The primary motivation behind my decision to visit Vilnius is that it happens to be the real-life birthplace of my fictional hero: legendary submarine captain Marko Ramius. This may seem like an unusual reason to fly halfway across the planet but it most definitely is not.
I remember traveling to the UK back in ’97 and going to visit Stratford to see the birth town of William Shakespeare. If I recall correctly, their entire economy was built around this one guy – and they seemed to be doing pretty well. And in 2009 I went to Tunisia to see the hotel where Luke Skywalker lived with his aunt and uncle before they were brutally killed by Stormtroopers, in what I recognize now to be, hands down, the most violent scene in Star Wars (1977).
Now I’m not suggesting that Lithuania re-vector their entire economy to one that is based *entirely* on the life and teachings of Marko Ramius, but maybe, just maybe they could set up a statue or possibly a small museum that is dedicated to this important fictional character. A character, I might add, who helped make The Hunt for Red October (1990) the current Pinnacle of Human Achievement.
The City of Vilnius (view from the Castle)
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Die Hard Three 
You sir, have “Won the Internet” today. Awesome post, and shockingly, practically the only thing on the web regarding the good Captain, outside of a few quotes, etc. Barely even a meme out there. Perhaps this all has to do with The Hunt for Red October (I agree with your assessment of as the Pinnacle of Human Achievement, btw) being released before most of the world was even anxiously encouraging their 1200-baud modems to successfully connect “The AOLs”.
Regardless, I think visiting places based on a historical character or place (fictional or not) is actually a really cool “travel filter” and a great way to steer experiences away from the typical!
Thank you for your kind words Jeff. I have another Red October post if you’re interested. You can read it here 🙂
https://diehardthree.wordpress.com/2013/09/22/day-2-of-3-what-are-you-thinking-about/
I just made a FB post about my visit to Vilnius and apparently we feel the same about Captain Ramius so I quoted you in my post. Thanks for sharing the love of Red October!
Thank you for the shout out! Yes, The Hunt for Red October is 100% the best, second to none. Wishing you all the best for the rest of your travels!