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Lithuania

THE FORTITUDE OF THE LITHUANIAN PEOPLE IS IMMEDIATELY palpable, and their history reveals why. Their empire once stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, but the Russians invaded in the nineteenth century and started Russifying the place, closing down universities, abolishing legal codes, and banning the language. During the two world wars, they endured German, Soviet, and Nazi invasions, and much of their Jewish population was exterminated. (Survivors lead tear-jerking tours through the Museum of Genocide Victims at Auku g. 2A in the capital, Vilnius.) Incredibly, throughout the four decades of Soviet occupation that followed, Lithuanians held on to their cultural heritage—even at risk of banishment to Siberia. And in March 1990, they shocked the world by declaring independence. Gorbachev dispatched troops to seize control of the main television tower in Vilnius, but thousands of unarmed civilians fended them off and then impaled their Soviet passports on wooden stakes and torched them in protest. Though barely the size of West Virginia, Lithuania won the battle against Mother Russia and became the first Soviet satellite to be free.

The nation’s spirituality is equally omnipresent. A matriarchal culture, Lithuanians worshipped many female deities in primeval times, including Saule (Goddess of the Sun), Laima (of Fate), and Gabija (of Fire). See their mosaics within the walls of Vilnius University. Then climb the Hill of Three Crosses, which commemorates the spot where a pagan tribe crucified Franciscan friars centuries ago. Soviets mowed down the crosses in the 1950s, but locals risked their lives sneaking up the hill to prop them back up. A hundred miles north of Vilnius, another hill has been a shrine of thousands of crosses in varying shapes, sizes, designs, and metals since the fourteenth century. Soviets razed this site at least three times as well, but the crosses always mysteriously sprung up soon after. St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Vilnius is also a marvel to behold, with 2,000 creamy-white friezes of angels, beasts, and maidens climbing its walls and dripping from its high-vaulted ceilings, each symbolizing a different biblical passage, battle, or allegory.

Despite their historical drama, Lithuanians are a laid-back people with a good sense of humor. (They are, after all, the only country in the world with a statue to Frank Zappa. Sculpted by a man who used to make Lenins, it stands in the courtyard of Kalinausko Gatve.) Huge crowds gather for the Skamba Skamba Kankles folk festival during the last weekend of May, and cafes and restaurants spill onto the sidewalks throughout the summer. Užupio Kaviné on Užupio 2 has a great deck overlooking the river, which is inhabited by a silver mermaid.

For centuries, Lithuanians have traveled to Druskininkai, eighty miles south of Vilnius, to relax in its sanitorium. Rent a bicycle and ride to the banks of the Nemunas river, where people swarm around a water fountain believed to have healing powers. Some actually drink the water, despite its high salt content. Then hit the spas. The recently renovated Druskininku ç Gydykla offers hour-long mud baths, while Afrodite has a sauna, Turkish bath, and two different massages, one involving honey. Top off the treatment with a swim at the Vilnius Spa, reputed to have the best mineral water around.

Now explore Lithuania’s landscape. Aukstaitija National Park, for starters, is 250 square miles of pine forests, 100-plus lakes, and 80 historic villages, some of which retain their traditional wooden architecture (including an eighteenth century octagonal church). For a panoramic view, climb up Ladakalnis, where ancient pagans made sacrifices to the goddess Lada. (And with good reason: she supposedly gave birth to the entire planet!)