A month ago, on the plane back to Vilnius I was reading the Lithuanian newspapers to see what's going on or what I may have missed while being away. There was a piece of news that the Government had decided to ban alcohol on 1 September and thus make sure that students start the new school year in a more soaber state.
I didn't care much about this news as I thought it was just another ridiculous decision by Lithuanian politicians. I may have disregarded this absurd move at all if not the scene I witnessed on that "alcohol-free" day.
You may imagine that on the evening of 31 August (Friday) there were more drunk people on the streets of Vilnius than usual: everyone tried to make the most of the last hours before midnight after which noone was able to buy alcohol legally.
On 1 September (Saturday) afternoon I was having lunch at a Lithuanian restaurant. At the neighbouring table, a couple of Japanese tourists were silently studying the menu for some (virtually!) 30 minutes.
Finally, the waitress came to their table to take the order and in her not-so-refined English asked: "Are you ready?". The couple looked at each other and the man started by pointing at something on the menu.
"No alcohol today!", said the waitress coarsely and unfortunately this was all she was able to say to the tourists.
The Japanese couple looked at each other again, very puzzled. They obviously couldn't make it why they can't get a pint of Lithuanian beer at a restaurant.
I was watching them and could hardly help laughing. That was the point when I understood in full how absurd this alcohol ban was.
I sincerely believe in the good intentions of the Government but sometimes (too often?) its decisions go far beyond common sense.
Don't Do's in a Swiss hill escalator, Zurich, June 2007. Photo by Giedrius CP
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