A sober reminder

In my last few hours in Lithuania, I set out to the KGB Museum/Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fighters. It was, like the Ninth Fort in Kaunas, very sobering. Exhibits covered the occupation by Nazis as well as the Russians on both sides of World War 2. It covered the relocations, exiles, labour camps and related conditions, killings and deaths as well as a brief exhibit on the fate of Jews. And then the entire lower level was devoted to the KGB operations in Lithuania, its prison and the execution chamber.

I think this wall of artwork by mostly 11 and 12 year olds on the outside of the museum summarizes it best. Zoom in on a few and just take it all in. What an incredible story of a resilient people who have endured much to once again re-establish a democracy. A reminder to us all.

Wandering around Trakai Island Castle and Vilnius

I woke up in Kaunas to another rainy morning. Ugh. And turned over and slept in for once. Which, of course, I regretted later as the weather cleared up a bit and I might have been able to get to the Jewish Museum that unfortunately closes early on Fridays and is closed on Saturday. But I got on a train and was back in Vilnius by 11, figured out how to use the left luggage lockers to save time, and grabbed a bus to Trakai.

Trakai is the site of the Trakai Island Castle that goes back ages. It was really falling into the status of ruins in the early 1900s but fortunately individuals banded together to start to restore it and it is really quite fascinating. At EUR 8, I think it's a bit overpriced relative to other museums in the area and the types of exhibits available (a bunch of things about beadwork, ivory, glasswork and other things rather than deep dives on history and the castle itself). They also wanted another EUR 1.50 for the privilege of taking pictures. But it was nice to wander around in different parts of the castle and the setting was lovely.

The trip back was a little more interesting. I wasn't able to buy the bus ticket online as I had with the one out there (even though it was for the same company) and there wasn't a ticket agent on duty in Trakai. So I found where the next bus/van would be loading and went there. And was turned away. Unlike the driver in the morning, this driver wouldn't allow any standees. Not even a SanDee standee. So I had to wait another half hour and be first in line to make sure I got a seat on the next bus out.

Unfortunately, this meant that I didn't arrive back at Vilnius until after 2:45 PM, so no chance to get into the Jewish Museum before they closed. But after picking up my bag and checking into the hotel, I did have time to wander around Vilnius a bit more before a dinner appointment. Highlights include spotting a sculpture of Frank Zappa (no idea why), the Cat Cafe which was too busy/full to allow entry to the likes of me, and a yarn and knitting store with a super huge knitted work.

Sad that my time here is coming to an end. Will wander around Vilnius tomorrow morning one last time and hopefully hit the KGB Museum. Until then, checked into my cell at the converted convent. Perhaps the only way I'll find religion. ;-)

Why we should all know about Kaunas

The second Klaipeda hotel was very sweet this morning -- I had mentioned yesterday when checking in that I wouldn't be able to have the breakfast at 7 AM because I would be leaving. So imagine my surprise when I checked out and they presented me with a take-away bag of a packed breakfast of yogurt, a sandwich, orange, bottled water and some cookies. Very sweet. And with no prompting by me. When was the last time a Westin took that initiative for me? How about never? The clerk also confirmed that it was totally safe to walk to the train station ("But it is still cold and windy outside, madame" -- noted, though at least it had stopped raining overnight) so off I set, snapping a few pics of things I had missed before.

As I was traveling between Klaipeda (the third largest city in Lithuania) and Kaunas (second largest city), I had assumed there would be a direct train. Nope. The trip required a connection in a place called Kaisiadorys that seemed rather, er, rural. Okay.... I had about 25 minutes between the arrival of my train and the departure of the second to Kaunas, so I was hanging out on the platform, since there was only one, and just stretching my legs, when I saw the train whiz by. Wait, what?! Well, turns out there IS another platform, but it wasn't at the train station itself. You had to go about 1/8th of a mile down by the tracks, take a stairway up and over the tracks and down into the center (like the Blue Line El in Chicago by UIC, for my Chicago friends). Ummm..... [And behold, there was swearing....]

