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.