Vilnius, Lithuania - Part 1

Vilnius, Lithuania was our destination earlier this month. Julian was presenting at a conference and Zoe and I felt the need, once again, to tag along and explore someplace we’ve never been. To say our trip was wonderful would be an understatement. All three of us fell in love with Vilnius and were truly sad to leave at the end of our 10 days.

Vilnius’s “old city” is a UNESCO World Heritage Centre complete with a rich history and many beautiful historic buildings. As a town, Vilnius dates back to the 13th century. Some of the existing buildings date as far back as the 17th century. Many streets in the historic centre are small, cobblestone and brick lanes that form irregular blocks in which it is all too easy to lose your sense of direction! Our hotel was on the corner of two such streets, the tiny intersection of which was closed to traffic and filled with café tables. 

Our hotel is on the left - the entrance under the flags.

Julian and Zoe standing in the intersection with our hotel restaurant on the corner behind the planters.

Our hotel restaurant, located on the corner, served delicious local food.  We found ourselves enjoying the food and the street-side view on several occasions.  Zoe is a good traveler and is generally a willing participant and well behaved in most situations – for a five year old.  Lingering at outdoor cafes, one of our favourite European pastimes was a bit more than Zoe’s patience could handle after the second or third occasion.  One such evening Julian made a paper airplane of the placemat and Zoe had lots of fun flying it in the middle of the intersection while Mom and Dad enjoyed quiet dinner conversation - a rare treat for all of us!

Flying paper airplanes in the intersection while we ate dinner.

Our hotel, the Stikliai (which means glassblower in Lithuanian) was one of the nicest we’ve stayed in!  Due to a booking glitch (which was never fully explained) we were upgraded to one of their luxury suites upon arrival.



Our own sitting room with Zoe's bed on the right.

And we even had our own pool!  Well, not entirely ours.  But we had private use of it.  The pool and sauna are operated on a reservation basis only.  You reserve a time slot and then have exclusive use of it for that period.  Zoe, of course, wanted to swim daily and it seemed that we were the only ones using the pool.  We never booked ahead but whenever we came back from an afternoon outing, the reception staff would always let Zoe know that the pool was free.  So we would “reserve” it on the spot and could always use it as long as we liked.



The hotel pool.



Our hotel's door handles were sculpted glass blowers.

One of the hotel reception staff taught Zoe how to say "thanks" in Lithuanian.  It is "aciu" (pronounced ah-choo).  Zoe thought it was great fun to say thanks to everybody after that.  She first practiced on the doorman who giggled to hear Zoe saying it.  He instantly became her favourite and played up his role of holding the door for her every time we came and went from the hotel.

Zoe assisting her favourite doorman who we suspect is not much older than her!

On our first full day in Vilnius, we opted to walk around a bit and get a feel for the city.  Within the first couple of winding blocks we began to encounter lots of people dressed in costume.  We turned a corner to find ourselves in the front courtyard of the Presidential Palace – as a ceremony was about to begin, including a speech from President Grybauskaite herself.  Unbeknownst to us, it was a civic holiday to commemorate the coronation of Lithuania’s first king, King Mindaugas, in 1253.  King Mindaugas, we later found out, ruled for 10 years after which Lithuania became a Grand Duchy and never had another king.  Nevertheless, celebrating an obscure decade-long era from almost 800 years ago is as good an excuse as any for a long summer weekend!

The weekend was also Lithuania’s annual band and chorus competition, which we think explained the large numbers of groups in matching traditional dress. All weekend we encountered groups performing in various places around the city, including driving around in open air buses.


Lithuanian flag reflected in the Presidential Palace window.

 

Military procession leading to the Presidential Palace as part of the civic holiday ceremony.



Choral and dance groups in national costume.



Band and choral groups in more modern costume.



Watching the ceremony at the presidential palace.



Two civic holiday attendees dressed head to toe in linen, locally grown and crafted.

Following our surprise presidential ceremony, we continued a couple more blocks down to Cathedral Square, the city’s historic centre.  From there we climbed up to Gediminas Castle dating back to the 13th century. 

The beginning of the climb to the castle.

One note about our time in Vilnius.  It was hot – high 20s and low 30s (high 80s F).  Not quite as hot as the heat wave sweeping North America in our absence, but still considered a heat wave for Lithuania.  One difference between Vilnius (at least the parts we experienced) and North America is the lack of air conditioning in most shops and restaurants.  And especially 13^th century castles built on top of a sunny hill.

Heat wave and dripping clothes aside, we made our way to the top of the castle on top of a hill. The view was worth it.


The view from inside the castle.



View from the top of the castle.  Old Vilnius on the left meets modern Vilnius on the right.



On top of the castle.



Zoe meets a knight in shining armour.



Inside the castle.

Once back down to Cathedral Square we scouted the row of outdoor cafes for lunch options.  Zoe’s Bar and Grill was a prime candidate except for the fact that it lacked anything that our Zoe would eat.  We opted for the Italian café next door and enjoyed a shady and leisurely late lunch while Zoe played in the fountains nearby.  It was so nice that Zoe picked the same location for a subsequent lunch later in the week.



Playing in the fountains in the square.

 

"Whatever you do, don't get your shoes wet."



"Okay Mama!"

Returning to the hotel for an afternoon swim rounded out our first day which was representative of many that followed.  We won’t bore you with a day-by-day play-by-play.  Suffice it to say we enjoyed many walks around the city exploring different neighbourhoods, parks, and sidewalk cafes!

Following are some photos of a few of the sights we enjoyed as we explored the city.

 

The front of the cathedral - Cathedral Square.





The National Theatre.



Inside view of the cathedral pictured above.

 

A second post will come later with more from Vilnius!

.