The Closest I've Even Been to Russia

I acknowledge knowing a lot of people and having a pretty large network of people around the world, but I do believe I only have a few true friends.

One of them is Bernadas "Bernard" Vingilis. I met the 6ft6in Lithuanian at Jacksonville University initially as a teammate. We then became very close friends and housemates. Being a year ahead of me, he graduated and decided to go back to Lithuania and live there. At this point I had started my Master's degree in France, and after nearly 2 years of physical absence amongst our friendship, even though we communicated regularly, the moment seemed right for him to come visit. 

This visit started a truly weird pattern. He showed up around mid January 2015, a few days after the Charlie Hebdo attack and other terrorist activities. This did not hinder his trip and the opportunity to visit Paris.

Had a stellar weekend hanging out with @bernardasv and getting to show him around Paris. We haven't seen each other in a year and half but it was just like old times. That's the type of friend you keep close. He flies back to Lithuania today, much love my friend.

A photo posted by Scott Del Vecchio (@scottdelvecchio) on Jan 19, 2015 at 3:07am PST

Almost an entire year later, I found an off weekend from my training schedule and decided to go visit him in Vilnius. No more than a few days before my trip, the Paris terrorist attacks happened. Such a weird coincidence, but there is no correlation, just randomness. 

On the brighter side, I had never been further east than Hamburg, Germany so this was definitely an adventure, a 48 hour one. During this trip, I wanted to take in everything the country had to offer and try to understand why certain things are the way they are; especially in a post-soviet country. The whole idea was to make Lithuania look beautiful and exciting even in December through my film.

In Lithuania this weekend. Today we walked around Trakai and visited this awesome castle even in the freezing wind 🏰

A photo posted by Scott Del Vecchio (@scottdelvecchio) on Dec 5, 2015 at 7:25am PST

Three Crosses in Vilnius, Lithuania. Giant crosses on top of the Vilnius skyline. Very neat view and impressive monument.

A photo posted by Scott Del Vecchio (@scottdelvecchio) on Dec 6, 2015 at 1:20pm PST

I was astonished on how low the cost of food and drinks was. A full meal for two plus 2 liters of beer cost 14 euros! That's how much one plate would cost in Paris. I had such an exciting time eating as much as I could, drinking as much I could, and understanding the language as much as I could. For the most part, Lithuanians are just a regular laid back people. I don't know how they deal with sundown being at 3 pm, but besides that, are very nice and open. 

To say the very least, this place has a lot to offer: castles, forests, churches and cathedrals, and lots of beer. 

Thank you for having me Bernard, I had an awesome time.

Here is the film I made

Much love.