Into Lithuania

St Michael’s Basilica, Marijampolé, Lithuania

Leaving Poland, we drove our motorhome Vanni, over the border into Lithuania, where our first stop was Marijampolé. Looking around, we saw some nice churches, a huge city square, an interesting railway station, and many Soviet-style housing blocks.

Lithuania dates back to 10,000 BC. Then in 1940, it was annexed by the Soviet Union along with Latvia and Estonia (the 3 Baltic States). It took 50 years before Lithuania would once again, claim its independence. 

Travelling here over a decade later, there is still a sense of the Soviet influence.

Sunset over Lake Galvė, Trakai, Lithuania

We were looking forward to seeing more of this Baltic state, and so drove on to Trakai, where we found a camping ground on the edge of Lake Galvė.

It was pretty, but the mosquitoes were quite prolific, even more so than in the Białowieża Forest (see blog: Poland-Across the centre), especially morning and evening - bug stuff is essential.

Our neighbours were a Swiss couple who were very interesting to chat to, and they shared information on campsites in other places that we are yet to explore. They said the Vilnius city campsite didn’t open for another 2 weeks, so just as well we didn’t go there first!

Marg outside some wooden houses of Trakai, Lithuania

Trakai is very pretty, quite old and surrounded by lakes. All the houses there are wooden, which seems typical in Lithuania. Trakai was apparently inhabited by a range of different nationalities over time, such as Karaims, Tatars, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews, and Poles. The houses reflect the different architectural styles of these inhabitants.

There was a rumpty cycle track from the campground, around the lake into Trakai. We used this several times, avoiding tree roots and potholes as best we could, to get to the village.

It was great fun and an interesting cycle.

Marg at the top of Trakai Castle, Lithuania

On one outing, we visited the restored Trakai Castle. It sits on a small island in the lake, and is now a Museum. We had an interesting time there.

Trakai is about 30 mins from Vilnius. So, the next day we cycled into Trakai again, left our bikes there and caught a bus into Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

The Vilnius bus stop is very close to the old city and once we had the map around the right way (!!), we set off to explore.

Vilnius Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we could see why, as we wandered the wee cobbled streets and little lanes.

Leigh at Gediminas' Tower, Vilnius, Lithuania

We walked a long cobbled path up a very steep hill to Gedimina’s Tower, which offered a great view of the city. Once up there, we discovered that we could have caught a cable car to the top – poor cobble-sore feet. Needless to say, we went down by cable car!

We enjoyed seeing the lovely old buildings in Vilnius, as well as Cathedral Square and the cathedral, and the city gates. But it seemed so much more subdued than other capital cities we have been to, and lacked some of the vibrancy. 

We did however, spy a more modern looking city across the river (new compared to the historic old town), but did not have the time to explore it.

Later, we asked a young teenager and his mother for directions to the bus station and he translated from English to her - they were very helpful and friendly.

Marg at the at the Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva, Vilnius

On our next visit, we saw several more churches, including the pretty Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva, and Vilnius University.

Meanwhile, back at the Trakai campsite, a large contingent of German travellers had left, and only two other vans arrived later in the day to replace them, so it was blissfully quiet

But the local youth had a street party that night and the boom, boom bass of the music was diabolical; and it went on until 5.30 am! 

Needless to say, we had very little sleep, especially as some of the young guys who obviously hadn’t been home, decided to have a loud conversation right outside Vanni at 7.30 am! We gave up and decided to move on.

Marg at the Hill of Angels, Trakai, Lithuania

Leaving the Trakai campsite, we came across the Hill of Angels. This is around 26 very tall oak sculptures of angels, that are scattered across a hill as a monument to ‘Faith, Tolerance and Love’. 

It was opened in 2010, to commemorate the Millennium of Lithuania and the 600th anniversary of the Trakai Church.

The Lithuanian folk-artist Algimantas Sakalauskas started the Hill of Angels. Later other wood carvers joined him, so each angel is different.

Not far from there, our next stop was in Purnuškės, a small village just out of the Vilnius/Trakai area.

Leigh at Purnuškės (Centre of Europe), Lithuania

Purnuškės is the centre (almost) of Europe. In 1989, the French National Institute of Geography calculated the centre of Europe to be just outside this village. We visited the stone memorial erected on that spot.

Later, we stopped for diesel and an old gentleman came over and expressed much amazement that we were from New Zealand. 

His son spoke English and explained that his father was a traveller too, had seen our NZ flag, and really admired how far we had come. He also loved our motorhome!

English seems to be spoken by only a few people here, but most are helpful - although sometimes they are too shy to smile.

Wooden church and belltower, Palūšė, Lithuania

Driving north-east now, we went through several small villages, with some having old and interesting wooden churches. One of these was in Palūšė, where we saw one with an octagonal bell tower (the only one like this in Lithuania apparently).

Built in 1750, it is considered to be the oldest surviving wooden church in Lithuania and was constructed with saws and axes, and without using nails.

We were now in the Aukštaitija National Park which is a 200 year old forest with many lakes. We spotted a wild deer in one of the fields, and many storks as we drove through this pretty area. 

Although Lithuania still shows signs of its communist past with dreadful Soviet style apartments, drab clothing styles (mostly in older people), and generally a rather reserved outlook on life, we enjoyed seeing this eastern corner of it. We are looking forward to seeing the rest of it in a month or so. 

But for now, we are headed to Daugavpils in Latvia. 

This blog describes part of our 6-month motorhome trip around northern and eastern Europe, which began in Prague.