18th – Going home

I had nothing planned other than having lunch before going to the airport so I took my time when waking up. I skipped breakfast and trying to find a place with decent reviews that served local food I found a place near the river. So I checked out, left the hotel and wandered through the old town to see if I had missed anything the previous days (which wasn’t the case) and arrived at the restaurant. Or rather – where it had been. It had been closed.

Trying to find a similar alternative I found one near the station so I trotted one last time through the old town and luckily found this new place easily. A nice lunch later I was glad I was a short walk from the station as a late dessert gave me less than 15 minutes to catch my train.

It never got stressful, though, as it was easy getting to the station and finding the train, and after a 7-minutes train ride I reached the airport and 10 minutes later I had gotten through security. Apart from not having access to the lounges the flight home went without hiccups.

The airport terminal building.

And that was another location visited. Before I go on these city visits for a few days I usually google what to do on a 2-day trip. There are always two groups: “2 days are enough to experience the city and you should do/see this, this and this”, and “WHAT?! 2 days? That’s not nearly enough! You need more time!”. This was also the case for Vilnius, and all I want to say to the latter group is “What are you smoking?”. I was glad I visited and the old part of town was nice. But other than spending a few days there, there is absolutely nothing to do. 2 nights would probably have been enough, but having the third night makes sure you don’t feel you are missing anything. Any longer and you should definitely look into visiting other parts of the country.

So, in short; I’m glad I went, but it won’t be a place I’d recommend over many other European cities.

Full album can be found here.

17th – Back to uni

After another late relaxing morning I left the hotel and decided to have a walk circling around the old part of the city. I passed by the train station and went around west of the centre, but after an hour or so of walking I changed my mind and returned to the old part as there wasn’t really anything interesting to look at.

I continued and toured the university’s 13 courtyards it had been built up around. The university was founded in the 1500s around a single courtyard, and throughout the years every expansion resulted in new buildings and a new courtyard. It was quite nice walking around having a look at it all and the various building styles, but having 20.000 students here must be very crowded. Unfortunately the bell tower wasn’t open outside of the tourist season starting in May.

M. K. Sarbievijus courtyard.

Grand Courtyard with St. John’s Church to the right.

Lights inside St. John's Church.

Form there I continued east where I ended up along a wall where they had the Lithuanian constitution mounted in multiple languages, including the Scandinavian ones, and it was perfect timing for a break as just down the road there was a small Italian restaurant that served probably one of the best pizzas I have ever had.

The constitution in various languages.

From there a random walk about before returning to the hotel for a break before dinner.

Inside an orthodox church.

A few hours later I went out again for a bit of wandering before ending up at a restaurant where I had delicious local food. It took a while to find the place, and while part of the reason for that was that I didn’t take the necessary turns when needed, it was a bit embarrassing realizing that when leaving it took less than 15 minutes to get back to the hotel.

Seen at the modern art museum. Apparently a model of King Kong's hands are considered art. 

16th – Being crossed

Sleeping in in the morning I started the day slowly and had breakfast before venturing out to have a look at the city. I ended up zig-zagging through old town before ending up back at the Gediminas Castle Tower where I was last night. But as opposed to last night now the tower had been opened so you could enter and reach the roof where a complete panoramic view of the city could be experienced. The tower was also contained a museum showing the history of the city and the fortification of the hill. It was interesting but fairly unremarkable. 

The view from the Gediminas Castle Tower.

The Three Crosses seen from Gediminas Castle Tower.

From there I descended and crossed the Vilnia river and went up to the Three Crosses Hill, a memorial hill with three tall crosses, a memorial for crucified and beheaded Franciscan monks. The crosses were put up since the 17^th century. As they at the time were made from wood they were regularly replaced when rotting until 1916 they put up a concrete monument to replace them. In 1950 it was destroyed by Soviet order, and in 1989 the current crosses were erected. From there I descended and followed the river for a bit before crossing over and coming back into the old town. From there I went straight west, reached and crossed the Neris river and reached the Orthodox church there before turning around and going back. I continued the random walk around town before ending back at the hotel around 1700 for a break before dinner.

View from the Three Crosses.

Walking along the Vilnia river.

