This post is a follow-up post describing a solo trip to Vilnius. If you haven’t done so, you may want to start first with “Vilnius Solo Travel – Part I” which describes the beginning of the trip.
If you are less interested in a personal experience, and more interested in a list of all things to do in Vilnius – go to the “Lithuania in a nutshell” post.
As usual, the yellow treasure chests are for enrichment only. You can skip them if you are only interested in the experience.
Table of Contents
Hot air balloon flight – Saturday
Meeting my flight partners + Video
The brothers who dreamt about flying – Historical Treasure Chest
The professor from St. Petersburg
The Museum of Illusions, the voice of an angel and the beggar’s secret
The dominican church of the holy spirit – Historical Treasure Chest
A talking statue and St. John’s Church
The Human Chain and the Magical Brick – Historical Treasure Chest
Excellent pizzeria and new people
Sunday – The Disappointing KGB Museum
A trip to Belmontas with Terance
The end of the road – Misson Accomplished
Solo traveling in Vilnius – the video – 3.5 days in 3.5 minutes – thanks for reading
Hot air balloon flight - Saturday
I set the alarm clock for 5 am, and at 5:30 am i’m at the meeting point. The shuttle is already waiting. It’s still dark outside. Inside, a young couple is already sitting, and we pick up two more men. I’m all excited about the experience I’m about to have for the first time in my life. About half an hour later we reach an open field. The sunrise is already underway. Our guy unloads the balloon and it turns out we are going out with two more balloons. Everyone is now blowing the balloon, and I help hold it as the powerful fan fills it with air.
We’ll start soon, Albertas explains. Just climb over the basket and enter. The flight itself is expected to be smooth. The balloon is carried with the wind, so whoever is inside doesn’t feel it. We don’t know where we will be landing. There is no steering wheel. There is only the option of raising and lowering it, and thus directing it according to the wind direction. Albertas’s brother will be watching us from below. He will drive to our landing spot as soon as the baloon “driver” decides where it is. The most challenging part is landing. No brakes. No wheels. So the basket usually rolls over on its side and we are all expected to stack one on the other. He explains to us where to hold tight when this happens. A little stressful, but okay.
After the explanation, we take off. The veiw is spectacular. Just nature, 50 shades of green and lakes beneath us, two more hot air balloons, and everything is so peaceful and quiet. I am so excited, happy, and relaxed at the same time. I take a lot of photos, and just breath in that scenery, sunrise and relaxation. I Hardly speak. After half an hour, we reach the famous Trakai Castle, and watch it from above. What a magical veiw. At first I was contemplating whether to stay in Trakai after the flight. Now I think I won’t get a better view of the castle, and decide to return with the shuttle. The flight takes about an hour, and everyone is so enthusiastic. When the landing moment comes, the adrenaline rises a bit. The basket is really flipping over, and someone is crushing me. Like a pile of children. I manage to get out of the pile first, and then everyone loosens up, with a smile smirked on their faces.
Meeting my flight partners + Video
Since there is no better then eye-sight, I made a video that summarizes the experience. Increase to full screen mode.
The brothers who dreamt about flying - Historical Treasure Chest
“Do you know I can fly?”, I ask my children again and again. Then I spread my hands, wave them strongly, jump high, try to fly, and … can’t! Would you believe it?
I know, it sounds silly, but I really want to fly!
236 years before I took the hot air balloon flight, French Montgolfier brothers invented this wonderful invention. They had the same dream. Only it was at a time when there was still no aircraft capable of carrying humans.
At first they tried to inject hydrogen into paper, and the paper did fly, but very quickly landed back when the hydrogen came out.
It was actually a shirt that hung to dry next to the fireplace, and started to swell and rise, that made the breakthrough. They thought (mistakenly) that the secret was a special gas that’s in the smoke. That’s why they used materials that produce a lot of smoke (wool and old shoes) in the world’s first hot air baloon flight that lifted no one but itself. It did fly for 10 minutes and flew for 2 km. It happened on June 4, 1783.
