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Italiano (Italian)
I must say that in visiting Vilnius I never get bored.
In the Lithuanian capital another woman was waiting for me, again met through couchsurfing. With this one, however, we had written a lot and even talked on the phone.
I had an idea that there was already a connection, but not that she would take me by the hand as soon as I left the station. We went through the city center to go to her place for lunch; she was staying in an old Soviet building in the very first suburbs. These buildings though now renovated, look like beehives and you have to be careful to recognize the right apartment. I knew this well from the time of one of my weekends in Romania.
Visiting Vilnius and the alleged stabber
As soon as we entered, he printed a kiss on my mouth and began to prepare lunch. I was still dazed that he handed me a knife worthy of Freddie Krugher and asked me to sharpen it for him.
My mom had a phobia of knives and always kept them away from us, so much so that even now at her place it is a problem to be able to eat a steak, let alone if I had ever sharpened one.
We mellowed with straight vodka. I asked her if this was normal for her, and she told me that she only did it for me. My puzzlement increased, especially as she made a speech about Italians being notorious for raping women and was concerned about it.
He had organized a very intense afternoon involving some friends/patients, since he is a family physician by profession.
First we went to one of the main churches in the city where he introduced me to the pastor who told me about having lived in Chicago for a long time and his plan to create a library. Then a lady came and played the antique organ especially for us.
Then we met with a Jewish girl who took us to the synagogue and introduced me to the rabbi as well as letting us into the area off-limits to tourists. The Jewish friend was taken aback when the other one told disappointedly that I had not wanted to sharpen the knife. She also objected to my being a basketball coach, because an Italian cannot understand anything about basketball (in Lithuania it is the national sport).
We went to the republic of Uzupis: a neighborhood inhabited by alternative artists, self-proclaimed independent. In the articles of the constitution it is written that one has the right to be:
- originals
- happy
- unhappy
- a dog
It began to rain. The girl made to take me under her arm and welcome me under her umbrella but I assured her that I was okay with my hood.
Seduced and stabbed?
She told me at home that she was hurt because she had gone to so much trouble to arrange everything while I seemed distant.
I pointed out that I was grateful for everything, but in the presence of her friend she had not been nice to me at all. She began to cry. She gave me a long confused speech in which she withdrew the fact that I was like a brother to her; that she was afraid of being raped; and that she had not had sex in 5 years.
In the meantime, she had gotten comfortable, that is, in a rather skimpy, low-cut robe, and sat on my lap. I pointed out to her that if she wanted to be like a sister I however remained a boy and not insensitive to her curves.
I’m certainly not one to shy away from such things, and he was pleasant as well, but I didn’t understand all that pantomime. I was uneasy about that talk about fearing being raped, and I was still in the uncomfortable position of being his guest. In case I refused, it wasn’t like I could go find a place to sleep late at night. He said goodbye, and I went to sleep on the living room sofa as planned.
The next day we were to go to the Kurdish Peninsula, a 4-hour drive away (which she had borrowed from a friend). We would sleep one night there (already booked double occupancy) and then return for my last evening in Vilnius. When I woke up, however, I found myself alone; she had not even left me a note. After a while she returned. She had gone to move her car for parking fees, since we had to talk. She complained that I had not said good night to her.
Lithuanian doctors in abstinence
He was going to leave me the car because it would be better if I went alone, but that I should definitely come back earlier because he wanted me to talk to a psychiatrist friend of his who hadn’t had sex in 10 years.
First he clarified that alone with the friend’s car that cost as much as my apartment, I would not go. It would have been enough to accompany me to a rental agency. I would have gladly returned, but he had to explain to me what I had to do with the psychiatrist friend who had not had sex in 10 years.
She began to cry again. She explained that it would be an innocent meeting, in her office between patients (that’s why she gave me a specific time). She was convinced that if I talked to her, I could help her. She emphasized several times that she cared very much about this.
In the meantime, still in skimpy clothing, she came back to my arms and also began to move in a certain way. In short, at some point I really have to say that there was a beginning of intimacy; afterwards, to which he told me that he didn’t want anything else to happen. It was getting late and he wanted to drive me to the airport where I would find a rental agency. On the way she started crying again, reiterating to me how important it was to her that I come back to talk to her friend.
Trakaj and the Kurdish Peninsula
On the way I stopped in Trakaj where there is a fairy castle in the middle of a lake. Wandering through the Lithuanian woods toward the coast, I tried to put an interpretation on it. The only certainty was that I would be insane to see that chick again.
The Kurdish Peninsula is a very unique place. It is a long strip of sand that closes off a bay. It has a single road surrounded by pine forests and very high dunes. The last part (the part connected to the mainland) is Russian territory and you need a visa to enter. The Lithuanian part can only be reached by ferry.
At the hotel, I confronted my Australian friend (also met through couchsurfing) about the Lithuanian doctor. She even worried about me and intimated that I should not re-meet her. I wrote to her that the place was too beautiful and I did not feel like not completing the trip, I would return to Vilnius as late as possible to catch the plane directly.
Almost at the same time she herself wrote to me that something had come up and the friend could no longer meet with me and that she was sorry but understood.
Soon after, I received an email from couchsurfing support. They were letting me know that the person who had hosted me the day before was no longer one of their users. I was supposed to be careful and use their messaging when writing to other users so that I would leave a trace and still I could always call them if I needed to. A chill came down my spine as I thought about the sharp knife.
Still far from the idea of visiting Vilnius again
I ended my outing, but still returned in time to see my friend Romana who had arranged a dinner with the couple she had met on our first day. We did not reveal that we had become close, and they all laughed quite a bit listening to my misadventures. After dinner I was also able to go a few hours to her room before our flight home.
Continued….
Previous leg Tallinn-Helsinki ferry and bus to Riga
Next stage Surprise guest at birthday dinner
Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent
Countries visited in my travel stories
Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives
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