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"Paris-Moscow, the Train of Friendship..."

 Lithuanian Railways offer new comfort for passengers travelling Eastwards


 After a decade of preparation, the last State-owned Lithuanian company "Lietuvos geležinkeliai" unleashed a new type of carriages that would serve it's traditional routes Vilnius - Moscow - Vilnius and Vilnius - St. Petersburg - Vilnius.



For those, who can not grasp what "vagon povyshennoj komfortnosti" might mean in Russian - it promises a LCD TV, an extra-comfortable bed, a separate WC, a fridge and "tchainik" directly from Tver'.

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 "Lietuvos geležinkeliai" paskelbė pradedantys atnaujinti parką ir įsigijo naujus vagonus važinėti į Maskvą ir Sankt Peterburgą. Įdomu, ar tai atsitiktinumas, bet apie sugrįžimą kaip tik paskelbė ir Antis...


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The Dames of Vilnius

Love Is In The Air Vilnius Version


The major Lithuanian newspaper Lietuvos rytas (BTW, it's online version is free for registered overseas users since last week) whirls about the new excursion offer "The Most Famous Dames of Vilnius and Their Most Famous Love Stories" by Vilnius tourist information center.
The story revolves around the most famous Lithuanian lovers pair Žygimantas Augustas (Sygismunt II Augustus) and Barbora Radvilaitė (Radzwill) and their secret meetings in gardens and catacombs, the Itallian-styled royal arrival of Bona Sforza and the Italian-styled not-so-noble life of Marija Neri - Nagurska - Oginska. However, the most charming of them all was Zofia Tyzenhaus, which managed to sort of date both Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon Bonapart himself.

 Napoleon and Alexander I,

Apparently, Napoleon wrote in his memoirs: "There was just one ray of sun left in Lithuania - Zofia Tyzenhauz".
Which we all know is untrue.

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Vilniaus turizmo informacijos centras siūlo šiek tiek erotišką ekskursiją "Žymiausios Vilniaus moterys ir jų meilės istorijos", kur reikalas daugiausiai sukasi apie Žygimanto Augusto motiną ir žmoną, o taip pat apie XVIII a. pabaigą ir XIX a. pradžią. Apie Moniką Mironaitę pašnekesio dar nėra...
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Michael Palin's New Europe visits Lithuania

Lithuania in the eyes of famous Monthy Pytoner


BBC finally aired the episode on Lithuania from the series of Michael Palin's New Europe.
The episode, which is presented below, was pretty nicely written and integral.
Entering Lithuania from Latvia, Palin sleeps overnight in Palanga's Auska, where he sleeps in "Brezhnev's bed". The camera then switches to the Hill of Crosses, and some shots of Lithuanian countryside with even more crosses.

The majority of time, however, is spent in Vilnius where the man from Monthy Pyton with a certain obsession inspects various features of the KGB musem with a help of audio guide. The there is a meeting with Algis Ramanauskas, the LIthuanian entertainer ("with piercing eyes") and a big fan of MP, and a spontaneus choir to sing the most famous Lithuanian songs "Ant Kalno Murai" ("Some Brick Buildings on the Hill") and "Du Gaideliai" ("Two Cocks") is organized. Some waitresses were very professional and refuse to join the fun. Also there is some footage from Sajudis "Singing Revolution" times, which looks pretty weird now.

The third part of episode Michael is teleported to the Baltic coast again, this time sailing towards Nida gloriously in kurenas . The (un) happy ending is quite philosophical, with old man Palin wondering around dead dunes or pine forest. Before whisking off to the Kaliningrad district for some birdwatching in Rybachyi and other Russian-style fun.

Michael Palin visits Hill of Crosses

Watch the episode here.

The conclusion is once again: we can provide a lot of interesting artefacts based on the Soviet times, and on wild nature explorations. Not only Medieval or Renaissance history. So Welcome to Lithuania!

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Beveik legendinio BBC komedianto iš "Monthy Python" Michaelio Palino laida "New Europe" parodė reportažą iš Lietuvos (feat. ALgis Greitai), kurį galite pamatyti aukščiau, o aprašymą paskaityti čia. Tas dar kartą patvirtina hipotezę - anglai mieliau apžiūrinės Sovietų laikų kontrastus ar neliestą gamtą, nei klausysis mūsų bubenimų apie Vytautą Didijį ar Rumšiškių turtus.
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