Vilnius? Where the heck is this place?

A building in my 'artsy' area of residence for a few nights.
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So, I'm in Lithuania. Never in a million years would I have thought about coming here...let alone on this particular trip. But, then I tend to surprise myself...and here I am.

So I arrived mid afternoon on Friday from Riga...just a 4 hour bus ride. Rainy day yet again. The weather can be somewhat depressing because at least we get sunny weather back home with -30 weather. But, I have come to the conclusion that Vilnius has the worst signed bus depot I have seen yet...I wandered for ages...to my UNSIGNED stop after making friends with quite a few Vilunise people (not sure what I would call them). Ug. Oh well...2 hours later I pulled up to my hostel which was a mere 3 minutes away by bus...and arrived in a somewhat shanty area. It was the first time I was scared to walk around at night...even though it was 6:30. I think it was more or less because there were some dilapidated buildings in the area (don't worry I'm not staying in shady areas on purpose). But, my hostel itself was fine. It was an old manor house fixed up - I had my own room - so I can't complain...but it was super echoey since it had really high ceilings...so I was contemplating going and beating up a few people in the middle of the night as sound carried really well there. But, I could only imagine Lithuanian prison...actually who are we kidding it probably was located near by! No, my guide book says the area I was staying in was the 'artsy' area. Ok. When did graffiti and smashed windows become artwork?

My geography knowledge is improving a lot!

Lots of dilapitated buildings on my unplanned long walk around town.
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I only had one day to explore Vilnius before I continued onto Poland. And, that was sufficient in my eyes. Getting lost didn't really kick off my day so well. So, I'm sure after 4 km of needless walking in a giant circle - I found my way into the Old Town and I'm sure the highlight of the city. Similar to Estonia and Latvia's Old Towns...but more fixer upper buildings in the mix. There were a couple beautiful buildings though. And, I managed to get up to a Tower on a hill in the City to get a good lookout. And, like every other city in Europe - there were a bunch of nice churches as well. Apparently the Queen was just here for a visit last month - I hope she didn't stay where I stayed!

This building actually looked cool with the grafitti...then I got spooked because someone jumped out of a window a mere millisecond after I snapped this photo. I hurried out of there.
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I noticed quite a few elderly beggars in the midst of everything (I'm not sure if they have good social welfare programs or what not), but you could definitely tell that the city is slowly being turned around from its Soviet ruled days. I loved the people playing musical instruments for money. One little boy was just blowing on his recorder - it was quite sweet. Probably raking in millions as we speak too. ANNDDDD....my dear father - you have competition in the world for harmonica playing, or I know where you can get a part-time job if you want to make some petty cash...in LITHUANIA. Yes, I saw my first harmonica player on the street...and just like my dear father... he could not carry a tune. It was hilarious. But his enthusiasm was first rate...it was just like all the Germain family entertainment I've witnessed throughout my entire life. Great if you are tone deaf. Good times.

Walking through the much cleaner Old Town - saw a pretty church.
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Also, I have figured out that unlike in Alberta...winter (or late fall) in Europe is CONSTRUCTION season. I think probably because tourism takes a nose dive in these months - cities decide to do major roadwork repairs. Almost every city seems to be rebuilding some big square. Hence - the fences and dirt piles in many of my photos.

Well, that was Lithuania in a nut shell.