Day Three: Labas Lietuva! (Hello Lithuania)

On Thursday, we found ourselves back at the Milan Malpensa airport catching a Ryanair flight to Lithuania.  We were on our way to visit our most amazing friends, the Vedeckis family.  I was a little nervous about flying on a budget airline, this being our first experience, but it went quite smoothly.  No complimentary inflight snacks or drinks, but I was amused by the flight attendants going up and down the aisle selling everything from perfume to lottery tickets.

When we arrived in Lithuania, I was shocked that we were allowed to walk directly out of the airline terminal without passing through passport control or anything.  Thumbs up for a European Union that lets you easily travel between countries.  We couldn't have been more delighted to see the entire Vedeckis family waiting for us on the other side.  From left to right we have Kes, Egle, Liepa, Lina, and Vytis in front.  (You know our crew.)

Even though the Vilnius airport is five minutes from their home, they drove an hour to meet us in Kaunas since there wasn't a flight into Vilnius that day.  Thank you!  Ačiū!

Even though it'd been three years since we last saw each other, the kids were fast friends.  Liepa and Egle are both very fluent in English, thanks to both their parents and enrollment in an international school.  Plus, what's more fun than backyard badminton?

Meanwhile, Annika made a beeline to the neighbor's backyard where she joined right in with the littler kids, despite the fact that Vytis and the neighbors speak only Lithuanian. 

The universal language of swings.

Extremely pampered by our thoughtful hosts, Lina then served us a traditional Lithuanian meal that was amazing.  Soup with greens, cabbage rolls, tomatoes, and white salad.  We loved it all!

For dessert we indulged in cake.  This delicate honey cake is made from a dozen thin layers interspersed with honey and cream.  

We even got to try this šakotis or tree cake, created by roasting a very rich egg batter over a spit.  Amazing!  We couldn't have felt more delighted.

After dinner we went for a long stroll through the forests right outside their neighborhood. Their beautiful home is perfectly located in so many ways.

Look to sky and you'll see all sorts of hot air balloons.  Did you know that Lithuania has the highest number of hot air balloons per capita?  I feel like Lithuania is this overlooked gem.  Part of me wants to tell everyone how they have to go there, while the rest of me wants to keep it secret so that it remains unchanged.

Tree forts, insect hotels, snails, and frogs.  Our nature loving daughter thought she'd made it to heaven.

Add friends into the mix and we were all so grateful we'd come.

Tucked into bed that evening.  I wonder how long the big girls chatted.  Sweet dreams, ladies,  There's a big day coming tomorrow.