Global Wanderer

23/11/24 – 25/11/24

The LTG-Link train connecting Riga and Vilnius has only been running for 11 months – but it plugs an important a gap in the rail network, especially before the Rail Baltica project is complete in 2028. The comfortable train took 4.5 hours, and pulled into Vilnius Railway Station at 8pm on the dot – another late arrival, but nothing we can’t deal with. 

Vilnius Railway Station at night

Our accommodation in Vilnius was called Domus Maria – a hotel located inside a former convent building (you’d think it would be rather spartan but it was actually well-kitted out!). Right on the edge of the old town, under the famous Gates of Dawn, we’d be pretty well placed for our short stop in the Lithuanian capital. 

The Gate of Dawn – if you look closely at the middle window, you can see the famous painting of the Virgin Mary, which attracts many pilgrims to Vilnius

Having eaten on the train (courtesy of the Rimi Express, where I’d bought an entire pizza that morning for €3), we weren’t particularly hungry, so we decided to spend the evening exploring a bit of the old town. Vilnius is an exceptionally pretty city – it’s full of churches, cobbled streets and old buildings – but has a completely different vibe to Tallinn and Riga. It also seems to attract a strange combination of visitors, as there was a popular street in the old town filled with bars and young tourists from other parts of Europe, just metres away from older pilgrims visiting some of the famous religious locations in the city.

Some of the buildings in the old town at night

We ended up skipping a proper meal, and instead, before turning in for the night, stopped at one of the local Hesburger joints. Hesburger is a Finnish burger chain that successfully competes with McDonalds in Finland and the Baltic countries (I believe there are more Hesburgers than McDonalds in the region!) and has a self-titled burger that looks suspiciously like a Big Mac. I’d decided I had to try a Hesburger before I left – cultural education, right? – and this would be one of the last chances I had before leaving the Baltics!

Breakfast the next morning was in one of the hall-like rooms in the convent, and consisted of eggs, beans, potatoes and carrots, some utterly amazing bread, and the usual array of cold meats and cheese. Thankfully, there was not a boiled sausage in sight. Breakfast began at 8, and I thought we’d be some of the first people there, arriving at 8:03, but alas, the room was packed full of what I can only assume were elderly pilgrims, who had clearly been waiting a while for breakfast to begin. I can’t compete, clearly!

Our day out in Vilnius began with a walk across the river to the neighbourhood, and unrecognised state, of Užupis. Once a poor neighbourhood, its resident creatives and artists had somewhat-jokingly declared independence, and created a rather interesting constitution, amongst other things, carving out Užupis’s niche as a home of the alternative. According to many people, the neighbourhood has now become quite gentrified, but it was still quite interesting to walk through! The Užupian Constitution is proudly displayed in a remarkable number of languages on large plaques on the walls of a main street, stating that it is everyone’s right to do such things as: die, live, own a dog, etc. (important stuff!). 

The Republic of Užupis

We then headed up a nearby hill, to the Three Crosses memorial (in memory of either 7 or 14 monks murdered during the medieval era. Nobody seems sure exactly how many were killed; even the information signs at the monument pointed out that the government wasn’t really sure). The views of Vilnius from here are absolutely magnificent and it was certainly worth the walk (even though I almost slipped and fell several times on the frozen path!). The trails around the hill also seemed to be popular with locals, as we came across a great many people walking their dogs!

Views from the hilltop, and the Three Crosses Memorial in Vilnius

We’d seen quite a bit of Vilnius’s Old Town the day before, albeit in the dark, so we had decided to check out some of the remnants of Lithuania’s Soviet history – there are a few impressive examples of Soviet architecture around the city! The first, across other side of the river, was an enormous sports complex, built in standard, grey Soviet concrete style – it seems, however, that the Lithuanian government is happy to let this particular historical relic fall into disuse, as it appeared to be derelict and was fenced off. 

We made our way back into the city centre, but not before checking out some other Soviet-era relics. Vilnius certainly is a city of contrasts!

Some examples of Vilnius’s Soviet legacy

Walking back up through the Old Town, we stumbled across the square, complete with town hall, and in-construction Christmas markets. I say stumbled across, because we had somehow missed it when walking around the previous night – I have no idea how!

The beautiful town centre – complete with a man dressed as Krampus (spot him in the centre of the bottom photo!)

That evening, Liverpool was playing in the EPL – we’d spotted a bar/restaurant showing the football called Šnekutis, located in the back of one of the Vilnius Old Town’s winding alleyways. Šnekutis also happens to be a wonderful place to try Lithuanian food, and so we tucked into fried bread and cheese (heavenly), enormous Zeppelins (steamed potato cakes of sorts, filled with meat), more potato cakes (fried, this time) and pork – Lithuanian comfort food is certainly good at keeping you warm and full in winter! Oh, and Liverpool won – so this turned out to be a brilliant night! 

Šnekutis Pub in Vilnius – a great place to try classic Lithuanian food!

We spent the remainder of the evening walking through the Old Town again at night. Vilnius is certainly a pretty city, and I’d say that it has something for everyone – there’s a town hall and an immense number of churches, there is a great variety of bars, cafes and restaurants, and there’s also some Soviet-era architecture on the outskirts of the city – this place is well worth a visit!