Vilnius, Lithuania and Europos Parkas (2005)

Europas Park (1) - Copy - CopyEuropas Park (1)Europas Park (2) - Copy

While You Are There: Why, observe the unusual art, of course. Bring a sketchpad or a notebook and plan to spend the day. The sculptures and installations will give you a lot to think about.

Why It’s On My List: When you need to leave Russia for a few days to get a new visa but don’t feel like hopping on a plane, where do you go? Why not the Baltics? That’s what I did for a week—Latvia and Lithuania—and more pleasant countries I could not have chosen. The capital cities are modern yet retain old world charm, the people are friendly and will speak Russian to you (even though they, understandably, despise the Russians) because they know it better than they know English, it’s easy to get around, and they are not jam-packed with people like Moscow is. I didn’t see much beyond Vilnius and Riga, but I imagine the smaller towns are also great places to visit.



I spent 6 years living overseas. I lived for extended periods of time in 8 countries and visited 12 more. That impresses some people. At one time, it impressed me. But that was 10 years ago and there are 176 countries I’ve never set foot in. 176. And Antarctica. I’ve already been alive 37 years so it doesn’t seem to me like my countries-visited to traveling-years-passed ratio is very good.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia are very high on my list. The first is likely to happen soon but the second is not. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are not very easy to get to, and when I go, I’d like to go for a long time. Well, I’d either like to go for a long time, or I’d like to race through them on the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge. Either way. Continue reading →