Lithuania

Vilnius and Warsaw are not connected by a European equivalent of I-10. They’re connected by a winding 2 lane country road such as one might find in the mountainous hinterlands of New Zealand. No wonder it takes over night. The bus was very nice but the rutted carriage path we were driving made sleeping near to impossible and crippling when one did manage to doze off for a few minutes. We arrived hobbled, but excited to explore a new place. Our first discovery was that it is not warm in Lithuania though it is summer. It is easy to forget that this part of northern Europe is on roughly the same latitude with southern Alaska. So we put on our fleeces, checked the luggage, used the pay toilet, and set off into the city.

Vilnius Cathedral

We arrived around 6:30am and by the time we finished our exotic McDonald’s breakfast it was 7:30 so everything was still closed. Like the cities in Poland the old parts of Vilnius are quite beautiful. We made it to the square around the cathedral and let me tell you, that’s the best time to be out there. You have the place to yourself because everyone else is inside. We went inside also and caught the tail end of a cardinal giving the homily and leading the congregation in the Creed. (I think that’s what was going on anyway. It was all in Lithuanian so I could be wrong. We found the miracle square which is where a human chain from Tallin, Estonia to Vilnius protesting Soviet occupation ended. You’re supposed to do a clockwise 360 and make a wish. We are bound by sacred oaths not to tell you where to find it so you will need to use the picture as your guide and find it yourself.



make a wish



Leaving the square, we followed a cobbled path to the summit of a hill crowned with a tower flying the Lithuanian flag. It has a name I can’t pronounce that probably means “windswept and cold” in the native tongue. In any case, the views were amazing, particularly over the old town. All the walking and sightseeing were wearing so we… that’s right, stopped for coffee and a sweet, delicious treat. Today it was a crepe with strawberry jam and vanilla ice cream. Moving on we wound our way along the maze of backstreets looking at the quaint. One street had a whole wall with individually designed tiles set in it. The best I think was the metal cross stitched rooster. Around every bend in the road was another spectacular view of a church spire or flower bedecked stone balcony. I spent a lot of time standing in the street with the camera pointing into the air over my head.

For lunch we had pizza and some potato pancakes which were not quite up to yesterday’s but still tasty. We did some shopping and then wandered back to the bus station to catch our bus on to Riga. This daytime ride is affording us a look at the countryside which is beautiful. There are large patches of birch forest and broad fields of cereals and something with a yellow flower I suspect is mustard. We have also seen several storks. These sights can’t fully detract from the horror of watching the bus barrel down this goat trail. European rules on passing and right of way seem to have a heavy Peruvian influence.