Three months later, the first experiment was done with a balloon that carried animals – a rooster, a duck and a sheep.
A month later, the first experiment with humans was done. 25 minutes and 9 km above Paris. The first time humans were able to fly. The rest … is history.
Why drink champagne at the end? This, too, has a story, but if you want to discover it, you’ll have to experience the flight yourself.
If you want another viewpoint about ballooning in Lithuania, i recommend reading Karisa’s post from the great blog “Flirting with the globe”
The professor from St. Petersburg
It’s only 9am. The girl I said Good Morning to yesterday is in the room, waking up. Meet Elena, a 43-year-old woman from St. Petersburg, Russia. Professor of Economics on the one hand, and singer and voice development teacher on the other. I actually found her page on her university website. She arrived 3 days ago to visit sites in Vilnius following a writer she admires. One of her books taking place entirely in Vilnius. So today she plans to visit these sites. Yesterday something amazing happened to her.
30 years ago, as a child, she spent two weeks with friends of her family over the summer. There was really no internet, so the connection broke up over the years. Recently she found their address in Lithuania, and decided to try to see if they still lived in the same house. So yesterday she just drove to their town, knocking on the door, not knowing if they were still living there. But they are still there, and they remembered her. They also took her to see their daughter, a girl her age she played with all that summer and remembered to this day. They spent the whole day together. Now they will get back in touch. She tells me that and her eyes sparkle.
The Museum of Illusions, the voice of an angel and the beggar's secret
In the background, there is a whatsapp group conversation between several guys, including Israel and Terance. They plan to travel today at noon to see the castle in Trakai. I decide to give it up because of the hot air balloon flight, and go see all kinds of attractions I wanted to see in the city. I start with the Museum of Illusions. It costs me half the price (5.5 euros) thanks to the Vilnuis pass, and I spend about two hours there. It consists of 3 large rooms, with lots of types of optical illusions, and facilities to experiment with. Frankly? A whole lot of fun. I will come back here with the kids. For the attractions that require a photo, I ask for help from the friendly staff. When I get out of there, I see all kinds of illusion and magic-related products, and take the opportunity to buy some gifts for the kids.
After the museum, I feel like going to one of the panoramic view points above the city. It’s also mentioned in the preparation post I wrote – St. John’s Church. I start walking and after a few minutes I hear an angelic voice coming from one of the buildings on the street (want to hear the voice? Wait for the end of the post …). I come in and see a spectacular and rich church building, and a wedding is going on right now.
I stay a few minutes to look, and a guy sitting on the floor points at me and speaks to me in a language I don’t understand. I think he means it’s not disrespectful to come in with ripped jeans like I wore, but I quickly realize he is asking me for spare change. I give him, and he gives it to his friend. wierd. By the way, this is not the first time, and this is the method of beggars in Vilnius. They usually ask for euros or half euros. So you feel bad not to give them when the nominal amount is low in the first place, and I did give quite a few times. The church with its angelic voice and impressive architecture is the “Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit.”
In the photos: Some examples from the Illusions Museum.
The dominican church of the holy spirit - Historical Treasure Chest
The Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit has been there for 600 years. Apart from its inner beauty, there is an interesting section to this church. On its lower floor, huge maze safes were discovered, with lots of rooms, burial rooms, and… bodies naturally preserved like mummies. Many urban legends were scattered around this floor. The most romantic is that the basements formed part of a wider canal network. They were probably used as a hiding place for Sigmund II of August, the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his forbidden lover, Barbara. Today the church is used by the Polish community in Vilnius.
