After working in the capital Šilinė, the couple founded a bistro, with homemade food, a panoramic view of the river and a gift of relaxation | Food

While driving in the picturesque panemune, your eyes unintentionally stray from the banks of Nemunas hitherto long observed to other tables lined up across the road, hidden in the shadow of “smeton” umbrellas.

In Šilinė, next to the headquarters of the Panemuniai Regional Park Authority, on a hill with a panoramic view of the river’s father, there is a new respite for local delicacies: the “Keltininkas” bistro, which recently opened its doors.

First, the farm owners are greeted by inter-modernist accents dotted with spices from French culture: pavilions where local delicacies roar on the weekends,

If you visit the “Ferry” bistro and request a menu, you won’t get it. Only when you get to the place will you discover what was “fired” that day in the baked bread from the morning, maybe homemade ribs with vegetables, pieces of chicken or maybe a longed-for kugel, or pizzas that the little ones love. Preparation – special, flavor – natural, not covered with a mixture of spices or fatty sauce.

To feed the arriving guests, the owner of the farm, Darius, makes a baker first thing in the morning. After 2.5 hours, special Britons are injected, the contents of which can feed about ten people and will cost 80 euros (if you order a plate, a portion of the plate will cost 7 euros).

“We could feed about 100 guests in two creations,” explain the restaurant’s hosts.

Here, the finest ribs selected from a local butcher are cooked for 2.5 hours, and the meat served on the table itself, showing even an intact fork, falls off the bone.

“When we built that bread last year, there wasn’t a day not to bake something in it. We’ll build another big one in the basement. I need to put in a cone pot. It will be next season. Now maybe we could bake just six pizzas,” he said. Darius Balseris laughs.

If you visit a bistro one day, you may be in luck and savor the fish cooked with local scallops.

While you wait for the hot dish, you will be offered homemade apple or blackcurrant juice, locally produced cheeses.

For dessert, a cake made with local sour cream and bananas. You may not have to lick your fingers, but the taste of the “Celtic” cake will take you, if not to your grandmother’s purse, at least to the times when no one knew what all the lazy E plates mean. Wonderfully tasty cake costs 2.5 euros.

“Every time we meet friends, not in Vilnius, but here, in our own house,” smiles the owner of the bistro, Iveta.

Sitting in the chairs of restorers raised from the past to a new life, he quickly begins to understand why all of Iveta’s friends rush in here. An invaluable property for sale at this location: a respite when forgetting what pre-expectations (just delicious food) to come here. You just want to be a “ferryman”. After all, right here on the other side of the road, there is a botanical reserve that invites you to stroll, called “Ąžuolyne” by the locals.

By visiting Balser, I am not giving up the feeling that I am not visiting the inn at all, but rather that I am visiting hospitable owners at home, and not at all in these modern times. The hosts have not yet drawn the line between “just us – private” and “for everyone – public”.

What other city can you go to after you stay here? Iveta asks rhetorically. – I feel a great responsibility towards each person that comes. So I look forward to those who come here to seek spirit. You won’t believe how much relaxation you get from good thoughts. If you expect to come to us for an urgent snack, you will not get burned. The boatman will make you stop, feel, just stay. That was our goal with my husband: to create a place to relax. We have found peace ourselves, we want to help others find it too. “

As we speak, curious customers enter one after another. And he enters quietly, as usual in a metropolitan restaurant, and out loud, talking to the hosts, congratulating them, thanking them. Not a single bistro threshold is mentioned for the first time. There are also orders for a private celebration: on the second floor there is a small hall with a small balcony.

I feel a great responsibility towards each person that comes. So I look forward to those who come here to seek spirit.

As they drive through the facilities, the Balsers admit there is still a lot of work to do: equip the kitchen for the real chef, open a store early next year, where products from local farmers and producers will be sold. On the second floor, several rooms are being arranged: friends of the Balseriai family or employees of “Keltininkas” may stay.

“When we started building the bistro, we understood why there are no restaurants in the area. We have heard from many: who needs it? We were fooled that such a place in the village would not really survive, when the Jurbarkas businessmen found out, they immediately predicted bankruptcy. And for us, this place is so energetically suitable to implement everything we’ve thought about, “said Darius.

Here’s Veronika, who bursts behind the bar, not just a waitress, but an art critic who throws candles, from the ashes with educational programs, historical dances, tastings, who raised the Kiduliai mansion. She talks about the idea of ​​organizing educational programs at “Keltininke”, such as a 5-hour tea-drinking ceremony for women only. It was these feminine ties that were “stolen” from France and especially popular in the interwar Kaunas, later called “Little Paris”. And the Jurbarkas region has always been associated with Kaunas.

– Iveta, reveals why we are in Šilinė at this time.

– I come from Jurbarkas, my parents still live there. He graduated in recreation and tourism, so all the activities were related to that. I followed my own path: tourism, organization of events. From 1997 to 2004 I worked in the municipality of Jurbarkas, I was responsible for tourism and its development. It was the most beautiful moment, because water tourism was actively developing at that time, festivals and events were taking place in the castles. Very beautiful nature here. You just need to get organized and people will love being in nature.

