DAY 24 EUROPE TRIP - LITHUANIA – Vilnius Region

9 June 2009

DAY 24 EUROPE TRIP
LITHUANIA – Vilnius Region

Another interesting and busy day.

A walk through another ‘draustinis’, visits to a restoration site and to the oldest bell tower in Lithuania, a concert and a lovely barbeque.

Our first stop was the Vornikų Pažinties Takas – a path through a very interesting forest area.

The walk covered different types of forests.

You walk through birch tree area

oakwoods, fir tree area, pine area,

low and high swamp areas.


The path again had very informative bilboards that raised awareness of endagered plant species.

We thoroughly enjoyed the walk. From here we went to Tiškevičiaus Užutrakių Dvara near Trakai. Along the way we saw quite a number of stork nests.

The 19th century manor is currently under restoration.

The grounds are beautiful.

Some elements of the original gardens have survived.

From here one gets a different view of Traku Island Castle that we visited a few days ago.

As we walked around we had to be careful to avoid lots of little frogs along the paths.

Finally we decided to go and see the oldest bell ‚Semeliskiu Varpa‘ that had beed dedicated to the Grand Duke Vytautas. The belltower was closed so we could only see it in the distance.

After a short rest we got ready to go to the end of year concert for Arturo Noviko Jazz Music School. The concert participants ranged from absolute littlies to an adult group Jazz Island. It was a very professional and entertaining concert.

We ended the evening with a realxing barbeque. The days are very long – It is still daylight at 11.00pm. This means there is a lot of time to relax and enjoy the days if the weather is fine.

DAY 23 EUROPE TRIP - LITHUANIA – Vilnius Region

8 June 2009

DAY 23 EUROPE TRIP
LITHUANIA – Vilnius Region

The forecast was for intermittent rain so we decided to brave it and ventured out to explore the state cultural reserve at Kernave.

It was our second time here and we enjoyed this visit just as much as our first one 7 years ago. It was the first time here for my sister-in-law and her hubby.

It is an historical and archaeological museum site http://www.kernave.org/istorija_en.htm

Through archaeological work it has been ascertained that there have been settlements here since 8th-9th centuries BC. In the middle ages it is believed that it was the first capital of Lithuania. The legend of the Iron Wolf is also associated with the area. Here is a link to an article regarding the legend http://polish-baltic-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_lithuanian_legend_of_the_iron_wolf

It is a very picturesque area with 4 hill forts or as some refer to them as mysterious mounds set in a valley near the bend of a river. One mound is know as the Pilies hill fort, another as Aukuras hill fort, another as King Mindaugo throne

and the last as Lizdeikos hill fort. We climbed three of the mounds

and took in the views.

The surrounding fields were abundant with various flowering plants – many of which we were told were used for medicinal purposes. It was such a joy to walk through the flowering fields and not have to worry about snakes or getting scratched by the grasses.

From here we drove to Dukšto Ažuolynas –Oakwoods of Dukštas. It was a magnificent forest. The refreshing rich greens, the smells, the grandeur of the trees made this a very special place.

It can best be described as something between a state forest and a national park. It was referred to as a ‚draustinis‘ ie an area that must be retained in its natural state. When we arrived we had a snack before exploring the area.

As we walked along the path

wooden mythological carvings lined the route.

We would stop and read the very informative billboards.

The very large snails near the path kept capturing my attention.

Amongst the tall oak trees

the occassional fir trees looked grand.

The rare mushroom peeped through the foliage

An ancient stone with a carved undecipherable script is found along the way.

At the end of the path swings

and a see-saw brought the path to its end.

Then onto afternoon tea to catch up with a long standing friendin Kariotiškes and after dinner to catch up with our son’s friend’s family in Vilnius who will be soon visiting Australia. It was a very special day with lots of new experiences.

DAY 22 EUROPE TRIP - LITHUANIA – Vilnius Region - Trakai

7 June 2009

DAY 22 EUROPE TRIP
LITHUANIA – Vilnius Region

We woke to a coldish and rainy day. After a relaxing morning and making arrangements for our travels in Lithuania we went to see Trakai.

This is our eight trip to Lithuania and the 8th time we visited Trakai. It is a very interesting place with an interesting history. It is well described at http://www.vilnius-life.com/culture/culture_details/122-Trakai_Island_Castle

It has become a very special place for us as my hubby has built a model to scale 1:50 for exhibition at Cockington Green in Canberra in the ACT.


The castle is surrounded by Galves Lake and has a beautiful setting within the lake.

We went into the city of Trakai as there was a special event on but it appeared to be at and end by the time we got there. On our way back to the car we came across a wood carving of King Mindaugas – my husband’s name sake – so a photo just had to be taken.

An enjoyable and relaxing day but we did wish that the rain would go away.

DAY 21 EUROPE TRIP - ROME-VILNIUS

6 June 2009

DAY 21 EUROPE TRIP
ROME - VILNIUS

What a day!

Today was a very long and tiring day. We had an early 6.00am start in order to catch the free shuttle bus to the airport. About half and hour before our flight to Vilnius via Frankfurt our flight was delayed and they started to reschedule flights for passengers with connecting flights. Chaos supreme! They were only interested in passengers with connecting flights to USA. Eventually they told us that they would sort out any connecting flight problems for us in Frankfurt. We received a free lunch of a bacon sandwich and a drink. The sandwich was very dry and unappetising. Finally in the afternoon our flight took off. We made our connecting flight and in the early evening arrived in Vilnius. It was strange flying to another country and not going through any customs or immigration checks as we had flown in from another EU country. We were made very welcome by my brother-in-laws cousin and taken to their beautiful home in Grikiškes. We met the three generations living there and spent the evening either catching up or getting to know one another.