A talking statue and St. John's Church
After the holy spirit rested upon me in the church, I continue to St. John’s Tower, but again something stops me along the way. This time it’s a beautiful little statue on a pillar. I approach and see a sticker on the pillar that says “Talking Statues of Vilnius”. I scan the address written on the sticker, and suddenly I get a phone call. I answer, and the sculptor starts talking to me from my phone, and by the way, explains himself (It requires an Internet package on your phone). He tells me that he is a professional lamplighter, and he feels lonely. He asks me to stay next to him for a while and host him compant. Three-minute monologue. What a cool idea, and great execution! It turns out that there are 15 statues talking statues throughout Vilnius, and each tells a different story about Lithuania’s history and population types. In this case, the sculptor cherishes a long-lost profession – lamplighters. A man whose job was to walk every night among every city lamp (which were simple candles, or gas lamps), to light them, and make sure they stayed lit all night.
I bid farewell to the statue and finally reach the tower at St. John’s Church, built in the 16th century, and renovated after a fire in the 18th century. I go up the elevator and climb a few stairs. At the end I come to a truly spectacular and panoramic view of the whole city. She looks so beautiful from above, too, with its alleys and red roofs. The wind up there is crazy.
From the church I continue to the nearby writers’ alley. It’s simply a beautiful alley, with dozens of small works of art, each symbolized by a different Lithuanian writer. There is an excellent small bagel restaurant in the alley with a vegan option. I walk around for a while and go to rest in the hostel, in my new room. I meet Anaya, a Japanese girl, who is a little surprised (maybe even stressed) to see the new stranger in the room. I break the ice and start a conversation. She is a student of politics and on her last day on a three-week solo trip in the Baltic States. She misses her family and friends, but is reluctant to go back because the studies doesn’t interest her and she doesn’t like her life in Japan. The conversation doesn’t last much because she is gets out to tour the city for the last time.
Gediminas tower
After about an hour’s rest, I decide to go for another view of the city at Gadinimas Tower. About a 15-minute walk from my hostel. I climb up the path to the tower in about fifteen minutes, the scenery is beautiful, and then I enter (free with a Vilnius pass). Heading up one floor, and another, and another. Each tells something different about the history of Lithuania and the tower. One of them tells the story of the Baltic human chain – The Baltic Way.
There are cardboard figures holding hands, and you can join them and pose as if you are part of the chain. From the top floor there is a spectacular view of the whole city. It’s worth the effort. Gediminas, by the way, was a great Duke of Lithuania from 1316 to 1341, making his country one of the Eastern European powers. The Lithuanians are very attached to him. He was murdered in 1341, possibly by poisoning, as part of a coup. His statue can be seen in the Cathedral Square, and the tower is the last remnant of the city’s upper fort.
The Human Chain and the Magical Brick - Historical Treasure Chest
1989 was the year Lithuania lived and breathed the pursuit of freedom. But a statement about the quest for independence was not enough. It was necessary to show the world that this goal is shared by all three Baltic States – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Marking the 50th anniversary of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Agreement (the non-aggression agreement between Hitler and Stalin, in which the Baltic States were annexed to the Soviet Union), was the perfect day to draw the world’s attention to the fate of the Baltic states.
So on Wednesday, August 23, 1989, about 2 million people stopped everything, held hands, and created a magnificent human chain – the longest ever. 675 km, from Tallinn in Estonia, through Riga in Latvia, to Vilnius, Lithuania. This non-violent protest against the Soviet occupation was a milestone in the struggle for independence of the three countries.
7 months later Lithuania was the first Soviet state to declare independence. This human chain ended in the cathedral square. The brick where the chain ended is marked in the square itself with the word Stebuklas (“miracle” in Lithuanian). According to local belief, you should find the brick completely by accident. Then step on it, make 3 clockwise turns, clap, jump and make a heartfelt wish. It is sure to come true. Trust me. I happened to find the tile a few hours earlier, 30 years after that historic day. It was not hard to find because there are always groups of tourists surrounding it and doing 3 rounds and jumping on it. I did 3 rounds and jumped, but forgot to clap, so probably my wish will never come true.