Now when I had booked my train, there was the now-typical scenario of a train around 5 AM another at 6 AM, and then the next one was around 4 PM. I had zero interest in hanging out in Kaisiadorys for six hours. But there also weren't any taxis hanging around. What to do, what to do? So I went into the train station and the first ticket agent said she didn't understand English (let alone speak it) BUT there was another employee there and, thank goodness, she both understood and spoke English. I explained the situation and she was TERRIFIC. She immediately put my mind at ease, noting that the next train was in another half hour (it's apparently the higher speed trains that run less frequently), notified me that I'd need another ticket (it's not like Deutsche Bahn where you can just take the next train -- you buy a ticket for a specific train), sold me that ticket, told me not to worry, and then came out from behind their desk/counter area and walked me outside to show me exactly where to catch the train. So helpful. I am so grateful she was there.

This was another 25,000+ step kind of day. In addition to the hike to the train station in Klaipeda at the crack of dawn, I also walked several kilometers to the hotel in Kaunas; I'm not sure I want to do that again tomorrow because parts of it were kinda ghetto and not something I'd want to do if I ended up taking an early train. I dropped off my bag at the hotel (too early to check in) and then continued to wander around Old Town, taking in the historic Town Hall Square, the gorgeous Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and Kaunas Castle. It was still too early to check into my hotel and I had heard great things about Ninth Fort, but it was also a couple of miles out of town. Now, again, I'm not averse to walking, but over 80 minutes each way in a strange city operating GPS that would quickly drain the battery on my phone didn't sound like a good plan.

So I had an immersion experience and decided to take the bus. GPS had told me which bus to take and where to catch it, but it didn't say anything about what kind of bus it would be, how much the fare would be, how one buys tickets or anything like that. So I show up at the bus stop and start asking young-looking people if they speak English and they're too shy to try and speak it. I finally asked a young woman who must've still been in high school, "Tru puty[sp?]?" as in, maybe you understand a little? She shyly nodded and then we had a bit of a conversation based on which I determined that I could pay on the bus and it was likely under EUR 2. Okay, then! Ended up being only EUR 1 and the bus wasn't initially crowded, but then we went past what must have been a Catholic elementary school and all of these adorable kids in their uniforms invaded, I mean "boarded," the bus. I had this one girl who couldn't have been more than 6 or so as she was looking at me at eye level while she stood and I was seated, and she was just staring at me. Um? Apparently my attempts to not look like a tourist were not fooling her. She didn't say anything, just stared. Until what could only be her brother started kicking her. Ah, siblings, the world over....

If you are ever in Kaunas, you should go to the Ninth Fort. Not for the bus experience, but for all that you can learn about Lithuania and its tragic history that all comes together there. The Ninth Fort was originally designed for defensive measures, but is much more well known for its role in holding individuals against their wills. Specifically, it was a holding area by the Soviets for individuals before they were transported to labor camps. That was both before and after WW2. But during WW2 when Lithuania was occupied by the Nazis, the fort was used as a place to execute over 30,000 Jews as well as captured Soviets and others. The museum contains a lot of details on Lithuanian history and the occupation by Russia before and after WW2 and all of the displacements of Lithuanians to parts of Russians as well as to labor camps. The Fort part of the site goes into more detail of what happened with the prisoners, their housing, and courageous people who sheltered Jews or others. In a nutshell, it is very sobering. I teared up more than once. It is a reminder of the courage of the Lithuanian people and their struggles against invading countries. And that, beyond all the niceties of Kaunas, is why everyone should know about Kaunas.

Shelter in place

The weather forecast called for rain starting at around 11 AM today, so I headed out around 9 to walk across the island to get to the Baltic Sea. Predictably, it started drizzling, though was better once I was in the woods. And then I noticed the winds were picking up. By the time I got to the coast, the rain had paused but the wind gusts were so hard I could hardly stand up at some points on the slippery boardwalk through the dunes as I headed down. Some say you can find bits of amber washed up on the shore. I didn't have time (or sufficient hair controlling devices) to allow for that, though I did pick up a souvenir seashell that probably won't make it home.

