Ramona Kasimira Gonski

A Wintry Vacation at a Lithuanian Country House

While many people were sitting down to a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner: passing around the cranberry sauce, fighting over the last bit of stuffing, my thoughts during this year’s holiday turned nostalgic. I was once again back in Kupiškis, Thanksgiving Day 1998, feasting on blynai with sour cream and berry sauce. Thanksgiving Day was spent at a wonderful bed and breakfast, in a rural setting, that was run by Daiva and Kestutis Jackūnai.

In the summer of 1998 my husband, Edward, and I were planning a November trip to Lithuania to visit my cousin, Gražina, and her two young children, Almeda and Šarunas, who lived in Panevėžys. It soon became apparent that under no circumstances were we to stay in a hotel; therefore, Gražina graciously opened up her apartment to us for our week’s stay. It was very kind of her, but I had in the back of my mind to venture out a bit on our own and was intrigued with the idea of staying at a Lithuanian country house.

In the early planning stages for this trip, I had come across information about the Lithuanian Rural Tourism Association (Lietuvos Kaimo Turizmo Asociacija) in an issue of Bridges. I faxed the Association requesting a recommendation for a sodžius (country house) near Panevėžys and promptly received a fax back with Daiva’s telephone and fax number. The hard part was over; I had a contact and quickly made arrangements with Daiva to spend one night at her Bed and Breakfast. I had included my cousin and her two children; but unfortunately, accommodations could not be made for them.

Daiva could not have been more accommodating. Because her house was off the main road and difficult to find, she picked us up in her car at a designated spot and drove us back to her home. We drove down a country road and came upon a handsome, 20th century house of stucco. In back of the house ran a small brook and beyond, a grove of pines that led into a forest and farmlands. The setting was truly picturesque; more so because snow was everywhere.

It was already 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon when we arrived, and Daiva’s concern for her guests’ comfort and enjoyment was apparent when she suggested an old-fashioned sleigh ride through the woods after our lunch. We quickly settled our luggage in our small, but cozy room and headed out to explore the nearby woods, guided by a small, black, short-legged guardian, Daiva’s dog.

We returned for lunch to find a dining table overflowing with an astonishing assortment of traditional Lithuanian dishes: potato-filled dumplings, herring and salad, home-baked breads, hot sauerkraut, cold cabbage salad, big, steamy boiled potatoes with pork, sour cream, fresh apple and carrot juices, linden blossom tea, and home-made pickles. Daiva prepared everything herself. Her overnight rate includes breakfast (another tantalizing feast), and for a modest fee, she will prepare lunch and dinner.

A neighbor with his horse and sleigh take Ramona and Ed Gonski for a trot through the woods. Photo: Ramona Gonski

While enjoying our meal, we spied our big, brown, friendly horse hitched to his turn-of-the-century sleigh, patiently waiting for us. Our driver and his five year-old horse were from a neighboring farm. My husband and I got into this charming sleigh, and with Daiva taking a video shot of us; we trotted off into the snow-covered forest. We sped only when Ponas Arklys (Mr. Horse) was gently prodded; otherwise, it was a leisurely trot through pine woods and over fields.

When we came to a nearby farm house, we stopped for a little tour while our driver had a chat with his neighbor. We found a very contented woman of 72 in a very old, cold barn, lit by a single bare light bulb, happily engaged at her antique electric wool-processing machine. In the dark corners of the barn were big, soft, white bales of processed cotton-soft wool.

After the sleigh ride -- it was rapidly getting darker and was quite dark by 4:00 o’clock -- Daiva drove us to an arranged private-guided tour of a local ethnographic museum’s collection of pre-industrial implements for farming, cooking, and textile-making. She intended that we should get as much out of our short visit as possible. From the ethnographic museum we walked to a lovely local church. We were back by 6:00 o’clock in the evening and were served our “Thanksgiving Day” dinner.

After dinner, Daiva set out a bottle of champagne, chocolates, and presented us with a hand-made gift in celebration of our visit. As it turned out, we were her first American guests.

The following morning we were once again beside ourselves with her culinary feats: omelets, farmers’ cheese, a variety of cold meats, freshly baked breads, fresh cow’s milk, pastry, coffee, and sugared cranberries. Daiva’s dedication and commitment to preserving country traditions was clearly evident in her enthusiasm for growing her own vegetables, cooking, and canning. She showed us her compact, yet capacious preserve and root cellars, chock-full of nature’s bounty. And yet, she is an extremely attractive young mother, who looks as if she stepped out of a Vogue catalog!

An elderly woman showed the Gonskis her electric wool-processing machine. Photo: R. Gonski

Daiva was not through with us yet! We had time for one more excursion before my cousin and her brother came for us. Daiva’s husband and three-year-old daughter accompanied us on this short trip. First we stopped to fetch an elderly neighbor who was coming with us and who lived just up the road on a small farm. She proudly showed us her large, warm barn, which resembled Noah’s Ark filled with pigs, a horse, cows, and chickens, all eagerly posing for my camera.

At last we were on our way to Adomo Petrausko Etnografinis Muziejus, (ethnographic museum of Adomas Petrauskas) in Uoginis, a village of Kupiškis. Mr. Petrauskas was a veritable character and quite the collector of folk art. After touring his museum he invited us to his modest home to warm up, eat some apples, and a little conversation. All too soon it was time to leave; we thanked our host, bundled up our coats against the bitter cold, and headed back to Kupiškis.

Thus, ended our first stay in a Lithuanian country house and, hopefully, it will not be our last. Daiva and Kestutis’ brochure aptly puts it, “…So, come to us and you’ll find the quietness of the village in Lithuania -- it cures everything!” u