One of my favorite places to hang out in Vilnius is the green space around the White Bridge. There is a lot of space, so people fly kites and various strange flying objects, and sometimes there are festivals and concerts (like ). A part of this area was redeveloped according to a controversial plan, which included building a beach volley …
Impressions from the May Day gig in Vilnius
Many Lithuanians will tell you that it is not customary to celebrate the International Workers’ Day here, because it brings back bad memories to many. Several important holidays that celebrate emancipation were twisted in the USSR. Women were officially liberated, so the authorities decided that there is no point to demonstrate for women’s rights on the International Women’s Day, it …
Rishon LeZion – a residential area with a surprising concentration of festivals
My time in Israel was limited, but everyone who knows my interest in urbanism wouldn’t be surprised that when I got an invitation from a new friend and active couchsurfer Yaniv to explore his town, Rishon LeZion, I couldn’t say no. The town is close to Tel Aviv and people can commute between them relatively easily. From the first sight …
Esch-sur-Alzette – the hope of Luxembourg
It seems I will start describing my recent travels in Europe from the end. After I saw many towns and villages in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and a lot of the city itself, I went to visit Esch-sur-Alzette, the second largest town in Luxembourg. With a population of under 30,000, it could be expected to be just like anything …
Trying to scratch the surface in London
London has become such a usual travel destination for Central and Eastern European people that it would be difficult to surprise them with anything. Cheap flights to most European countries allow going there for business or for pleasure separatly, without the urge to explore everything possible in one go, and some people already go there only for shopping, or academic …
Sunny and artsy Metz
Metz (Northeast France) is excellent for a day trip, particularly when you are sick and tired of this year’s Europe’s prolonged winter. With a cute mixture of 13 century religious architecture, some French rationalist planning, astonishingly large and centrally located green spaces, and art venues, the city is simply a pleasant place to be, although, as some of us noticed, …
Let it be night 2011
Let It Be Night is an annual festival in Vilnius (see post two years ago). It brings together professional and amateur artists to perform at night. Most of the events are free of charge, and many happen outside. The idea is to make Vilnius more of a night city, which it is not. The festival takes place in June, just …
Legal graffiti: inclusive urban art or “farted radicalism”?
On the 9th of September I attended a street art event, co-organised by Julijus G. There is a group of people who promote graffiti in Lithuania as a legal form of urban art, which engages the people who hang out in the spaces decorated. The people who organise such events are a group of young enthusiasts willing to legalise graffiti …
Tartu: small but dynamic
It’s a bit more than an hour since I returned from a lovely trip to Estonia, and I want to start from the freshest impressions. Those come from Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia. Tartu is known as a student city with a laid-back character. Everything is more or less within a walking distance, so Tartu people consider everything …
Social capital for moving in space
Today I’ve been contemplating two types of social capital I “own”, which I normally don’t reflect upon: white body and EU passport. What is in common between them? They facilitate certain movement in space and produce certain expectations in others. And, of course, I’ve been contemplating this in relation to my research about migration.