Day #181 - Vilnius, Lithuania

St. Catherine's Church

Monument to Gediminas

The Cathedral

Bell Tower

Town Hall

Saturday, September 11th

I'm coming to you live from the very same McDonalds I was in this morning. I'm feeling a ton better than earlier today. Not rested - but better. I don't think my system accepts the constant juggling up and down for endless hours. It was pretty bumpy roads - not sure if anyone's system would be fully responsive.

Today I spent the day walking around Vilnius, Lithuania. Before I get to that, I'd like to write a short blurb on Latvia first. I spent a small amount of time actually awake while in Latvia. We did spend about 30 minutes at 1:30am for a pickup in the capital city of Riga. Latvia has a total of 2.3 million people - a slightly higher population than Estonia. Latvia is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, the Baltic Sea to the west, and Russia and Belarus to the east. Latvia has its own language and own currency. It has experienced a substantial fall in population (14.9%) since 1991. The recent economic crunch has critcally hurt the country - making it the third poorest in the European Union. I don't have any weird sports trivia to give you about this place - it's an unknown to me. Because it sits in the middle of the 3 former Soviet republic states - it doesn't feed from the Russian population in the north nor the western european population in the south. I'll think of this guy simply as a tweener. Just knowing where it is - the size, overall makeup - I'll live with this for now. The fact it's recently gained its independence, as with all these former Communist countries - it's a work in progress. I'm sure in the future, some of these will prosper and grow, while others may fall off. If I had to guess - I doubt Latvia ever becomes a major player in my lifetime.

Lithuania. Weird sport fact -- They have a really good basketball team. They are actually playing the US in the semifinals of the World Championships this year - like in a day or so. One of their best players is Linus Kleinza - a former MU Tiger. Another piece of information I gained today -- Vilnius is having a marathon tomorrow morning. Who would have thought? I was walking on the street with my map in hand, and saw this guy doing the same. We broke up a conversation and I find out he's running tomorrow. Not for this cowboy however - that could be a death sentence for me. I wished him luck and was on my way to the tourist information office.

Lithuania has about 3.2 million people - making it the largest of the 3 Baltic countires (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). By the end of the 14th century, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe. Amazing - that has changed significantly. I look at the history reports - countries change names so many times in Europe - it gives me a headache to try to grasp it. I've decided to stay with the recent past. If I can understand from 1989 to the present - I'm OK with that.

So Vilnius has a really neat old city section. They had a walking path lined out in the guide book highlighting the top 25 things for viewing. It was a nice place. Some of the memorable points for me were: The Cathedral and Bell Tower - in 1922 the Cathedral was granted the title basilica (meaning "royal"). This is the highest church category awarded by the Pope only to the very special churches. (ex - St. Peter's Basilica - Rome). The Monument to Gediminas -- the founder of Vilnius and one of the most famous rulers of Lithuania. The Town Hall Square and Town Hall --- there was a wedding taking pictures in front of it (so I guess it's special in some way). St. Catherine's Church ---- this was the first church in Vilnius to undergo comprehensive renovation after Lithuania regained its independence.

So I spent alot of time today just getting organized. I've bounced around different cafes and restaurants - not overdoing my welcome. Tonight I leave for Warsaw, Poland via bus at 10pm. I'll arrive in Warsaw around 7am - I'm looking at a 10 hour ride (Poland is 1-hr behind where I am now). Good thing is - I'm really tired and haven't rested all day. Hopefully I'll be able to get some sleep.

I'm not sure how long I'll stay in Poland. Probably not long. I will be working my way to the Czech Republic and then on to Munich. I've got a date with a beer hall in Munich - something they call - "Octoberfest".

Here's to a good busride!