"On the roof there are a lot of flying ants."

RimaRama! visits Gediminas's castle in Vilnius.

A Tour of Vilnius

"Vilnius is the modern European city with a remarkable old town and friendly people."

Friendly people. Just remember not to bare your teeth.

The Howling Wolf

Lithuanian legend maintains that an iron wolf howled in Grand Duke Gediminas's dream. An interpreter told the Grand Duke the dream was a sign that Gediminas should build a castle on a hill, and that a great city would arise around the site. The city grew into Lithuania's capital, Vilnius.

Wolf imagery remains ubiquitous in Lithuania. Here, a howling wolf guards the entryway to a beauty salon ("dalės salonas"):

Lithuania, August 2011. The door-stop wolf is a typical example of folk-art woodcarving.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Back at the Square

I first introduced the part of Schweinfurt devoted to the Lithuanian Displaced Persons camp here. The city, which sat in the American-occupied zone of postwar Germany, fell under the administration of UNRRA.

Contrary to what you might think of postwar Germany, those areas under American and UNRRA control gave a lot of self-governance to the ethnic groups in the DP camps. The administrations encouraged "amateur cultural activities," sponsored exhibits, and supported all sorts of scouting activities and religious rites.

It's my impression that patriotism really swelled for most Lithuanian DPs after they became refugees.

Schweinfurt, Germany, about 1948. My Dad, in the lighter-colored shirt, joins fellow scouts at the Lithuanian entry to the DP camp.

Look forward; don't look back.

It's Sunday, and there's no better day for a stroll to a park or city square. Europeans have a tradition of getting dressed up and walking about their public places. Although it's customary to take a stroll any day in the late afternoon, the ritual really blossoms on Sunday afternoons.

Some call it a promenade. Italians refer to it as a passeggiata. When I lived in Venice in the mid-1980s, my dear landlady and I "put on our Sunday best" and walked the streets of the Lido late every Sunday afternoon. We would end the day with a nice espresso and pastry at a café.

Europeans engage in this custom during prosperous times and under under adverse circumstances. Here, for example, my Dad relaxes in a town square with friends and their children. Look at the roof of the building behind them.


Schweinfurt, Germany about 1946. Schweinfurt was one of the big DP camp towns that housed Lithuanian refugees. The camp sat in the American-occupied zone of postwar Germany. My Dad, the second adult from the left, lived in the Schweinfurt camp. The monuments likely identify this area as the entryway to the Lithuanian camp. The little tower is a replica of "Gedimino pilies bokštas," or the tower of the Gediminas Palace in Vilnius. The iconography of three crosses has special meaning in Lithuanian culture.

Schweinfurt, like Würzburg, endured horrific bombing that made the city difficult to identify for many years later. I would not have known which city this was had my Dad not written the location on his negative.