Communist Winter Reports: Lithuania

Communist Winter reports from the fringes of the EU, Lithuania:

With Estonia being overrun with Elite model scouts and Riga engulfed by drunken stag partying Brits, Lithuania aims to be the next Baltic hotspot.. but give it about three to five years. Vilnius the countries capital is a small, modern, clean town with some minor charm. Some have referred to it as the next Prague. Clearly they were drinking a bit too much of the Russian Standard vodka.

If do mistakenly find yourself in the city that was once declared by the French as the geographical center of Europe here is our guide on where to go for dance off competitions to Collio’s Gangster’s Paradise, bars with Gnomes and Astroturf on the wall and late night medieval flesh dens. Hell you may even run into Alicia Silverstone who is shooting a movie there now.

Drink

If hanging out in a basement rock walled cave complete with gnomes and an Astroturfed bar is your thing (and it was ours) head to Gras’as where you can swill Russian Standard vodka and be amused by the waitresses who are decked out in Heidi from Switzerland outfits. Note the bizzare collection of autographed photos on the wall, including the Prodigy and Alicia Silverstone.
For a more modern experience also check out the Paparazzi which has a five page menu of cocktails and those big red padded chairs from an insane asylum (a la Lot 61, NYC).
+Gras’as: Vokieèiø 2, Vilnius +370 80 212 2031.
+Paparazzi: Totoriø 3, Vilnius +370 80 212 0135.

Boogy

The somewhat cheesy Connect club is a good starting point for a night out and a great place to really make a full ass of yourself. Bizarrely, they have painted a large Union Jack flag on the door but once you descend into the red covered club you can find yourself having a dance off with a Lithuania teenage hipster to Gangster’s Paradise or hanging from the rafters to the latest deep House beats. The club’s ball shaking bass is impressive and can be heard even in the adjacent bunker bar, Gras’as.

The converted Nuclear fallout shelter Gravity is the place to head to for late night misbehaving. Located on the side of a highway, you walk down a long, dank, green-light concrete escape tunnel (seen above) to enter the club. Once inside you are greeted by a pulsing Miami white style modern club.
+Connect, Vokiečių 2, Vilnius, +370 212 20 31.
+Gravity, Jasinskio 16, Vilnius, +370 80249 7966
+Drink: Russian Standard Vodka, best in class.
+Read: Business Week: Roustam Tariko Chairman, Russian Standard Bank, Russia.

Stay
Novotel. Opened in 2005. Modern, centrally located, large rooms,
efficient. Nix the SAS Raddison which some consider the best in town unless you can get a business suite.
+Novotel Vilnius, Gedimino av. 16, Vilnius +370 52 666200.

Shady
If shady is your thing Vilnius has numerous flesh pens. If you have been detained at the Polish border and arrive into town at 3am and are looking to drink into the wee hours you may find yourself in one. Even in the Wild East, Old Communist habits die hard. At the Old Town club, which we do not recommend, one of our party was sent back to the bathroom like a little schoolboy to retrieve an empty glass he had left. However, the club’s medieval dungeon look complete with chains coming off the wall is somewhat amusing. If this is your thing see the back of the town guidebook where they offer to send a free ZZ Top Limousine to pick you up anywhere in town.
+Old Town, Rūdninkų 14, +370 52 212 13 49.

Eat. Check out Cozy for a good brunch.
+Cozy, Dominikonų 10, Vilnius +370 52 261 11 37.

If Lithuania is the new Latvia which is the new Estonia than next time we may just head directly to the source of all these misbehaving Communist offspring, Mother Russia for a bottle of vodka and call it a day. Little Lithuania has potential but still has some growing up to do.
+For the latest dealings from W4 check out www.wfour.com.