Touring Vilnius, Part 2

17-Aug-2013 • Vilnius Lithuania

We didn't stay very long up on Gedomino Hill. Marc was worried that it was going to rain and the stone path down back to the city was going to be slippery. It was after all getting cloudier and cloudier by the minute. As soon as we got to street level, we saw the Lithuanian National Museum right next to the Vilnius Cathedral.

The Lithuanian National Museum in the Old Arsenal and the Gedominas Tower in the background

The Old Arsenal sign

As it turned out, the museum was inside an old arsenal. A few minutes later, we also discovered that the Lithuanian National Museum continued on inside a new arsenal. We didn't have enough time in the city of Vilnius and so instead of visiting museums, we toured the city more to see its other sights.

Here's the facade of The Lithuanian National Museum in the New Arsenal

In hindsight, I wish we had gone inside the museum. We saw a stone sculpture in front of it which tourists scrutinized up close and in detail.

The Lithuanian National Museum in the New Arsenal

A close up of the stone monument dedicated to Mindaugas in front of The Lithuanian National Museum in the New Arsenal

Mindaugas was the First Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only king of Lithuania.

A side view of the same stone sculpture and monument to Lithuania's Grand Duke and only king, Mindaugas

A few yards away, we passed by a small park full of trees and we saw another monument similar to the stone statues in Easter Island.

A closer view of the same stone statues

The belfry next to the Vilnius Cathedral. We visited this beautiful cathedral the day before but it was only today that we went in. It is Catholic and I didn't realize how religious the city of Vilnius was. Despite the fact that Lithuania was part of the former USSR, it had many churches and cathedrals and was able to preserve them all, Catholic, Lutheran and Russian Orthodox.

The Vilnius Cathedral in Cathedral Square

A head on view of Vilnius Cathdral in Cathedral Square

Vilnius Cathedral and belfry in Cathedral Square

The topmost statue of Vilnius Cathedral

The Vilnius Cathedral

Inside Vilnius Cathedral

The Vilnius Cathedral was huge. It seemed new too. It must have been rebuilt, remodeled, or refurbished just recently. Unlike many Catholic churches allover Europe, Vilnius Cathedral didn't seem very ornate.

This must have been St. Paul. His statue was to the left of the main altar.

This saint statue on the other hand was to the right of the main altar.

I remember seeing a very beautiful chapel on the right of the main altar. It was named St. Casimir and its main altar and surrounding walls were very heavily and ornately decorated. Here we did linger and took more pictures.

This was the altar inside the Chapel of St. Casimir inside the Vilnius Cathedral.

The organ inside the Vilnius Cathedral

The cathedral's dome

The Nave of Vilnius Cathedral

This was an image of my last glimpse of the cathedral right before we left the premises.

A side view of the monument of St. Gediminas in Cathedral Square

The statue of Gediminas in Cathedral Square

The inscription at the base of the monument of St. Gediminas in Cathedral Square

At Cathedral Square

I read a lot of travel blogs prior to our trip to the Baltics and I saw a picture of three women each wearing what looked like a mask and all dressed in black. They turned out to be statues right above the main entrance to the National Lithuanian Drama Theater along Gedomino Avenue.

These three women greeted visitors to The National Lithuanian Drama Theater

Another picture of the three women but from a different angle in front of The National Lithuanian Drama Theater

Shortly after visiting this theater, the clouds got darker and darker and sure enough, it poured. We decided to wait it out at the nearby McDonald's Restaurant. While in there, Marc decided to order some broccoli bits. We had never seen anything like it served in any of the McDonald's in the US.

This was the poster advertising the broccoli bits inside the McDonald's along the swank Gedomino Avenue in Vilnius

The bits were full of cheese and a little broccoli.

As soon as the rained subsided, Marc and I continued to walk along Gedomino Avenue and we were determined to walk all the way to its other end. We could see a church.

While Gedomino Avenue looked very westernized and modern, there were a few buildings which reminded us of the Soviet era just like this brown building.

There were small gardens along Gedomino Avenue and the monument in honor of Julija Zemaite was the next one we saw.

The statue of Julija Zemaite on Gedomino 27-29

This steel bench was one piece of artwork placed in between a row cement park benches.

Here's another building which evoked the Soviet era.

Gedomino Avenue was rather a long Avenue and another sight we saw there was the Lithuanian Parliament Building.

The Parliament of Lithuania

The pyramid in front of the Lithuanian Parliament

The marker of the Lithuanian Parliament

and stuff" continues the graffitti on the opposite wall

This was a quaint Lithuanian wooden house way passed the Gedomino Avenue, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the bridge over the river.

This was another wooden house from long ago in the Vilnius of yesteryears.

There were a few joggers along this river.

We saw a university along the river. I initially thought it was the University of Lithuania but it turned out to be the Lithuanian Pedagogical Unviersity.

The Lithuanian Pedagogical University

The Lithuanian Pedagogical University and the path by the river which people used to jog on.

In front of the Vilnius Pedagogical University

This was a row of old residential buildings in Vilnius. We thought they were all abandoned but they were actually still in use.

This was the house that I found most beautifful on the block. It is now the site of a beauty salon. The bushes and weeds that grew in the garden right in front of it gave the impression that the place was empty and vacant.