Happy New Year’s From Lithuania

by Neil Woodburn on

Don’t let this happen to you.

You go out drinking in Lithuania to celebrate New Year’s Eve and pick a bar that is on the other side of the street. This is very bad planning if you intend to get so knackered that crossing the street to return home becomes an insurmountable challenge.

Check out the above video of an unfortunate soul in Lithuania performing the crawl of shame after a night of too much drinking. It’s a rather pathetic sight, but I’ve got to admit, I sure am impressed with his resolve.

Word for the Travel Wise (12/25/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Wishing all who are celebrating this Christmas holiday a very merry day. May Santa bring you everything you wish for and more!

Today we say Merry Christmas in various languages:

  • Hawaiian – Mele Kalikimaka !
  • Catalan – Bon Nada!
  • Lithuanian – Linksmu Kaledu!
  • Dutch – Gelukkig Kerstfeest!
  • Persian – Krismas-e shoma mubarak!
  • Spanish – Feliz Navidad!
  • Swedish – God Jul!
  • Korean – Sungtanul chukaheyo!
  • Turkish – Neseli Noel!

Word for the Travel Wise (11/08/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Seems as though I’ve never met anyone who went to the Baltics and came back raving about the food. Two words that I’ve often heard to describe the fare are bland and spice-less. Unless spicy flavorsome food does a number on your stomach I can’t fathom why anyone would order bland and spice-less soup, sausage, eggs, or whatever. That said, if you’re in Lithuania or thinking about heading there and need to assess the food situation their City Paper has a great list of restaurants to help you escape and seek out the local flavor – though there isn’t any flavor.

Today’s word is a Lithuanian word used in Lithuania:

skanaus – bon appetit

First and foremost the best guide to the Baltics seems to be City Paper. They were the only ones who even offered a small list of commonly used Lithuanian words. The paper states you’ll be okay if you know a little Russian and the Lithuanian lingo is closely related to the now extinct Old Prussian. Otherwise finding resources on this one were pretty hard and um, weird. This afoto site lets you learn the parts of the face and hair by clicking on a picture of a young girl. Something about this felt awkward, but it works, I guess. Ominglot has their usual written language guide and Orbislingua has a few audio and reading recommendations. To purchase talking dictionaries click here.

Past Lithuanian words: viesbutis, gatve

Word for the Travel Wise (06/26/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Open-air museums are by far some of the coolest to check out when visiting any destination. Nice sunny weather, absorbing folk art, architectural dwellings, not to mention a variety of other exhibits at Lithuania’s Open Air Museum in Rumsiskes couldn’t make for a better day trip while scoping out the country with friends or on solo expeditions. The museum isn’t the only open-air spot in the country. See the rest found on their tourism list here and get ready to hit the streets.

Today’s word is a Lithuanian word used in Lithuania:

gatve – street

First and foremost the best guide to the Baltics seems to be City Paper. They were the only ones who even offered a small list of commonly used Lithuanian words. The paper states you’ll be okay if you know a little Russian and the Lithuanian lingo is closely related to the now extinct Old Prussian. Otherwise finding resources on this one were pretty hard and um, weird. This afoto site lets you learn the parts of the face and hair by clicking on a picture of a young girl. Something about this felt awkward, but it works, I guess. Ominglot has their usual written language guide and Orbislingua has a few audio and reading recommendations. To purchase talking dictionaries click here.

Past Lithuanian words: viesbutis

Red Corner: Lithuanian Beer Corpse Blows 7.27

by Neil Woodburn on

It is well known that Europeans love their alcohol. Eastern Europeans, at least according to my experience, love it even more. In fact, it’s no surprise that the Czech Republic leads the world in beer consumption.

Spare a moment, however, for the Lithuanians, who, thanks to one overzealous countryman doing his part to increase the country’s per capita alcohol intake, deserve at least an honorable mention in the Alcoholics Hall of Shame.

The man in question is Vidmantas Sungaila. Recently pulled over by police 60 miles from Vilnius, Sungaila registered “7.27 grams per liter of alcohol in his blood.” The legal limit is only 0.4 grams. As a point of comparison, 3.4 grams is actually considered lethal, unless of course your name happens to be Vidmantas Sungaila.

While I’m sure Sungaila doesn’t represent the average Lithuanian, it still makes me feel fortunate to have survived the country’s roadways when I rented a car there three years ago.