Amber, red and green

I first visited Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, in the mid 1990s. The country had won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and far from being the grey city of communist high rise buildings that I had imagined, it had a captivating old town, the original buildings full of red roofed character and inhabited by local people.

There was still a rather black market, mafia feel to the prosperity of town.

At a local nightclub, my friends and I attracted the attention of a man who had stepped straight out of a James Bond film. He sent his English-speaking bodyguard over, whose opening line was the rather bizarre, “My boss want to buy your socks”. We stared back at him, baffled.

Had we lost something in translation, or was the boss a real aficionado of multi-coloured, stripy and well worn socks? “Is not a question”, continued the bodyguard, “is order”. He leaned forward slightly and his jacket lifted to reveal the gun stuffed into the waistband of his trousers.

Hoping desperately that a request to buy socks was not an euphemism in Lithuanian for something much darker, I was on the verge of ripping off my boots to proffer the socks, when a stunning Lithuanian woman in a sheer top wafted past the boss. In an instant, a second bodyguard had recalled the first and the boss was chatting to the new arrival.

It was one of the oddest things that has ever happened on my travels, and somehow seemed to perfectly reflect the lively, upwardly mobile but sometimes rather disconcerting atmosphere of this brand new, independent and thriving country.

These days, of course, Lithuania is firmly in the European Union and tourists are commonplace, especially in beautiful Vilnius. But it still retains the quirky atmosphere that made it so much fun to visit.

There are dozens of great sights to see and some really excellent eateries; if you’re there on a weekend break, here are the ‘must do’s’.

Amber Museum

It’s virtually impossible to come to the Baltics and not succumb to a piece of amber jewellery; the stuff is everywhere and there are so many variations that you are bound to find a piece you like.

Amber is 50 million-year-old fossilised resin from ancient forests and honey coloured pieces wash up regularly on the beaches.

The museum has a huge collection, the largest of which weighs three kilograms. There is a surprising range of colours within the collection, including white, black, green or red, as well as curiosities such as a shell, a mosquito which has sucked blood and a leg of a grasshopper, all trapped in amber.

The museum will also help you to tell real amber from the fakes before you go and buy; the real ‘stones’ float in seawater, burn with an incense smell and don’t go sticky when you apply a solvent like nail varnish remover, although I’m not sure how practical these tests are on a market stall.

Naturally, there is an opportunity to buy at the museum, which offers a certificate to prove you’re getting the genuine article.

Details: Gintaro Galerija Muziejus, Sv. Mykolo 8. Tel. (370) 2 623092

Gates of Dawn

The best way to enter the old city is through these ancient gates, part of the defensive city wall for nearly 400 years. The gates are also a place of worship; a picture of the Virgin Mary here is said to have miraculous healing powers and was visited by Pope John Paul II. You can catch a glimpse of the picture through the window above the archway, or queue with the pilgrims to see it close up.

Old Town

There’s no doubt that a great part of Vilnius’s charm is that you can wander round the Old Town and chance upon little shops and restaurants without so much as a single set of golden arches or branded shopping chain crossing your path.

The town is full of locals going about their daily business, filling up the coffee shops and pubs, and giving Vilnius a real heart and soul to offset the quaint, historic buildings.

Europos Park

This open-air museum, set in rolling woodland 20 minutes drive from the centre of Vilnius, has around 90 sculptures from all over the world. These include a collection of truly massive, egg-shaped boulders, a transplanted section of the Berlin Wall, and the oddly but not inaccurately named ‘Drinking Structure with Exposed Kidney Pool’.

The park also houses the world’s largest artwork made entirely of TV sets, 150 tons thereof; you can get lost in a maze of the things, but if you make it to the centre, you’ll discover a statue of Lenin.

The sculpture apparently symbolises the “absurdity of Soviet propaganda that for over half a century had been implanted in people’s minds with the help of senseless TV”. How could you miss it?

Details: Europos Parkas, Joneikiskiu k, Vilnius. Tel: (370) 5 2377 077

Conquer the castle

You won’t be the first to do so; the complex, which dates from the 10th to the 18th centuries, consists of the Upper, Lower and the Crooked Castles. Unfortunately, the pyromaniac Teutonic knights torched the latter down in 1390 and since no one bothered to rebuild it, we can only imagine how it got its name.

Over time, a series of additional attacks resulted in much of the buildings being reduced to ruins but you can still visit the restored remains on Gediminas Hill.

The museum is mediocre, but it’s worth paying the entry fee just for the view, which is a spectacular panoramic over the Old Town of Vilnius.

Get there by walking up the wooded hill from behind the cathedral or, if you’re feeling very lazy, by taking the funicular from the Lithuanian Archaeology Museum.

Join the Republic of Uzupis

As if independence from Russia wasn’t enough, one part of the town had to go and declare itself a breakaway republic. It has its own constitution where fishes, birds and people are equal and is defended by a 12-man army. Predictably, there’s a community of intellectuals and plenty of artists in this quarter.

Eat potatoes

Ditch the diet because the Lithuanians are big on carbs. One of the most popular native dishes is cepelinai or ‘zeppelins’, a dumpling made of potato but the starch doesn’t stop there.

Spurgos are the local doughnut, you can eat a potato pudding called kugelis, and blinys are crepes... made of potato. Rye bread is pretty much a must at every meal, your portion of eel might easily be 50 cm long and there is also a preponderance of dishes made with beer such as beer soup or beer caramels.

If you overindulge, you can console yourself with the fact that Lithuanians have a low incidence of obesity. A Lithuanian proverb is ‘he who eats well, works well’ so perhaps they burn it all off with a bit of hard labour afterwards.

Aula Restaurant on Pilies Street is in a touristy location but is a popular choice for Lithuanian fare and also puts on free jazz on regularly.

Go ballooning

This is not about your waistline after one zeppelin too many; Vilnius is one of the few capitals in Europe where it’s possible to take a hot air balloon trip.

For €119 you get an hour’s flight over the ‘city of churches’ and a ‘baptising’ ceremony, namely a glass of champagne and a first flight certificate, plus pick up and drop off.

Details: www.ballooning.lt.