In 2004, I won the competition and became director of the Vilnius Tourist Information Center. My husband and I sold an apartment in Jurbarkas, but we were looking for a beautiful place in the area before moving to the capital. We haven’t found it yet. We have implemented such beautiful projects in the capital. Here, we traveled through the old town of Vilnius with torches, we had sewn masks for the tour participants, a ghostly journey, during which legends were reborn. We organize a noble party in Trakai Vokė. I also organized the anniversary of large companies, for example, in the Vilnius City Hall. We live in Vilnius until 2016.

– Should you understand that Darius already appeared in your homeland?

– Yes, he comes from Kiduliai. We celebrated the wedding at Red Castle in 2003 (I smiled) We have been together for many years. We complement each other.

– And has organized many events in the Jurbarkas region. Who has not heard of the Panemunių žiedų festival and the ancient fairs held at Raudonė Castle.

– The idea of ​​”Panemuniai žiedai” originated in 2000, when he still lived and worked in Jurbarkas. Although the celebration was held together with the municipality, the entire organization was “out of the office.” It took a lot of money, so in 2003 I established a public institution to organize a theater castle festival. It was my baby. We also organize the Days of Living Archeology, the celebration of tulip flowers. Here’s such a deep story! The path of the rulers stretches nearby.

On my initiative, 4 rather thick descriptions of the Jurbarkas region have been prepared. The story is written in such a way that tourists can use the texts to present the local history, the objects. What markets were there, what governors, what traditions and customs prevailed. It is through such descriptions, the historical basis, that tourist products emerge. All that is needed is for the municipality to use them.

– How did you find yourself in Šilinė after all? Why did your farm arise here, and later – “Keltininkas”.

– As I mentioned, we have been looking for a beautiful place in the vicinity of Jurbarkas for a long time. We were already living in Vilnius, when a man found an advertisement for a land for sale in Šilinė. It has been for sale for a long time. The building where we founded the bistro, built in 1934, housed a school here. Now only a few families live in Šilinė, and in the interwar period there were around 800 inhabitants. Even two schools were in operation. The famous linguist Arnold Piročkin studied here. He is now in his 90s (89, ed. Past). I visited him and he gave us a photo of his family working with the Nemunas with a scarecrow. There was a shipyard in Gelgaudiškis, so they transported bricks with a baidoku to Kaunas. This is how the family made money.

When we apparently bought this plot in 2004, it was the most beautiful place. It is true, aname: in the big building, at one end lived a woman of respectable age, for a time we were co-owners of that building. We could not do anything without your consent.

The entire area we purchased took up just over an acre. We initially came here only during the summer. Upon returning with my husband, we wondered how people could live here. After all, there is no rhythm, everything is going very slowly. You have 100 years to live here.

Upon returning with my husband, we wondered how people could live here. After all, there is no rhythm, everything is going very slowly.

We lived on Rinktin Street in Vilnius at the time, you could see Gediminas Castle through the window. We had many friends, we visited theaters, cafes. We loved cultural life. It was so good in the capital that we endured in Šilinė for just a few days. During the day we were still here, and at night we were already sitting in the opera and ballet theater or in a cellar in Vilnius. But man is changing.

– Why did you buy this place in Šilinė in 2004? To install a cabin?

– Yes, so that we can return for a short break and invite friends. Every time we return to our homeland, when we land in Vilkija in Panemunė, we stop and get off so that we can breathe the same air. We go to Vilnius often now. But we fly, we fix things quickly, and then we go back to nature … We know, for example, that storks flew on April 3 last year. And now there is none. It stayed, it flew away. Maybe something happened.

– In other words, did you suddenly fall in love with nature and become an observer of it?

– (Laughs) We go down, we look at the ducks already lined up with 14 ducks. Slowly we move in silence so as not to be scared because they are very small. We live in that natural beauty.

– It is gratifying that after loving Vilnius so much, they both want to return to their native lands at the same time. What if one still wanted to enjoy the cultural life of the capital and the other was attracted to peace?

– There have been changes. The husband’s brother and mother died very quickly. Her home in Kiduli was left unguarded. It needed to be resolved, and so our frequent trips began. At that time, the health of the co-owner’s house also faltered: the children were taken to Kaunas. We wanted to buy the second installment, but the starting price was too high. It later dropped to 240,000. LTL. We redeem at last.

I have an ambition: I want to leave for future generations the place as authentic as it was created. There is a lot to communicate with architects, interior designers, you want to keep up with the previous reality. Of course some things inevitably change, but you want to keep the tiles, trim, and furniture as they were then. On the second floor we have a unique sofa between wars, according to which we restore some more. We found broken chairs in the farm building, we repaired and restored them. For the bar, we went to Viekšniai, where we designed according to the proportions of the counter that was left in the pharmacy. We restore accordingly.

