Novotel Hotel Vilnius

... whipped out their camera and took pictures.

After a coffee and working on assignment for one of my workshops I started to wander. There are a few bridges that are covered in locks. The story is that when couple get engaged/married they place a lock on the bridge to symbolize their commitment. I've seen 2 bridges with locks - both going into the Republic of Uzupis - the artists enclave that declared independence in the early 2000's ...

... to be more like Russia, and Estonia deals with the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Finland, and Sweden). I love this guy. He just keeps bringing up random stuff about Lithuania and it's so awesome. 10pm We stopped and had to change trains at the border of Poland and Lithuania (Sestokai). The Lithuanian train is so awesomely ghetto. I get on it with my two new friends and we chat it up some more. Then they get off my train to head to Kaunas ...

... who was also up at 5am, then decided that I should just go to the bus depot to catch my bus to Riga. The bus ride was spent mostly sleeping, and I am now in Riga. My hostel has no reception around noon, so I am wasting time on the internet. This city is very, very beautiful, and there are fresh fruit and vegtable markets all around the central station. I bought some delicious globe grapes. I will probably now go journeying around the city, seeing if I can get myself lost.

... exit the scene. Their place is taken by two rather large men, who just rolled in inside a shiny black S-Benz. I'm thinking ganstazzzz, I'm thinking right. They're rather fascinated with me taking pictures, and one of them gets me to take his picture. I click it, and he turns his head sideways and say "OK now profile". Now just the fact that he knows what that angle is called is very unsettling. Obviously not his first time (well maybe the first time without holding up a placard with ...

... inside there are preserved bodies of some martyrs from Middle Ages and maybe it is important to some. For me, the most important was the sheer beauty of its interior, dead martyrs or not. Full to the brim with icons, mostly green and gold from the inside, even for non-orthodox people like me, it was a place that would simply not let you go. But I had to go. Once back out on the Ausros Vartų gatvė, it didn't take much walking to get to yet another church. Four numbers ...

... films which we were interested in, and we somehow always directed our choice according to when things were on in regard with the moment that we decided to go to the movies. This evening the numbers threw out "In Her Shoes", a romantic comedy with Cameron Diaz i Shirley MacLaine, and "Coca-Cola Plaza" again. As romantic comedies go, this is a movie genre which very seldom features surprises in the plot. Whoever goes to the cinema or ...

... in the lonely hearts club i was offered solice in calories. the most interesting thisn in vilnius for me was the KGB/genocide museum. it was fascinatin and very sobering to learn about how much **** the poor balkan folks were put thru both soviets and nazis. it was shockin to realise that up until 1991 people were being tortured and executed and the west either didnt know about it or didnt give a ****. i did an audio tour of the place and wasin the basement prison alone ...

... my application because I filled it out wrong. Yes, I filled it out wrong, despite the fact that the travel agent herself checked and approved it. So now I don't even know if I'll be able to get it when I was supposed to or even at all, for that matter! All the uncertainty is causing a significant amount of unwanted stress at a time in my trip when I should really be kicking back and enjoying things. But Vilnius in itself has been enjoyable, apart from the odd ...

... kind of english castle with nicely decorated interiors. It was more of a museum layout that had some ethnographic elements (dress, furniture, ceramics etc), some coins, swords, jewels, books & papers etc etc all tracing the history of the castle and the surrounding area. Trakai is also famous for the presence of the Karaites people, a mixed judaic and hebrew sect. They came mostly from Cyprus i think and brought their customs and ...

... what it might have been like being a prisoner and the mental torment that they would have been put through - and all in our life times. Went into the new town and headed along to the cathedral. About 70% of the buildings were covered in scaffolding and being redecorated. I guess that the recent EU funding that the Baltic States has been granted has kicked off a load of restoration projects. Photo opportunities were few and far between, but I managed to still take about 50 photos. There ...