Blogs from Druskininskai, Trakai, Vilnius, Lithuania, Europe

Europe » Lithuania » Vilnius » Trakai » Druskininskai August 31st 2012

The small nation of Lithuania is overloaded with character, conviviality and culture. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the country’s capital, Vilnius. Although the city’s difficult post-Soviet past is ever present, a newly vibrant atmosphere has successfully subdued it. As you fly into Vilnius, you’ll still catch glimpses of the old – planned streets, factories, and those diminutive ugly high-rise apartment blocks. However, the centre of Vilnius feels like another world. Gone are those horrific grey edifices, replaced with a multitude of colour. For Vilnius, somewhat unusually, feels like a Mediterranean city. Winding cobblestone streets pass between beautifully coloured baroque buildings. Their faded blue, yellow and red façades deepen in intensity when the sun shines, while spectacular old churches appear behind every corner. You can’t help but ask yourself if you’re really in ... read more

The lost city of Vilnius - a story of a lucky loss!

Europe » Lithuania » Vilnius » Trakai » Druskininskai August 26th 2012

NomadicMongrel

Well hey one and all! So 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 this memory, this perfect moment totally etched into my head. I never, ever want to ruin that. Because now I know, that what I am doing is right. So Vilnius, well truth be told, my mind wasn't as open to this city as I wish it had of been, I got there and I was pretty ... read more

Route Details

Europe » Lithuania » Vilnius » Trakai » Druskininskai May 13th 2012

CrazyCyclist

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.... read more

The Captains Who Cheered Us On and Warmed Our Hearts

Europe » Lithuania » Vilnius » Trakai » Druskininskai May 13th 2012

CrazyCyclist

I wanted to add a word or two specifically about the wonderful children of Rugute, known affectionately as Rugute's 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 hearts and strengthened our resolve to complete our journey. In Panevezys we met : Naglis, Zilvinas, Vilte, Ignas and Kipras we were also met by friends of Rugute, Ieva and Benas. In Siauliai we met : Julija and her brother Mindaugas, Ugne and Abhajus In Klaipeda we met : Reinoldas and his sister Simonija together with Domantas and his brother Danielius In Silute we met : Justina In all cases, these children reminded ... read more

Day 5 : Kaunas to Vilnius!!

Europe » Lithuania » Vilnius » Trakai » Druskininskai May 11th 2012

CrazyCyclist

Just a quick blog for now, more detail later this weekend. WE MADE IT! After about 520 miles of cycling over 5 days, we made it back to Vilnius to a hero's welcome at the Barclays office, Green Hall, Upes Gatve. We covered a mere 85'ish miles today from Kaunas to Vilnius mostly on the A5 road. This is the hilliest portion of the trip passing through some of Lithuania's beautiful national parks, forests and lakes with a few nice challanging hills. We stopped off at Trakai for our "traditional" Kibinai and soup in a bread bowl (nothing like eating your bowl whilst you eat your soup, before blazing the final trail into Vilnius and Green Hall. I will put full route details up shortly, but thanks to all who have supported us and my personal ... read more

Day 6 - Kaunas to Vilnius

Europe » Lithuania » Vilnius » Trakai » Druskininskai May 13th 2011

Traffic Mayhem

CrazyCyclist

We had a very early start this morning. We had breakfast at 07:00 and were on the road for 07:50 heading out of Kaunus and south. The starter was a real wake up call, firstly over a load of cobbled roads and secondly up a fairly steep hill away from the river that runs through Kaunas. Then we entered some typical country roads with gentle climbs heading for the Baltic Highlands where Vilnius resides. We had about 90+ miles to cover today and needed to be in Vilnius for 17:00. The day started well and got better, we made excellent time and with regular breaks had soon put 30 miles under our wheels. This ensured we pasted Preniai very quickly and headed out on the A16. We hit the highlands with a vengence after about 30 ... read more

Summer Camp

Europe » Lithuania » Vilnius » Trakai » Druskininskai August 9th 2008

fun

Dannyintheworld

As i was telling you i spent my last month in a place called Druskininkai. south of Lithuania very close to the Belorussian border, sometimes our phones were telling us that we are in Belarus..So one month there i was spending my time having a "working vacation" after one full year, so i was there as "camp instructor" and "English teacher". The best part out of it is that i had a lot of fun, i met new people and made new friends some maybe even more than friends, i discovered people that become very close to me and now that the camp is over i miss them. For 4 weeks i had the chance to be child again, and to do things as i used to some time ago....sure...my clothes are all...destroyed...but now i ... read more