The capital of Lithuania is Vilnius, with a population of approximately 580000. Despite being
a capital city, Vilnius is still to some extent rather rural; as approximately 40% of it is green
space.
The Old Town is one of the largest in Eastern Europe, and contains approximately 1500
buildings constructed over the centuries reflecting the changes in the architectural style of the
day. The architecture includes examples of gothic and renaissance, among the main sights are
the Gediminas Castle and the Cathedral Square. Vilnius has been recorded by the UNESCO
World Heritage List in 1994.

Goulash in the Hawaiian Lounge
My first visit to Vilnius was rather a leap in the dark, accommodation wise. None of my
colleagues in our Stockholm office had been over there, and so choosing a hotel was based on
the limited information supplied by our travel bureau. At that stage none of the recognised
Scandinavian hotel chains had set up there. Therefore, for reasons that now escape me, my
secretary and I decided that the improbably named Victoria Hotel would be a good choice.
I arrived at Vilnius late morning, and had a lunchtime meeting with our external audit partner
from KPMG. The primary purpose being to meet each other, and for me to explain the role of
the audit department I was setting up. As is the nature of these lunchtime meetings it over ran.
The partner was an English expat, who had been out there for almost two years. He was
pleased to meet another Brit. and took the opportunity to show me around Vilnius, more
specifically to take me to a few bars. I am reasonably sure that we did at least touch on the
subject of business.
Well oiled, I finally bade him farewell at around 4:00pm. I took a taxi in search of my hotel.
Not the usual multi storey 4 star but a simple terraced house, three storeys high. It reminded
me more of a seaside bed and breakfast one might find at any English coastal resort.
I checked in and was shown to my room, it was small but functional. One feature that I was
highly impressed with was the minibar, which proudly boasted a half litre bottle of vodka; no
messing about with those overpriced miniature bottles of spirits so beloved by other hotels.
I settled in and decided to test the hotel.s bar and dining facilities. So I broke into the bottle of
vodka, and had a fortifying shot, before venturing downstairs into the bar. The bar, for
reasons best known to the proprietors of the hotel, was called the Hawaiian Bar and was
decorated in the style of a film set from that splendid TV detective series from the sixties,
Hawaii Five O; namely with bamboo chairs, tables, ceiling fans, background Hawaiian music
and murals on the walls depicting an island paradise. The only thing that would tell you were
not in Hawaii, were the customers. Myself, the Brit. in pinstripe suit, and the other customers
East European gentlemen with thick moustaches and gold chains around the necks and wrists.
I settled myself into one of the bamboo chairs, ordered a Bloody Mary and perused the menu.
Goulash was featured as dish of the day, and so feeling in the mood to stretch the cultural
boundaries I chose the goulash (see page 191). It was really very good, quite spicy and very
filling. That being said I decided that the next time I visited Vilnius I would take a little more
care with regard to choosing my hotel.

For more about Accountants Can Cook and Ken Frost, please click on the logo below: