Užupio
Today, we set out to visit “The Rebublic of Užupio,” an arts district and (kind of) independent republic near the Old City.
The sign letting you know that you’re entering the district is written in many languages, including Yiddish. I’ll be honest, this is exactly what I had hoped to find more of during this trip: a Jewish presence that is part of, rather than set apart from, the larger life of the places we’re visiting.
Sadly, we didn’t get very far before a cold, drenching rain drove us back to the hotel. We’ve had some really lovely weather on this trip; today, we did not. It’s looking less and less like we’ll go to Kaunas on Monday, so we’re hoping to come back here and explore more thoroughly then. But here are some pictures of what we did see:
And then, even more food…
We went back to Lokys tonight so I could try the Litvakų ragauti varškės kukuliai, a Litvak-inspired dish of curd dumplings in tomato sauce. Last time, we sat in the upstairs dining room, but tonight we got to eat in the 15th century cellar that is part of the restaurant. It was very cool to get to sit in such history.
Here is the description from the English version of the menu (because they kindly have the menu in many versions, even giving D one in German):
I’ll be (too?) honest here, Dominik’s dinner of game sausages and roasted meats with roasted potatoes, parsnips, and tomatoes looked… better. I know we Jews like to wax rhapsodic about our food, but I think a lot of that must be nostalgia (or being lucky enough to be born Sephardic). My dinner was fine, but it wasn’t travel-across-an-ocean-to-try-this-dish good. It was, to be frank, “order something vegetarian at somewhere famous for being a hunter’s restaurant and don’t be sad about it” good.
So, yeah, fine.
Tomorrow, we’re off early to Linkuva in search of what small traces we might find of Joseph and Sheva Baila’s life before they emigrated. I look forward to sharing with you what we find!
Lithuania: Day 5
I hope you find traces of Joseph and Sheva Baila’s life….
Frankly, the whole menu looks awful. A creamy rye bread dessert? Heaven help us!
As to “The Land of Rain,” can you imagine running a dairy in the cold, wet Lithuanian winters? Sheva was one strong woman.