Kestutis Eidukonis tells us in this story about his experiences on what you have to expect
when you travel out of Vilnius to experience the Lithuanian countryside…

As a frequent visitor to Lithuania, I find an interesting disconnect from beautiful Vilnius and the rest of the countryside - I do not mean Kaunas or the rest of the major cities, but the real countryside where the rest of the Lithuania lives, works and fights their daily fight with bureaucracy and the legacy of Homo Sovieticus. 

In Vilnius, you have the beauty of Old Town (Senamiestis) Pilies street and all that that entails.  Sure there is the occasional fight with the beggars, the graffiti and the out of control druggie or local character of interest such as Grafas or Rozyte.  In the "Kaimas" however you are dealing with people who take every occasion to get drunk, who are set in the old ways.  The un mown grass, the flies, the mosquitoes, the bad roads, the problem of getting anything fixed.  The lack of motivation of some of the locals.  The negative attitudes towards city folks and the government.  Try to get a plumber or electrician to drive 40 kilometers to fix anything.  All these problems however pale in comparison to the biggest battle that lies ahead for anyone who plans to farm or work on reforestation.

I am talking about the problems people are having with Heracleum sosnowskyi or Sosnowskyi Hogweed.  Known in Lithuanian as Sosnovskio barštis.  This plant was introduced in Stalin's time and is really getting out of control in a lot of parts of the countryside.  So far the government and the EU have done little or nothing to help people fight this problem.  The biggest problem with this plant is that it is spreading like wildfire in areas of the country which have been neglected or abandoned.  It is extremely dangerous to humans.  The liquid sap from the plant causes burns and blisters which can require hospitalization.  The EU and the Lithuanian government have done little to help fight this problem other than publishing a some advise on how to get rid of it.  The problem is that getting rid of it is very expensive if you use chemicals or hand labor.  This is not an individual farmers or landowners problem.  You can clean up your parcel using very expensive chemicals or hand labor only to be re infested from your less diligent neighbor or the Lithuanian Government owned land next to yours. 

Sosnowskyi Hogweed. Known in Lithuanian as Sosnovskio barštis

What really aggravates the situation and gets under the skin of the situation is to see projects out there which are a total waste of EU and GOL Government of Lithuania moneys.  I can walk to a project that was financed by the EU to set up a road and bike trails for tourists to visit the so called highest spot in Lithuania.  Gedanoniu Kalva  or Gedanonių hill in English.  This is supposed to be a tourist attraction which generates revenue for the locality.  The problem is that in clearing the hill top and building the pretty wooden staircase to the top of the hill, the access roads from Nemaitonys and Aukstadvaris were so badly torn up that vehicle access to the area from Nemaitonys is difficult and almost impossible from the Velnio Duobe (Devils Ditch) to Aukstadavaris even with four wheel drive.  Within walking distance of this hill the local residents are muttering curses under their alcohol sodden breaths while fighting the barštis! 

Gedanoniu Kalva (Gedanonių Hill).

Don't get me wrong there are a lot of pleasant things out in the beautiful "Kaimas"  The storks, the swallows flying around the house, the occasional deer.  The pleasure of sitting around a bonfire in the evening talking to friends and family and occasionally singing a Lithuanian song, the smell of fresh mown grass, the gorgeous flowers, the rye waving in the fields, the sight of wheat.  But at times the frustration and aggravation is overwhelming.

Ah, how good it feels to get back to Vilnius! 

Kestutis Eidukonis