See What Tim Is Doing: Lovely Lithuania (July 4-8)

So stop one is complete, Vilnius Lithuania, and a good start to the journey! Vilnius is a small town, consisting of Old Town and New Town, which are just that, old and new. New town, boring and all new buildings, really isn’t much different to any other city. Old town though is a different story, cobblestone roads, impressive churches, outdoor cafes and a laid back vibe about it.

As mentioned in last post the Lithuanian’s had a public holiday on Wednesday which is an annual holiday to celebrate the crowning of the King 800 years ago, from what I could gather it was like our Australia Day. Every year they get dressed up in all their medieval/traditional outfits and there’s a festival in the park with handicrafts, music, singing, dancing, eating traditional foods and drinking beer, which was delicious (particularly the honey brew). So we ventured down to there, wandered around for a bit, checked it out, watched some signing and dancing, although we had no idea what was going on, and ate and drank. Until the blue skies disappeared and they were replaced with black clouds that of course, pissed down with rain pretty much instantly. Umbrellaless, jumperless and raincoatless, we had no choice but to take refuge in a port-a-loo for 30 minutes while the storm passed. Not the finest 30 minutes in Vilnius.

Majority of my time was spent exploring the Old Town, learning about Vilnius and its history (which is really rather impressive for a little country) trying to communicate with people who spoke no English, taking photos and eating traditional foods (including pigs ears and zepplins).

Two highlights of the trip were the visit to Trakai Castle, an old castle about 30kms from Vilnius that is situated on a small island surround by breath taking lakes and scenery, and also a visit to the Museum of Genocide Victims which was the absolute polar opposite to the Trakai Castle. Dark, disturbing, but extremely interesting. Housed in the former KGB Headquarters, it guides you through the dark period from about 1940-1991 and gives you insights into the KGB and Soviet Union and just how much of animals they were and how badly the Lithuanian people were treated. Shows you methods used to spy on people, thoughts and beliefs and the extreme actions they would take to get their targets! And then to top of the heart-warming experience, you finish off in the basement floor where you see the torture cells, the horrible condition of housing cells and to top it off , the execution room. Sounds grim, and it was, but at the same time extremely interesting and well worth it!

Now the nightlife in Vilnius, I had heard good things about it and its occupants, and at first I thought I had been fed false information, but once it hits midnight, the town comes alive and everyone is ready to go. During my visit I had two large nights and they were both equally enjoyable. Lots of drinking, cutting shapes on the dance floor and meeting new people. Everyone in Vilnius loves a good party, girls, guys, young and old were all on the floor, shots are encouraged and partying either side of the public holiday is highly encouraged.

All in all, Vilnius is a town full of charm, beautiful people, cheap food and booze and good times. Now en-route from Lithuania to Latvia, and the bus has wi-fi! Going to make the trip go very quick!

Things learnt in Lithuania…

• Lithuania was the first country to break from the USSR in 1990

• Lithuanian girls are good dancers

• Lithuanian guys are terrible dancers

• If you dance like you are having an epileptic fit, you are considered a good dancer and will be surrounded by a large group of male and female Lithuanians and be invited to dance on the podium.

• Lithuanians all have amazing ice blue eye, both male and female

• Lithuania is the only country in the world having national perfume

• Lithuania is the oldest and the largest Baltic State

• A Lithuanian company plans to set up a holiday resort in the Maldives run entirely by blondes