An hour or so later I went out for dinner and located a highly recommended Italian restaurant. Delicious seafood risotto, beef stew and tiramisu with white, red and dessert wine, and finishing with a generous glass of 18-year-old grappa on the house together with the bill. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t buzzing a bit when leaving.

When I left I took a short walk to the river where I could see over to the new part of the city before circling around and concluding the day at the hotel once again around 2200.

Looking down along the Neris river and seeing the new part of the city on the other side.

Vilnius Cathedral.

15th of April – Off east

While I could have gotten a direct flight to Vilnius it would have meant to take an early departure. Instead I decided on a later one and accepting a layover in Stockholm on an otherwise fairly short flight, giving me time for a more comfortable morning.

The flight went as expected with no problems on the way. But what will likely turn out to be the most memorable event of the trip happened when waiting at the gate in Stockholm: a girl was sitting eating an avocado. In itself not weird, but she was eating it as if it was an apple. Not peeled and just munching away. It was… spectacular.

We arrived in Vilnius on time, and 15 minutes after deplaning I was sitting on the train on the way to the city centre, and less than half an hour after that I had checked into my hotel. The advantages of traveling with only a carry-on and having the airport located close to the city. One of the things I noticed was when looking from outside, the airport building didn’t look much bigger than the building at the main train station.

The Dawn Gate from outside the old town.

The Dawn Gate from inside the old town.

  

Having checked in and settled in I went for a walk around 1830 to get my bearings. The Dawn Gate is just around the corner from the hotel and form there I passed by the City Hall Square before going up to the lookout point at Gediminas Castle Tower where you could see half of the old town (the other direction blocked by renovations) and parts of the new town, too. Coming back down escaping the cold winds I wandered about for a bit, bringing me past the university before arriving at a restaurant a stone’s toss from the Dawn Gate. “Fresh potato dumplings with beef” turned out to be the equivalent to short thick beef sausages wrapped in a thick layer of dense potato dumpling mash. Needless to say, it was heavy. And you got two of them.

Well... Ok, then?

The restaurant.

Rolling back to the hotel I arrived around 2200 where I settled in for the day.

Back to the Baltic

It's been a while since I've done an extended weekend trip to somewhere in Europe to visit a new city and have a look around. Obviously I need to do something about that - while I do have a few city visits throughout the year (Berlin and New York) they aren't new destinations and the point of the trips aren't purely sightseeing but rather self-punishment (or marathons - potato, potato). So looking around the options start narrowing down, but there are still options.

Also, I want to avoid a few of my frequent flier miles to expire so I have to spend them on... something. The solution seems obvious.

15^th – 18^th of April

Flying out, via Stockholm, to Vilnius, Lithuania. Spending a few days during the Easter week in this city I am expecting to be fairly relaxing. There won't be any running or training, but considering the walking I usually do I don't see it being a problem. Flight is direct back to Copenhagen, no layovers.

And so another few days will be spent on the joys of travelling.

Return to the city that never sleeps

I hadn’t planned on returning to the US anytime soon, mostly because of my trip to Iran in 2017. Because of that trip I won’t be able to apply for an easy ESTA, but instead I need to go through the lengthy process of getting a visa. The something popped up that I couldn’t keep my hands off of, and I booked a trip back to New York. I am weak.

I have fun memories of New York, and while I probably won’t have much time to spare when returning it’ll still be fun to get back there and experience it all over again.

31^st of October – 2^nd of November

Flight to New York and arriving the afternoon of the same day of departure giving two full days to prepare. I’ve booked a spot on one of the course tours where we get to see the route we will be going, and hoping to join the breakfast run on the 2^nd in the morning. That will give two afternoons where I can bumble around as I please.

3^rd of November

Race day for New York marathon. It’s regarded as the world’s biggest marathon with more than 50.000 runners each year. Starting in Staten Island it will start crossing the bridge into Brooklyn, going north up through Queens before crossing over onto Manhattan, turning north again up to The Bronx before u-turning back south into Central Park. The day, hopefully after a successful completion of the race, will be concluded with a dinner cruise.

4^th – 6^th of November

The Monday the 4^th will be spent on a bus tour south to Washington DC where we get to see all the must-sees in the US capitol before returning to New York in the evening. Fly home the next day in the late afternoon and come home the following morning.

