Vilnius, Lithuania

Thursday Sept. 6 - Sunday Sept.9 /12

Did a lot of sleeping.
The pattern: Sleep, eat, antibiotics, sleep, eat, clinic for professional bandage change on my back, sleep, eat, antibiotics, sleep.

Fortunately  I had Tomas's puppy, Takas, to keep me company.
So adorable!
Except when he peed on the floor...







Monday Sept. 10 & Tuesday Sept. 11 / 12

Finally having a bit more energy, I wondered around the old town of Vilnius.. which I  quickly learned has many many churches.

St. Anne's Church - A Gothic style, Roman Catholic church built from 1495-1500.

It is quite beautiful.

This is the Cathedral square.. featuring the Vilnius Cathedral.

Originally built in the late 1200 the cathedral houses crypts and catacombs of many famous Lithuanian and Polish people.

The cathedral was restored in 1989.

Behind this beautiful site is the Gediminas tower, which used to be an entire castle, originally built in 1409.

The tower is all that remains.



It had a mini museum inside where I read about the 1989 "Baltic Way" or Chain of Freedom.
At this time, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were all Republics of the Soviet Union.

The Baltic Way was a peaceful political demonstration that involved approx. 2 million people who joined hands over a 600km span across all 3 Baltic States.

The protest drew global attention by demonstrating a desire for independence for each of the entities. It also illustrated solidarity among the three nations.

The event presented an opportunity for the Baltic activists to publicise the illegal Soviet occupation and position the question of Baltic independence not as a political matter, but as a moral issue. 6 months after the protest, Lithuania declared independence.

The view of Vilnius from the top of the tower.

This is the Angel of Užupis, which was my landmark for finding my way back to Tomas's house.

It was erected in 2002 to symbolise the revival and artistic freedom of eastern Europe.


I walked past it everyday.