As I was heading out of the woods (a national park, I should note), past the signs to the women's nude beach and an odd one with must mean a dog beach or dog swimming or something, I noticed I'd just missed the ferry that would take me to the mainland for sightseeing. Doh! Well, that doh was premature, as what I learned when I consulted the ferry schedule was not only that the next ferry wouldn't arrive for another hour, but also that the first ferry of the morning doesn't depart until 7:15 AM. That's a problem since my target train to Kaunas leaves around 6:30 AM and the next one isn't until around 5 PM and the journey takes at least four hours. DOH!

Soooo..... I checked out of my hotel (unclear whether I will be charged for the second night) and got onto the next ferry to the mainland and checked into another hotel, The Old Mill, which I knew because it was right near the ferry. While I was early, they gave me a really large and bright room with a nice seating area and slanted skylights and a sink capable of washing more than one sock at a time. I hung out here for about an hour just drying out and recovering from the rain and wind I had already experienced before heading out to explore. In the rain. Without a hat or umbrella (the latter would have been useless in these winds). It's currently 53 F with winds at 30 mph, for those interested.


I hit the old town, grabbed some snacks when I stumbled upon a small grocery store, and will spend the rest of the day doing laundry, reading a book, and drinking my EUR 0.34 for 20 bags peppermint tea. While not planned, this downtime is exactly what I needed. (Full disclosure: snacks also included a wedge of brie -- for only EUR 1.49 -- some seed crackers and a half bottle of Spanish red, so there may be a happy hour before I head to dinner at the restaurant.)

So I am over half way through this adventure and no comments from readers. Is this helpful? Do you prefer history, statistics et cetera or more the experience of being here? How can I make the posts more useful?

Why it takes 52 minutes to walk three kilometers

When I arrived at the Klaipeda train station this morning after a very nice trip from SIauliai, I put my hotel into maps and asked it to calculate a route for me to walk the approximately three kilometers to my hotel. Wait, what, 52 minutes? I walk slowly, but not THAT slowly. What was going on? Well, the hotel is on the other side of what they call the lagoon and the bridge I saw on the map was actually a ferry line! Yes, I needed to take a ferry (for only EUR 1 round trip) to reach my hotel. Kinda cool. Also kind of a hassle because all of the museums and things are on the mainland. But also conveniently located to explore the Curonian Spit.

The challenges continued once I got off the ferry as maps thought it would be great to have me walk along a highway without a shoulder or sidewalk. Um.... I selected a slower route that ended up being on paths through the woods. Yes, with my rollaboard, which admittedly can be converted to a backpack, but I was thinking of that more for urban settings like the post-papal human traffic jam situation. But it was a rather nice path, so off I went.

The hotel is truly minimalist, but is part of a yacht club (that's the name, but not like what you'd expect of a yacht club in the US with fancy people dressed well and calling each other Buffy and Chuck). So the view outside my door/window is of both boats here in the marina as well as large ships in the lagoon. Super cool.

Docked outside my hotel room

It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so a slight change in plans. As I disembarked from the ferry, I saw a bus parked there that indicated it was bound for Nida and other places. When I checked in at the hotel, I asked if that was for a tour group or if it ran on a regular basis so I could perhaps fit in the Curonian Spit (a UNESCO world heritage site since 2000). It does indeed run regularly and is only EUR 4 for the approximately 55 kilometers down to Nida, which takes about an hour and seems like a deal.

