The Quest

When we travel, often there is some random and completely unexpected thing that points out differences between culture in the US and elsewhere. In Vietnam, one was when we stopped in to a village wedding as we were pedaling along through rural villages. When the guides asked Lou and me, as the oldest male and female in the group to present the small contribution of cash our group collected to honor the bride and groom, we understood how differently that culture viewed older people. When we biked through villages in The Czech Republic and Hungary and older residents would not look at us or respond to a wave or smile, we understood how cautious they are after years of oppression by the Soviets. You never know who your enemy is; best to keep to yourself. This trip allowed us to observe its culture, too.

Lou travels with a CPAP machine for his sleep apnea. One other man on the trip also had a CPAP machine for the same reason. These machines need distilled water to run. Distilled water is easily purchased in every grocery or pharmacy in the United States. We never travel with our own supply. Our first stop was Iceland. Two blocks from our Airbnb there was a pharmacy that sold it. We wound up with a gallon of the stuff for a few dollars - way more than what we needed. Because of TSA rules, we didn't even attempt to bring it with us on the flight to Vilnius, Lithuania. Over the next couple of days in Vilnius, we stopped in at various pharmacies and groceries seeking distilled water. Finally, someone suggested we go to the Maxima superstore in the automotive department because distilled water was used in old cars to top off batteries in car. Nope. No luck. No one carried distilled water. The CPAP machine still had some in it from Iceland, so we just figured we would find it along the way. The next city we stopped in did not have it. Neither did any of the next three towns and cities we were in. We enlisted the help of our guide and it became a quest. Even Romas, a Lithuanian, was surprised that we were not able to find distilled water. When we reached Riga, Romas came with us as we visited a nearby pharmacy that was open 24 hours. Well, it is SORT of open 24 hours. After 10 PM, the door is locked and you ring a bell. An employee comes to the door and speaks with you about what you want and goes and gets it for you. You never enter the store. Again, they didn't have it but she did suggest another pharmacy on the other side of the river that might have it. At this point, Lou was ready to give up and just deal with it. It is not life threatening if he doesn't use the machine. He just snores. I have more incentive to get the water so he can use the machine. The next day we opted out of the bike ride so we could explore Riga on our own and also drop off our laundry so we would have lovely clean bike clothes again. The laundry was across the river serendipitously near the recommended pharmacy. The quest was on again.

The pharmacy looked older: high ceilings, carved wood moldings, long marble counters, very little product that you can browse through and pick up yourself.  We headed to the back counter to talk with a young woman dressed in a professional white coat. "Did they sell distilled water?" "Yes. How much did we want?" We told her and she asked us to wait because someone had to go downstairs and take water, put it though a machine and DISTILL IT FOR US. After about 10 minutes she came back with a small brown bottle of water labeled like a prescription. I think they may be the only place in Lithuania that has distilled water. Even though Lithuania is full of shops, stores and chain stores, restaurants and fast food franchises, access to products we take for granted is not the same in other places. 

Another little window into a different culture: On the first day of our tour, before we left Vilnius, one of the women in the group had a medical emergency. She was very ill and in a great deal of pain. The guide took her to the local hospital for treatment. Unfortunately, she was having a gallbladder attack. In the course of 10 hours in the emergency, they did two ultrasounds, consulted with a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist as well as the attending physician. Remember, we are in Vilnius, Lithuania. They correctly diagnosed her condition, prescribed medication and recommended treatment. She left the hospital with a bill of $245.00. The health system in Lithuania is better than ours. The entire bike tour group agreed that it is way past time for Single Payer in the United Stated. 

Finally, the service industry is still trying to figure out how to serve what is becoming a major industry: tourism. Some of the restaurants we ate in have figured it out. They ranged from cafeteria-style to white table-clothed establishments. But regularly, we experienced some glitch that showed us these countries are still playing catch-up as the tourist industry grows and local residents earn enough to allow them to eat out more. On the last night of the tour, we decided to gather at an Irish pub in Tallin, Estonia for a last meal and thank the guides for their work. Romas called ahead and told the restaurant that there would be a group of about 20-25 coming to eat. We arrived with a few others and had enough experience with restaurants on the trip to flag down the waitress quickly to order. We knew it could be at least an hour before we got our food. We did get our food an hour and a half after we ordered. But others who had ordered after us never got their food. We knew something was wrong when our young waitress came out of the kitchen sobbing. It seems the cook decided that she wasn't going to cook all the orders because she was off at 10:00 PM. She went home leaving about 15 Germans who had been waiting for over an hour for their food, hungry. They retained their sense of humor and said they were going to this other Irish pub they had heard about: McDonald's.

 One of the really good restaurants in Tallin, Estonia