my journey as a civil war novel writer

One of the interresting things in Lithuania was meeting the local people and seeing life not as a tourist. A lot of people living in the flats in Vilnius have a small summr cottage in what they call the garden. It is outside Vilnius and the last part to getting there is a very bad dirt road. One reason you don't want to be go ing there in the winter. On there are mostly small houses with a garden for vegetables, f ruit and flowers and often a small outside sauna. On the saturday evening we went to meet my friend's mother there. She is a very nice lady, does not speak anything but Lithuanian and Russian so direct communication was impossible. And yet she made me feel so welco me! I was fed homemade cake and tea from leaves in the garden and it was wonderful tea! Prett y soon the arcordeon came out and I was treated to her playing and singing traditio nal music. These are the things you just don't get to see when you stay on the tourist track. The generosity and kindness of

I am back from Lithuania and now I don't even know why I was worried to go. It was a brilliant holiday! Lithuania is not that well known as a holiday destination here despite Vilnius being cultural capital last year. It is really a pity not many people do know about it as it is well worth the visit. In this blog entry I will be talking about that capital Vilnius. It does not have the feel of most old European towns I know. As it is not situation at the seaside but a few hours inland it does not have the feel we are used to here in Western Europe. The feature that stands out in Vilnius are it's many churches. Most of those are catholic, the most beautiful of those is without a doubt the St Paul and St Peter church a little outside of the centre. The white inside filled with statues and ornaments takes my breath away. Outside it has more Eastern europe an influences. On the other hand the Cathedral looks more like a Greek temple on the outside. Inside it is more like a church and