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What a great surprise! Just north of Poland, located on the Baltic Sea, is the small Baltic country of Lithuania. Vilnius and Lithuania turned out to be parts of a true gem of a visit.
Vilnius is a small capital city rich with Baroque architecture and a little leftover flavor of the Russians. It has the largest "Old Town" in Eastern Europe and is becoming known as the "New Prague".
With the major university located here, the city is always alive with sounds of jazz, great clubs, and restaurants as well as a very active music and arts scene. The students add to the lively feel of the city, and the narrow streets surrounding the university and old town reflect their presence.
You can't miss the National Theatre. I was walking on one of the major boulevards one afternoon when I stumbled across these wonderful and very large statues on top of the theatre. The theatre’s facade featuring the Feast of Muses sculpture has become a landmark of Vilnius.
Gediminas Avenue (Gedimino prospektas) is the main street of Vilnius, where most of the governmental institutions of Lithuania are concentrated, including the government, parliament, Constitutional Court, and ministries. It is also a popular shopping and dining street. It is partially a pedestrian street in the evenings when traffic is prohibited.
Vilnius is an easy city to get around in on foot, and I was fortunate enough to have time to explore it both day and night. The Old Town section is a labyrinth of winding cobblestone streets filled with many shops, restaurants, and residences, making for a real community and old village feel.
Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania near Old Town Vilnius.
The Baroque-style Church of St. Theresa is a Roman Catholic church in Vilnius' Old Town, close to the Gate of Dawn. It was completed in 1650
Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas
With its predominantly Catholic tower and typically Orthodox dome, the church is one of the most peculiar-looking churches in the capital.
Old Town is full of beautiful churches built through several centuries. The architecture ranges and spending time wandering through them is a real treat.
There is plenty to do in Vilnius. I have visited there in both winter and summer and was never at a loss for something to do. One day as I was walking through the beautiful city I looked up and saw this balloon floating silently above.
Vilnius is a relatively small city and easy to walk. Old Town provides numerous restaurants and bars where you can find great local foods and drink as well as choices from around the globe. With a university in the city, Vilnius enjoys a very vibrant nightlife.
Safe, clean, great people, good shopping, great nightlife and food, what more can you ask for!
One of the large casinos in the city.
In contrast to the city, the Lithuanian countryside is a charming mix of small villages and farms. Many of the small wooden houses I saw were painted a light yellow-green color that was unique to the rural villages. Of course, I had the opportunity to taste many of the local foods, but one bread stands out, it had small bits of roasted wood chips baked into the outer crust!
Walking across the small village I came across these two men who typified the laid back feeling of the Lithuanian countryside.
One Saturday morning I traveled to a national park north of Vilnius close to the border of Belarus. As the sun began to rise I saw a dusting of freshly fallen snow covering the trees and field. As I walked in the new snow I took this photo of the gleaming, jewel-like blanket that would only last for a few more moments. I took this shot and within seconds the magic moment was gone.
Just a few hours from the capital this rural area was the site where the movie Defiance was filmed.
Getting around in the countryside wasn't always so easy!
Not far from the capital Vilnius, lies a large lake that is home to this beautiful castle at Trakai. I had the opportunity to take a dinner sail on the sailboat on the right of the photo and enjoy the beautiful weather, friends, and local Lithuanian food. Can't think of too many better things that I have done!
A Lithuanian snack on our sailing cruise on Lake Trakai was served by my friend and colleague Arunas. It looked like a fried tortilla with some chicken! Great taste and a wonderful late afternoon sail with my colleagues.
Lithuanian colleagues, Vaida and Armina
After an initial cool introduction, Jonas and I became friends. He eventually allowed me to photograph in his shop and took several of me. Jonas turned out to be a real fun guy, and after breaking our initial barriers he proved to be a prankster.
While in Lithuania I had searched for days for a real, not tourist version, spring festival masks made by the locals. Shrove Tuesday is not a holiday but is the day that ends meat-eating and the time of merrymaking. It is usually celebrated on the Tuesday before Lent.
Shrove Tuesday carnival walks lasted three days, they were similar to carnivals taking place in other parts of Europe, with homemade masks being a tradition. Masqueraders wore terrifying masks, made from tree bark, sheepskin, or animal skulls. The masks were of strange colors, their beards, eyebrows, and hair were made of horse, dog, wolf, and even bear hair. During this celebration, attention is focused on chasing away winter with all her evils.
I had no luck finding a real folk mask until my last day, when I accidentally came across Jonas, who made and sold real, local folk art. I asked him if he had any Shrove masks, and he looked at me carefully and answered," Yes, inside". When I entered his shop, Jonas showed me several masks that he had made, several were for sale. He had five masks, several made from bark and others from wood. One was made from the hide of a wolf and wasn't for sale.
He was proud to show all of them off as well as his wood carvings. After some discussion and hard bargaining regarding the wolf mask, we agreed upon a fair price and I purchased this great mask, modeled by my new friend, Jonas. I wondered later if I could get it past the US customs officials when I entered the country! Well, it did make it and now is framed and hangs proudly in my home, a real conversation piece!
A short slideshow of my visits to Lithuania.
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