Nida is a delightful and often-picturesque little fishing town. The spit is approximately a mile wide with the Baltic Sea on one side and the lagoon on the other side and the Parnidis dunes in between. I hiked around the rather fragile dunes (you're to stay on the established boardwalks and trails to protect them), being careful to also stay on the boardwalks as that's one of the ways to ensure you do not casually wander into Kaliningrad! (No joke, it was just a kilometer or two further as they own part of the spit as well.) Also hiked up to the rather smart-looking lighthouse in the other direction. Alas, didn't have time to actually make it to the Baltic Sea. Maybe tomorrow if the weather cooperates (I can actually take a trail here by the hotel that goes across the entire island).

Panoramic view from top of the spit

View at sea level

The candy striped lighthouse

Overall, another great 20,000+ step day with some beautiful scenery.

10 things I learned about Lithuania on my trip to Saiuliai

1. The best laid plans often require revision (see previous post)
2. The Lithuanian countryside is beautiful, with some rolling hills, lots of agriculture, beautiful woods and grassy plains.
3. There are a surprising number of birch trees here. I'm not sure when I have seen so many. There are certainly other types like various evergreens and what appear to be ash or aspen but would require a closer look. The birch just add a slender elegance that's noticeable.
4. One-off apple trees were noted in several instances -- like amongst trees in an off-ramp area or just by themselves in woods, but separate from farms or residences. I couldn't help but wonder if someone had just thrown an apple out of a car window and somehow the seed grew. They were quite pretty this time of year as they are full of rosy apples.
5. Tickets for both bus and train can be ordered online through a mobile site, but the tickets are delivered via PDF rather than though an app. I was concerned that I needed to print them out, but it was no problem to simply show my screen to the bus driver and, today, to the train attendant. An exception is when you're crossing a border with another country, in which case a printed ticket is required.
6. There are random bus stops along the highway. I generally have no idea how people get to those bus stops, though I saw at least one guy just walking through the grass on the side of the road into a small village so perhaps that's it? This is not unique to Lithuania as I have seen it in a few other countries and have wondered the same thing.
7. Lonely, single farm animals (cows and horses) graze by themselves outside of fenced in areas. In only one instance did the animal (a cow) seem to be actually staked out rather than grazing. I guess I would trust cattle not to roam far, but horses?
8. Russian seems to be the primary second language, at least for older individuals. Makes sense with the history, but I was nevertheless surprised that the few times people have spoken to me in Lithuanian and I said I didn't understand much Lithuanian, "Pas Russky" (sp?) was usually their follow-up.
9. There are numerous, often very large, ornamental religious crosses along the highway, sometimes at intersections, other times in the lawns/fields of families. Unfortunately, you can't necessarily anticipate them and I wasn't able to catch a photo in time for any of them.
10. While Siauliai is known for its Hill of Crosses (which I sadly didn't get to visit due to rain yesterday), it is also home to several interesting specialty museums, including a bicycle museum (closed on Monday, unfortunately), a cat museum (no joke, though unfortunately closed until autumn, which would seem to be now, but that's what their web site says), an angel museum and a chocolate museum, among others. The latter was open yesterday, so I checked it out. It's affiliated with the Ruta chocolate company where the grandmother of a friend worked. Small but interesting tour, but interesting corporate history -- started in the early 1900s by a 36-year-old, was severely damaged during World War I, was re-opened/expanded afterwards, was nationalized during the Soviet occupation, pretty much destroyed during World War II, the wife and youngest son of the owner were exiled to Siberia, but was returned to the surviving family members in 1993 after Lithuania once again became independent.

Embracing destroyed plans as a blessing

When I was a kid, one of my favorite books (right after "Curious George") was, "What Good Luck, What Bad Luck." For example, what bad luck, I fell out of the plane. What good luck, there was a haystack below. What bad luck, there was a pitchfork in the haystack. What good luck, I missed the pitchfork. And so forth. But it all is fine in the end. And I think that is pretty much a summary of my day.