A call from Dr. Zemach Shabad
I come down from the tower hungry, and again ask the group if anyone is having dinner. No one accepts the offer, but a guy named Alejandro from Mexico recommends a pizzeria called Casa La Familia. I decide to go for it, and walk towards it for about 20 minutes. Along the way I come across a lovely statue that I saw in some photos, and it turns out that it is also a talking statue – Zemach Shabad. In the statue himself, he seems to speak in empathy with a little girl. A scan of the barcode, and I get a phone call from Dr. Shabad himself.
The Jewish physician from Vilnius - Historical treasure chest
Dr. Zemach Shabad was born in the Jewish ghetto in Vilnius in 1864. When he was 17, he moved with his parents to Moscow, where he acquired his education as a physician. He was a member of the Social Revolutionary Party, which took an active part in the 1905 revolution (and even assassinated Russian government officials). Following the failed revolutionary attempt, Dr. Shabad was imprisoned for six months, and was exiled for three years.
In 1907 he was allowed to return to Vilnius, where he worked as a famous pediatrician, and returned to engage in public activities. In 1923 he founded and held a bi-weekly Yiddish pamphlet, which dealt with public health, and contributed greatly to the advancement of modern hygiene and medicine in Vilnius. It was written that he was “both intelligent and popular … education and simplicity nested in him in natural temperament”. In 1932 he visited Palestine with a group of doctors from Vilnius. The Jewish physician cared for both Jewish and Christian children and was highly appreciated in his city and beyond. He died in 1935. His wife was murdered by the Nazis in the Vilnius ghetto eight years later. In 2007, he was honored with this monument, and 12 years later I received a call from him on my way to the pizzeria.
Excellent pizzeria and new people
After I hear what Doctor has to tell me, I arrive at the pizzeria. The menu reveals to me that there are quite a few vegan pizzas there, so I order one with vegetables, vegan cheese and vegan sausage. Very tasty!
I read in a whatsapp group that Israel and Alejandro are at the stages of the Nations Fair on Gedimino Avenue, and decide to join them. I meet them, and after a few minutes, we are also joined by Terance and Lina, a dentist from Ukraine who until recently lived for six months in Israel and did an internship at a local dental clinic. She is interested and asks a lot of questions about my job as a child forensic investigator. Together we all walk to Mr. pub bar.
The pub is full, the music is good, and we go upstairs to the table. An Italian couple is already sitting at the table. Jean Lucca, an electrical engineer that is bored of his job and dreams of being a teacher. We are joined by another Italian with the same name, Jean Lucca. He himself is a teacher who came to Vilnius on behalf of the school to learn about implementing technology in the classroom, so in the evenings he goes out to have a drink.
Next comes an American guy named Rob, who talks too much about his trips to Italy, and in general talks too much. He keeps saying “Well, But enough about me” and then keeps talking about himself. He has been wandering for two years, was previously in prison for white-collar offenses, making money from buying services cheaply and selling them expensively to wealthy clients. I feel he is a little bit wierd, he sniffs his nose a lot, and I wonder if he actually did sniff some cocaine, or did he just catch a cold.
Alejandro says he wants to go hiking in the wild tomorrow at a regional park called Pavilniu regioninis parkos, which is in the Belmontes area. It really suits me to have a walk in nature so we decide to talk tomorrow. At 2 am I head off and go to sleep.
Sunday - The Disappointing KGB Museum
I get up at about 8 in the morning, and decide that today I will visit the KGB Museum, and take a walk with Alejandro in the park. I start at the museum. I read a lot about it and it was one of the things that really intrigued me in Vilnius. As the size of my expectations, so is the size of my disappointment. Three floors, dozens of rooms, in each room a few displays from the Soviet occupation period. Lots of boards with lots of text that explains the Nazi and Soviet occupation of Lithuania. Nothing interactive, no effort to arouse interest other than the story itself. It would have been better if I had read a history book on the period, and it would have had the same effect. The only thing that was a little more tangible was downstairs, where you actually walk in the KGB prison, and see the little cells, showers, staff rooms, etc. Nice but not worth the visit in my opinion.
