Giedre Pajarskaite

Flowers on my windowsill

2007-07-10T05:37:00.000-07:00

After settling down in my apartment I felt the inspiration of growing the house plants :) I've never did that before, because when I was living with my parents my mother took care of all flowers in the house. The only proud was the "Ficus", which successfully grew up from the little tiny plant to a big tree till the ceiling. I got this plant on my birthday and it took about 4 years to grow.
So the main idea of growing plants at my home in Vilnius was that I will not buy them in the shop, but I will try to propagate them myself. I've got lots of seedlings from my friends, colleagues and family. Of course I was also growing the plants which I've got as a present.

The first painful loss was a plant with a very kind name "Happy Bean". First time I saw such a nice and interesting plant. I loved it a lot! Because of my love it died after about half a year..

Second time I am trying my luck with "Syngonium" :) now I know that it doesn't like direct sun, so I keep it not on my windowsill.And already two times it didn't work out with "Fuchsia". Last time it was "possessed" by the white insects - most probably that was the blight or smth like this. So I had to through it away..
Also I have few kinds of "Cactus". They r not so easy growing plants as I expected to be, but I see the progress :)
Though, with one cactus I had a problem with some kind of the blight as well. U can even see the insects on the picture. I had to use some chemicals and to keep it in the quarantine :) Now it looks much better! Also I have "Yucca", which should grow till 4-6 meters high :) Here the post is about my flowers, but I cannot miss the story about the wooden chair u see in the picture. This chair we found in basement after we bought the apartment. It looked really dirty and ugly, but I saw the beauty behind… :) So my boyfriend cleaned it, scrub out the layer of old varnish, newly impregnated it and put several layers of new varnish. The result was amassing!!!
Here is "Amaryllis". I've got the bulb on my birthday at the end of April. After 3 weeks of planting it gave me a first beautiful bloom! And later 5 more :)
Also at the moment I am growing "Billbergia nutans", "Diffenbachia", "Streptocarpus", "Kalanchoe", "Saintpaulia" and the only spice - "Basil". It looks good on my kitchen's windowsill and brings a good taste to the dishes I prepare :)
So this is my experience about the growing home-plants. Please share yours tips and tricks by writing comments or personally to my e-mail :)

Imagine Russia - Traveling Workshops

2007-06-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

It passed some time after my last post, but now I have a very important reason to write! Everyone who has read my post “New Year in Vienna, Austria” already knows who Natalia Klimeshova is :) And the big message I want to spread all other the world that she started her own business in Saint-Petersburg!!! She didn’t open beauty-salon or internet coffee, she doesn’t buy or sell, she started the business which can touch personally everyone, who loves to travel and explore new countries. Let me present you “Imagine Russia” – a new concept of traveling! :) Please find all needed information in here: http://imaginerussia.com/. I cannot tell more about this traveling service, because I haven’t tried it myself yet, but I rely on Natasha 100% and I would truly recommend her.

If talking more about my experience in Russia, I want to mention that I have been traveling there a lot with my parents when I was a kid, when Lithuania was part of Soviet Union. I am sure that I was in Moscow, former Leningrad (now Saint-Petersburg), and few times in Sochi, also Vladivostok, which is the farthest place of the globe I have been till today, and some other resorts in Russia. Of course, my remembrances are more like the flashbacks then the “continuous movie”. I am sure that one day I will go there to renew my “information” :)
It is good that my father always liked to take the pictures. Here are few moments:
Me and my father in Leningrad (now Saint-Petersburg).

Me near Kremlin in Moscow.
Me, my brother and my mam in Vladivostok.
Me and my brother in Sochi with my favorite dress :)

New Year in Vienna, Austria

2007-01-09T01:12:00.000-08:00

The once who ever get acquainted with Natasha Klimeshova, knows what she can do! :) This time she organized a great time in Vienna and a wonderful party for a New Year Eve 2007. Big thanks for her!

The very first time I saw Vienna at the night and I was impressed by the decorations and lightening in the streets! It’s difficult to show the atmosphere in the picture, but just see few examples...

Hot wine sold in the streets helps from freezing. Here is me, Galia, Kasia and Julia.

And I wasn’t disappointed when I walked in Vienna during the day time. A big old town never was bombed or totally destroyed, so there u can enjoy the authentic architecture.

St. Stephen's Cathedral (or Stephansdom build in 1147). It has two very impressive features: the gigantic roof, and the tall, lean tower (136,7 m.), which was under construction at that time I was there.

