Another round of Lithuania with a Side of St.Petersburg

Bennigan's is not the only place that serves a sampler. This is a quaint little bar off the beaten path that serves traditional Lithuanian food. Here is a sampler of traditional herbal liquors native to the land...



We didn't really know what we were getting, but we saw that we got six drinks for about the price of one, so we went for it. It turned out to be Travktine, a Lithuanian herbal liquor. We tried them all and took notes, in left to right order:

1. Krupnikas - sweet wine gone bad
2. Malvnininku - rum with a bit of Starbucks dark
3. Trejos Debyner - ouzo with a kick
4. Dainava - Triaminic cough syrup
5. Strumbo Sarka - Jose Cuervo
6. Zagares - red cough syrup



The Lithuanians really love the stuff, so Deni was ready to start sampling. (The things we put ourselves through for culture).



B's a little scared...



Bill may have had a shot too many so he decided to go for a dip and wanted me to jump in. "Don't worry D-zer...I'll catch you!"



This is Cepelinai or Didžkukuliai, a traditional Lithuanian dish. It is like a gelatinious potatoe outside with some type of mystery meat filling. It was in a foot of grease and YUMM-O! "When in Rome," as Ron Burgundy would say. It was recommended by a Lithuanian gentleman so we recommended it the table beside us. We thought it was delicious but they thought is was dreadful! They very gladly handed it over for us finish. Our plan worked like a charm.



These are two English ladies we met at the restaurant, Jane and Julie. They didn't like the Lithuanian food or drink we recommended, so they handed it right over. Thanks ladies, your postcards are on their way!



After all the herbal shots and mystery meat filled potatoes, Deni was exhausticated!



Obviously Lithuania knew we were coming.



This is the chapel of the Dawn Gate. There used to be nine city gates in Vilnius, but only one remains today. When it was built in the 16th century, religious icons were often placed inside to help guard the city from attacks and bless travelers.



Inside the Dawn Gate is the miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of Mercy. It is one of Vilnius' most famous sights. We saw a service performed up here and D took this picture.



We hopped a night train for St. Petersburg. We left around 6pm and got in about 12 hours later after passing through Latvian and then Russian customs.









Taking a break from our roommates (the Bill of Rights girl).



Bill insisted on peering out the window all night till we got to Russia.



We switched to a Russian engine sometime during the night. Now we're in St. Petersburg.





This is what the Russians REALLY think about Putin. Figure it out for yourselves.






In the background is The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. In the foreground is B, wearing a shirt that got him a lot of really weird looks in St. Petersburg.



This is D, looking very pretty. (D didn't want me to write that.)







The name of the church refers to the blood of the assassinated Alexander II of Russia, who was mortally wounded on the site on March 13, 1881. When he died, they built the church on top of the spot and today you can go inside and see the cobblestones where he fell.
















Alexander III built the church in his honor and every inch of the walls are covered in intricate mosaics. It's one of the most beautiful churches we've visited yet. During Communist times, it was used for storage of potatoes or theatrical sets.

Another MySpace picture.

It cost us 100 rubles ($4) to take these pictures. You must pay to take pictures at most museums and cathedrals. You can get away without paying sometimes, but not here at Spilled Blood. We paid for an escort (a ticked off old babushka) to escort us throughout the entire church. She made sure, every two minutes, that we paid, every two minutes, for the priviledge, every two minutes, to take pictures, every two minutes.