Vilnius, first stop in the Baltic States...

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Three hours by train North of Minsk, and we are entering in a complete different world! We know the European Union has spent a lot of money making sure some of their new members could catch up faster in terms of development and infrastructure...well, it shows here, and it's pretty nice.



Vilnius is our first stop, before going North later on to Riga and than Tallinn. The Lithuanian train was modern, comfortable, and packed! Our taxi driver spoke Russian, like around 30% of the population here. We were in Vilnius for 28 hours, time to discover a world I had heard a lot about...but in reality, I knew nothing about...



We stay at the Novotel right in the middle of town. Cheap, comfortable, efficient....that did the job. The good news, is the Capitals of the Baltic States are in range with the size of the countries...small...so this is way better for the legs of Tiffany and Leslie. First day was cloudy, but no rain, next day the sun showed up...and just a little rain happened when we were ready to leave...autumn may goes well with rain, but we don't like rain!



The first afternoon, we spent some time visiting the Genocide Museum housed in the former KGB HQ and jail. Here, there is a clear historical description of the Soviet invasion from 1939 till 1941...than came the Nazis from 1941 to 1944, and back again to the Soviet...with the great news of the death of Stalin in 1953...and an easier time ahead for most people of the USSR. Lithuania would become independent only way later, in 1991..and I remember that year pretty well, being already 17 years old.



It is very interesting to reflect on the period of 1939 till 1945 in the Baltic States. Think about it, Lithuania was independent for the first time from 1918 till 1939...that was 21 years...and today, the country has been independent...for 22 years, the longest period of independance they have ever experienced...



But back in 1939...how would you have lived if you were a 25 years old? If you loved your country...you would have fight the Soviets...and what would you have done two years later when the Nazis came in? Which ever choice anybody did back then, it was a bad one...as the only choice could have been to go on exile...but is this a good choice?



Than in 1941, the Nazis came in...Vilnius had 200 synagogues, and 40% of the population were Jewish in the capital. Today, one synagogue is still standing...and 0.5% of the population are Jewish, more than 200,000 of them never made it to the end of the war...and the Soviets were not really there to help any religious freedom after 1945! There is a lot to think back about that period...who, or how could you be a 25 years old in 1939-1945 if you didn't want to close your eyes?!?



The next morning, we spent our time walking in the morning to the top of the Castle, with his only tower left standing...and a pretty cool view of the city. Than it was time to join the free tour, interesting, but not amazing guide, but a really cool crowd of 3 Australians and a French guy living in London. One thing for sure, they have churches in Vilnius. Most of them being Catholics. I've never seen so many churches in such a small place...most of them were used for other "things" between 1944 and 1991...but they were still standing. These churches...so many of them...



It was already time to move. I'm pretty sure Vilnius must be a pretty fun city to party, but on a Sunday night, with two kids...well...not this time for me...actually....not this trip for the party time!



This time, it was a bus, as there is not much in terms of trains between the different Baltic States...they seems to be building a trans-Baltic rail-link, but it's not for tomorrow.



So on the bus we went, North, nearly four hours, to reach Riga...

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Comments

[GRACIELA]

NICE.....
YOUR KIDS ARE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD AND THEY WILL NEVER FORGET THAT, AN ESSENTIAL LESSON WHERE THEY LEARN HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY AND LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!