Nyet to Vilnius, Da to Liepaja

The last pagan state of Europe was Lithuania, who didn't convert to Christianity until well into the 14th century. At its height, the Lithuanian empire stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea (or to my fellow provincial Americans, one body of water to another body of water, kinda far away, both of which are on the side of the globe that no one cares about). Vilnius, its capital, is simultaneously beautiful and rugged, retaining somewhat of a wild west feel.

That said, I'm not going.

Julija, the red-haired tetralingual doyenne of quick visas, has waved her magic wand and will obtain my visas to Belarus and Russia in four days. That's longer than I wanted to be here in Latvia, but it's 24 days faster and $100 cheaper than if I had done it in the USA. For those of you who don't know, obtaining a visa to Russia is a royal pain in the ass, and getting it in one of the Baltic states is much easier. Since 9/11, visa requirements TO the United States have gotten more stringent, so places like Russia now make American citizens fill out long, ridiculous parallel documents, primarily out of spite.

So, it will cost me $200 for the two visas for pseudo-next-day service but, since they took my passport to do so, I'm stuck in Latvia for those days. I really love Riga but there are so many annoying Austrians and Germans here that I must take my leave, thank you. Tomorrow I will be headed to Liepaja, the third largest city in Latvia and home of more rock musicians per capita than any other city in Eastern Europe.