My plan today was to take the 9:50 AM train to Siauliai. I checked the train schedule last night and it said I could chose from a 5 AM flight, a 6:50 AM flight or wait until after 4 PM. Oh. Okay.... I confirmed that Uber worked in the area and that the Pope-related barriers would be removed, set my alarm for 5 AM and went to the land of nod. I woke up refreshed, had some more coffee from that awesome Chemex device, got ready, ordered an Uber to the Vilnius train station, checked out, and was waiting when my Uber arrived.

The Uber driver didn't speak English, which should be fine, because I had already established the address via the app. And one of the reasons I wanted an Uber versus a regular taxi is that I've heard that, not unlike taxis in other countries, foreigners may be charged a bit more than locals. And then I thought he said something about airport. I said, "No, train station." I thought he confirmed. And off we went.

But I saw him fiddling with the default directions of the app. Okay, maybe he knows a better way. Now, if you back out the time waiting for the Pope to pass, it took me about 18-20 minutes to walk from the train station to my hotel. So I was surprised it was saying the trip would be 12 minutes. Maybe some of the Pop barricades were still in place after all and he had to go around them? After a while, we were parallel to the train tracks, so I thought, "Well, maybe taxis have to drop off on the other side."

And then we turned away from the tracks. Ruh roh And then I thought, "Oh, man, the station I went to wasn't the main Vilius station. I would've gone to the wrong one if I'd been walking. Thank goodness I took an Uber as there's no way I'd've made it this far." But we were fine. We were scheduled to arrive at 6:33 AM and the train wasn't until 6:50 AM so plenty of time, right?

Well, not if he dropped me off at the AIRPORT. I saw just as we arrived that his navigation was set for airport traiin station, but he nevertheless took me to the main terminal. GRRRRrrrr.... By this time, there would be no way to get back to the real train station and catch my train, even if I immediately popped into another cab (or, worse yet, asked for another Uber and got him again).

Okay, so what were my options? Go at the tail end of the day on the train and figure out something to do in rainy Vilnius, or figure out another way to get to Siauliaia. I chose the latter. First idea was to take a rental car. Yeah, the only rental agency that had locations at both Vilnius Airport and Siauliai was Sixt, which is not a US firm approved vendor so no preferential pricing. But how much could it cost? Um, with the drop-off in a different location, close to EUR 300 for one day. How about no?! I'm on vacation and have nothing but time and that is roughly 24,000 peppermint tea bags based on the EUR 0.34 I paid last night for 20 of 'em.

So what about a bus? Figured there must be some at the Vilnius train station, so if I just got the EUR 0.70 train back to the city, I could catch the next bus out. Or not. First of all, the first airport train out was at 08:17, which made sense when I realized the first flights didn't take off or land until well after 08:00. Well, I could take a taxi back to the train station in the city (ignore why I took an Uber in the first place, as that clearly didn't work out as planned) and catch the next bus at 08:20. But that involved a transfer to another bus, which was perhaps a bridge too far.

So, cheapskate that I am (and being on vacation, so my time value of money was significantly decreased), I waited for the train to the Vilnius train station. And what good luck, the conductor didn't show up so my ride was free -- I was also the only passenger on said train, which was kind of creepy. But hey, EUR 0.70 -- that's enough for 40 teabags!

In the interim, I had purchased the bus ticket for the 09:50 bus to Sauliaia online. Upon arrival at the train station I tried to locate the bus "gate." My ticket had a number, but all the stops around the train station had letters. Ummmm.... So I went to the Information desk, thinking someone there might be able to help. Well, kind of. In a mixture of Lithuanian and English, I was told that the bus ticket desk was in the "next hall" with a gesture to the left. Okay. I went outside to find the hall to the left. Nothing. Maybe she meant to the right. Nope. Thank goodness for my 2G unlimited data from T-Mobile, which helped me identify via Google Maps where the bus station actually was -- straight ahead across a rather scary-by-foot roundabout.

