Vilnius, Lithuania

Poor Vilnius came at an unfortunate time for us, as we were finally becoming a bit worn-down by two weeks of travel. As the first day of sightseeing took place in a torrential downpour, our spirits dropped slightly lower. Fortunately, Vilnius was saved for us by one simple factor: Lithuanians.

We met more Lithuanians than any other nationality thus far. They were warm, happy, funny people. Stumbling into a group of young folks our age at a lake, they invited us to their flat for a dinner. Expecting beer and potato chips, we arrived to a lovely four-course dinner of traditional foods (and some beer, of course). We talked, laughed, and they asked us many questions about why Americans would choose to live in Central Europe and love it so much. Later in our visit, we invited them for a pot of curry and repeated the process on our tab.

Our first night in Vilnius, after a long hot train ride, we found our way out to a nearby state park, where the water was naturally moss-green and yet somehow clear. The lake was also surrounded by pine trees, so it was a very green scene all in all! Hot air balloons bobbed in the sky and I realized that this was something that I wouldn't ever do again: swim in a green lake in Lithuania. But how amazing to do it at all!

So we sightseed (sightsaw?) on the first full day and the last day. And Vilnius is, indeed, a beautiful city. Even more so on the last day in the sunshine. :)

Vilnius has the largest old town of the Baltics, all of it protected by Unesco. There are a lot of churches, even for Europe. A lot! One of our new friends, a student of heritage (because it seems you can study that in Europe), showed us around the town, chatting constantly in charming English about the history, local legends, and anecdotes about every sight we saw.

On the middle day we headed out to a nearby castle, Trakai, which is totally surrounded by a lake. The castle was, like most of the region, totally destroyed in WWII, and was rebuilt to a slightly disconcerting level of perfection. So we wandered through that, and through giant green mounds where wooden castles were built by medieval kings. And then we swam in lakes some more.