With Natasha - the party organizer :)

Vienna Opera House

National Theatre

Karlskirche was started in 1715. It is the biggest cathedral in Baroque style north of the Alps.

Secassion museum is known of its cupola of golden laurel leaves and its art deco facade. The secessionists were interested in uniting the separate art forms of sculpture, architecture, painting and music aiming for a comprehensive work of art.

The Rathouse on the sunset.

Having sweats with Julia in the Rathouse park.

The Museumsquartier is one of the 10 largest cultural complexes in the world, where baroque buildings, new architecture, cultural institutions and various disciplines of art are united. The building inside it.

When talking about the modern architecture i cannot miss a famous Friedrich Hundertwasser house (more info www.kunsthauswien.com).

and Hundertwasser horse :)

The City Park. Johann Strauss monument..

..and one more Johann Strauss monument in the street :)

This is how the rose garden looks in the winter time..

Schönbrunn Palace with its surrounding buildings and the huge park is one of the most significant cultural monuments in Austria. The entire complex was added to the UNESCO's world cultural heritage list.

The fragment from the bar menu. The joke is obvious for Lithuanians :) For others: “Pute” in Lithuanian means “vagina”, but in a nicer way.. And in German “Pute” means “turkey” :)
By the way, I had this "Pute natur". Good. I recommend it :)

Funky toilet near the Opera.

And later will come few pics from the party.. :)

Christmas Market in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

2006-11-30T05:11:00.000-08:00

A weekend trip to Frankfurt evoked a lot of different feelings inside. First of all after landing in Germany a lot of memories came up.. i felt like an old woman who came back into places where the youth was spend.. a bit scary feeling :) From another side, it was very nice walk the streets I know, to visit the places I’ve been before and too see Germany in a Christmas mood!

I couldn’t ignore raised sentiments and took a picture near Deutsche Post :)

A big flea market takes place every Saturday along the Main.

The skyscrapers and modern architecture make a face of Frankfurt.

The Main Tower (200m) is the only one in the city that has a publicly accessible viewing platform with restaurant.

The contrast.

Frankfurt also has a small old town.

The old opera house.

The Archaeological Garden.

But what i liked the most was the Christmas market in the main streets of Frankfurt with a lot of mini shops, where u can buy sweets, candles, glass of hot whine, hand made toys for Christmas tree, small souvenirs and lots more..

Also i found nice decorations..

..and even a singing elk’s head :)

Lithuania has joined the EU in 2004, but there are no such sculptures in the towns yet.

Nice gallery.

Here are some funky sculptures i found walking in the city..

That to imagine how big it is find a person standing near it's leg.

Animals in the city.

I am tickling the dinosaur :)

This tie is huge also. I could only touch the collar.

Frankfurt in the night looks very impressive. I cannot even imagine how impressive it looks during “Frankfurt Luminale” (www.luminale.de).

KAUNAS - my home town

2006-09-15T03:34:00.000-07:00

Kaunas is my home town. I born there, i grew up there and finished university there. I love it A LOT despite i am living in Vilnius now.
Kaunas is a very beautiful city situated on the confluence of two biggest rivers the Nemunas and the Neris. Take a look to the evidences bellow ;)
And here are few links where u can find much more information: www.travel.lt and http://visit.kaunas.lt.

The symbol of Kaunas - aurochs.

Kaunas Castle.

This was the house of President when (1920-1940) Kaunas was the provisional capital of Lithuania. In the square there are sculptures of 3 former presidents: A.Smetona, A.Stulginskis and K.Grinius.

The town hall. It is often called White Swan because of it's look and because that there is a registry office. On weekends the square is full of beautiful brides and grooms :)

The old town is a very nice place to walk..

..to relax near the river..

But the most popular street for walking, shopping and partying in Kaunas is Laisvės Avenue. Presently it is a pedestrian boulevard, the only non-smoking area in the whole of Europe. By the way, "Laisvė" means freedom.

At one end of Laisves Avenue there is St. Michel the Archangel church. The Church was designed by Russian architects and constructed to Kaunas Millitary Garrison. Presently, Chatolic Church is functioning here, before there was an art galary.

