Vilnius; Day One

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25 April 2007. Arrived in Vilnius almost 24 hours on the dot from getting up to leave from Seattle, mostly on account of a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt and delay on our flight due to “a suspicious liquid in the cargo hold left over from the previous flight, which arrived from Lisbon, that the fire brigade had to inspect wearing HazMat suits, which turned out to be antifreeze.” That account thanks to the LH captain; surabundance of information…. It begs the question though: who needs antifreeze in Lisbon or when its 80˚F+ in FRA?

We’re staying at a 3rd floor apartment in the center of Vilnius Old town on Traku Street. Headed out at 1500 for a walking tour of the city in fantastic weather; warm and sunny sky with plenty of contrasts.

Walked down past the University and the President's Palace on the way to Cathedral Square. The bell tower standing beside the Cathedral was surrounded with entertainment, from deft break dancing to rose offerings from a number of Gypsies. The Cathedral has apparently undergone much restoration since it was used as a picture gallery under the Soviets and looks squeaky clean from inside and out. The baroque chapel to Lithuania’s patron saint Casimir was the interior highlight.

Between the cathedral and the bell tower is a tile (Stebuklas) which marks the spot of independence protests in 1989 where apparently >2 million Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians made a human chain stretching the entire 650km to Tallinn. We were not the only ones to stand on the square and turn a 360˚ while making a wish.

On from the cathedral we walked past the statute to Gediminas who founded Vilnius in the 14th century, and up Pilies street for a beer and coffee in the sun. From there we strolled up the winding cobble stone walkway to the Castle Tower for a great viewpoint on the whole city. There were gray bodied crows with black wings and a black head all around in the surrounding park.

We walked down past St. Anne’s Church designed at the end of the 15th century and constructed with reddish bricks. By this time it was 1800 and mass was in progress so we missed the interior of the church, but the surrounding gardens offered great views. Apparently Napoleon remarked that he though St. Anne’s was so dainty and charming that he wanted to take it back to Paris in the palm of his hand. Personally, I can’t picture it sitting at the center of la Place de la Concorde in lieu of Luxor plunder.

We walked by Uupio, self proclaimed Independent Republic, that was filled with some enticing and bohemian looking cafes on the banks of the Vilnia River. But by this point fatigue was setting in. On past the Church of the Mother of God, and up toward the Gates of Dawn, which once was part of the city’s old fortifications but now houses an image of the Virgin Mary which drew much attention from the passersby (mostly worshipers) underneath. I can’t imagine this town was pleased with forced secularism during Soviet rule.

«Kiekvienas yra menininkas, bet tik menininkai tai ino.» “Everyone is an artist, but only artists know that.”

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Comments

[Marty]

Day One Walking Tour
Agree -- St. Anne's doesn't fit on the Place de la Concorde but in the Jardins, soit Luxembourg ou du Louvre, pourquoi pas? Your commentary is great and the pictures fantastic!