VILNIUS - In Your Pocket

76 shoPPing
Halės Market (Halės Turgus) C-5, Pylimo 58/1, tel.
(+370) 5 262 55 36, www.halesturgaviete.lt. The modern,
glass-covered affair to the left selling clothing that went
out of fashion in Albania in the 1980s and raw meat at the
back is perhaps best worth avoiding, whereas the beautifully
restored brick building dating from 1900 to the right is more
than worth a look inside. A trip through the doors rewards
visitors with a nasal blast of several tonnes of smoked meat,
which can be bought in here along with a few other specialities
including fresh fruit and vegetables plus a nice range of locallyproduced
honey you can taste before you purchase. QOpen
07:00 - 17:00, Sun 07:00 - 15:00. Closed Mon. J
Kalvarijų Market (Kalvarijų Turgus) H-2, Kalvarijų
61, tel. (+370) 696 357 18. Featuring everything from old
ladies selling garlic bulbs and carrier bags to the occasional
bargain goat (cash only), one of the city’s most endangered
species is a must-see attraction for anyone who wants a
taste of what the rest of the country’s really like. One of the
best places in town for meat, locally-produced honey and
cameras manufactured in the CCCP, also find tropical fish,
manbags, Minsk bicycles and cheap cigarettes from the
Roma girls near the main entrance. QOpen 07:00 - 16:00.
Closed Mon.
Sostinės Turgus H-2, Kalvarijų 88, tel. (+370) 613
252 50. Opened towards the end of 2010, presumably as
a way of threatening the nearby and highly recommended
Kalvarijų Market who many in power would like to see closed,
this dreadful indoor market would be an embarrassment in a
poverty-stricken Siberian village. Totally low budget, expect
a hopeless selection of awful clothing and not a lot more.
QOpen 08:00 - 19:00, Sun 08:00 - 18:00. Closed Mon.
Souvenir Market (Suvenyrų Turgus) C-2/3, Pilies
23. The only market we list aimed exclusively at foreigners’
wallets is a predominantly lacklustre hotchpotch of stalls
selling amber, linen, wood carvings, hand-knitted socks,
Soviet-era bits and pieces and a few paintings. Some pieces
are really nice, but most of the stuff here is very average.
Every tourist destination has one. This is Vilnius’. QOpen
09:00 - 19:00. J
Tymo Turgus D-4, Aukštaičių/Maironio, tel. (+370)
612 289 26. Labouring under the unofficial moniker The
Little Good Food & Culture Festival, this once-a-week jaunt
into the world of possible alternatives churns out all manner
of environmentally friendly food from local farmers and well as
soaps, cosmetics and the like. Politically edgy in the fluffiest
sense, the market also hosts a regular event where people
can vent their spleens a la Hyde Park Corner, plus there’s a
place to go for free second-hand clothing and the occasional
musical performance. QOpen 12:00 - 18:00. Closed Mon,
Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun.
Verslo Parkas Gariūnai 4km from Vilnius just off the
Kaunas highway, www.gariunai.lt. Covering a vast area of
120 hectares (there are some who say it’s the largest outdoor
market in Europe) and attracting an average 50,000 shoppers
every day, Gariūnai sells cars on one side of the road plus all
manner of cheap consumer goods of dubious quality on a truly
expansive scale on the other. A taxi from a reputable firm costs
around 30Lt to get there from the city centre. Alternatively,
look for the minibuses around the train and bus stations with
Gariūnai signs on the front. QOpen 06:00 - 14:00, Tue, Thu
04:00 - 14:00, Sat 05:00 - 14:00. Closed Mon.
Amber
According to local legend, amber (gintaras) originates
from the tears of the sea goddess Jūratė and the stones
from her castle, which was destroyed by Perkūnas, the
pagan god of thunder, when he discovered her passionate
love affair with the mortal fisherman Kastytis. Scientists,
not generally being of the pagan faith, think different.
Some 40 million years ago or thereabouts the earth got
warmer, causing an increase in the secretion of resin in
the pine forests in the region. The streams of resin swept
down rivers and into the Baltic Sea, sometimes sweeping
up a stray bug along the way. It’s this fossilised resin that
now sits in deltaic deposits off the coasts of Kaliningrad,
Lithuania, Poland and Sweden. Ask most people and
they’ll tell you amber is a dark honey colour. However, visit
anywhere selling the stuff and you’ll soon see it comes
in such diverse colours as blue, black, white and yellow.
White amber is called royal amber and is widely available
in Lithuania. Blue and black amber are more rare here.
Amber C-5, Aušros Vartų 9, tel. (+370) 5 212 19 88,
www.ambergift.lt. An astounding Aladdin’s cave of amber.
The walls and ceiling are plastered with glowing chips of the
stuff while display cabinets are full of jewellery, sculptures
and more. Worth visiting even if you’re not interested in
shopping. Q Open 10:00 - 19:00, Sat 10:00 - 18:00, Sun
10:00 - 17:00 (until Sept 30). Open 10:00 - 18:00. Closed
Sun (from Oct 1). JA
Amber Museum-Gallery C-3, Šv. Mykolo 8, tel. (+370)
5 262 30 92, www.ambergallery.lt. A great little place
apt at displaying amber at its best. The knowledgeable and
friendly staff speak English, and can waffle on for hours about
the stuff if you want to know all about it. Also at Šv. Mykolo
12. QOpen 10:00 - 19:00. JA
Beata Amber C-3/4, Stiklių 9/10, tel. (+370) 5 234 46
85, www.beataamber.lt. As much a wholesaler as retailer,
you can pick up amber at a variety of stages of production
here. There are hunks of raw amber, various polished beads
and blobs that you can use to make your own jewellery and
fine finished creations. Also at M. K. Čiurlionio 84 (Crowne Plaza
Vilnius), Konstitucijos 20 (Radisson Blu Hotel Lietuva). Q Open
10:00 - 14:00, 15:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun. JA
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