The drive to Kriukai.
Thursday 13th sept
We got up, packed our small bags into the Subaru Forester, and then headed out of Vilnius. To say the driving is tight is an understatement. And then to add to the joy, I am sitting with the steering wheel on the other side of the car, on the other side of the road. I drove up a winding road, cars parked on my right, cars careering close to the middle line to my left and coming towards me.
We get out of Vilnius and drive on the motor way for Rumineskus. We met Mindaugas and his girlfriend ---- there. They were so kind in looking after us and taking us out for lunch afterwards as well. We started the long walk across a river and through forests into this outdoor museum. It's the largest outdoor ethnographic museum in Europe. There are acres of recreated villages and housing from previous centuries. All the different regions of Lithuania are represented. I can now see where my obsession with timber comes from, as we walked into one timber lined cabin after another. I reckon Brett would have loved seeing how they did the joins in walls, and how roofs were constructed out of logs and were watertight. It was a long walk, but a fascinating look at old Lithuanian life.
It was then a long climb out of the forests and back to the car. We headed for Kriukai to find a small farmhouse where Mum' cousin Ella and her husband Kasimiras live. Mum and Audrey have a double bed, Lauren and Romas have a fold out sofa each, and I have a fold out chair. I feel like we are putting them out as Ella and Kasimiras have to go up the stairs to sleep.