The moment you see Zalina, the word voluptuous springs to mind.

ZALINA IN bed is like an exotic flower growing from the soil, bursting with life, with the rich scents of the garden, everything fecund, healthy and new. She is like the olive oil, extra virgin, grown on warm hillsides protected from the easterly winds.

Petter Hegre discovered Zalina in Vilnius one bitter winter and the sight of her sent a wave of warmth over his cold cheeks. He had rented an apartment in the old city established in 1323. He could see the fortress on Castle Hill. The facades of the gothic buildings opposite intrigued him; he even took a few shots. But then Zalina turned up at the door and architecture, as it were, went out the window. It was on 11 March 1990 that Lithuania regained its independence.

He got that from the tourist brochure, too, and Zalina is one of the modern young women enjoying its fruits.