Our first full day in Vilnius was to be a total tourist day with no real Choir activities planned. So we got up and had a quick breakfast at the hotel. Strangely enough, nobody checked to see if anyone was supposed to getting a meal. Promptly at 9am we boarded our bus for the day's touring which started with a tour through Vilnius. We visited a number places that we had visited on our previous trip although on this trip we didn't get to go into most of them like we did 2 years ago. There were lots of Lithuanians in full ethnic costume throughout the city and especially around the main square and the various churches as they were practicing and preparing for the upcoming song festival which the choir that Angela sings in will also be performing. That choir represents that largest group from America singing in the festival.
From Vilnius we drove to Kaunas which is about an hour away by motor coach. There we did another bus tour of the city before heading off on a walking tour of the old city and had lunch. Angela and I also met up with a cousin of the best man in our wedding and she joined us for lunch as well as a brief part of the walking tour. Rima is an ESL teacher so she and Angela hit it off immediately. When it came time for us to reboard our bus we said our goodbyes to Rima and were on our way for a tour of the historic open air village of Rumsiskes. This village dates to the 17th and 18th centuries and consists of a number of preserved houses and barns and at least one windmill. Several of the homes were open for us to tour. Leaving the village, we headed back to Vilnius where we were dropped off in front of City Hall.
We had a little over an hour to find dinner or do whatever else we wished to do before the performance started at the theater that we were to attend. Angela and I just walked around and were in our seats for the performance which started just after 8pm. Everything was said, sung, or printed in Lithuanian. Angela volunteered to me, "Just think you are a Russian soldier during the occupation. They didn't understand either." The performance consisted a many acts involving over several hundred people and progressed smoothly and had interesting transitions. The groups were in sizes from 4 to 20 people. Some played instruments, some sang to the accompaniment of their instruments, and some were accompanied by a small band. One group's rendition in Lithuanian of Shenandoah was emotionally very chilling (in a very good sense). For the last 3 or 4 numbers, all of the groups sang in unison and filled the stage and the side aisles. Those anthems were very powerful and evoked strong audience participation.
After the performance, we walked back to our hotel in a driving rainstorm. Rain seems to be a continuing theme of this year's trip. Fortunately we did have our umbrellas so the only parts that really go wet were our pants legs. That would be fixed by an overnight drying session. And so by 11:30pm we were ready for bed and some needed rest. Tomorrow is planned to have another tour in the morning and the choir does its first practice for 5 1/2 hours from 3pm to 8:30pm.
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