Found it and headed to the Information desk there to confirm that/whether my digital ticket would work or if I really needed to print it on paper. In response to my question of, "Do I did to print my ticket or is the digital version okay?" she answered "Yes." Okay..... I decided to throw caution to the wind and just get in line to board -- after a trip to the paid toilets, which distinguished itself by being the first that provided unlimited included toilet paper but only in a common area, so you had to guess how much you might need and take it with you to your stall. Hmmm.....

I watched the type of buses that were in the area. Some seemed very nice, advertising WiFi and spare power plugs and the like. Others were, um, smaller and sketchier. I waited with bated breath to see what bus would show up at platform 24 (play it and win!) I was lucky -- a rather nice bus with decent interior but no WiFi. Seems liked a deal -- EUR 13 for what ended up being a three hour drive versus the EUR 19 for the train that I missed, though the train had a shorter travel time. In the end, though, I got to actually be able to enjoy the scenery and take some pictures that more or less turned out. Though I feel bad for the elderly lady who sat down beside me and then realized I didn't speak Lithuanian or Russian and she didn't speak German. I used my best Lithuanian to say that I am an American, only speak a little Lithuanian and, um, excuse me (for lack of better words since my vocabulary is limited). But I give her snaps for not moving to a different space. And when she got off she turned to me and nodded and I did the same. Felt somehow like we had connected.

So in the end, I'm okay (I'm not ready to say I'm "glad") that I didn't make my train and that I wasted time and money with Uber. I had a lovely day, that didn't end when the bus arrived. But more on that tomorrow.

Point is, when you're too fixated on your plans, you can miss some amazing opportunities. Keep open to opportunity and the benevolent universe will fill your life with beautiful experiences. Sharing a few pics from the journey below.

Vilnius - You can see a lot in 26,000 steps

Today was my first day of tourism in Vilnius; I will spend another day here at the end of the trip, so hope to complete then what I wasn't able to accomplish today. Because even though I put in over 25,000 steps and saw a lot as you'll see below, there were some significant things I am still missing.

Hotel
The day started at my hotel, of course. I'm staying at the Artagonist Art Hotel in Old Town. My room only has a twin bed, but it was comfortable and most of the time I spend here is either sleeping or typing missives like this, so it's fine. It does indeed have some interesting art on the wall and the hotel booklet features a double-page spread describing my room as follows:

"Room 306 welcomes the viewer by asking geometric questions about love. To be precise, it is done by the application of textile work, where the pyramids of glossy and matt [sic] materials form a character of flat surface. Look at them from the different perspectives of a room -- a piece of art is changing while moving as if it was alive."

Okay, but not following how it relates to love. Does its presence in a room with a twin bed signal the absence of love? Longing to fill a love void? You can see why I was up all night pondering this. [Kidding; slept like a rock.]

The room has some interesting touches, including a rather high-tech built-in safe drawer, a carafe of water with a charcoal device lurking in the bottom and, my personal favorite, one of the Chemex coffee brewers. I've always wanted to try the Chemex and made an exception to being caffeine free in order to try it out today. Not bad.

Literatu Gatve
This little street (more like an alley) is right around the corner from the hotel and has over 200 pieces of artwork crafted in ceramic, sculpture, glass and other media mounted into the walls. Each is very unique and represents a valued literary contributor, both from Lithuanian and abroad.

Uzupis
The Uzupis neighborhood is unique in several respects, not least of which is that it declared itself an independent republic in 1997. It's not clear entirely what that means as it is recognized by no governments, has no embassies. But does have a constitution that contains things like, "Don't Fight," "A dog has the right to be a dog," "People have the right to be happy" and "People have the right to be unhappy." They also have a flag, the color of which varies by season (I'll let you guess which respective seasons are represented by green, yellow, red and blue for extra credit). What IS clear is that there are quite a lot of artists and creative types in the area. I noted a few unique things such as a bench swinging beneath a bridge over Vilnia River (for which the city is named), some art installed in said river, and a random bathtub in a crazily painted walkway that appears to have been used in the murder of grapes.

