It feels like being back in Europe again. People understand what we are saying, and we see the same kind of signs as we see at home and yesterday we saw the Eurovision Song Contest on TV.

Vilnius is a beautiful town with a lot of nice old quarters that has been renovated carefully. There are loads of cozy bars, restaurants and outdoor cafes. Everywhere we look we see churches, churches and churches.

We are staying in a part of town called Uaupis, where the Vilnia river makes a bend. It is kind of arty, hippie place for alternative living. April 1st 2002 they announced the new republic, and the angel is their symbol. As a republic they of course have their own constitution too. Here are a few of the more memorable lines ”Every dog has a right to be a dog”, ”People have the right to sometimes not know if they have any duties” how about “People have the right to die, but it is not a duty”.

The center of Europe is right outside Vilnius. At the same place there is also an outdoor museum; Europos Parkas. They have a permanent exhibition of 90 works of art made by artists from 30 countries. It is a mix of big and small, fun and very strange things .

We spent the afternoon at a bizarre exhibition of old style soviet monuments and especially Lenin reproductions. A Lithuanian millionaire and businessman have collected statues and other things that has been torn down and stashed away all over Lithuania since the liberation. Out of these things he has built an exhibition in Gruto Parkas , 130 kilometers south west of Vilnius. This is his way of making sure that the occupation is not forgotten. Check out www.grutoparkas.lt .

The exhibition shows Soviet heroes, glorified workers, Stalin and others; but most of all Lenin in all shapes, colors , materials and sizes. There are thousands Lenin sculptures and reproductions in bronze , stone , wood, mosaic , plastic, glass , metal, oil, at posters, lithographs, rugs - yeah, all you can imagine. To make the visitors to come in the right mood they had put up old watchtowers all around the exhibition, and form the loud speakers came old soviet revolutionary songs.