Having a little respite between excursions in Lithuania, I want to tell you about my impressions-)))
My husband and I planned a romantic trip based on our family budget. I looked at tours to Vienna, London, Amsterdam and Prague, so everything is from 1000 euros. Wow, a little expensive!
And I really wanted to get out of the house for a couple of days in the spring. We have never been to the Baltic states and I decided to let it be Lithuania. Having added all the expenses in a pile for two, it turned out 500 euros - 20.000 rubles. This is a train (compartment) for 3400, and visas for 1500, and a hotel 65 euros per day per room (booked in booking. com).
Departure at 7 pm, at 8 am were in Vilnius. A taxi to the hotel cost 6 euros.
The first thing you notice when you get to Vilnius is cleanliness, and from this, probably, some kind of lordship appears in the city. We had 4 full days at our disposal.
According to reviews, we chose a hotel on Constitution Street, a 10-15 minute walk to the old part of the city. It is called Reval Hotel Lietuva 4 stars. The hotel is located in the business center of Vilnius, very high 22 floors, with a gorgeous view of the city and on the very bank of the Neris River. I can safely recommend. There is internet, as you can see. The breakfast buffet is included in the price. The receptionist gave a map of the city with sights in Russian.
They also asked about excursions, we were sent to the tourist information center near the Cathedral. According to the guidebook, we found one.
And here was the surprise when they found out that there were no excursions in Russian - (((.
One single walk lasting two hours and costs 20 euros. Yes, and even then once or twice a week (hit again)
All excursions are in English, to go to Trakai, for example, for two in a minibus costs 60 euros. (in English)
We planned to visit Vilnius, and Trakai, and Kaunas. Specifically, we knew that we would take excursions, otherwise there is no point in the trip - there is such an experience.
They asked about a personal guide, they gave three rooms, it turned out that everyone was zaaaany..... Well, a bummer.
We returned to the hotel and asked for help finding a guide. Yes, hurray, there is!
Guide with a car, a pretty woman aged 40-45. For a full day 70 euros for two. And in general, an individual approach. (They didn’t pay extra for a car).
And here the most interesting began.
It turns out that there are 80 churches of various denominations in Vilnius. These are Catholics, and Orthodox (18 churches), and Old Believers, and Uniates, Evangelical, Jewish, Karaite, etc.
Vilnius itself is associated with such names as Peter 1, Dostoevsky, Napoleon, Alexander 1, Nikolai 1, Chukovsky, Akhmatova, Plisetskaya, Stendhal, Kutuzov, Stolypin, Grigory Pushkin, Kachalov, Stendhal, Oginsky, I don’t remember everyone. Our advanced for everything 100 guide enthusiastically talked about these personalities, infecting us with her enthusiasm. I was struck by the history of the development of Christianity in Lithuania, it is associated with many tragic stories. Lithuania was the last European country to become Christian, only at the end of the 14th century. Until now, pagan holidays exist in this country.
I will not describe the beauty of the temples, a lot has been written about the sights of Vilnius on the Internet. All this is really worthy of a review. Monks from Catholic orders walk around the city, dressed in different cassocks, the guide told and showed their functioning monasteries. It was interesting to listen to the story of barefoot Carmelite nuns who lead an ascetic lifestyle, hence the name of their order. The Dominicans, an order founded by the Spanish friar Dominic, call themselves the "militia of Jesus Christ".
Vilnius is an interweaving of architectural eras. Here and Gothic, and Renaissance, and Baroque, and Classicism. Beauty is unimaginable. Temples are located from each other within 20-30 meters. The city is just stuffed with them. Yes, and we were lucky with the guide, we quickly found a common wave and rushed -))
I was shocked by the history of the Holocaust. This directly concerns Lithuania and Latvia.
And there are more than 3000 lakes in Lithuania.
There is an oak that is 2000 years old.
The geographical center of Europe is located 20 km from Vilnius.
We went to the Europa Park, where the open-air sculpture museum (100 pieces) is located, and the largest sculpture from TVs was included in the Guinness Book of Records.
We had lunch at a national cuisine restaurant with their local beer called Dvaras. Wonderful! ! For a solid dinner for two, they paid 15 euros. Prices, right?
Although our kind guide suggested a program for the evening, we didn’t have the strength to go anywhere.
The next day we went to the city of Trakai, one of the first capitals of ancient Lithuania. In 1341-1342, the great Lithuanian prince Keistut lived here. During the reign of his son Vytaut, a defensive castle was built in Trakai right in the center of the lake, which is called the Head. This is the most famous monument of ancient Lithuania and the largest in Eastern Europe, it occupies an area of two hectares, which has never been conquered by enemies (at that time the Teutonic Order). After the death of Vytaut, the castle became a prison for persons of aristocratic origin. Now there is a museum with archaeological finds.
Took a bunch of great photos.
We got acquainted with the culture of the Karaites who inhabit Trakai, had lunch at the national Karaite restaurant. Delicious -)). 10 euros for two with national herbal tincture 999 (this is the name)
In the evening we went shopping in the shopping center of Vilnius "Akropolis" - a center with a size of 100.000 sq. m. According to the guide, there are about 200 shops. The prices are much lower than ours, this is already according to my observations. There is also an ice arena, and bowling, cinemas, casinos, bars, restaurants, cafes. We spent three hours, went back by taxi, paid 3 euros -))
Today is our third day in Lithuania, at 12.00 we leave for the city of Kaunas, which is about 100 km. And in the evening we go to a night club !!!
But this is in the second series, I hope, otherwise I will forget everything-)))))
All the best.
Ask - I will answer irina. alova@mail. ru
Irina.
Traveled 2009 March 26-29 with my husband alone for 3 days from Friday to Sunday. We bought a visa and insurance at a travel agency - since this year, as it turned out, Lithuania has greatly simplified visa rules, like a visa can be obtained via the Internet, but I don’t know exactly how. There were no problems on the train either. We lived in the very center with a view of the Neris (there is such a river through the whole city) and with a view of the old city at the REVAL HOTEL on the 18th floor - aabaalde, how beautiful!! ! Very nice, clean, modern with great food. It cost 100 euros per day. You can, of course, find cheaper, but we are fine for 2 nights! They are generally delighted with Vilnius - the city is very old (12-16 centuries), restored, apparently, recently - they receive funds from Europe to support the old part of the city, which is included in the protected monuments of UNESCO. And, however, we were lucky with the weather. We found a guide by chance on the Internet, and if it were for her, the city, of course, would not have been recognized. On the second day we went to Trakai-city among the lakes. On the island in the middle of the water stands an ancient castle, in which all their kings lived in ancient times. The guide told a lot of legends, and in general an interesting person and knows history well. Everything! the child woke up! bye Bye! Write, I will answer! Julia!