I remember, when I just moved to the States ten years ago, 6 hour trip to the Windy City used to be quite a trip, which required some prep time. Afterall, a straight shot across Lithuania would probably take approximately 6 hours and back then it seemed to be quite a distance. Klaipeda, the city in Lithuania where I went to college was ‘whole’ 4 hours away from Birzai (my hometown) and now- years later -‘whole’ is being replaced with ‘only’.
I don’t think there has been a year in the past decade that I have not gone to Chicago at least once. This city is probably the closest a Lithuanian living in the U.S. can get to being in Lithuanian environment without crossing the ocean: there are Lithuanian exhibits, concerts, food, groceries, movies and much more. And all it takes to get there is throwing couple of things in the car, charging up an iPod and drive for 6 hours.
As soon as we were able to leave the chaotic and green downtown we drove to ‘Kunigaiksciu Uzeiga’ (The Grand Dukes’ Inn), a Lithuanian restaurant on Harlem Ave and 63rd and a place where we had our lunch, dinner and lunch again next day. We also squeezed in a quick visit to Ikea and Lighthouse Outlet Malls in Indiana. A very quick but also a very productive weekend.
For more pictures go to my Travel Albums.
Even though our trip lasted less than 36 hours (excluding the drive time) we got quite a bit achieved. First, after a quick stop by Lithuanian Embassy, we visited Millennium Park in Chicago downtown as well as Chicago Cultural Center nearby where a Lithuanian artist Petronele Gerlikiene had an exhibit called ‘Embroidered Myths and Everyday Stories.’
Since America celebrated St. Patrick’s Day last weekend, Chicago downtown held a big parade, which involved green river and hundreds (if not thousands) of people crowding up on the streets and bridges nearby.
Since America celebrated St. Patrick’s Day last weekend, Chicago downtown held a big parade, which involved green river and hundreds (if not thousands) of people crowding up on the streets and bridges nearby.
As soon as we were able to leave the chaotic and green downtown we drove to ‘Kunigaiksciu Uzeiga’ (The Grand Dukes’ Inn), a Lithuanian restaurant on Harlem Ave and 63rd and a place where we had our lunch, dinner and lunch again next day. We also squeezed in a quick visit to Ikea and Lighthouse Outlet Malls in Indiana. A very quick but also a very productive weekend.
For more pictures go to my Travel Albums.
