Vilnius, Lithuania

Labas everyone from country number 51 - Lithuania!

This morning I got up at 6, got ready and walked to the bus station. It was a balmy -3 degrees when I left my hostel and walked - eek!! I caught the bus very easily. Would highly recommend the intercity buses in this part of the world. I paid for the first class bus to treat myself and due to booking in advance it was €18 which was comfy leather recliner seats, a TV in back of seat (I watched 'Match Point') and wifi for a four hour journey. Good work Lux Express!!

The four hours passed really quickly and I arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania. Sunny but quite cold! Walked to my hostel and had trouble finding it, and a lady I asked took me and actually walked me there. Already could tell that people in Vilnius seem to be more friendly than people in Riga!

I checked in to my hostel. The staff are lovely and it's really nice again. They showed me where everything was on the map and off I went. I headed to the town hall to meet Heather (who I met in Riga) for the free walking tour. We spent two hours being shown around the town. The old town here is a lot bigger area wise than Riga, but the buildings aren't as big. There are lots more ornate churches too, whereas ones in Riga were inconspicuous due to the soviet occupation. 

Our guide was Alberts and he told us 3 million people live in Lithuania, with 80% of them being Lithuanian and 5-6% being both Russian and Polish. Does that explain the more friendly nature I have experienced here? Perhaps! Lithuania was first mentioned in 1009 and a state was created here 200 years later. Unfortunately Lithuania experienced a similar history to that of Latvia, especially in the last century with soviet, nazi then soviet invasions. Poland has also invaded and taken over Lithuania in the past though. Poland also occupied Lithuania in between world wars one and two. 

On first glance the Lithuanian flag could easily be mistaken for an African or perhaps Caribbean type flag. It consists of three horizontal stripes - yellow for the sun, green for nature and red for bloodshed of the past. 

It soon became clear that a significant portion of Vilnius was blown up in World War II. Albertus showed us maps indicating how much. As with most countries in this part of the world, also unfortunately the Jewish population was decimated during the holocaust. In Vilnius before World War II the population was made up of 40% Jewish people. Post war Jewish people made up about 1% of the population. 

Lithuania was the last pagan country in Europe which continued all the way up to 1387. Officially the country is now catholic but Alberts said they aren't massive practicers of religion. This is partly because religion was banned in soviet times, so many churches were converted into prisons, warehouses, flats and even basketball courts!

Our next stop was to Užupio; a section of Vilnius that has jokingly called itself a republic, but is not recognised as one. Their national day is April 1 (April fools day) and apparently if you come to Užupio on April 1 you'll receive a stamp and be asked for a visa! But if you don't have one a smile will suffice. Užupio is a tiny island surrounded by a canal. We crossed over and had a look at the bohemian and artsy area which is now 18 years old. There are many sculptures and we also saw the constitution up on the wall with the flag. We touched the sculpture that the Dalai Lama has touched which supposedly gives you energy! Here's hoping I get some to fight off this now month old cough!

Then we went to the literature street. The lady at my hostel had a hard time explaining this to me, but basically it's a street of pastel coloured buildings lined with a trail of tiled artwork, each commemorating a famous writer, poet etc. 

We passed the university, the parliamentary palace and the biggest cathedral and then our tour ended. I asked Alberts about watching some basketball but the next Vilnius home game isn't until next Wednesday. How annoying! Apparently it's like a religion here. 

Heather and I then headed for Gediminas' Tower, which was part of a castle built on this hill in the 1400s. It's a very important symbol for Lithuanians and was even on their old currency (which they stopped using and changed to euro only in January of this year). We went up the tower and inside there were various artefacts found on the hill, and photographs from August 1989 during what was known as 'The Baltic Way'. As a statement to the soviets about independence, 1.5 million people in total from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania linked hands to form a 650km chain started from this tower in Vilnius, passing through the freedom monument in Riga and ending at Hermann Tower which mum, dad and I went up last year in Tallinn, Estonia. How amazing is that!!!!!? There were 50 smaller sections to symbolise the 50 years of occupation. 

After this I realised I had drunk far too much water and was in need of a toilet. Spotting a museum I went in, and had an incredibly confusing conversation with an elderly woman who spoke no English. It involved lots of charades and drawing symbols and ended with me paying the 80 euro cents to get in just so I could use the toilet. Thank goodness I could though haha. 

We then climbed up the 'Hill of Three Crosses', erected to commemorate the lives of seven Franciscan monks beheaded on the site. The soviets took it down in 1950 but a replacement was put up in 1988. The view from both this and the tower was great! So sunny today and not a cloud in the sky. 

We walked back together and I got my magnet for Vilnius. Turns out Heather collects them too! Now I'm back having a rest before we meet up for dinner to try a special Lithuanian type of dumpling involving mashed potato, meat, sour cream and bacon. I'll have full details and a review for you on tmro's blog after our day trip to the beautiful castle town of Trakai!

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox