Monday, 2 May
It was a 4hr bus ride from Riga to Vilnius, Lithuania. We arrived in the early afternoon, and immediately set out for a walking tour of the Old Town; similar to both Tallinn and Riga, though much larger and with many more modern boutique shops. Since the weather was nice, a few of us took the short hike up to the Gediminas Tower, then down through the park, and up to the Three Crosses for some great view of both the old and new parts of the town. Then it was back to through the park, and over to St Anne’s, a beautiful gothic 16th century cathedral. From there is was a short stroll over the river to Uzupis Republic, a quirky self-governing bohemian and artist neighborhood, where we got our passports stamped. I set off to explore the neighborhood on my own, and found a fantastic restaurant a short distance up Kriviu street called Uzupio Klasika. With only 5 tables it was the epitome of cozy. I ordered the Halibut steak with roasted veggies, a glass of wine and dessert for $18 euros and everything was prepared excellently.
The following day, my new friend and tour guide, Lauren and I took the bus (1.60 euro) to Trakai Castle, about 45min outside of Vilnius and definitely worth the trip. From the bus station it was a pleasant 2km walk along the lake to the Castle. It rained briefly, but shortly after entering the castle, the weather cleared and the sun came back out. Fortunately for us, the rain had driven all the tourists away and we had the place mostly to ourselves. They did an excellent job of reconstruction and had set up each room of the castle with a display of some sort, and it was fascinating to wander through it. We took a break midway through and had a picnic lunch in the sunny courtyard, then had a couple of laughs taking pictures in the stockades. I was able to get some beautiful shots of the exterior from across the lake, with the the castle reflected in its surface.
