Category: Lithuania

This is the Monument to Zemach Shabad (1864-1935), a physician in Vilnius during the first half of the 20th century, famed for both his medical expertise and his tireless dedication to the community. He was known as the doctor of the poor, which seems to me to be just the right balance of noble and tragic. Unfortunately, the sun was so bright and it was so hot, that the photos are a little exposed.

He was born in 1864 in Lithuania (or Russia, or Poland, or the Russian Empire depending on who you ask and what year it was), Dr Shabad became a towering figure in Jewish intellectual and public life. He chaired everything from science societies to humanitarian organisations, helped found schools and somehow still had time to cure people. He is widely considered to be the inspiration behind the character of Doctor Aybolit, the Russian equivalent of Doctor Dolittle, except with slightly fewer singing animals and marginally more existential dread. He was popular at the time and a monument was constructed to honour him in the 1930s, but that got destroyed in the 1930s.

The statue itself is genuinely rather lovely. Created by sculptor Romualdas Kvintas and unveiled in 2007, it shows Dr Shabad in full sage mode, gently leaning down to a small girl who is holding what looks like a cat. The whole scene feels very deliberate as this isn’t one of those ‘man on a horse shouting at the sky’ affairs, instead it’s quiet, tender and just a little melancholic. It’s tucked away in a nice quiet part of the park, all rather understated.

There are a few of these portal arrangements around the world as something of an art installation and to make people feel closer to each other. There was one between Dublin and New York which was ultimately scrapped as there were a minority of people on the Irish side trying to spread hate which was all a bit sub-optimal for the country’s reputation. Although the Dublin situation wasn’t exactly the spirit of global harmony they were going for, this one is linked to the rather glorious city of Lublin in Poland and hasn’t had the same issues.

I can’t be doing all that socialising, but there was a lady nearby who was fully engaged in the whole arrangement.

The Vilnius portal is located in front of Vilniaus rotušė, which is the Vilnius City Hall. It’s all rather exciting in many ways, almost like going back to 1998 and the excitement of the earliest webcams. There are plans for more of these to be installed and this seems like something that seems really quite positive in building bridges and all that, perhaps between cities which are already twinned in the more traditional way.

After a few days in Dortmund, which isn’t known for its craft beer (but is known for its fine arrangement of Pilsners) it was a delight to get to Alaus Biblioteka (the Beer Library). This is a highly reviewed craft beer bar and my first impressions were positive as it looked impressive on climbing the steps to the main bar, it wasn’t too hot and there looked like a wide selection of beers were available.

The set-up, a mixture of traditional bookshelves and the shiny new Untappd screen. It’s a fine combination. The draft beer style is well curated with a range of beer types, but there’s also an equally thought through selection of bottles and cans. The team member was engaging and knowledgeable about beer, she thought I’d like the chilli beer I was looking at and she was entirely correct. The prices here are for the higher end for Vilnius, but on an international standard for an on-trend and decadent craft beer bar, I thought they were reasonable.

There are other rooms and also an external area, so it feels like there’s plenty of space. They do some meat and cheese platters for those wanting food, along with some smaller bar snacks. But, it was the beer that I was here for.

They had Lithuanian and international beers, but I tried to stick primarily to the former. I thought I deserved a flight of five beers, which came in at around £12 for the lot, and they were from left to right:

(i) Senoliu Senovinis from Su Puta brewery. A farmhouse ale which I thought was rustic, sweet and had some tastes of honey, decent.

(ii) Keptinis from Sakiskes Brewery. This had an interesting flavour, slightly herbal, a bit of shed (this is probably not an official beer term) and quite robust.

(iii) Pomegranate Lime Gose from Bear & Boar Brewery. This was tart, but balanced, there was a depth of pomegranate and the lime punched through. Very agreeable, rounded and clever.

(iv) Catch Up! Chili from Anderson’s Brewery. This was exceptional and quirky, like a Bloody Mary and something rather different. It’s a sour with a depth of flavour and lots of heat. Slightly salty and I note that the brewery approved of my Untappd check-in.

(v) The Alaus Biblioteka Bourbon Aged from the pub itself. The first couple of sips tasted of the previous chilli beer, but this was a punchy number on its own being a tough bourbon stout that acted as a palate cleanser. Chocolate flavours, slightly boozy, rather nice.

This was a delightful visit and I was pleased I headed out of my way to get here. Informal, laid-back, clean, stylish, traditional and the purveyor of fine craft beers. I’ll very likely pop in again the next time I’m in Vilnius.

The sun was shining (too much, but I won’t go on about that) and so I decided not to do anything too energetic (well, I did climb Gediminas’s Hill which was probably a little too much in the extreme heat), instead popping to a restaurant for food. I’m careful in the sun like that.

The interior of the restaurant, which felt on-trend and modern.

Look at me sitting outside….. My logic here was that this was where everyone else was and it was a partly covered area so it wouldn’t be too hot and there wouldn’t be any swooping birds or angry wasps to unsettle me. I thought that I’d find the shadiest area of the courtyard to sit in though, just in case. All was well and the service during ordering was efficient rather than anything else, but that suited me.

The drinks were served after around three minutes, but I was getting nervous about my food after 35 minutes but I was inwardly reassured that the team member had brought over the cutlery so I knew that the food element of my order had been taken. I needn’t have worried, it arrived around forty minutes after ordering and looked suitably appetising. The chicken was tender and had a richness of flavour, although it could have been just a little hotter in terms of the temperature. The sauce added flavour and the chips were crisp and delicious. The portion size was more generous than it perhaps looks in the photo and I thought it looked well presented.

The beer was the Grimbergen Dubbel which had a flavour of toffee and was dark and rich, it’s a beer I’ve had before and liked. I had tried numerous local beers the night before, so I felt it was reasonable to go for a Belgian beer on this occasion. When I asked for the bill, the team member pointed towards the QR code on the table to make payment. I was unimpressed to see that they charged for that service as some sort of convenience fee. Anyway, I was happy with the portion size, the quality and the value and it was a rather relaxing lunch. Apologies this is a little shorter than I would have usually written, but I’m struggling with this laptop still.