Trakai and Vilnius

On the second weekend after Laia‘s and Emily‘s arrival we went on a trip to Lithuania‘s capital Vilnius. For Fine and me it was the second time to go there since we had already been there for a night after our On Arrival Training. With us volunteers from the “Panevėžio ‘Šviesos’ Specialiojo Ugdymo Centras” came another three volunteers from Panevėžys: Nadja and Vanessa from Germany and Lana from Georgia. All three of them had started their volunteering in October, just like Laia and Emily.

Before diving into the capital we went to Trakai, which is about half an hour away from Vilnius by bus. Trakai is probably one of the most beautiful places you can visit in Lithuania, especially when you’re into castles. Surrounded by the lake there is a small island you can only reach on foot by crossing a wooden bridge and there you’ll find the castle of Trakai. It’s a really picturesque place and we were also very lucky concerning the weather which made the stay probably even more beautiful. We spent some really lovely hours enjoying the view and the sun right next to the water. Of course we weren’t the only ones there, but it’s still a quite calm place for a spot with so many tourists around.

In the evening we went to the BEEpositive Light Festival in Vilnius, organized by Pilaitė (http://beepart.lt), the project of Laima, the Latvian volunteer Fine and me got to know at our On Arrival Training. At two places in the city, one in the centre and one a bit more outside, there were light installations to look at, set up by different artists. And of course there also was a small market, there’s always some market here. At the festival we met some of the volunteers from our On Arrival Training – it was very nice to see them again – as well as even more volunteers that had started their projects in the meantime. So we were a really really big group. Together we spent a fun night in the capital enjoying all the action going on there compared to our calm Panevėžys ;) 
 

The next day we also did some sightseeing in Vilnius. We’ve been to the cathedral in the centre just at the right time to witness part of a mass. Also we climbed the “hill” (as an Austrian I have different measurements for that term) in the city’s centre to visit Gediminas’ Tower, the remaining part of a former castle. From up there you have a nice view over the city around you so I can definitely recommend to go up once. 

 

When we arrived back at Panevėžys we were all completely done from an exhausting but very funny and exciting weekend. This definitely wasn’t the last time we’ve been to the capital. :)

Viso gero,

Monika