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Published: June 12th 2011
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Vilnius Air Terminal
It is a beautiful building. May 28th to May 31st.
We have wanted to visit the Baltic States, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for a number of years. Through the years at IBTS we have been blessed with meeting and becoming friends with a number of people from these countries. This year we decided we would visit this area of the world. After all we are not getting any younger and there is no guarantee we will ever be back in Europe.
We like to travel by train, but this was not a viable option given our time restraints. It is possible to go by train from Prague to Vilnius, but it requires a number of changes and quite a bit of time. It is also possible to go by bus ... but riding on a bus for 48 to 51 hours is not our idea of pleasant traveling. This left going by air, a 90 minute flight, and that is what we did.
The Vilnius air terminal is in an older building, as air terminals go, but it is architecturally the most beautiful terminal we have seen. Buildings are not built like this these days. The terminal is small, but very
ornate. I am sorry I did not take any photos of the beauty inside the terminal.
From the Airport to Downtown
After talking to two young Lithuanian women at the seminary about the best way to go from the airport to downtown Vilnius, we had decided on the bus since it goes directly from the airport to the bus terminal and the cost, about a dollar, is certainly much less than a taxi. We waited at the bus stop for about fifteen minutes and got tickets from the bus driver when we boarded. It was good we bought tickets as two transportation policemen climbed on the bus at one of the stops and checked everyone for valid tickets. Apparently there had been a problem in the past since this month regulations had changed and everyone now must enter the bus at the front and exit from the back. The stated reason was to increase revenue since so many people were riding without a ticket. Surprisingly some people risk being caught on public transportation in most countries. This can be expensive since there is a fine if you are caught. Several people who were checked were talked to by the transportation policemen. I was not sure if they were "caught" or just talking.
Bill had also found a hotel within easy walking distance from the bus terminal. In fact, the walk was less than a hundred yards, shorter than we had anticipated. On the map we printed from the Internet it looked more like several hundred yards. When D, here at IBTS, saw the map she laughed and said, "It looks like a longer walk than it is." D lives in Vilnius and we had hoped to see her there but that plan did not work out.
We will keep this entry short and add ones on specific topics concerning Vilnius as time permits. We will say right now that our time there was really GREAT and we are so glad we went and wish we had spent even more time visiting areas outside of the city.
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