Beautiful Vilnius

And even though I don’t live in a remote village and I work—almost in the center of Vilnius…

On days like yesterday, I realize how much we miss by looking at everything through the window of a passing car or rushing headlong from point “A” to point “B.”

I live. I work. I raise children and run a business here, in Vilnius.

And only when I pause for a moment and push aside the work—does it feel like I open my eyes.
How beautiful Vilnius is! And cozy!

So many stylishly decorated streets, little shops.

Such a cluster of inviting restaurants, offering dishes that yesterday Patricija rated: “Mom, this tastes better than in Italy.”

I don’t know if it’s the mindset of “what you call is what you get,” or if Lithuanians have finally cleared the cloudy service attitude from their heads, but yesterday, traveling with my daughter through our planned “strategic points,” we noticed again and again—how kind people are!

For example, the waiter at one little restaurant, probably just out of school, asked if the “requesting” pigeons bothered us and told a sweet story:

You see the one with the white spot on his head? That’s Vincas.
Vincas?—Patricija asked.
Yes, this is our Vincukas, he’s been living with us for eight years and is our “pet.”
On the way to Patricija’s cosmetics store, we stopped at an ice cream kiosk with an unfamiliar name. The moment we walked in, we couldn’t help but smile—the milkshakes were made with such a joyful mood that “sourness” seemed like it came from another planet.

The hotel we stayed in deserves a long story on its own—but if you have the time…
Since childhood, our family has had this “quality scale”:
“Well, this is like Stikliai,” we say when we want to praise delicious food, beautiful presentation, and everything that feels fancy and luxurious.
Even though none of us has ever actually been to Stikliai. Ever.

So this time, continuing the lovely tradition of gifting ourselves, just the two of us, a girly day in the city once a summer—we chose Stikliai.

And we didn’t regret it!
How beautiful and cozy!
What attention and service!

When the doorman opened the doors for us, Patricija whispered quietly:

Mom, why can’t we open them ourselves?
Then she shared the first thought that came to her mind—that the man probably didn’t want us to accidentally break the beautiful handle.

What a cozy winter garden and courtyard.
What respect for guests and a genuinely warm desire to delight them.

I’m not a fan of marble or glittering luxury.
In that kind of environment, I feel out of place.
But here—where the old Vilnius reaches out to the present—it’s something completely different.

I left knowing that our family saying, “like Stikliai,” was worth every letter and I can now use it with a completely clear conscience.

P.S. And it’s not as ridiculously expensive as I imagined. For a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a beautiful day with my daughter—to tuck into the memory box with the added sweetness of “what a wonderful city we live in”—it’s worth every cent.

We return to everyday life.
After just one day.
But having visited all the “someday we should go” places—not urgent necessities, but ones that have lingered in memory, waiting for the right time—they were well worth it.

I’m not advertising.
Or maybe I am!
V i l n i u s!
And what we often miss while rushing through the daily frenzy, over the same streets and places, waiting to be enjoyed slowly and mindfully.

V.