Dale: Having used up all but 1 cent of our Latvian money we crossed in Lithuania and made our first stop a place called the Hill of Crosses. This is a religious site where people have been coming since the 19th century and leaving/erecting crosses. Currently there are approximately 200,000. It sounds a lot- but they are very tightly packed, with crosses hanging off other crosses in some cases. It may initially have started as a rememberance to people that died in the uprising in 1863 and it continued as a show of defiance to the Tsarist rule. During the soviet occupation they attempted to destroy it and they removed some but again the Lithuanians would erect crosses in defiance of the Soviet occupation. Today there are strict rules about adding crosses (eg they must be wooden)
We headed into the nearby town of Siauliai to visit the information centre and get some Lithuanain Litai, their currency. We ended up doing a spot of shopping and while having a spot of lunch in the carpark a friendly Lithuanian spotted our New Zealand sticker and flag in the back window and we struck up a conversation. Turned out his hobby is sailing and he spends much of his time sailing in various parts of the world. Currently he is based in Argentina where he works as a fishing tour guide. He enjoyed the opportunity to practise his English and we enjoyed the friendly banter. I was slightly taken aback by his rather unabashed racist comments a couple of times. It was the sort of stuff sometimes people may think but would never dare say. It appeared clear that Lithuanians really don't like the Russians (no surprises there). He was also somewhat critical of the Lithuanians in terms of crime (which given our recent experience has further heighten our concern). He proclaimed with a strange sort of pride/joke that Lithuania provided the UK with the second highest number of immigrant criminals behind Poland and he pointed out Poland is 10 times the size. When we explained that we met a Lithuanian tourist in Ireland he was very skeptical, he pretty much insisted that he must have been an illegal immigrant (which in fairness there is a problem with illegal Lithuanians in other countries). When I probed him on the issue of crime in Lithuania he said probably many Lithuanian criminals are in Western Europe because there are more wealthy targets, he joked there is nothing to steal here. Which from our observation seems a little harsh, since independance the Baltic States are Europeanising rapidly and wealth appears present (saw a Bently today). It is unfortunate however that within each of the country there is a large element of people just out for what they can get. It also makes us angry that often tourists are seen as someone to exploit.
We decided to head straight to Vilnius as it was the last night the campsite there was open for the season. We had found a guarded car park online that we wanted to use the following morning after checking out. However when we got there, the guarded aspect had been replaced by a machine. After Tallinn, we weren't comfortable leaving the van there. With only the parking symbols on our map to go by, we decided to check out other spots. We luckily found another one, about 10 minutes walk to the edge of the old town, guarded by a man and his viscious looking dog. Vilnius has an old town in a basin and the hills between it and the new/modern town provide excellent views. Neither view is as significant as say Salzburg or Prague but well worth a look. We took the funicular (like a cable car) up to the Gediminas Tower for our first view, then walked down and up the next hill which has a local monument called The Three Crosses on it. This also was actually totally destroyed by the soviets and was only rebuilt in 1989. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the Old town. Some highlights were: Cathedral Square, Vilnius University, the Presidential Palace, the Gates of Dawn, St Annes Church and the Jewish Quarter.
Nicky: That evening we decided to treat ourselves with a meal out. We headed 500m down the road to a restaurant that the guard at the car park had recommended. Afterwards, we summed up that we enjoyed our meals and had a great time, but wouldn't return and order those dishes again. I had Russian pancakes, with minced beef, cheese, spinach and eggplant, and Dale had Pork stuffed with chicken (the pork aspect was minced, and a bit strange), mashed potato and salad. We shared Chicken and plum dumplings to start. It was a reasonably priced meal, with 1 starter, 2 mains and 2 drinks for 17 euros.
We left Vilnius the following morning. We had been tossing up spending another day and going to the National Museum, but I think we were both ready to head out of the city into the peace of the countryside. We went to Kernave, which written sources from 1279 say that it is the first capital of Lithuania. Just outside Kernave we stopped at an oak forest and did a 2.2km circular walk. It was an easy walk- all on flat boardwalk. Dale was on the look out for the wildlife they proclaim to have- bats, frogs, elk, wild boar, beetles. We saw some very small frogs, and one larger one which jumped off the boardwalk in front of us and gave me a fright! The path was also dotted with wood carvings (about 30 or so) used to show the significance of the oak trees.
