Ryan Air From Lithuania

Recently I took my first flight on Ryan Air. Having heard many stories about how bad this airline was, I really expected the worst. But my experience proved to be very different than what I expected.

I wanted to take a break from the cold Lithuanian weather and in May 2011, I flew from Kaunas to Kos, Greece on Ryan Air.

Perhaps because I paid a few extra litas for priority boarding, I found the boarding process to be very easy. All priority passengers were allowed first on board the flight. So, there was plenty of space to store my hand luggage and little stress in getting a seat.

Yes, Ryan Air uses every opportunity to make money. But much of this is also done by many airlines these days. For example, you pay for all food and beverages consumed. Nothing is given for free. They also sell souveniers and other so called "duty free" items as do most airlines. In addition, there are advertisements on the airplane, they sell lottery tickets and phone cards. They allow you to take 1 piece of hand luggage up to 10 KG. But if you want to check on any luggage, you have to pay for that too.

Does that bother me? No. The final costs, even with priority boarding and checked luggage is quite low.

The best thing about Ryan Air? If you want to fly non-stop direct from Lithuania to some sunny destination like a Greek Island, Ryan Air is the only regularly scheduled airline which you can book directly. If you want to use a travel agent, perhaps you can book a charter, such as Small Planet. But if you want to go to a sunny holiday destination from Lithuania and book it yourself, your best bet is Ryan Air.

In addition, now from Vilnius, you can book flights to some European cities (such as Bremen Germany or Milan, Italy) for amazingly low fares. I have seen fares to Bremen, Germany for euro 30, round-trip!

While not everyone loves Ryan Air, I think I will be flying them again soon and often. After my first experience, I am a fan.

Intensive Lithuanian Language Lessons

If you are interested in taking Lithuanian Language lessons and having alot of fun at the same time, contact Lingua Lituanica. Lingua Litunica have just announced that they are offering 2 week intenstive courses in Lithuanian from 1-13 August 2011.

My wife and I did this Lithuanian Language course in the summer of 2009. It was a WONDERFUL experience and we got much more than we expected. Every morning, we worked hard on our language skills and every afternoon (and some weekends) we had fun and interesting excursions. Some of the excursions were to museums, some to famous locations (such as Trakai or Kaunas) and others were just cultural experiences, for example eating Lithuanian food or taking a city tour.



Our teacher was Irene, the owner of Lingua Lit. Irene is an excellent teacher, one of the best language teachers I have had (I speak several languages and have had many language teachers). What makes Irene special is her patience and the fact that she really enjoys what she is doing. And it shows. Two years after her course, we still have occasional contact with Irene or some member of her team.



Irene and Lingua Lit were recommended to me soon after I arrived in Lithuania and I can recommend Lingua Lit to anyone who wants to improve their Lithuanian Language skills and have fun at the same time.

Blossom of Hope: Charity Evening Raising Funds for Biopsy Needles

Every year thousands of women get diagnosed with breast cancer. If the desease is caught at the first and second stages, survival rate is much higher than if it is diagnosed at the third or fourth stages. Timely and correct diagnosis saves lives. That is why for the third year in a row International Women's Association of Vilnius and Roche Lietuva have been organizing a charity event to raise breast cancer awareness in Lithuania and raise funds for the purchase of biopsy needles for oncology centers in Vilnius, Klaipeda and Kaunas.

This year well-known artists and designers put together their efforts and donate their works to raise money for the needles. Patron of the event is a famous ballerina Egle Spokaite. The host is a well known actor and TV host Gintaras Mikalauskas.

Blossom of Hope gala will take place om 7 May at Radisson Blu Hotel.

For more details go to Blossom of Hope page.

Coughing In Public Places

Recently my wife wanted to invite a girlfriend to our home and she asked me to go out for a while. As I enjoy the coffee shops and restaurants of Vilnius, I did not object. I took my laptop and headed towards a nearby coffee shop where I knew that internet was available. When I arrived I ordered a cup of coffee and started to surf the web.

A few minutes later, I realized that a young man about two tables away was coughing loudly and regularly. He was sitting at a table of two others who did not seem to notice. But it made me very uncomfortable. There were two possibilties. The young man is a frequent smoker or he had a lung infection. I paid for my coffee and left. Why?

A few years ago, my wife and I were staying in a hotel and a family with a young child was seated at a table next to us. The child was obviously very sick. We changed tables. But either we did not go far enough or it was too late. My wife became very ill the next day. She visited a doctor who prescribed antiobiotices. It took about 1 month until she was better again. It was one of the worst illnesses she has had since we have been together.

So, after leaving the first cafe, I went to another. Moments after I sat down, a young woman sat down a couple of tables away and began to cough regularly. Again I left. I went to several cafes and experienced the same thing. Eventually I gave up and went home.

Don't people understand that when they cough, they are potentially giving their illness to everyone else? This is not new. Ruby O Stern wrote about it in the British Medical Journal in 1938.

Severe lung infections such as pertussis (whooping cough) are spread this way. "People with pertussis can spread the disease by coughing or sneezing while in close contact with others, who then breathe in the pertussis bacteria.". No kidding. The rate of pertussis infection is rapidly rising and it can be deadly, easpecially to babies. Having a baby at home, I am very conscious of this. Of course he has been vaccinated, but no vaccine is 100% effective. Don't people understand this? Or they just don't care? This does not just happen in Vilnius. It happens everywhere.

If you are sick, and unless it is urgently necessary to do otherwise, stay home until you are better. To do otherwise just puts someone else at risk of getting ill.

Lithuanian Train and Bus Time Tables

I have been looking for a good English language schedule for Lithuanian Trains and Buses and I think that I finally found one. Most of the ones that I have seen in the past were just a list of times and these quickly go out of date.

This is a data base which looks like it might always be up to date. However, one thing to becareful of. Even though you can search by date, the database seems to show all trains and buses that go on a particular route regardless of what date they travel. So, look in the right hand column to see if the day of the week is correct for when you need to travel.

http://www.118.lt/transporto-tvarkarasciai

Ebay and Amazon: Excellent Resources For Lithuania

Living in Lithuania makes you a resourceful shopper. Some brands are not available here and others are priced too high for this market. While most things are less expensive in Lithuania then else where, for example, standard factory made printing cartriges are approximately twice as expensive as elsewhere. The solution Amazon.co.uk and Ebay.co.uk

I can usually buy printing cartriges from the UK and have them shipped here very inexpensively. Since Lithuania and the UK are in the EC, there is no import taxes. Most things get sent by Post and we have found the Lithuanian postal service to be very reliable.

Recently we wanted to buy footed pajamas for our baby, as he has worn them all his life. But we found it very difficult to buy them in his size here. Fortunately we could get footed pajamas shipped to us from the UK by using Ebay.co.com. The price, including shipping was approximately what we would have paid locally if we could have found them here.

Unfortunately, not all products available from Ebay and Amazon can be shipped here. But between the two, we are usually able to get many of the hard to find things we need. If you are looking for a English book, by all means consider Bookdepository.com. Book Depository not only ships to Lithuania, they ship for FREE!

Flash Mob In Vilnius, Lithuania

You may not be aware of Flash Mobs, when a group of people suddenly break out in some kind of entertainment, usually a choregraphed dance performance.

Recently there was a Flash Mob Performance at a local Vilnius shopping mall. The performace was excellent, too bad the quality of the video was not better:



Nevertheless, it looked like a wonderful experience for the lucky shoppers who happened to be at the mall. Wish I had been there. If you are happening to organize a flash mob in Vilnius, please tip me off in advance.