Oct 15, 2012 - Vilnius, Lithuania

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND In the interest of expediency, here are some excerpts from the Lonely Planet - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania chapter on Vilnius: Vilnius (vil-nyus), the baroque beauty of the Baltic, is a city of immense allure. As stunning as it is bizarre, it easily tops the country’s best-attraction bill, drawing tourists like moths to a flame with an easy, confident charm and a warm, golden glow that makes one wish for long midsummer evenings every day of the year. The capital may be a long way north and east, but it’s...

Aug 9, 2011 - Kaunas

We managed to get ourselves a nice studio apartment on the main pedestrian street in Kaunas so we spent the rest of the day (the 7th) washing clothes and cooking ourselves a proper meal. The 8th we wanted to do a walking tour but after 20 minutes of waiting for our guide to show we gave up and went to the tourist office for a map and some ideas. We walked into the Old Town and visited the old castle grounds and the old cathedral that was under renovation. After lunch we went to visit the Church of the Resurrection of Christ - an ultra...

Aug 7, 2011 - Vilnius

We got to Vilnius late afternoon and found our hostel - this time it was probably the nicest hostel room we had stayed in. Yay! We hadn't eaten since breakfast so we went trekking to find Old Town before heading back to the hostel for a siesta. That night we found a microbrewery that did beer tasting AND had amazing food making us both very happy :) The next day we went on a walking tour around the city where we visited the Republic of Uzipiz - an alternative part of the city with their own constitution and a weird love of cats (cats are...

Jul 2, 2011 - bye bye Baltics

30th June Had a lovely ride across quite hilly country to arrive at Lazdijal which is the last town in Lithuania before you get to Poland. On the way we stopped at another village where there was a tourist info centre and a little museum. The ladies in there were very surprised at actually seeing anyone who may need some information but there were some amazing photographs of the area pre war and post where literally nothing was left standing in this town, mind you it has still had the EU grant of block paving everything-we think they are...

Jun 30, 2011 - Lithuania - last days (we think??)

June 28th Have spent some time in Vilnious –the capital of Lithuania. We got into the centre easily as I asked a cyclist what route he would recommend and he sent us down a lovely riverside route that took us straight to the centre. – If in doubt always ask a fellow cyclist. Now how about this for excellent non planning on our behalf. That Sunday was the day that students from all 3 Baltic countries gathered to present folk music and dance. We rode into town just as they were gathering and later we went to the park to watch. It was very...

Jun 25, 2011 - Lithuania - we are galloping through the Baltics!

23rd June We had a funny old start this morning. Both felt a bit edgy, vulnerable with a feeling of apprehension about where we were and what was to come next. To explain. We stayed at the Spa hotel which was a real treat but, looking at the map, it seemed that our route towards Vilnious was destined to be a boring trudge through flat countryside on either the dreaded tracks or the main road. We therefore determined to get a train to Daugavplis from a town some 40 miles away. The day started well and we did some track which we both enjoyed....

Nov 8, 2010 - Vilnius - Nov 4-8

November 4, 2010 We got up in no particular rush today as we were getting the bus to Vilnius, just an hour or so away. We didn’t have tickets but given there are 3 or 4 buses every hour we weren’t worried about finding one with spare seats, either! We had breakfast, packed up and checked we had the right directions to the hostel. We’d changed our minds about the hostel in Vilnius as we’d previously reserved a private room at a guesthouse but given the amount of people we’d met recently we thought we’d have more fun (and save money) in a...

Nov 3, 2010 - Kaunas - Nov 1-3

November 1, 2010 The travel days here are coming thick and fast but we’ve had plenty of time in each city we’ve been lately and had plenty of days doing nothing with hangovers, too! Today we were leaving Latvia after basically a long weekend and heading into Lithuania and the city of Kaunas. Before we left we headed to the supermarket and bought some supplies for the near 6 hour bus ride and then dragged ourselves and our bags to the bus station. The bus stations here are really well organised and each bus has a specified “platform” number...

Jul 8, 2010 - Klaipeda, Lithuania

From the moment we arrived, Klaipeda seemed like a nice town. After checking into our guesthouse next to the brewery, Tomas did some more research and liked even more what he saw. A quick trip to the tourist office netted us a nice apartment for less than our guesthouse that sure seemed like a hotel. A side benefit of extending our stay was the upcoming folk festival. We listened to traditional music, had great conversations with the locals and drank some tasty local beer. A great evening ritual for the remaining nights. Klaipeda also is...

Jul 2, 2010 - Presidential palaces and Gardening in Speedo's, Vilnius

Now the guide book says the Lithuanian's have some odd characteristics and at first glance, it is not that apparent. OK, so not offering to shake your hand upon meeting was odd, especially given the last few months. But not that odd! Then we started walking around town after our 7 am arrival and noticed many people that were dressed in attire more appropriate for dancing at the clubs - at 8 am. More than just a few. We began to wonder. Next Tomas rented a bike and was riding in the countryside and in a moment of being (slightly) off course,...

Jun 30, 2010 - Sarti to the Baltics

We weren't quite sure how we were going to get to the Baltics from Greece and after purusing the internet for flights, it became no clearer. We knew the train would take us there and after much pondering, it was time to hit the rails. First it was back to Thessaloniki by bus, one more night at our local guesthouse, and then it was time to catch the overnight train to Budapest, one of our favorite European cities. Since it was a steaming hot day, Julia waited on the platform and Tomas seached for our car, or wagon as it is called in Europe....

May 10, 2010 - Trakai

This morning we woke to a beautiful sunny day, and a good breakfast delivered to our room. I had checked the weather records and the record minimum temperature for Vilnius in March was -30deg. In May the average max is 18deg but today we went into the 20's, so we were very pleased. Good to have some sunshine on our skin. We decided to catch the bus to Trakai which is only about 26kms from Vilnius. Trakai was a medieval capital of Lithuania, and it still retains its historic charm. Its most famous feature is Trakai Castle which is built on...