Baltijos Garsas rock festival in Kernave, Lithuania

I found out about the Baltijos Garsas festival on the Internet before I left for my trip and decided to check it out. On Thursday, I took the bus from Liepaja, Latvia to Klaipeda, Lithuania, and then on to Vilnius, Lithuania. From there I took a bus to a small town called Kernave which used to be the capital of Lithuania in 1253. Now it's known at the "Pompeii of Lithuania."

I got off the bus and followed signs into the forest. The dirt road went on and on into the forest and I really felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. Part of me was wondering what the hell I was doing there - going to a random festival that I know nothing about in the middle of the woods by myself. I really had no idea what to expect. Finally I get to the festival grounds - essentially a field in the middle of the forest. I buy my pass for $25 (not bad for 4 days). The place is relatively empty - maybe a few hundred people are there. I walk around the field looking for a good place to set up my tent and a random dude walks up to me, introduces himself, and offers me a sip of his beer. After a 45 minute hike with my heavy backpack, I couldn't resist.

I set up my tent with a hand from my neighbors and check out the music. Interestingly enough, I hear an American blues band called Chip Jordan and Voodoo Soup play covers of songs like "Born on the Bayou". The music was great all night and I quickly made friends with some Lithuanians. I ended up hanging out with some Lithuanians and Chip Jordan (from Atlanta, GA) by a fire till 7:30 in the morning. One Lithuanian dude loved asking me about 9/11 conspiracy theories he heard about on the Internet. I mostly drank random people's cheap beer that comes in 2 Liter plastic bottles - 40 oz malt liquor bottles are small in comparison.

For the next few days, I played volleyball, basketball, went swimming in the river, met awesome people, and heard some really awesome music. One really memorable band was a Lithuanian folk band. They were all dressed in traditional clothing and had three female lead singers. I figured it would be pretty boring, but it turned out they were a heavy metal folk rock band. With tunes that seemed lifted from Metallica, the lead singers head banged their waist long hair, inspiring a huge mosh pit. Half way through the show, security guards pushed people back to form a semi circle where half naked girls performed dances with fire while the band rocked in the background. Awesome.

Sunday it was time to leave - I said bye to my friends and hitchhiked back to Vilnius - my first official successful hitchhike. Vilnius is absolutely beautiful at night. I got a few drinks with some German guys I met at the hostel and watched ballroom dancing in a public square. People in Vilnius have a punk rock style that couldn't be more different than the dressed up 24/7 look in Riga. I'm gonna like this place :)

Pics to come...