Let’s celebrate Baltic unity by learning more about our neighbors

Writer Justinas Žilinskas challenged his Facebook followers today by saying that, as we commemorate anniversaries of the Baltic Chain, the longest human chain recorded, we still hardly know anything that is happening in other Baltic countries. We hardly ever listen to Baltic music or know the names of other countries′ leaders. Some of his followers commented how they actually have …

Lake Vištytis: natural wonders and border tourism

I discovered Vištytis in March while carrying out a project on borders. Everything was covered with snow and the little houses on the campsite by the lake seemed lonely and as though they were spending winter in hibernation. But I was interested in everything: the mysterious landscape, conversations with locals who speak both neighbour countries’ languages, and the legends about …

Sakura festival in Kaunas

This year the Sakura festival, organized by Sugihara Foundation in Kaunas and supported by the Japanese embassy, was not blessed with great weather as . Still, Kyrie Oda′s dance looked all the more touching. She and her colleague went along with their idea to perform barefoot, despite cold weather.

The town of closed doors, or how to have a better trip to Cartagena than I did

Nearly everyone I met in Spain praised the beauty of Cartagena. They said it was one of the most beautiful Spanish towns, with ancient history and freshness of a sea breeze. As I was planning my vacations in Murcia region, many travel websites directed me there. So Cartagena was certainly on my map. Perhaps only because of these high expectations …