BajaBlanca - 9-10-2021 at 12:24 AM
Vilnius is a city of contrasts. Ultra modern buildings next to ancient, some abandoned and some beautifully taken care of buildings.
Our hotel was one block off a busy street so it was super quiet. $100 for two nights. Very clean and simple room. Perfect for us. Due to covid,
all breakfasts are delivered to the room! For 8 euros you get scrambled eggs, pancakes, coffee, juice, rolls n crackers. Our room is the 2 windows
on the far right in the photo.
There is a funicular up to the fort. 1 euro each way. Spectacular views!
Random statue I saw on one of my walks.
I walked to a huge building that was a farmer's market and Mexico lindo was there!!!!!!!
We jumped in a cab in the old district to go to our hotel about 5 minutes away. I asked to go to a part of the city that is a neighborhood that
declared and got its independence. The driver drove thru it quickly and said it was nothing to write home about and said he could take us to a
waterfall not too far away. HAHAHAHAHA He took us for a 26 euro ride! Dummies that we are, we fell for it.
The waterfall was 10 inches high and man-made. BUT there was a small lagoon with a black swan. I had never ever seen a black swan! That was worth
the extra euros in my book.
We had our last dinner at a typical Lithuanian restaurant. One of the most typical meals is a big soft potato mash on the outside, ground meat on the
inside - which Les remembers his mom making when he was a kid, but is not the most typical for Poland like it is in Lithuania.
The decor at the restaurant was beautiful, the food delish and the price for 2 with dinner, wine and beer, and a dessert was about $25 dollars.
As I was walking, I saw this barbershop! CLASSIC name.
and lastly, a sign we saw as we were leaving town....I am guessing it means the sun might be in your eyes in the afternoon (it was morning and the sun
was behind us)?
Our trip was wonderful. A city of contrasts - ultra modern and ancient, youngest population in the Baltics and more women than men, surrounded by
forests, did not see any homeless, felt 100% safe ie no sign of pickpockets. They have many, many museums but we did not have time to visit them. I
would go back in a heartbeat.
I hope you enjoyed a mini vacation to Lithuania!
SFandH - 9-10-2021 at 06:09 AM
Were there sounds at the intersection indicating red light, green light? Maybe the sunglasses are to indicate a crossing equipped for use by people
that can't see well.
BajaBlanca - 9-10-2021 at 07:40 AM
Very good thought but all the intersections had sound for crossing.
Also, in town, not one car snuck thru red lights and pedestrians were respected and had the right of way.
Peds also have the right of way here in Poland.
I almost bit the dust in Turkey. Driver came so close to running me over and I think he or she never blinked an eye! If it had not been for our car
rental agent pulling me back at the last second, I might not be here right now. Whew!
BigBearRider - 9-10-2021 at 09:54 AM
Thanks for posting the pics. Vilnius is very nice. It has a nice feel to it. Smaller, and with some nice terrain. Riga has a very nice, fairly large,
town with gorgeous architecture worth visiting. Tallinn is also very nice. Older old town, but smaller. The bigger Helsinki is close with the
hovercraft.
BajaBlanca - 9-10-2021 at 01:02 PM
Next time we want to go to Palanga. A friend says it is on the coast and really nice.
I found a used book bookstore with tons of books in English! I will go back LOL