Uzuzpio!

I'll stop for while on the depressing stuff. There is a lot here that is delightful, and one area in particular makes a person want toi stay forever in this strange and conflicted place.

There is a neighborhood in Vilnius, which is like all artsy places anywhere in the world. It starts off being cheap and accessible so all sorts of artists and musicians and writers can live there pretty well and work at their craft. Others come to see this new and upcoming hip place. They bring money and galleries and cafes, and later on, boutiques. Soon everyone wants to live here and rents go up. Renovation and gentrification set in, and most artists have to move away to a new and cheaper place.

But the aura is still one of beauty and art and culture and a lot of humor. Such is the People's Republic of Uzupio, which has its own constitution with rights and rules such as 'If one of you dies, then the other one has to take care of the dog.' 

Apparently, this statue used to be a big egg. One morning in 2004, the Uzupis residents found that the egg had hatched this creature.