After just one look, I fell for the goddess of the YHA. Her eyes were as deep and dark as the Baltic sea itself and their contents were just as unknown. Her name tripped off my tongue like a drunk running down the UP escalator, the contemptuous sneer that played across her crimson lips was almost regal and melted my simple, Mancunian heart. I knew right then and there that I had to have her. And like countless others before her ... ... ... she was having none of it!

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This fourth instalment completes the chronicling of a week-long trip I made to the Baltic Region of Europe in September 2000 with my good friend Adrian Dowd. His account, "The Toilets of Eastern Europe" sponsored by Armitage Shanks, may be found in some of the less discerning publications.

The capital cities of all three Baltic states have many things in common and I recommend all of them highly for somewhere to visit that's slightly out of the ordinary, or off the beaten track. As prosaic as it sounds, they all manage to mix Soviet, colonial and modern architecture, history and attitudes almost seamlessly and I think this is the fascination and the wonder of this region.

HOCUS POCUS
Five minutes walk from the bus station was the Old Town Youth Hostel, whose custodian you’ve just read about. This is a hostel of the more "rough and ready" variety and from the notices and comments that were stuck on the pin boards, it sounded like it was pretty much party central if you’re young, uninhibited and "looking for a good time". There were recommendations for nightclubs, bars and restaurants and it all seemed pretty encouraging stuff. Adrian and I, being - ahem - elder statesmen in youth hostel terms are just happy if we can find somewhere new and interesting to sip a quiet cup of cocoa at the end of a gruelling day, as I’m sure you will appreciate.

Fascinating Rock Facts About Vilnius, No. 1:

WHEN EAST MEETS WEST
Vilnius is the same and yet different from the other two Baltic capitals. There's the same sense of history through architecture. The same contrast between the ancient and modern and the same ghost of Soviet history quickly being overshadowed by a burgeoning market economy. Again, you can divide the city into Old Town and New Town, although in the case of Vilnius, the transition is far smoother as you move almost seamlessly from one part to the other. There’s no clear definition of where the "old" finishes and the "new" begins.

The two halves of the city pivot around the great Cathedral square (Katedros aikste) overlooked by Gediminas hill and containing the majestic and wholly impressive Vilnius cathedral. Reconsecrated in 1989 after being used as a picture gallery during the Soviet era, the glorious interior has been sensitively refurbished and betrays little of the turbulent history of this most central of buildings. The square itself has been the focus of the city since the 13th century and was the scene of many of the mass gatherings during Lithuania's campaign for independence.

The main hub of the new town, Gediminas prospekt, is a busy modern shopping street with department stores and fashionable boutiques, coffee shops, bars and restaurants as well as the obligatory McDonalds, provider of bathroom services to the super-economy class traveller. The old town has the main concentration of bars and restaurants and there's plenty of good eats to be had. My innate "rock radar" led Ade and I to Bix, a bar/restaurant owned by a local band of the same name (decor: dark, dingy, guitars on wall) the menu was good, the beer was plentiful, the rock was loud so Paicey was happy.

This city is home to a memorial commemorating the late, great muso nutcase Frank Zappa. Situated on Kalinuasko gatve (behind an E. N. T. clinic) and a real bugger to locate, it's a bronze bust of the man himself, on top of an eight foot high steel column, surrounded by some sort of grafitti-style shrine type affair. It had been set up by the Lithuanian Frank Zappa fan club in 1995 after "a long dispute with various authorities who though the idea preposterous". That clinched it for me - I'm not particularly a fan, but I just had to go find it. One thing is for sure, it most definitely IS preposterous and tucked so far out of the way at the arse end of the city as to be somewhat pointless too. Brilliant!

We'd taken care to book a second class "kupe" compartment, which is very similar to the couchette style that Inter-railers would be familiar with travelling around the more oft-visited areas of Europe. Accommodating four people in all, the two bench seats facing each other converted into surprisingly comfortable beds and two more beds folded down from where the luggage rack should have been. Thankfully, Ade and I were the only occupants and so had a little uninterrupted p & q as the train rumbled into the night at a deceptively un-rapid 40 mph.

VILNIUS IN A NUTSHELL
As you can probably tell, I can't really get over-enthusiastic about Vilnius, as I said before, I couldn't really get the measure of the place. However, one thing's for sure, there's still lots to see and discover in this city, it was a perfectly pleasant place to stay and I enjoyed the couple of days I spent there. The people of Lithuania are reputed to be gregarious and friendly, the Italians of the North. I certainly didn't find that, they seemed to be fairly aloof and reserved (although agreeable enough), more like the Portuguese!

Cost-wise it's a little more expensive than the other two Baltic capitals, but still reasonably priced from a UK point of view. You can eat well for two or three quid, a beer (half a litre) about a quid, a mid-range hotel room (I had to research this) around 50 quid.

Thanks for reading!