M.Zilinskas art gallery is one of the best art galleries of foreign art in the country. The derriere of the Man statue lets you know you're in the right place :) Several times this statue was an object of discussions. Cahtolics' wanted to demolish it or to move it to another place, because it is standing in front of St. Michel the Archangel church in whole its beauty :)
Kaunas is the only lithuanian city that has these oldest means of transport - funiculars. These "climbing cars" going up two hills: Aleksotas, where from the magnificent city panorama can be admired, and Zaliakalnis, where Resurrection Church can be reached. From the top of the church the city panorama can be observed too.

Pažaislis Ensemble of the Church of Holy Virgin Mary and Camaldolli Abbey (17th century). It is one of the most beautiful Baroque architecture style ensembles in Lithuania. At present, it belongs to Camaldolli Sisters. Already more then 10 years Pažaislis Music Festival takes place there.

Trip to Stockholm, Sweden

2006-08-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. From one side it is surrounded by the Baltic sea, from another side by the lake of Mälaren. The traffic on the water is almost as heavy as on the streets. That makes city even more alive and cosy.
The center and old town have lots of old authentic buildings.

The Royal Hotel.

The Royal Palace.

The House of Parlament and museum.

The underground of Stockholm is also listed like "a place to visit", because that some underground stations r really nice decorated.

Globen sports arena. It is the world's largest spherical building. The building has a diameter of 110 meters and an inner height of 85 meters.

It also has the biggest Coca-Cola can i have ever seen :)

The heart of old town is the iseland of Gamla Stan. I found there some strange and intersting things :)

What do u think about this house?

The artificial swans substitute the real ones. Such a pitty that they need a substitute...

The shutters made from mirror help to get more sun light.

A fancy art gallery.

In the center of Galma Stan u can even get a back massage.

For wiping the feet near the entrance to the shop :)

Here is the narrowest street in Stockholm.

A funky hairstyle.

One more rapt tourist.

During the trip we wanted not only to see the capital, but also to explore the beautiful nature of Stockholm's archipelago. The archipelago comprises 24 000 islands, islets and rocks. Going three hours by boat we reached one of the biggest island called Ornö. On the way we passed lots of inhabitable and not inhabitable islands.

In Ornö we stayed in a very nice cottage with a private beach. The extremely nice welcome made our stay here perfect. I higly recommend to visit archipelago and if u decide to stay in Ornö for a night, here is a link www.orrudden.se.

On the way to "the center" of island (6 kilometer away from the cottage). I wrote the center in inverted commas because it's not real center u may imagine. It is called like this cause there is a shop, a primary school, a church, even a museum and tourist information center :)
Ornö is the only one island which even has a bus line. But as said our host, "u shouldn't rely on it cause sometimes it goes sometimes it doesn't" :)

And here is a petrol station for boats in Dalarö. It is a very uncommon view for me.

Omelette from the egg of ostrich!

2006-07-10T00:05:00.000-07:00

During the visit in Riga I experienced one more surprise. For the breakfast my friends made an omelette from the egg of ostrich! At first I was very suspicious about it, but it didn’t have any specific smell or taste. It was just a very big chicken egg. Four of us couldn’t eat it all! And I wouldn’t resist eating it again :)

Sightseeing in Latvia and Riga

2006-07-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

Latvia is one of the Baltic countries and a neighbor of Lithuania. It is a few hundred kilometers away, but I wasn‘t traveling around there before. Here are few pictures from there. Enjoy!

Rundale palace is called an architectural pearl of Latvia. It is a magnificent sample of baroque style with elements of classicism, surrounded by wonderful garden.

Bauska castle was built in 1443. In 18 century the castle was blown up. In 1969 it was reconstructed and now holds a museum.

Mezhotne Palace was designed and built in 1802 in classicism style by the order of Russian emperor Pavel I. The most luxurious rooms are opened for visitors. Other rooms are used for hotel purposes and prices, i may say, are not that high.

Jelgava’s palace history starts in 1737 when the Duke Biren started building it. The old castle (1266) of the dukes of Courland was destroyed by Duke Biren and new palace was built. It was finished only in 1772. Now there is a Latvian university of agriculture.

In Kemeri National Park you can choose from a lot of different activities. I’ve chosen Boardwalk in the Lielais Kemeru bog. This 3-km long trail is weaving through the kingdom of mosses and little bog lakes. Here the wood sandpipers live, and if you are lucky you can find sundew – a plant that catches insects. I haven't been in is such a strange place before.

Few pictures from the nice town of Sigulda.

The capital of Latvia - Riga - has a wonderful old town.

