How did Vilnius compare to Nottinghamshire?
Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where I rented an apartment in a Breshnev era Soviet housing block, was just a different world to Nottingham. The city is beautiful, Baroque architecture, a sky full of church spires. I fell immediately in love with its winding cobbled streets, its parks and cafes, with the crumbling buildings and overgrown courtyards. I drank coffee in small back street cafes, wandered the streets, made friends and began learning Lithuanian. On the first of November it began to snow and it did not let up for six months. The city was blanketed with snow. Cars parked at the side of the streets were lost beneath the drifts. The temperature plummeted to minus 28, so that it burned your face as you walked. But it was a tough year for the Lithuanians. The euphoria of independence had worn off, the economy was in crisis two banks collapsed that winter almost bringing down the government with them – and violent crime soared. Life was tough, but because people couldn t trust