This will be the fourth marathon I have planned for this year, and not having run anything like that before I am beginning to question my sanity. In any case I think it will be a great experience and New York always have something that’s worth seeing (or eating).

Going south, but just a bit

My trips usually bring me outside Europe as that is where most of the countries are that I haven’t visited yet. But occasionally, if something special comes up or if I get a chance to spend an extended weekend in one of the few European countries I still haven’t visited, I obviously deviate that.

In this case it’s not because I haven’t been there before – I’ve been in Germany multiple times and visited Berlin when going on summer vacations with my parents back in the old days. Instead, something popped up. I have lately on good days felt quite optimistic, on bad days I have been trying to figure out if I secretly want me to be in pain. But since I booked my trip to the Faroe Islands the ridiculous optimism has grown.

27^th of September

Leaving home by car and spend the day driving to Berlin. I actually convinced my parents to join in on the trip – they get a visit to Berlin out of it, and I get moral support. And a ride. The former is obviously the main thing.

28^th of September

Frühstückslauf in the morning – breakfast run. A gentle 6km run in the morning from Charlottenburg to the Olympic stadium. Relaxing and mental preparation the rest of the day.

29^th of September

The goal of the trip – Berlin Marathon. At least it will be (technically) easier than Torshavn which is a relief, but it’s still a marathon so not nearly easy in itself. The travel company coordinating this trip has arranged for a dinner in the evening in the TV tower for those who want of their clients.

30^th of September

Drive back home.

The Berlin marathon is one of the biggest ones in the world (45000-ish runners) so it’s going to a blast. Completely different from the Copenhagen run (9500-ish runners at the time of writing) and Torshavn (there were 147 runners last year).

Going back north - but not so far

I have for a while wanted to go to the Faroe Islands, mostly because it looks like a beautiful place but also due to it being a great location for birding. Of course, the weather is... variable. "There is a lot of it", as a Faroese friend says. So that will be an interesting aspect of the trip.

It will just be a short trip this time - and extended weekend over the Ascension Day holiday. But a short trip is better than no trip, so there is no reason to not go when you have the chance.

30^th of May – 1^st of June

Flying up directly from Copenhagen puts my in Torshavn midday, giving me plenty of time of getting to know the ups and downs of the town before I the following day (Friday) plan to take a bus to Mykines island for birding. There is apparently a lot going on around the time I’m there so I am looking forward to it. The following day I might do something similar, or just relax and hanging about near Torshavn.

2^nd of June

The main reason I’ve come here: Torshavn marathon. Yes. No, I don’t know what is wrong with me, either. I have been running regularly for years, now, and up to November last year I considered 13km as a long run. Then one day, close to finishing, I felt good so I continued, and before I knew it I had run near 22km. Not long after I ran comfortably 22-25km 3 times a week, so I realized I had to put that into good use. Hence – a marathon. It wasn’t until I had booked tickets and hotel it sunk in that this is only 2 weeks after the Copenhagen marathon – my first run of the kind. I might not be a clever man.

3^rd of June

Flight home, hopefully not too sore.

I’m looking forward to this – primarily due to the wildlife watching I am planning to do, but also to find out how I’ll do with only 2 weeks since the last run. This is also not an as easy track as the one in Copenhagen; there it’s flat with wide turns, here it’s undulating and exposed. In any case it’ll be interesting!

Pakistan update - again

Despite having my last trip to Pakistan cancelled I was surprisingly optimistic about this one. And I guess that jinxed it somehow, so this trip has now also been cancelled.

The foreign ministry had increased the safety rating for the area we were going to, but for some reason they decreased it again to a level that made the travel company cancel. I met with the company's owner at a travel convention and couldn't help but ask about it, and he confirmed there was nothing he could do. The cancellation mail arrived in my inbox only a few days after the skirmish between India and Pakistan in February which resulted in planes being shot down so I assumed that had been the cause, but he said that the foreign ministry had made the change 2 weeks before that, so he was really confused - especially considering he couldn't get any kind of answer to why they had made the change.

Oh, well. That just means a new chance for more planning for the summer!