Bernadine Garden and Church of St. Francis and St. BernardJust across the river from Uzupis is the beautiful Bernadine Garden with several fountains, beautiful gardens, lots of benches from which to watch the world go by and even a life size chess board that unfortunately wasn't in use at the time. The gardens are related to the Bernadine monastery and church next door. The church was originally constructed in the 1500s but reconstructed in the early 1600s and incorporated into the Vilnius defensive wall, so there are actually openings in it to shoot approaching invaders. That perhaps wasn't enough, because in the mid 1600s during a war with Moscow, Cossacks killed the monks and citizens who had taken shelter there.

St. Anne's Church
This church is adjacent to the Bernadine church, but couldn't be more different, at least from the outside. It is considered an interesting example of Gothic architecture in Lithuania. The guidebook says that it is a "prominent example of both Flamboyant Gothic and Brick Gothic styles." I'm not sure what the difference is, but will take their word on it. The original church that was built for Anna, the first wife of Vytautas the Great. Unfortunately, it was wooden and burned in a fire in the early 1400s. This brick version was constructed from the mid to late 1400s and hasn't really changed since then though there have been structural reinforcements. Of note, Napoleon saw the church during the War of 1812 (yes, I have the 1812 Overture going through my mind right now, too) and is said to have said he wanted to carry it home with him to Paris.

There's more interesting history. There is a square here where the Lithuanian Freedom League held a rally to protest the ongoing Soviet occupation in 1987, which was put down by the militia in short order.

Hill of Three Crosses
So there's an old story/legend that 14 Franciscan friars came to Vilnus but talked smack about some Lithuanian gods, so angry citizens killed them all -- seven were crucified and thrown into a river and the other seven were beheaded on Bleak Hill. Yeah, so.... Regardless of whether that's entirely true, three crosses were erected on Bleak Hill, likely in the early 1600s, and were periodically replaced due to the wooden crosses rotting. So in the early 1900s, a concrete monument was erected, but it was torn down by the Soviets in the 1950s. During the Lithuanian independence movement, the current monument was created on the same site, but the crosses are significantly larger than the older monument.

As a personal note, if you go there, I can't say I'd recommend you take the route up there from the Bernadine Garden direction. It's a series of neverending wooden steps that really tests one's endurance and stairmastering skills. Gorgeous views, though, so well worth the climb.

Church of Saints Peter and PaulThis one was a bit out of the way, but gorgeous nevertheless. It was the only one that specifically requested a donation, which I was happy to provide. Gorgeous details.

Gediminas TowerOne of the things I have noticed in general in Vilnius are the number of streets and some sidewalks that are crafted from stones set in concrete. It looks nice, but makes you wish for the simple joys of only catching a heel in cobblestones. If you weren't stable, it could be really difficult. And when you add a steep climb the level of difficulty dramatically increases, as I saw on the climb up to Gediminas Tower. Now, apparently they have had enough fat Americans and other tourists to have created a funicular which will haul you up the side of the hill for EUR 1 (return trip sold separately). However, there is a bunch of construction going on and, whether related to that or something else, the funicular was not running today (I would've walked anyway, to be clear -- I'm not scheduled for funicular fun until Kaunas). This trek is nothing to Lithuanians, though, as illustrated by women hiking up there in pumps!

Vilnius Cathedral and towerThe site of this beautiful cathedral was a place of pagan worship (there's some history on Lithuanian and paganism and conversion to Christianity not necessarily coming from a religious interest). There have been various cathedrals built on the site and fires either burning down or damaging them. It seems like the current one was after a rebuilding in the early 1600s. In any event, it is a key element of Vilnius as well as Lithuanian history, with several coronations taking place there and famous Lithuanian leaders and relatives buried there.

This is where Pope Francis addressed the people yesterday, so there was still a lot of activity today to tear down stages and remove barriers.