I keep asking visiting locals to bring them to us if they find any furniture, even if it’s shaking. After all, perhaps it was that they took everything “from above” and created it; little survived. It is important to see the proportions, to understand how to recreate important stylistics. We recreate the tables from the photos, we made them new.

– And what did your husband do in Vilnius? Did you hear that he also had to contribute to the construction of the Ozas shopping center?

– Yes, he had a construction business (since 2006, and in 2012 sold). Contributed to the construction of Ozo, built a luxury apartment and office complex “Hanging Gardens”. The finishing work was not lacking. Later he founded a transport company: he had 9 tractors. But man finally visits maturity, he wants to live in a way that he can realize in the present moment. When you have many employees, many responsibilities … Darius realized that the most important thing was health. At the time, he felt tired and was not very successful in leadership: the employees had a friend, not a manager. Such a beautiful, quiet and messy place was waiting in Šilinė.

– Do you miss something that only Vilnius has?

– Just those aura from the old town. You know, we’ve always been searching for nature. And while we lived in Vilnius, we often visited Vingis Park. The man sometimes ran 22 km.

I have an ambition: I want to leave for future generations the place as authentic as it was created.

– A summer house in a summer house, but when did you get the idea to take your property and share it with strangers to establish a restaurant here?

– Since I have contributed to the creation of many theatrical programs for tourists, I had to work with the most famous artists, I always start to create something working with historians, historical material. It seemed like a lot of thought, a lot of reading, but when it comes to making decisions, it takes time. Perhaps three years have passed since the idea of ​​what you see now arose. All my projects until then were not related to the interwar period, so I had to dig. I raised a high poster to be unique. We have invested more than one hundred thousand euros in this place, we have sold a lot, we have given up a lot. Everything here was so abandoned …

– Do you live next to “Celtic”?

– Yes, next door. Behind the fence in my garden (laughs) This is how everything happens in life: we start selling a nearby house, we buy it, we settle in the house.

– Suffocation already calmed down Here and you will find, as they say, the twilight of life, can you call the hustle and bustle of the city again?

– We currently have the goal of restoring the great building. We will invite architects, we will restore details after details. I want to prepare educational programs for chefs and pastry chefs. So that people can hold conferences, meetings in such a unique place.

Look at the Belvedere mansion: what education did people have to be able to build such a mansion … The unfortunate Soviet era burned, broke and ruined everything in this way. Now we need to restore the particle. It is unfortunate that there is so much vandalism at those historical sites even now. That once they become owners, private owners do not maintain such buildings. It hurt. And that bureaucracy to start construction … How many consents must be obtained.

– You promise to tell the story of the boatman to everyone who visits the bistro. How is she

– Since there was no Catholic church in Šilinė, people had to move to the other side of the Nemunas – Gelgaudiškis. So the locals went to relocation, that was their business. This was also the case in Raudone and Veliuona. He obtained a license, owned a boat, and made a living working as a boatman. So you know how many people came to us before the opening and remembered how they used to learn here, how someone had a child in this building, because the teachers lived on the second floor. The local people of respectable age, when they see the inscription “Celta”, always say: “Celta … As it was here”. And again, “How was I here.” The boatman with his family lived on that side. At that time, that active dispatch took place in the Nemunas. Locals sailed by boat and by the steamboats that arrived.

– And what is the local heritage here in Šilinė?

– People ate very simply. We supply perhaps a more pony version, the one on the table during the holidays. (smiled) For example, the cake was definitely not eaten every day. Our food: simple but complete, traditional: potatoes, carrots, meat. We cook fish meat in a special cauldron, we smoke fish, we boil a lot of bread, we bake rye bread. Our homemade cake, greased with greasy homemade sour cream, is real, dull, without beads. We are negotiating homemade ice creams with a local cheesemaker. Now we have an ice cream that we cover with fresh berries. We cooperate with many local farmers: one presses linseed oil, the other bakes rye bread.

Here the following food prevailed: the bread was soaked in linseed oil and eaten with onion. Šilinė was famous for its fatty herring cheese, marginal pancakes, smoked cheeses, and it was also famous for its infinitely delicious macas and beetles, because half of Lithuanians and half of Jews lived here. The Jews brought cakes and scones to school, and the Lithuanians brought bacon bries. Mainydavo. Incidentally, herring was famous in those days and in yeast pancakes.

The engine of my life is to give joy, pleasure to people, but to relate to local traditions.

“What if someone, lulled by that calm, wants to stay with you for a long time?” There is a camping nearby.

– We plan to work until 8 p.m., in summer, until 10 p.m. But if people stay until midnight, we can’t beat anyone. It is also possible to install a tent with us. My goal, the engine of life, is to give people joy and pleasure, but that is related to local traditions and historicity. For people to enjoy comfort, they don’t feel trapped. After all, we have so much space! Look at what an oak patio is! Indefinite age. For those in a hurry, there are definitely places in Jurbarkas itself. Here you need to watch the birds, merge with nature, get good emotions. The more you rest, the better your life will be.