This monument was made when Riga was celebrating 800 years. You can see this number from every corner of it.

...and the Baltic sea...

Canoeing in the rivers of Lithuania

2006-06-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

This was the most relaxing and exiting weekend I had in this summer! Whole day doing nothing just canoeing in the river, trying not to get wet or upend with canoe, oaring so hard that after a while arms and shoulders hurts badly, getting some adrenalin going through the riffles.. But on the over side breathing clean air, being in the nature, getting some sunbaths, preparing simple food on the fire and thinking about what is going on now and here.. I recommend you to try it :)

One day in Bialystok, Poland

2006-04-11T22:59:00.000-07:00

Going on the business trip abroad is never a trouble for me. Especially if there is some time left for sightseeing :) Here is what I explore walking around in Bialystok.

The St. Roch Church is one of the first Modernist churches in the world. Build on the hill, it overlooks the city.

City hall in the evening. From this place I remembered that I was here before. Might be we stopped in Bialystok for a minute when I was traveling by bus to other countries.

Painted houses in old town looks exclusive.

Holy Virgin Old Church, founded in 1617-1626, is the oldest survived church building of the city.

Near it there is a sculpture of Pope John Paul II. You can see lots of candles and flowers near the sculpture, because there was a jubilee, one year after Pope John Paul II death, hold.

Here, the most valuable is the Branicki palace-garden complex that owes its shape, which has remained intact until now. The Palace, dubbed “the Polish Versailles” was one of the few aristocratic residencies to match the canons of court etiquette of royal visits. The palace is beautifully ringed in by one of Poland’s best preserved Baroque garden.

AlnaVision Song Contest

2006-03-17T06:27:00.000-08:00

Some may argue that it is not extreme, but for me it was. In March the company group “ALNA” (www.alna.com) where I am working in was celebrating its birthday. The party topic was “AlnaVision Song Contest” (like EuroVision). So, from every “ALNA” group company there were one or two bands taking part (8 in total). I wanted to take part from the very beginning, but was afraid of audience, stage, floodlight and so on. After long discussions with colleagues and yoga exercises I’ve agreed to be go-go dancer :) It was so real! I felt how my body is shaking with excitement before going on stage. I really enjoyed those 4 minutes! Though don’t remember them very clearly :) And imagine, our band even took the 3rd place!!!

Christmas and New Year Eve

2006-01-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve in Lithuania is celebrated with closest family members. Last years Santa comes to our house, cause we have three little kids in the family.

I am saying a piece of poetry that to get my gift :)

with my brother's and sister's kids.

I think this house is too optimistic :)

Preparing an apple cake.

Christmas tree in Vilnius

This is a TV tower in Vilnius. The highest building in Lithuania (326,5 meters) and the highest Christmas tree. Every year it is decorated with 5440 bulbs, 32 garlands, one garland is 170 meters long, which in total is almost 6 kilometers long. Looks amazing in the night!!

Moving out and in

2006-01-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

As u may already know, this December i've moved to my own apartment in Vilnius! Youpyyyy!! Everyone I know is welcome!! :)
Here we r packing stuff in an rented flat..

And here we r doing a renovation in sleeping room. Now it looks much better, I guarantee.

Trakai, Island castle

2005-11-25T00:20:00.000-08:00

Trakai (www.trakai.lt) is one of the most beautiful and most visited towns in Lithuania. The distinctive feature of Trakai is that the town was built and preserved by people of different nationalities. Here lived and still lives communities of Karaites, Tartars, Lithuanians, Russians and Polish. Trakai is also well known of island castle (XIV - XVI c.). It is the only insular castle throughout Eastern Europe. It was built on one of the numerous islands in Lake Galvė. The castle was built as a defensive fortress. After the Battle of Žalgiris/ Grünwald (XIV c.) the castle lost its defensive significance. It was turned into a ducal residence. Later the castle served as a prison. In the XVII century the castle was desolated. And only since 1962 it houses a historical museum.

Since Trakai is near Vilnius I love to go there for a long walk in nice nature. Every time I find something new around there. Also lot’s of non traditional events, festivals and concerts take place in Trakai.

This is a very old and strange build bridge. It is holding on the iron made vats full of air. That’s how it doesn’t sink and when u walk it surge badly.

Not the first (and hopefully not the last) Hollywood movie is filmed in Trakai and it’s districts.

