Life, Lithuania, spring and other stuff

Hi guys.

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back on here, but I kinda had other stuff on my mind.

Anyway, I have a lot to tell:) Mainly about my super cool holiday in Lithuania!! :)) I went there almost three weeks ago and stayed in Vilnius for a week because I have someone in my family whose parents came from there. I had a great time:) You all should go if you get a chance. To convince you, here are some pictures etc.

The waiting.

Seriously, if you ever thought you were bored at the airport, you. have. no. idea. Being the smart girl I am, I bought a flight leaving at 6 am and being the poor volunteer that I am I bought the cheapest ticket to the airport available, which meant I had to wait to check in for ten hours. Ten. TEN HOURS. It was horrible, I tried to sleep but the only thing to sleep on was a tiny bench, so not very satisfying. And I will have to do the same again before I fly to Scotland. Unless I take a train instead of that cheap bus. We will see.

The rain. 

When I got there, the weather was..well, very wet. It stayed like that for the first two days. The first thing I bought was an umbrella, and I was really happy I had my coat there. Here are some rainy pictures. 

Cafes. 

Where do you go when it rains? Cafes. Obviously. I found some really nice places during ths week, including a fantastic English cafe where you can get a full English breakfast an afternoon tea, and another really cool and hipster place, and a cafe in a second hand bookshop. A cafe holiday. But I kinda needed that; the weeks before had been quite busy for me. If anyone plans on going to Vilnius, go to

-Storytellers (lovely atmosphere, good music, good tea and food, and the owner is always in for a chat)

-The Little Mavis cafe (British food!!)

-Mint Vinetu (a bookshop and a cafe. Lots of second hand books in several languages. Good tea.)

-The Cat Cafe (unless you are, like me, allergic. But go anyway.)

The Hill of the Three Crosses. 

This is a hill in a park where supposedly seven franciscan friars were beheaded. Since the early 17th century, wooden crosses were built there. The view over Vilnius is fantastic. 

Street Art

I'm just going to leave that here. 

The Museum of Genocide Victims

Among other museums (e.g. the House of Signatures, the National Museum of Lituania and the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania)  I went to this one, and it really impressed me. I personally knew very little about that part of Lithuania's history, and I really learned a lot. That's another thing there - I don't think Vilnius or Lithuania in general is a popular place for a holiday;  I saw lots of tourists, of course, but most people I know would probably rather go to Spain, France, Italy or the UK first (for example). Everyone I told I was going to Lithuania asked me why. But if you stop thinking in these patterns you will get to see a lot of very cool and different and interesting places. Take the road less traveled by. 

Europos Parkas. 

...meaning "The park of Europe". It's big and full of sculptures. I went there on my last day and it was absolutely beautiful. Everything is very modern, and you can even climb on one stone sculpture and get a great view. The park focuses on the geographical centre of Europe, which is not in Vilnius, but still. It's very impressive. Especially with good weather. It was actually really nice. We had ten degrees at some point!! That may not seem much to you, but I bet some of you know the moment when it's been winter for ages and then the sun comes out and you're ready to go out in shorts and a t-shirt and lizard in the sun, even with 10 degrees outside. 

 

Trakai

This city is about half an hour away from Vilnius and the main reason people go there is the castle situated on an island. So for one day I got to look at knights:) It was really nice, although the weather (rainy in the morning) chased me away relatively soon, to another cafe. But definitely worth going!

Užupis

This is the coolest part of Vilnius. It's a really hipster part of town. It has ben declared a Republic in 1997 and has its own president, flag, constitution, etc. Their independence day is April 1. You can read the constitition on big boards in the streets in lots of languages, and it is: 

1. Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnele, and the River Vilnele has the right to flow by everyone.

2. Everyone has the right to hot water, heating in winter and a tiled roof.

3. Everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation.

4. Everyone has the right to make mistakes.

5. Everyone has the right to be unique.

6. Everyone has the right to love.

7. Everyone has the right not to be loved, but not necessarily.

8. Everyone has the right to be undistinguished and unknown.

9. Everyone has the right to idle.

10. Everyone has the right to love and take care of the cat.

11. Everyone has the right to look after the dog until one of them dies.

12. A dog has the right to be a dog.

13. A cat is not obliged to love its owner, but must help in time of nee.

14. Sometimes everyone has the right to be unaware of their duties.

15. Everyone has the right to be in doubt, but this is not an obligation.

16. Everyone has the right to be happy.

17. Everyone has the right to be unhappy.

18. Everyone has the right to be silent.

19. Everyone has the right to have faith.

20. No one has the right to violence.

21. Everyone has the right to appreciate their unimportance.

22. No one has the right to have a design on eternity.

23. Everyone has the right to understand.

24. Everyone has the right to understand nothing.

25. Everyone has the right to be of any nationality.

26. Everyone has the right to celebrate or not celebrate their birthday.

27. Everyone shall remember their name.

28. Everyone may share what they possess.

29. No one can share what they do not possess.

30. Everyone has the right to have brothers, sisters and parents.

31. Everyone may be independent.

32. Everyone is responsible for their freedom.

33. Everyone has the right to cry.

34. Everyone has the right to be misunderstood.

35. No one has the right to make another person guilty.

36. Everyone has the right to be individual.

37. Everyone has the right to have no rights.

38. Everyone has the right to not to be afraid.

What do you think?

...I just realised this is a really long post. Anyway, mostly pictures. I had a really good time in Vilnius and will definitely come back. If any people from there read this, I'm sorry for my ignorance or if I got anything wrong, I still know far too little about Lithuania, despite trying to learn as much about this country and its history.

Other than that - it' finally warm and springy, which is nice.

Actually, the title of this post is misleading, I want to go to bed so this is just going to be about Lithuania and that's it. Sorry for any typing mistakes.

Night night, dobrou noc
-Viola