Touring Vilnius Part 1

16-Aug-2013 • Vilnius Lithuania

Yesterday was a very busy day. We had to check out of our hotel in Riga, waited for the Luxe Express bus for Lithuania that arrived a few minutes late, traveled on the bus for four hours, almost had my luggage left behind by the bus driver at a Vilnius stop, arrived at the Vilnius Central Bus Station in pouring down rain, and walked in circles inside the bus station in need of directions to get to the Rinno Hotel. Though happy to arrive safe and sound in Lithuania, we were exhausted. So, today. we woke up late, took things easy, and had breakfast at nearly 10 am. Shortly thereafter, we set out to visit Vilnius's Old Town. Fortunately for us, our hotel was close to two attractions in the city already. The lone remaining Jewish synagogue in the city, the Choral Synagogue, as well as the Statue of the Egg. I read from one guide book that there used to be a huge Jewish population in Lithuania and that there used to be lots of synagogues as well. The Choral Synagogue built last 1903 only survived the Second World War because the Nazis used it as a storage room. Thank goodness, it survived. It is indeed a beautiful building. A few yards away is the Statue of the Egg, which looks more like an Easter Egg.

The Choral Synagogue

The Egg Statue

I have never seen any statue honoring the Easter Egg before. This sure was a sight, a cute one, I mean.

The Egg Statue in the middle of a small plaza

A close up view of the Egg Statue

The Vilnius Market Hall

Unlike Riga's Central Market, Vilnius's Market Hall is not considered a tourist attraction but can be. It is just as interesting as its Latvian counterpart. Marc and I visited it anyway and as expected, there were no other tourists in sight. We were the only ones there not buying any meat nor produce. Given the rarity of tourists here, the vendors were not accostumed to tourists taking pictures of the food they sold.

We had our share of these meats right from Day 1 of our Baltic States trip. Gee, now that I see these, I can't help but miss the breakfasts we had in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. They were superb. And the Russian pastries, please, take me back there!

Delicious sausages in Vilnius' Market Hall

The vendor from the stall told me in Russian not to take pictures. I could tell from her face and hand gesture. She wasn't angry. She simply asked me in a soft voice not to even though she spoke in Russian.

Since the Main Train Station was close by, we decided to check out the train that traveled from the station to the International Airport. The fare was only 2.50 litas (approxiately US $1.00). The trip took all of 7 minutes. The train traveled really slow. Had it traveled any faster, we would have reached the airport in a minute. I swear!

The Main Train Station in Vilnius

We were quite saddened by the fact that the train was not user friendly. Passengers with big and heavy luggage sure were burdened with going up and down the stairs of the train. Although our trip to Norway is not scheduled til tomorrow afternoon, we decided to take the train anyway so that we would know where to take the train and which platform to take it from. We likewise wanted to know how the airport looked. The airport turned out to be small in size but there were no crowds.

Inside the Vilnius International Airport

Since we were already inside the international airport, we decided to roam and explore. WE saw the Air Baltic counters checking passengers in and all I can say is they were STRICT about checked in luggage. The airline only allowed one with a very small luggage allowance. As far as in flight carry on, just one as well. There was no such thing as a personal bag then and a small in flight bag. That was such a big NO, NO.

Inside the Vilnius International Airport

The facade of the Vilnius International Airport

After an hour, we took the same train that took us to the airport and returned to the city center.

The train we took to the Vilnius International Airport

The train approaching the Vilnius International Airport for our return to the Main Train Station

Along the way, we had glimpses of old Soviet era apartment buildings like the one below.

A Soviet Era apartment building

Since we were already in the train station, we decided to cross the street and take a picture of the bus station where our Luxe Bus dropped us off yesterday afternoon after a four hour bus ride from Riga, Latvia.

The Vilnius Bus Station

I must say, it looked different under sunny skies. Not drab nor scary at all.

Can you see the I sign right above the entrance? Well, we thought this was the sign for the Tourist Information in the Bus Station only to find out it wasn't. I must say, the I sign is 100% the same as the I sign for all tourist information offices I see all over Europe.

We didn't really have a specific list of attractions or must sees today. We just walked around and soaked everything in. We did start from the section of the city we didn't visit nor explored yesterday. Luckily, we saw the Gate of Dawn right away.

The Chapel of the Virgin Mary also known as the Gate of Dawn

There were many tourists gathered in front of this gate which is actually a church. Some male tourists even knelt down in front of the church from where a framed picture of the Virgin could be seen through an opened window.

The Mural or Painting of the Lord Jesus right above the entrance of Gate of Dawn

The topmost part of the Gate of Dawn

A plaque about the late Pope John Paul on the Church of the Holy Spirit or Gate of Dawn

The Church of the Holy Spirit or the Gate of Dawn

The Church of the Holy Spirit, a pilgrimage site for many religious Eastern Europeans

A close up view of the Blessed Virgin Mary inside the Church of the Holy Spirit or Gate of Dawn

In front of the popular religious site, the Church of the Holy Spirit or Gate of Dawn in Old Town Vilniius

The Church of St. Teresa

The Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit

Within the grounds of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit

The Church of the Holy Trinity in Old Town Vilnius

The Church of St. Casimir

To get to Uzupis which is located right next to a river, we had to walk over a bridge which had locks on them. It seems to me this is a popular practice among many citizens in Germany and Eastern European citizens to place a padlock on the bridge, close it, and then throw the lock into the river never to be retrieved ever again. I find that very romantic.