Lovely Lithuania

A whirlwind weekend. After leaving Iceland to arrive in England for a family birthday party with 100+ guests. It meant I was able to see all my family in a true northern England experience!. I’d flown in from Seattle and my nephew from Australia, so everyone was there, fun night out. It couldn’t have been more northern, with a house band, dancing feet, cheap beer, and a meat & potato pie supper!

A two-legged flight followed a couple of days later, courtesy of Finn Air, Finland’s national airline. A flight from Manchester to Helsinki, and 90 minutes later onward flight to Vilnius, Lithuania. The second flight was on one of the smallest planes I have flown on, with a mere 64-seat capacity. I did try to come to Lithuania in 2019 from Belarus by train. Unfortunately, foreign tourists are not allowed to enter Lithuania from Belarus by train. It was a little-known travel fact that managed to escape my knowledge until I came to the border on the train. It led to a chain of events that were ‘interesting’. That day I made my way back to Minsk, Belarus, but never made it to Lithuania.

This time I made it, even though I had to wait six years. I’m glad I can come back given that I am staying longer than I would have done in 2019.

I arrived early evening and I got out to check on the lay of the land. In England, there is a travel TV show called Travel Man. They went to Vilnius and stayed at the Argonist Hotel. liked a great deal, so much so that when it came to booking somewhere for this trip I had to choose that hotel, If you think a teddy bear watching over you as you sleep is a bit weird, you’d be right 🙂 … but this is my room!

Sometimes Jet Lag is Useful

I wanted to do a side trip to see more of Lithuania, as well as see the capital Vilnius. I decided on Trakai. Trakai is around a 30-minute LTG Link train journey and I rose early with jet lag, so caught the 7.11am train. Lithuania trains are brilliant. Why do so many countries do train journeys well, but not where I am from or live. Trakai was a delight. The main feature here is Trakai Castle, and with my early arrival, I had it all to myself! The lake was calm around the castle and was like sheet glass, so the reflections were something else.

The early start got me back in Vilnius by 10.30am and I was ready to explore the day. As I started the day a second time doing the most enjoyable thing, wandering a new city. Vilnius is lovely. I took over 40,000 steps around this great city, seeing sites, trying foods, meeting locals, exploring, and adventure.

I’ve gone all new age from this trip. For the first time, I have international data on my phone. Who would have thought? I am old school, so I view it as a bit of a cheat code, but it does make life easier. But, you don’t get lost, and I miss that. It does save time though, and I get to see more. Maybe I’ll lose my phone, accidentally.

Uzupis

Uzupis is a Vilnius neighborhood that has been reborn from the troublesome area it was in the 1990’s to be a place for artists, intellectuals, and entrepreneurs. As I meandered through the street art brought it to life. On 1st April 1997, a group of artists declared it to be the Republic of Uzupis. It’s tongue in cheek, and even their independence day falls on April Fools Day. Though the Republic does have its own constitution, including the notable ‘everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation’.

Vilnius Cathedral Bell Tower

One hundred and ninety-three wooden steps spiral their way up toward the top of the Bell Tower of Vilnius Cathedral. On entering, they do warn you that the bell tolls every 15 minutes, but it still scared the heck out of me as I was six inches below the bell about to take a photograph as the bell rang.

The architecture of the city changes as you wander through the streets. It’s a mosaic of influences representing its historical evolution, cultural heritage, and resilience. It is the largest old town in Eastern Europe and features examples of Gothic Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical.