Vilnius - Lithuania

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We travelled by bus from Warsaw to Vilnius stopping at the spa town of Augustow for lunch. It was a full day of driving past lakes and through forests, as a number of our fellow travellers are farmers we listened to many interesting conversations about the types of crops and livestock we saw along the way.

When we reached Vilnius, we were again pleased to find our hotel located in the Old Town, which contained many baroque style buildings and beautiful outdoor restaurants. After dinner with our tour group we decided to explore the cobbled streets. We could hear some music and followed it to find ourselves in a small square where we were delighted to see lots of young people dancing jive, swing and tango. The makeshift dance floor was surrounded by families sitting at small tables or on park benches enjoying the balmy evening with a glass of beer or wine, it was lovely to sit and enjoy the atmosphere.

The next day back on the cobbled streets, our group took a walking tour of the Old Town which included the University, the Gates of Dawn and Chapel and the Vilnius Cathedral. We found a lovely little cafe for lunch where we enjoyed cold beetroot soup, cabbage rolls and cheese pastries. During the afternoon our tour visited Trakai Island Castle a short drive from Vilnius, constructed in the 14th century, the castle is located on an island in Lake Galvė.

For our final dinner in Vilnius we sat in one of the many outdoor restaurants enjoying the warm evening, we enjoyed potato cakes with sour cream, buckwheat rolls and beetroot salad washed down with the good Lithuanian dark beer. Vilnius is a lovely town with lots of history and good restaurants, the town did not appear to be too busy with tourists but had a vibrant feel possibly due to the high number of university students studying there. We both agreed we had really enjoyed our two night stay in this lovely city.

The next morning we left to travel by coach to Riga in Latvia. On the way we stopped at the Hill of Crosses, the hill has about 500, 000 crosses. Our guide explained that the first crosses were erected here by the next-of-kin of the rebels that fell in the 1831 rebellion. Most recently, the site took on a special significance during the years 1944–1990, when Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union. Continuing to travel to the Hill and leave their tributes, Lithuanians used it to demonstrate their allegiance to their original identity, religion and heritage. It was a venue of peaceful resistance, the Soviets tried to remove new crosses, and bulldozed the site at least three times but the people continue to visit the site and erect crosses.

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Photos

Vilnius - Lithuania
View from our room.