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| Sunrise at 4am on a 45 minute pit-stop somewhere close to the Belarus border. |
We galavanted all around the Baltics. Let me tell you, we definitely were in for an adventure. We started our trip off right with a 10 hour plus bus ride. The 3 hour trip to Warsaw was smooth sailing, but after we switched drivers it was a whole other story. As a driver by profession, you would think someone would know the rules of the road, have a pretty good handle on directions and using a GPS. One would only hope right. Our bus driver was a perfect example of what not to strive for in a driver. We hit every pothole and bump in the road from Krakow to Vilnius, Lithuania. Our bus driver (I don't think anyone knew his name) knew how to drive fast. I could have kept my arms in the air the entire trip, enjoying the roller coaster ride and people wouldn't have thought I was crazy.
Day Vilnius, Lithuania:
We finally arrived to our first stop of the trip, Vilnius, at 9:30 am on Sunday right outside of our hostel. I untangled myself from strewn luggage and yelled "land" while flinging myself free from the bus. I did take advantage of our multiple stops, getting out to stretch my restless legs, and go to the bathroom and load up on snacks. I followed right along my dad's motto of "pee when you can, sleep when you can, and eat when you can." We had an hour to freshen up from our overnight ride before we started off our day in the city. Our hostel was situated about a 20 minute-ish walk from the center of the city. Our group was split into two rooms for the students, one room for the advisors and then one solo room for our bus driver. Our bus driver decided to spend the entire day with us, walking around the city in the exhausting heat. He was going on 38 hours of no sleep, poor man. By the time we all meet up for dinner, his head was on the table.
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| The Museum of Genocide Victims |
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| Megan and I outside of a church in Vilnius |
Day Trakai:
Trakai, Island Castle. Beautiful day. Sunny and not a cloud in the sky. This weather is killer for a ginger. Sunscreen was reapplied by the hour. Boat ride. Tour of the quaint town and castle. lunch/dinner at Lithuanian Heritage restaurant (3:15-6pm). Went for some homemade ice cream after din. Left Trakai and headed off to Kaunas.
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| Natalia, Megan and I waiting to start the day |
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| The group with our tour guide |
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| Castle |
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| Danielle and I on the boat ride |
Day Kaunas:
Good Morning! We woke up bright and early Wednesday morning in Kaunas, Lithuania. We started our day off with a healthy breakfast of cereal and yogurt before setting off to an open-air museum. Now when you hear open-air museum what is the first thing that pops into your head?...airplanes right? (I wasn't the only one who thought this, I will have you know). I was fully expecting to walk right into a museum filled with some kind of makeshift planes, so I was just a little curious to see what Lithuania has to offer in that field.
However, little did I know that a open-air museum, is not a airplane museum at all. An open-air museum is a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections outside. In Lithuania, an ethnographic village (ethnografinis kaimas) is defined as a rural settlement which maintains traditional, historical, ethnic cultural characteristics specific to the region. These characteristics include traditional architecture, farmstead planning, relation to the natural landscape, as well as traditional life. It had a similar resemblance to Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts (for all I know that is a open-air museum as well...) Turns out yes, according to Wikipedia (shame on me) Old Sturbridge Village "is a living museum located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, in the United States, which re-creates life in rural New England during the 1970s through 1830s" (touché). The Ethnographic museum in Lithuania was a great way to start the morning and it being an open-air museum, we were able to enjoy yet another beautiful day. 
On our walk to the village, we passed a huge slug/snail with a shell, a swan and hiked through the woods. I enjoyed the chance to be outdoors and walking around. We were one of the few groups there so early, but the emptiness made walking around on our own more real. Not having other people around you, made you really appreciate nature and the sites that you were seeing. It was neat to see the architecture and to see what life was like in Lithuania back in the day.  |
| Town Square |
We all ran through this field, and took some excellent quality jumping shots. I found that most fences were made like this one, which shows that this community was very close to one another and trusted each other. We also happened across a swing and of course we all couldn't resist swinging on a wooden swing. I managed to successfully jump off without breaking my collarbone (don't think that it hasn't happened before). I also got to get up close and personal, petting a horse. I have always loved horses, but have never had the chance to take riding lessons. I live right down the street from a farm with horse barns and I always loved walking through the barn petting the horses. I was once able to ride one in the ring and then again a few years later while I was at a dude ranch with my girl scouts troop. Bucket List #whoknowswhat: learn how to ride a horse and go horseback riding everywhere. I would love to work on a farm, be it a ranch or organic farm for the summer of when I have time before I figure out what I am doing. WWOOFing might be a great organization for me to look into for that.
After walking around the Ethnographic Museum (not airplane museum) we headed to Kaunas, for lunch and a guided tour in the afternoon.
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| Dandelions are such pretty weeds, it took everything I had not to roll down this hill. |
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| Beautiful church |
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| Some Hostel Jenga. We were staying in a 12 person dorm room. |
Day Riga:
Riga, Latvia was a great city as well. It had an interesting vibe, the city had no layout plan, streets crisscrossed all over the place (no Main Square like Krakow), but the weather was beautiful and you could get lost meandering through the narrow streets. We had a lovely walking tour with a young guy with dreads. As the days go by and get lazier and lazier with descriptions but here is a look at Riga through pictures: Enjoy
Day Beach & Hill of Crosses:
We went to the beach! Whaaaaat. It wasn't Australia or anything, and it sure was not beach weather at all, but I accomplished getting to a beach on the Baltic Sea (second time now actually). The water was freezing but I got up to my ankles wet and standing in the water for a few minutes you feet are numb anyway. Our group napped on the beach, wrapped in whatever we could muster up for warmth. We are woke up at the same time, frozen, because the sun went into hibernation and we left in search of food.
We left the beach, starting our journey back to Krakow with only one last official stop: the Hill of Crosses. I was excited to see this hill because I really did not know what to expect besides going to see some crosses. Well this hill, has 200,000 plus crosses stuck in it. It was crazy. And this hill has some history behind it. It is a site of pilgrimage in northern Lithuania. The exact origin of the practice of leaving crosses on the hill is uncertain. Over the centuries, not one crosses, but giant crucifixes, carvings of Lithuanian patriots, statues of the Virgin Mary and thousand of tiny rosaries have been brought here by Catholic pilgrims. Throughout time, the Hill of Crosses was used as a place for Lithuanians to pray for peace, for their country, and for the loved ones they had lost during the Wars of Independence. Over the centuries, the place has come to signify the peaceful endurance of Lithuanian Catholicism despite the threats it faced throughout history. Most recently, the site took on a special significance during the years 1944-1990, when Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union. Continuing to travel to the hill and leave their tributes, Lithuanians used it to demonstrate their allegiance to their original identity, religion and heritage. It was venue of peaceful resistance, although the Soviets worked hard to remove the new crosses and bulldozed the site at least three times. On September 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the Hill of Crosses, declaring it a place for hope, peace, love and sacrifice. The hill remains under nobody's jurisdiction; therefore people are free to build crosses as they see fit.
Well that's all folks! Until next time, keep cool and stay fresh :) And as always thank you for reading my entries.
Peace, Love & Happiness
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