Blogs from Lithuania, Europe - page 41

One day we made a trip to the city Šiauliai in northern Lithuania. Outside this city is one of Lithuania's most remarkable places, the Hill of Crosses. This is a place we have wished to visit for several years and finally we now had the time to do it. In the countryside a few kilometers outside Šiauliai is a a place called the Domantai Hill, though it is known better as the Hill of Crosses. There are actually two hills there and they are practically covered with crosses. Nobody really knows when people started to place crosses on this hill. It is well established that the locals have used the place for worship and as a memorial for their loved ones for over 150 years. Wikipedia states that it is believed that this unusual way of ... read more

We had four days off from work and decided to go on a trip to one of the lesser known neighbouring countries to Sweden, namely Lithuania. Lithuania is the southernmost of the three Baltic countries. Up until 1990 Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union. The formerly strong ties to Russia is something you can notice still today when you visit Lithuania. For instance the hotel we stayed in has furniture that looked like it came from a storage house in Novosibirsk, the supermarkets sell several different brands of Russian vodka but only rarely Western ones, in the restaurants you can buy Georgian (Georgia in Caucasus, not the US) mineral water but not Evian. Don't get me wrong. We absolutely love this. We both have a soft spot for Eastern Europe and the way things differ ... read more

Unfortunately our stay in Vilnius wasn't long enough... We arrived from Riga on Monday afternoon after a long bus ride. We've decided to not plan our trip which meant that we hadn't booked a hostel before arriving in Vilnius - this caused a bit of frustration, but everything worked out in the end. Vilnius is a beautiful city. I loved the Old Town in Riga but I have to say that Vilnius' Old Town is even more gorgeous. Like the streets in Riga, the Old Town in Vilnius is made up of old cobblestone and I can't get enough of it! For you Europeans, you probably don't think cobblestone streets are that big of a deal, but when you come from a country as young as Canada, you really appreciate how much more charming a street ... read more

28 April 2007: Siauliai to Palanga. The drive to the Baltic Coast was a combination of newly constructed two lane highway and under construction road, so it took probably twice as long as needed but the arrival in Palanga made it all worth while. We walked the main Palanga promenade to lunch in very blustery but sunny weather. The fishing pier at the end of the promenade sticks about a quarter mile out into the Baltic, but few people other than the fishermen made it all the way out. The beach sand is probably the finest (smallest grains) I’ve ever felt. If I were in the business of making hour glasses, I would definitely want to use Palanga sand. We strolled through the Palanga Botanical Gardens which runs for 1.5 km along the beach front. ... read more

26 April 2007. Started out the day walking around Vilnius on some of the other main boulevards we missed on Wednesday. The morning light on Cathedral Square was auspicious and lasted throughout the day. I was intrigued by St. Helena atop the cathedral and can’t recall many other cathedrals topped with a female figure other than perhaps Mary herself. Now to figure out what St. Helena’s claim to fame was…. We had a coffee on Gedimino prospecktas across from the National Drama Theatre with its dramatic sculpture of the three muses overlooking the theatre entrance. We also stopped at a cool record (and some compact discs) jazz and classical music shop called Thelonious (www.thelonious.lt). The basement door was locked, but the owner quickly opened it and was clearly excited to tell us about his favorite ... read more