Lithuania: Vilnius and Trakai

This morning, after only a few hours sleep, I was up and met my saucy tour guide, Emilia, in the lobby of the hotel. We had a change in program today due to the fact that a car was available this morning, but not this afternoon, so we switched morning activities to the afternoon and afternoon activities to the morning. This turned out to be a much better deal than originally anticipated, but more on that later.

Emilia is old school. She has been a tour guide and translator for most of her life which includes, of course, the Soviet times, which is awesome because Emilia is not afraid to tell you how she feels about certain things. We chatted a bit in the car on the way to the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral, which is a cathedral unlike any I've ever visited before. The outside is not all that remarkable, but the inside is totally white. No frescos or paintings or anything, just white stucco sculptures coming out of the walls. The pipe organ is white, the walls are white. The ceiling is white... There are actually over 2000 sculptures coming out of the walls: angles, cherubim, Jesus, Mary Magdalen, etc etc. It was unique, and really neat.

Next stop was Tranai Castle, which was built in the late 14th century as the summer home of the duke of this region. Lithuania has a long history, and is an interesting and beautiful place. Tranai is located about 20 km outside of Vilnius. Along the way we passed forests and rivers and lakes. And in the more rural areas all the houses are these old, small, wooden houses near the lakes. Really very charming. It was raining, which took away from the enjoyment slightly, but just to be there and see it was amazing. When we got to the castle, you could see it had been reconstructed. It had fallen into disrepair in the 17th century and then for about forty years in the 1900s, try reconstructed the castle based on what the found in the excavation process. It sits out on an island, and is breathtaking, even knowing what you're looking at is a reconstruction.

We toured the inside, which is a museum, and walked around the rainy grounds. Eventually it was time to make our way back to Vilnius. I had a quick lunch, and then met Emilia back at the hotel for an afternoon walking tour of the Old Town.

I stopped briefly in my hotel room to drop off my bag, and accidentally left my camera, so I didn't get to take pictures on the walk, but the rain had stopped by this afternoon, so at least the change up of the schedule worked out well. I was bummed about not getting to take any pictures, though...

We walked all through the old part of town, which was a walled medieval city, founded in the 14th century at the convergence of two rivers. I can't begin to tell you how quaint this little town is. We stopped by the university, which was the first (I think she said) in eastern Europe. It used to only teach astronomy and architecture, but has since become a modern university teaching a variety of subjects. We also walked past the Presidential Palace, which is where the President works, but doesn't live. We walked along, stopping in old catholic and Russian orthodox churches, and exploring little courtyards off the main street through town. After a couple hours roaming the streets we ended our tour in front of the main cathedral square, which is located directly across the street from my hotel. I rested for an hour or so, then walked around more to take a couple of pictures before dark, then grabbed a quick dinner.

A quick note about eating alone in Lithuania. In most countries, when you enter a restaurant and tell them you'd like a table for one, they put you in the tiniest, shittiest table waaaaay in the back. Not Lithuania. It's like the whole country is a Jewish mother, trying desperately to pair up her single son with a nice, Jewish girl... You get a table right up front, usually with a view of everything and everyone passing by. It's like they don't want you to go home alone. They talk to you, they ask what you've done and what you are planning to do, and how long you'll be staying in their country. It's really a nice change, but when you're tired and just want a quick bite to eat, it can be a bit much. Overall, though, I'd take this treatment to the usual table for one mentality that I seem to get everywhere else I've traveled... A nice change, to be sure.

Another amazing thing about Lithuania: it is CHEAP! It reminds me of Prague before the Czech Republic joined the EU. The prices are like the same number as you would pay in the States. For instance, a three course dinner, with wine, tea, and a bottle of water just cost me 45 Litai. I would expect to pay $45 for that. The thing is, $1 = 2.8 Litai, so my meal actually only cost me $16. I would get very, very fat here. I wonder if they'd be so keen to put me at the front table then...

After dinner I walked around town as it was getting dark and then headed back to my hotel. I'm still not used to this time zone (it's three hours ahead of Iceland), so we'll see if I get sleep before its time to check out in the morning and on to the next city in Lithuania!