Blogs from Lithuania, Europe - page 9

Although my Erasmus time has finished, I will still write some blogs after holidays and other important events. And this latest one will come in two parts - my Baltic Tour. Although it was only a week long, the trip took me and my sister to four countries and six cities - its therefore no surprise that we had forgotten much of what went on at the beginning before the end was even upon us! The first day involved us leaving home at 5:30am to make it to the airport for a 7:30am flight to Vilnius. However as we were about the board the plane, there was a technical issue that delayed us by almost 2 hours. Although we didn't mind arriving later, as we already knew that we had plenty of spare time and we ... read more

Dear Friends and Family, Ann and I have safely navigated the last four travel days and are currently in a 4-star 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. The next day, we were in Warsaw and explored the Old Town, New Town, Fortress and Royal Way. We took an all-night bus to Vilnius where we have been exploring the local churches, fortifications, micro-state of Uzupis and Trakai Castle. Tomorrow, we will visit the Hill of Crosses before entering into Latvia and staying in Riga for the next couple of days. ... read more

Hoy he salido temprano y he seguido la Via Baltica al sur, me he metido en la ciudad de Paneveyz y he descubierto finalmente el tipo de cambio, son 3,5 Lats por un euro. De ahi he seguido al sur. Al final estaba harto de todos los camiones y me he metido por la caretera interpueblos. Un rato habia asfalto, luego tierra y al final pedruscos y arena, asi que he vuelto a la carretera general y ahi he hecho 17 km más hasta la siguiente interpueblos, esta un poco más grande. Y de ahi hasta Kaunas. Aquí es todo llanuara y trigales, asi que bastente aburrido pero distinto de Estonia y Letonia. Y el país está bastante más hecho polvo que sus vecinos del norte. En Kaunas me he topado con na sennora empujando su ... read more

Immediately after breakfast, I dashed out to the shopping centre to get some packed lunch and, as you do, came back with a bus ticket! As I walked to the trolley bus stop, the number 5 was just arriving - great timing - so I climbed aboard, stamped my ticket and was at the bus station before you could read a short story. I then went into the ticket office to get a ticket to Trakai but was confounded by a Russian who was asking the lass in the office too many questions. Every time she beckoned me over, he's push back in and ask another question. I got fed up and just stood with my back to him so that he couldn't get back in! After a thirty minute stop/start journey with the driver in ... read more

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 empty motorway, eventually arriving in Vilnius at 17h45. After a meal, I went to find the Shopping Centre and an ATM, before wandering across the White Bridge, into Lukiškės Square, along Gediminas Avenue to the Cathedral, before returning by the river footpath to the hotel ... and bed!... read more