One of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe, dating back to the 13th century where it was first built as a Christian church. It was only recently that was closed down by the Soviets in the 1950s and was turned into a garage for truck repairs. It then turned into an art gallery before returning to a Catholic Church in the late 1980s.
My distance family Virginijus and his wife Genute joined us in Vilnius the same evening that we arrived. We had a beautiful walk around some old churches and courtyards, took a lovely stroll around Old Town and Gediminas Tower.
Residency of Lithuania's President.
Mindaugas was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania.
When you in need of pee.... travel potty comes to hand. We have carried with us this potty everywhere, and had some pees in it in most exciting places you can think of! Like: The grounds of Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. (picture below)
My Carry Potty Ladybug is available at John Lewis and Amazon.co.uk
Tower of Gediminas.
Vilnius has some great points to admire the city’s beauty. The most known is the Upper Castle with Gediminas Tower and no wonder this place is so popular! The view all over the town is stunning with rooftops and church towers on one side and Neris river with modern downtown in the background on the other. For even better view go to the top of the Gediminas Tower (entrance 2€, including the museum). Alternatively you can climb the Three Crosses Hill nearby, the view isn’t bad from here either!
This is a pure pleasure! The Old Town in Vilnius is fairly big and it’s easy to get lost there: the maze of narrow streets leads you next to churches, beautiful houses and suddenly you might not know anymore where you are! The best thing you can do then is stopping by at one of many cafes serving delicious cakes, ice cream and coffee. ( just a note: not many coffee houses, restaurants or cafe's have brown sugar for coffee, in fact throughout our trip only twice we have been served variety of sugars, sweeteners etc.)
''Pilies Sokoladine'' on Pilies Street in Old Town has the most delicious cherry ice cream and a little secret chocolate room inside the café. Yup. Everything you see in picture here is a master work of chocolatier.
This particular photo was taken on a very rainy morning on our second day in Vilnius. We popped into this charming café serving good coffee and baking the best fresh French pastry.
The smell in here is just amazing, you do want to eat almost everything! We ate some savoury pastries with ham and cheese, then had some with apples and cinnamon, cottage cheese, raisins and bought some more to take with us. Greedy!
''Boulangerie French Bakery'' is on No.3 Geliu street.in Vilnius. Just in case you will be walking by.
People sell here home produce, freshly picked flowers, forest mushrooms, wild strawberries, cherries and other seasonal stuff such as large amount of vegetables, meat, fish, nuts, spices, fresh juice or other treats for your table. Besides those there’s a bunch of clothing and shoe shops and some people find them quite amusing and relatively cheap. We have bought some blueberries, cherries and an umbrella to safe us from Summer showers!
First of all, Belmontas is famous because of the restaurant. All food is prepared by qualified cooks. The most delicious food for me is a food which is prepared on open fire. In summer, the restaurant guests can also listen to live music, relax or enjoy the nature. If you are looking for some activities, you should know that the Belmontas centre organizes various concerts, festivals, games, feasts and theatrical performances.
Belmontas is like an oasis in a forest. I love this place because of the opportunity it offer you to be in the extraordinary nature with amazing ponds, bridges, fountains, waterfalls and the river Vilnelė.
One cannot call himself a real Lithuanian if he has not tried all sorts of Lithuanian beer. Only after trying you can be sure that you have chosen the best one, right? Maybe it will be the live beer of “Belmontas”?
Only fresh water, obtained from a 95-metre depth bore, is used in the production of “Belmontas” beer. This beer is live, unfiltered and unpasteurized, no additives are used in the fermentation process. This popular drink is brewed from malt, yeast and hops, and is let to mature for 30 days before it is time for it to go into the bottle and then – onto your table. Delicious!
We said a sad Goodbye to our friends and set off to see my family in a small town of Jurbarkas.
Grandpa Eddie enjoying a fresh morning view over the longest bridge in Lithuania.
and what a lovely morning we had, lots of cuddles with Nanna Dana and my half sister Ieva. Then for some cake and English tea at my Mum's.
Panemunes Castle.
For the past few days of our holiday, we stayed at this local B&B, run by the lady who lives here with her dog. The place is very quirky and unique, but pure relaxation in her lovely garden area. She serves you a lovely breakfast with freshly picked cucumbers from her garden, boiled organic eggs and homemade cherry jam to go with cheese.
''B&B Jurbarkas'' Birutes Street. No.3 Jurbarkas
Just a little splash and splosh at the local lakes.
Nanna Suzanna got splashed!
then we took the dress off...
Its the best thing when you can be as free and careless as a child. We loved watching her exploring the new places, new food, new smells and new experiences. This girl loves outdoors and running fast as she can away from us!
We had a wonderful time. But its always not enough . Not enough of cuddles and not enough of hours to spend with your loved ones. We missed that place already.
The second part of our holiday week takes us for some more adventures around Lithuania's cities and sea resorts.
Stay tuned!
Love
xxx
Written with love... :)
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