D wrote:

Dear rfc:ers,

After successfully blocking any valentines attempts from the wife on the >14:th, I had to give in for some peace of mind on the 15:th, so I decided
to take her to the excellent one star michelin restaurant

https://demoloftas.lt/.

I highly recommend it to anyone who happens to visit.

AH, very nice...!!!

I was overjoyed to see the Baltics get their independence after horrible
Nazi and Soviet rule... those people suffered terribly...

They are now nice and prosperous places...

Even during Soviet times, the Baltic states had a far higher standard of
living than the rest of the USSR... the Soviets in fact considered the
Baltic states "our abroad", as these states were as close to a "Western"
place as existed in the USSR... a holiday on the Lithuanian coast was considered a real treat, as were holidays to all the Baltics...

The Baltics had some "high - tech" industries, e.g. communications
equipment, electronics, appliances that supplied the USSR...

Also, in Estonia people could receive Finnish TV, it was the only place
in the entire USSR that had such a "window to the West"...

Lithuanian is a very interesting language... it's a "proto - European"
language IIRC, with ancient roots, including from Sanskrit...

Did you know that Chicago has many Lithuanians, and Chicago is
considered "the second - largest Lithuanian city in the world", after Vilnius...???

There are a number of Lithuanian restos and bakeries here... mainly on
the southwest side of Chicago... but these are somewhat decreasing as
the older folks pass on and their descendants move to the suburbs and elsewhere...

IIRC there ia an honorary Lithuanian consul here...

And this was MAGNIFICENT, so proud of what these people did...!!!

Baltic Way:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Way

"The Baltic Way (Lithuanian: Baltijos kelias; Latvian: Baltijas ceļš; Estonian: Balti kett) or Baltic Chain (also "Chain of Freedom"[1]) was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989...

Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human
chain spanning 690 kilometres (430 mi) across the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which at the time were occupied and
annexed by the USSR and had a combined population of approximately eight million...

The central government in Moscow considered the three Baltic countries constituent republics of the Soviet Union...

The demonstration originated in "Black Ribbon Day" protests held in the
western cities in the 1980s. It marked the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, in which Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania were (as "spheres of influence") divided between
the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The Soviet-Nazi pact led to the
outbreak of World War II in September 1939 and the Soviet invasion and occupation of the Baltic countries in June 1940..."

--
GM

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On Sun, 16 Feb 2025, gm wrote:

D wrote:

Dear rfc:ers,

After successfully blocking any valentines attempts from the wife on the
14:th, I had to give in for some peace of mind on the 15:th, so I decided
to take her to the excellent one star michelin restaurant

https://demoloftas.lt/.

I highly recommend it to anyone who happens to visit.

AH, very nice...!!!

I was overjoyed to see the Baltics get their independence after horrible
Nazi and Soviet rule... those people suffered terribly...

This is the truth!

They are now nice and prosperous places...

Yes! The incomes are several times higher than russian incomes, showing what is possible with peace and capitalism. Note that since they joined the EU, the growth of the economy is now stalling again. It seems they got to enjoy a few free years, before being swallowed by the EU instead. =/

Even during Soviet times, the Baltic states had a far higher standard of living than the rest of the USSR... the Soviets in fact considered the
Baltic states "our abroad", as these states were as close to a "Western" place as existed in the USSR... a holiday on the Lithuanian coast was considered a real treat, as were holidays to all the Baltics...

This is still a thing! Haven't been myself, but the wifes sister and mother often go to the sea during the summer. It is quite a party place, and eastern european women are some of the hottest on the planet! =D

The Baltics had some "high - tech" industries, e.g. communications
equipment, electronics, appliances that supplied the USSR...

I heard, but I do not know if it is true, that the true creators of sputnik were
the lithuanians and the ukrainians, and that the russians just took everything and presented it as their own.

My accountant worked during communist times, with reverse engineering IBM mainframes so that the communists could build pirate copies and run stolen IBM software on them.

Also, in Estonia people could receive Finnish TV, it was the only place
in the entire USSR that had such a "window to the West"...

Lithuanian is a very interesting language... it's a "proto - European" language IIRC, with ancient roots, including from Sanskrit...

This is the truth! Completely incomprehensible and very, very complicated to learn.

Did you know that Chicago has many Lithuanians, and Chicago is
considered "the second - largest Lithuanian city in the world", after Vilnius...???

There are a number of Lithuanian restos and bakeries here... mainly on
the southwest side of Chicago... but these are somewhat decreasing as
the older folks pass on and their descendants move to the suburbs and elsewhere...

I lived in chicago for a year but had no idea! I learned, while I was there, that there is a big polish population, and a block or two called Andersonville where some early swedish immigrants settled. I really enjoyed living in Chicago.
More relaxed and peaceful than New York, yet plenty of people, services, live music, and a nice beach just a 20 minutes walk from where I lived, in a basement
apartment close to Lincoln Park. Ahh... the memories of youth! =D

IIRC there ia an honorary Lithuanian consul here...

And this was MAGNIFICENT, so proud of what these people did...!!!

Baltic Way:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Way

"The Baltic Way (Lithuanian: Baltijos kelias; Latvian: Baltijas ceļš; Estonian: Balti kett) or Baltic Chain (also "Chain of Freedom"[1]) was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989...

Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human
chain spanning 690 kilometres (430 mi) across the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which at the time were occupied and
annexed by the USSR and had a combined population of approximately eight million...

This is very impressive. My wife and her parents joined in this.

The central government in Moscow considered the three Baltic countries constituent republics of the Soviet Union...

The demonstration originated in "Black Ribbon Day" protests held in the western cities in the 1980s. It marked the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, in which Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania were (as "spheres of influence") divided between
the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The Soviet-Nazi pact led to the
outbreak of World War II in September 1939 and the Soviet invasion and occupation of the Baltic countries in June 1940..."

My wifes late grandmother lived under 5 rulers. Lithuanian, soviet, nazi, soviet
and lithuanian.

--
GM

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