Our destination in Kernave was the 5 hill forts. Inhabitants have been in the area since 8,000 BC and the site was given UNESCO status in 2004. We walked up and down the mounds, but declined a visit to the museum, as we had been to similar sites in Denmark and Ireland.
It was early afternoon, so we decided to head to Trakai, which had been an ancient capital as well. Also on the outskirts of Vilnius, and about 20-30 minutes away from Kernave. The castle on an island in the lake is very picturesque when approaching the town. We had been passing many half full carparks on the way in and we'd got to the stage where we thought we should pull in, when we saw locals selling parking spaces in their front yards. Dale checked the council prices. The locals were offering a good rate of 5 litras (1.50 euro) and we felt somewhat more secure using them, as atleast while they were tauting for more business, they would be present in their yard. When arriving at the lake front we instantly noticed how different the two sites we had seen today were. In Kernave, there were a few people going to the mounds, at Trakai they were coming in by the bus load. In total we spent 2.5 hours at the castle, and saw every room. It was our most expensive attraction yet at 15 litras (a reasonable 4.40 euros each). Part of the castle has panels explaining the history up to present day. Restoration has been off and on for the last 100 years, including during the Soviet time. I found this interesting as restoration of buildings wasn't something they prioritised. The other part of the castle housed the Trakai History museum. There were several rooms showcasing all sorts of objects. My favourite was the final room where they had fans, parasols, trinket boxes and vases on display.
The next day we went to the Open air museum, located near Lithuania's second city Kaunas. Our guide 'helpfully' listed the address as their administration building in Rumsiskes. One of the school children waiting for a bus, pointed us in the right direction on the outskirts of town. The museum spans 176 hectares, and with only a few cars in the car park, we knew it wouldn't be crowded with tourists. Overall the site is nice, with 80 or so different buildings, and the park separated into different areas to represent parts of Lithuania. The staff were extremely rude and lazy however, it was demanded that we pay for parking at the cash desk, after no one was even in the booth in the car park to collect money. Also the room guides were either talking, knitting or playing with their phones. I don't think they realise that a smile is free! The sun was shining and we walked around for about 4 hours, ignoring those aspects of the park that we thought could be improved upon.
That night we drove into Kaunas to check out car parks. Unfortunately at night, the city looked rough and luckily I had looked up the address of the Police station in advance, as our GPS like in Tallinn, didn't have the right location. We saw a Policeman when we arrived, who said it was safe and didn't think that Kaunas had above average car crime. Next to the Police station was a guarded car park, so we felt reasonably secure being there for the night, and in the morning we paid the attendant and spent time exploring the old town. The guide book we picked up the next day described car crime as a 'national past time', so I think it always pays to be careful.
We left Kaunas at lunch time after seeing several churches, the castle and town hall. We have been subdueing our cravings for kiwi pies, by buying the local pastries called kibinas. We aren't sure what the traditional fillings are- but we have had minced chicken, and liver and onion (we think!).
We went to the Ninth fort, which is on the outskirts of Kaunas. Again another very quiet tourist destination with only a handful of people around on a Thursday afternoon. It was for a long time the site of a hard labour camp, and during WW2 a site for extermination of Jews. There are memorials to the Jewish and Soviet victims, and a field inwhich they are buried. The site has two museums, one about the occupations and the other in the fort itself, which covers the prison site, and also mentions the Jews. We enjoyed the fort museum the most, and was really interesting going into the fort. I thought it had been preserved well, as you could sense the history.
We were heading south before driving into Poland, and stopped at a lovely town called Bistonas. There is a mound there, 30 metres above the town which offers pleasant views over the river. It was inhabited around the 15th century and had a hill fort on top.
The driving here in Lithuania is something to mention. Again our Kaunas city guide sums it up well, describing driving next to a local as an adventure with 'lashings of tailgating, cutting lanes and dangerous overtaking manoeuvres. It comes as no great surprise to learn that Lithuania has the highest rate of road fatalities in the European union'. It also describes the streets of Kaunas as 'a frightening squiggle of badly signposted asphalt full of holes and populated by a high percentage of drivers who give the impression they never took a driving test'. On our drive out of the city we also saw mini buses. They follow the bus routes, and will pick up and drop off passengers along the route for a slightly higher fee, but are able to get there faster and more comfortably as they can weave in and out of traffic and don't have to stop everywhere.
