http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Lithuania , Vilnius en-us Sat, 18 May 2013 13:44:28 +0000 Sat, 18 May 2013 13:44:28 +0000 Amazing city even in winter when I am here now in my hotel with awesome breakfast and quite good location 1520 mins to Vilnius old town www.europolis.lt.Any ideas what to visit here in the evenings Cause I was suing this local travel guide www.invilnius.lt and found Vilnius sightseeing places but not much about clubs and pubs. Thanx. R. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-769183.html Lithuania VilniusAnother long bus trip and I arrived in Lithuania39s capital Vilnius. Unfortunately it was raining and I was struggling to read my map and follow the directions to the hostel which was aparently only 1015mins away. I finally worked out where I was information paramount to figure out where I needed to go and navigated a slightly dodgy area of towninto tiny cobbled stone str http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/Trakai/blog-767234.html Maybe it is the cobblestone byways that meander through Vilnius and appear more suited for horses than horsepower. Perhaps it is the unexpectedly historic architecture or the hulking castles that whisper of medieval derringdo. While modernity certainly intrudes it would not be a European capital without its Prada and Ermenegildo Zegna stores now would it somehow or other this Lithuania http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-761456.html I flew from Rygge to Vilnius early in the morning dozing a little while the passengers nearby being somewhat noisy. Having landed I at first stood waiting for the bus but then went to find the train station. You have to walk some 30 meters the train came in 20 minutes it consists only of two coaches and reaches the city in no time ticket was bought from the fare collector. Weather was total http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-760055.html The small nation of Lithuania is overloaded with character conviviality and culture. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the countrys capital Vilnius. Although the citys difficult postSoviet past is ever present a newly vibrant atmosphere has successfully subdued it. As you fly into Vilnius youll still catch glimpses of the old planned streets factories and those diminutive u http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/Trakai/Druskininskai/blog-740248.html Well hey one and allSo I guess its about time I wrote about the third and final country I visited in my little Baltic jaunt.When I last wrote I was just leaving Riga following a girl as so many before have and so many after me will. Well I have never and probably will never meet Delila or Lysa again. Pretty sad thought I guess but actually I am quite happy about this. You see now I have thi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/Trakai/Druskininskai/blog-739205.html After a comfortable four hour bus trip from Riga we arrived into Vilnius at around midday. I had drawn a rough map of where our hostel was located in relation to the bus stop. We walked for around 400 meters downhill until we realised it was uphill in the other direction you would think we would be good at this by now We did make it to our hostel a small apartment located in the old town howeve http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-738630.html Dear Friends and FamilyAnn and I have safely navigated the last four travel days and are currently in a 4star hotel in Vilnius. I could get used to this fancy travelin lifestyle I will mostly let the photos speak for themselves. Ann and I had a couple of hours in London during the 2012 Summer Olympics then jetted off to Frankfurt for a night on the town including the famous Apple Wine Festival http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-736975.html I didn39t think that these photos were good enough for the main blog ... http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-730734.html Left the hotel at 09h00 walking across the Green Bridge to view the Soviet statues left as a reminder of what was and then continued down Vilnius Gatv to the main Tourist Information Centre and the Town Hall. City doesn39t appear to be as vibrant as Riga nor even Tallin.Then continued on to the Republic of Uupis where I studied its constitution Everyone has the right to live by the River http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-729669.html So basically Vilnius has got a right battering over the years. But one event will never and should never be forgotten. Vilnius was once home to a sizeable Jewish population 39The Jerusalem of the North39 and there was about 100000 Jews living here out of 240000 in Lithuania and synagogue schools a daily newspaper etc etc. This is until the Nazis showed up and distroyed it allburnt dow http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-729446.html Arrived in Lithuania after having started in Estonia two weeks ago and spending some time in Latvia. Got no idea what to expect from Lithuania but the first stop the Hill of Crosses was interesting. Walking around I found one to remember the Russian massacre of the Poles in Katyn a similar memorial being close to my home in the UK.The remainder of the day was spent at a slow crawl on an emp http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-729443.html As I haven39t written what39s occuring for 2 days I will do 2 seperate ones. The other will focus on the Jewish history of Vilnius and will provide interesting reading I hope.So I began my first proper day in Vilnius exploring the 13 courtyards of the University. As an expert map reader I actually struggled following the map so I just explored at will It39s really nice actually but ain http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-729437.html Today has been epic. Ever since visiting Krakow last summer I have been waiting for that citycountry where I feel at home and at ease....and Vilnius is that city. I actually love it. The Lithuanians are a quirky bunch and I think that39s why I fit inI had to get up at 5.30 this morning to catch the bus. Last night actually the Omid Djalili guy ended up to be a member of the mafia. I think he http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-728910.html Thursday 14th June 2012We were off before 0700 both of us waking before the 0615 alarm. Actually neither of us slept that well finding it hard to sleep and then waking expecting the alarm to go. This happens when we have an early departure.As it was the tram was just coming the train was about to leave and we ended up at the airport so early they hadn39t even assigned a gate for our flight http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-723789.html Motorhome News from Lithuania Lithuania Chapter I Saturday 28th April 2012 Once again we turn into new territory up into the Baltic States beyond Poland edging our way northwards towards the southern shores of Scandinavia and the western fringes of the old USSR to delve into the history the landscape wildlife and culture aflicted by invasion from all sides for centuries. Is that why we contin http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/blog-720728.html Over ate last night as there is a not so subtle distinction between an appetiser and a starter. The appetiser seemed to be for foursix people..still it all tasted nice This was supposed to be the easiest day definately shorter but the hills just keep on coming...the big hill went on for three miles and I got the gearing perfect because I caught up with the other three at the top. My knee is ju http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/Trakai/blog-716590.html I wanted to add a word or two specifically about the wonderful children of Rugute known affectionately as Rugute39s Captains. During our little jaunt around Lithuania we were honoured by the presence of many of the children that the Rugute charity supports. many of these children are actively receiving treatment for their conditions some are thankfully in remission. All of them warmed our he http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/Trakai/Druskininskai/blog-716346.html Just a brief update to put out a link to the tracked routes that I captured using Map My Tracks www.mapmytracks.com with my iPhone.If you are interested in the detail regarding the route that we took on our epic journey around Lithuania then the detail is here.Enjoy. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/Trakai/Druskininskai/blog-716344.html The morning was bright and sunny and we had our obligatory photo on the pier. We headed out of Plateliai onto a long uphill climb to the A11 but at least it was warm and the scenery was stunning. Turning towards the coast and we met the Baltic breeze which slowed us down by 20 luckily the Ibuprofen was working but my leg was starting swell and the left ankle started 39twingeing39. We recog http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Lithuania/Vilnius/Trakai/blog-716342.html