I wouldn't be surprised if I set some kind of a record for how long I could live in Lithuania without actually visiting it's capital city. Now that I have been I feel even more connected to this country I call home. I finally know what everyone is talking about!
It was a wonderful spring break trip that was just close enough to home to still schedule in some days of relaxation. My friend Ella and I took a 4 hour train to Vilnius and spend a few days in the city. It was much bigger that I expected, after 2 full days there was still so much to see. Luckily we happened to be there for Lithuania's Independence day and got to see some of the celebrations!
I got to fulfill a dream of mine when we visited the Cat Cafe, there were so many cats just wondering around while we drank our tea but unfortunately I think these cats are use to attention and love because they were not as needy as I was for their time.
Here are some views of Vilnius from the top of the tower!
There are SO many churches in Vilnius and each one we walked into instantly filled me with awe. I also discovered that churches were build so tall and high above everything else to symbolize reaching to God in the heavens. Such cool perspective to have when admiring church architecture.
Art is a major theme all over Vilnius but there is actually a separate Republic within Vilnius called Uzupis which is especially dedicated to art as a lifestyle!
I was told that this meant miracles and the tradition is to stand on it and spin three times while you make a wish....so I did. Its located in the middle of the busy square too so I really hope that was what you were supposed to do!
We stopped to watch a commercial being filmed near where we were staying!
These are pictures from the KGB museum, I have never been to a museum that had so many photos, and artifacts from the time period. This is the actually building where many Lithuanian's were imprisoned, tortured, and killed. All of this happen less than 70 years ago. The book I recently posted about titled "Between Shades of Gray" perfectly told the story of this dark time in Lithuania's history.
These are the doors to the jail cells
This padded door was part of a entirely padded room for torturing.
I learned that the inside of the prison had to be repainted all the time to cover up the messages prisoners would scratch into the paint.
It was moving to experience this awful truth at the KGB museum and then walk outside and see the whole city celebrating Lithuania's freedom and independence! There is always hope!
God's beauty on my train ride home.
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