I leave disappointed, and immediately stumble on another local festival. In general, the city is very alive, and there seems to be something going on in every corner. Gedimino Boulevard is packed with food and art booths. One of the projects that accompanied me throughout the trip was the Walls That Remember project, which includes figures from the Jewish community in Vilnius painted on the walls of the city (see photos).
A trip to Belmontas with Terance
I ask the whatsapp group who wants to go for a walk in the park. Alejandro is unresponsive, so in the meantime I decide to go eat at the other recommended vegan restaurant – Gyvas Baras. Along the way I pass another talking stature, this time I’m talking to Frank Zappa, the pioneering musician. Zappa himself has never been to Lithuania, but his free spirit matches the spirit of the Uzupis Republic which I mentioned in the previous post. I come to the restaurant, and it’s empty. The only guy who works there seems a little patronizing, and he’s not vegan himself. I suppose at night the restaurant is more full, as it is more a pub than a restaurant, but this restaurant may reflect the state of the vegan community in the city. At least the Seitan burger I ate was delicious.
I decide to go for a walk in the wild alone, even without Alejandro, although it kind of sucks, because I did want a partner for this. So I was really happy that just then Terance sent a message asking to join me for the trip. We decide to meet and walk to the park on foot, about an hour’s walk away. Along the way, we stumble upon the swing i mentions in the previous post, and I tell him about the task I set myself. Swing, pose, and take arest on it. He promises to help me complete the task on the way back.
The walk is long and we talk a lot. He says he was a vegetarian for five years, but stopped when he was traveling in Mongolia, where there were almost no vegetarian options. He also tells how much he loves nature, and how much he lacks it in Singapore, which he says has almost no places in nature. Entering the park, walking for a long time in the forest, and finally reaching the destination – Pavilniu regioninis parkos – It is a huge glade, and not very impressive. But I saw in Google images that there is a water source! So I convince Terance to continue for another 20 minutes on foot to Belmontas. In Belmontas there really is something to see and where to travel. A river, waterfalls, bridges, fountains. A beautiful place to spend the afternoon (there is also an extreme sports park for families with children).
The end of the road - Misson Accomplished
I’m tired of all this walking, so we decide to take a Bolt taxi back to town (I recommend downloading the Bolt app in addition to Uber). Passing through Terance’s hostel because he has to take his bag. Tonight he leaves and continues to Warsaw, where he will meet his girlfriend and travel with her to Iceland. Before we break up, we have a mission to complete – the swing. We get there, and he decides to join me. We both take off our shoes, and walk in the freezing cold river toward the swing. That was so much fun! What a perfect location. We rest, take photos, and talk for a bit. Mission Accomplished. After the swing, we parted ways. I go to have another pizza at Casa La Familia, and then stop at a great Italian restaurant called Piano Piano. Yes, I was hungry. It’s late and tomorrow I get up at 4am to catch a flight. I decide to go back to the hostel, and go to bed early.
Lithuania smiled at me. Great weather, good atmosphere, complete freedom as a solo traveler, and getting to know lots of people from all over the world. The city is alive and vibrant, both day and night, and it was fun to walk out into the street and discover it by myself. There are a lot of things I didn’t do (gondola cruising, ghost tour, hiking in Trakai and more …), but who knows, maybe I’ll come again. The truth is that I want to come again, but next time with Adi and the kids.
Costs
- Airline ticket – 166 $ (booked in July 2019)
- Accommodation for 4 nights in a 6-bed dorm room – 70$
- Vilnius pass for 72 hours – 37$
- Hot Air Balloon – 93$
- Insurance (discount with Max Card) – 4$
- Everything else (restaurants, pubs, attractions, taxis) – 220$
- An average serving at an average restaurant costs 7-8 euros, and at a fancy restaurant it costs 18 euros
- Total – 590$. Totally worth it!
Solo traveling in Vilnius - the video - 3.5 days in 3.5 minutes - thanks for reading
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