Baroque Vilnius
Trip Start
Aug 31, 2007
1
15
90
Trip End
Apr 19, 2008
Vilnius,
Lithuania
Saturday, September 15, 2007
country beating Croatia in the Euro basketball quarter-finals. It's a
good thing someone explained this to me, or I would have thought a
nationalistic coup was in progress - albeit, a happy one. In the square
outside our hostel, people had climbed up on a statue and were waving
Lithuanian flags. Singing could be heard coming down the side streets
and all the cars in the square were honking their horns. Apparently,
Lithuania is quite the basketball power house. Who knew?
The
following morning was less revelrous, with rain and cloudy skies, but I
set out to visit the old town anyway
Church Interior
. Vilnius has the largest old townof the Baltic states, with abundant baroque architecture. First stop
was the univeristy and its 13-interconnected courtyards and 14th
century church. The passageways reminded me of the tunnels connecting
Canadian universities in winter and were interesting enough to wander.
I also visited Cathedral square, "set to make your dreams come true."
The cathedral is huge, white, and Parthenon looking. I believe the
statues on the facade were supposed to be saints, but they looked like
Greek gods to me. Inside were beautiful baroque carvings and paintings,
and a wedding. I saw bridal parties all over town today, bridesmaids in
bright, flashy dresses, almost upstaging the brides.
I went up
Gediminas Hill, where a brick tower has stood since the 13th century,
overlooking the city
Gediminas and His Horse
. By this time, the rain had cleared enough forsome nice panoramic shots before a quick visit to the Uzupis Republic,
a breakaway state for Vilnius' bohemian culture. Among other things,
the 41 point constitution grants residents the right to hot water and a
tiled roof. On April Fool's Day, border guards in comical outfits stamp
passports and the President of Uzupis makes speeches in the central
square. Quirky.
After a quick, late lunch on Pilies Gatve, a
beautiful cobblestone, restaurant-lined street, and the centre of
tourist activity in the old town, I headed shopping! My experience in
Riga had convinced me of the necessity of alternative footwear, and I
figured different shoes would offer a nice break from hiking boots, as
well
Gediminas Tower
. Lithuanian stores (including Marks and Spencer and La Senza) sellclothing at western prices, which I rather expected, but it makes me
wonder what percentage of their annual incomes Baltic women spend on
clothes. They're all so trendy. I wound up with a nice pair of sparkly
flats, on sale for $16. What a deal. Here's hoping they fit in my pack
when I leave this place!
Vilnius's Prague Factor: I
loved Vilnius, I might even want to live here some day, but it's wasn't
particularly Prague-like. The river doesn't run through the old town
and being baroque, the old town has no gothic feel. Also, the city
lacks a good restaurant ringed square. So visit Vilnius; it's a great
place, it's just not Prague.
