Not too many shows to choose from in Finland at this time of a year so we headed to Lithuania with Natalia, Juusto & Senna. There were two CACIB shows in one weekend in Vilnius: Lithuanian Winner and Vilnius Cup. Also Morrison was entered but she came in season and was almost naked so she stayed home.
No chance to take a day off from work – two hour ferry ride to Tallinn plus 8 hours drive one way… A bit challenging but not impossible!
On Friday night we took the last ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn, arrived to Tallinn after midnight and started driving – 600 km ahead of us. Would have been rather easy unless the snow hadn’t start before Riga… Well, we made it to Litexpo in Vilnius in time and arrived there after 8 AM on Saturday morning.
The show had a big entry of Bernese both days and there was really good competition. It was great to see several lovely typey dogs and bitches in the ring.
On Saturday Inese Pablaka from Latvia judged Bernese. Juusto took EXC2 in champion dogs and Senna did the same in champion bitches. Well done since she had blown all her undercoat!
After Bernese were judged we quickly headed to the big shopping mall,had a late lunch, then shopped some snacks and prosecco for the evening. No garment shopping at all! Can you belive me? Later in the night we took a long walk around the old city and checked out couple of bars and restaurants. We found a lovely restaurant Bistro 18 from one quiet street in the old city. The decor was stylish and unobtrusive, service was friendly (which seems to be rather hard to find in Vilnius). The food was served and prepared well and we also enjoyed our wine. A fantastic evening with friends!
On Sunday morning after a good night sleep we headed back to the show. Marianne Holm from Finland judged Bernese. I helped out Raija and showed Bernarossa Jetro to EXC1 and JUN CAC in junior dogs. Congrats! It was a pleasure to handle Jetro :) Juusto showed in champion dogs and again EXC 2nd. He also received res.CACIB that will be transferred as CACIB since the winner was already C.I.B. Well done Mr. Cheese! Now he needs one more for his title. Then was Senna‘s turn. Despite the lack of her coat she did really well, on Sunday, too. She won her class and took CAC and res.CACIB.
Congratulations to all the winners during the weekend!
After Bernese ring was over it was time to start driving again. On our way back to Tallinn we stopped in Carnikava, Latvia, in tavern Korande. A lovely cozy place with good service and good food with very reasonable price! We reached Tallinn around midnight and went straight to bed. First ferry to Helsinki in very early on Monday morning and straight to work… You bet I was tired after the weekend was over :-)
I’m always very happy to go to Vilnius shows. The show is well organized and the show site is great, the old city is beautiful and offers a good variety of places to eat and have a good time. Also hotel prices in Lithuania are inexpensive. Long way to drive from here but it is always a nice weekend getaway. What does bother me, though, is that at the show you always see very young puppies on sale. It is not the place to be for those young puppies! And the puppies in pet stores… Let’s not even go there. It makes me sad every single time.
Thank you to my great travel buddies Natalia, Juusto & Senna! What’s next?