Through my apartment window

2005-11-02T03:59:00.000-08:00

Park of Soviet Sculptures "Gruto parkas"

2005-10-13T05:01:00.000-07:00

In a nice place of Lithuania there is a park of soviet sculptures (www.grutoparkas.lt - information is in LT, EN, RU and PL languages). From 1989-91, during the restoration of Lithuanian independence, many ideologized monuments from the Soviet times were dismantled and, with the absence of any storage procedure, piled in storehouses and backyards, most frequently on the premises of utility companies. After some time all these sculptures were gathered and after renovation were seated in this park.

Josif Vissarionovich Stalin
Vladimir Iljich Lenin

There is even posible to buy a glass of "Kvac" and "Gazirovka"..
.. too take a prat in party congress..
.. and to swing :)

Old and New Vilnius

2005-10-12T03:03:00.000-07:00

Gediminas castle in 1906 and in 2005

President house in 1896 and in 2005

Cathedral in 1905 and in 2005

Cathedral belfry in 1905 and 2005

Saint Ona Church in 1874 and 2005

Saint Petro and Povilo Church in 1874 and in 2005

Green bridge in 1874 and in 2005

The flight with the helicopter

2005-09-29T00:27:00.000-07:00

I had a great occasion to have a personal flight with the helicopter :) That was extremely COOL!! I could see everything from outside, every small thing on the ground, even when we were flying above the wood. U cannot hide from it that's for sure! The pilot showed me few tricks how do they check the border. Nice! He said that he can even do a loop with the helicopter. I trusted him, but I begged not to do it this time, cause I had enough of adrenalin already :)

After the flight.

This is a picture of the helicopter model from the internet.

Entertainment park "Lokes Peda"

2005-09-19T01:45:00.000-07:00

Lately I had real fun and got a big doze of adrenalin in a new opened entertainment park near my home-town Kaunas (www.lokespeda.lt - information is only in Lithuanian). There are 5 routs, from the simplest to the hardest and 2 so called "flights". The maximum high in the rout is 8 meters. And believe me, it's MORE THEN ENOUGH when u have to go from one stop to another. And the flights are cool too! One starts 18 meters high and goes down 75 meters, another is 145 meters long. Well, I am going to repeat it at least once again for sure, because I haven't finished the hardest "black" rout.

Friend's Wedding

2005-07-24T23:36:00.003-07:00

This weekend was my close friend's wedding. It was a very great party with nice surprises and customs.

I was pretty girl some time ago :)

2005-06-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

Acrobatic flight

2005-06-17T00:06:00.000-07:00

well.. to tell the truth this acrobatic flight haven't finished too good.. After a good lunch (with main course, desert and drinks) we impulsively decided to take a flight. The pilate was doing a lot of crazy things: went up and down, made a loop, was flying upside-down and so on. I LOVED IT! But after we landed I got sick and I felt bad whole day.. anyway i would like to repeat it! but no eating before the flight :)

Go-carting

2005-06-15T02:22:00.000-07:00

I love to drive. It does no matter is it a normal car or a carting.

First steps are always difficult, but i keep going further:)

2005-06-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

My recent trip to Ireland (May of 2005)

2005-06-14T01:03:00.000-07:00

"GUINNESS" lake near Dublin

drinking "GUINNESS" on empty stomach

u may not see, but we were totaly drunk after "visiting" GUINNESS museum.

Dublin looks grey because of old buildings made from stone.

In old Dublin house door's are painted in different colors in order that drunken man could easily find their way home :)

Most of traffic lights in Dublin have a sheet where u can see how many seconds u will have to wait for a green light. It's very useful for planning a near future :)

In very nice French cafe. Most of Irish pubs have simple interior and a bad smell of beer. It is forbidden to smoke inside the bars, so in some of them really stinks.

Mostly i liked the nature of Ireland.. coast of the ocean.. mountains..

This place is called "Giant's Causeway". The Causeway consists of around 40,000 polygonal basalt columns, jutting out into the sea amid a spectacular coastal landscape of cliffs, headlands and crashing waves. Geologists explain that the Causeway was created during a period of volcanic activity some 60 million years ago. The famous columns were formed when lava cooled quickly upon flowing into the sea. The surrounding cliffs also demonstrate the many lava flows that have shaped the spectacular North Antrim landscape.

Giant's boot.

I refused to leave this place, but my friends had to go to work next day..

This house in the mountains near the ocean is available for a rent.