Today I will tell you about interesting phenomenon in Lithuania – mushroom picking. I know that in many western countries this is not popular at all, so I hope you will be interested about mushrooming in Lithuania.
Mushroom picking time in Lithuania starts in the middle of summer and lasts till first frosts. I believe that mushroom hunting is second favorite sport in Lithuania after basketball :) When rumors start to float around that mushrooms are starting to grow in the woods, Lithuanians take baskets, get up at 6 am on Saturday morning and go to the woods. You can actually get into traffic jam at that time :D
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| Mushroom picking in 2010. I have never seen more mushrooms in the woods than in the fall of 2010! |
Dzukija is a region in southern part of Lithuania known of its mushrooms and berries. We even have a saying in Lithuania: If not mushrooms and berries, girls of Dzukija would be naked. People in Dzukija often gather mushrooms and berries, sell them and make money for living.
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| I picked all these mushrooms myself on one autumn day in 2010! |
For others (like me) mushroom picking is not a business, but it is a hobby. I love spending time in the nature. So mushroom picking is a great way to get away from the city and spend a day in quiet place.
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| Cep (boletus edulis) |
One more interesting detail: many people I know love picking mushrooms, but don’t love eating them. So we don’t pick mushrooms because we don’t have what to eat. We pick them because it’s fun! However fresh mushrooms can be very tasty if you know how to cook them.
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| Cep (boletus edulis) |
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| Mushroom |
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| Wonderful details... |
7 comments:
You don't worry about ticks? My girlfriend's father said he used to pick mushrooms all the time (he's from Kaunas), but the risk of encephalitus was too much for him, so he stopped.
I don't :) Ticks are everywhere, even in the city. If I was afraid of every disease I can catch I should not leave home at all!
Hi Agne
Cool blog. I was thinking of doing a Russian language course at Vilnius university next year. I was wandering if most Lithuanians speak Russian as well and how do they feel about it? Do they prefer to speak Lithuanian?
Older people speak Russian, but my generation and younger people don't know Russian so good. They speak English better. I can understand Russian, I can also speak a little, but I can't read or write Russian.
What kind of mushrooms are they?
What kind of mushrooms are they?
Russian is the language of the enemy who occupied and murdered Lithuanian citizens or sent them to Siberia. Why would they speak Russian when they don't have to?
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