to my garage and turned on the TV. The only station had on "As the World Turns" which was in muted English with a monotone voice translating over it into Lithuanian. Frogs are hopping around in the garage, so I just opened the door and kicked their butts out.
August 13, 1995
Spent the day with Sergei in Vilnius. Extremely tired for much of the day. We went to a huge market on the outskirts of the city where everything from automobiles to wedding dresses were on sale. Sergei told me that the market is much smaller since the Russian border had closed. There were a lot of Vietnamese who were selling their wares.
After the market we went to the 600 foot TV tower which had been the center of the protests in 1991. Eleven protesters had been killed by Russian troops and there were monuments to the martyrs. We took an elevator to the revolving restaurant near the top of the tower and got a spectacular panoramic view of Vilnius. From there, Sergei left me off in the old town where I spent a pleasant four hours wandering the old city. There was very little traffic and it was not too crowded. I got a sense of the desperation of some of the people when an old woman sat near me as I drank a bottle of coke and then asked me for the bottle when I had finished. There is no question that the transition away from Communism has had a negative experience on people who are unable to compete. This was especially noticeable among the elderly, as I was approached by several elderly beggars during my wandering.