Palace of the Grand DukesNot unlike the Vilnius Cathedral, the Palace of the Grand Dukes has a long history with various construction phases. There were three castles -- the Upper Castle, Lower Castle and Crooked Castle. The latter was burned down during an attack by the Teutonic Order in the late 1300s and wasn't rebuilt. The others survived in various states until being significantly damaged in the Battle of Vilnius in 1655. There's more history, but essentially nothing really survived intact to the present day except the Gediminas Tower (see above). The current National Museum of Lithuania is built over the ruins of the castle complex that are visible and discussed in detail, which is pretty interesting (who knew they had a sewer system?).

The museum offers four different "tours" and you either shell out the EUR 6 for all four, or buy them piecemeal. I figured I could do all four, but underestimated the historic detail and information provided and I wanted to read all of that, so just barely finished two tours. But here are my favorite tidbits:

Sigismund the Old seems like a ruler ahead of his time as some of his actions seem like something we might discuss today. Specifically:

1. In 1507, the government decided that a register of all the noblemen and their lands should be drawn up in order to calculate how many soldiers each had to provide for the war effort. Penalties for nobles who avoided military service were set.
2. To increase cash needed for wars and other expenses, he issued regulations that reduced the amount of taxes that peasants could pay in labour and in kind. Unclear where peasants were supposed to come up with cash, though. He also tried to make estate managers more accountable and reduce abuse and the misappropriation of funds. Please tell me he also hired forensic accountants....

Sigismund the Old also was the first Lithuanian ruler to marry an Italian and that changed quite a few things. Not only did his wife, Bona Sforza, bring renaissance ideas to Lithuania, she also installed Italian chefs and introduced things like tomatoes and lemons to the country. She was also not one to be messed with. She was attacked by a bear, but was rescued and saved, but it forced her to give birth to a premature baby who did not survive. The animal thing wasn't only her issue, though. A few generations later, Cecilia Renata, Ladislaus Vasa's first wife, was watching a dog-and-bear fight (apparently this was a thing?) and was apparently not the sharpest knife in the drawer as she was mutilated by a bear when she went to look at a bear that had retreated. It caused her to give birth to a stillborn and died herself the next morning. Well, at least that's what the exhibit in the museum said. Wikipedia doesn't mention the bear mauling and says she died the day after her stillborn daughter, "as a consequence of an infection, likely related to her recent childbirth." Or from bear germs. Who can say?

Vilnius University bell towerThe university campus is supposed to be quite nice but it was closed by the time I get there (you pay about EUR 2 for the privilege of walking around). BUT their bell tower was still open for a whopping EUR 2.50. Hmmm. So in I went. The nutshell version is that you can take an elevator up four floors and see some nice views through a wire mesh. Not so exciting. That's because if you want excitement and unobstructed views, you take a slightly irregular wooden staircase up another level or so. And then basically kind of have to haul yourself up out of a hole that would be an OSHA nightmare and lawyer's dream in some other country. But once you got through that, you could venture out on a balcony that went around the tower and allowed you to take some stunning panoramic pictures. While you tried to forget that you'd have to crawl back down that hole. Totally worth the EUR 2.50.

Gate of Dawn
Back in the 1500s, city gates (some sources say 9, others say 5) were added as defensive fortifications for the city. The Gate of Dawn is the only one that has survived. The gates often contained religious artifacts to protect the city from attach and to bless travelers passing through the gates (except, one assumes, those who were traveling in to attack). This gate has a painting by an unknown artist of the Virgin Mary that is covered with a silver gilt setting. The gate and the image have become icons for Vilnius. Pope John Paul II visited here and, just yesterday, Pope Francis passed under this gate (I was on the other side when I took my video) on his exit from the cathedral.

Bastion Hill
In the 1700s this bastion fortification was created as part of the defensive wall for Vilnius. The building that has been reconstructed wasn't open when I went by, but I was intrigued by it and the portion of the original walls versus what has apparently been redone.

I think that's enough for one day. Tomorrow I am off to Siauliai.