Vilnius, Lithuania
31 August to 3 September 2006
Upon arrival at the Vilnius airport we were met by the SmarTours representative, Rita, who
by bus took us to the Novotel Vilnius Hotel, located centrally on Gedimino Prospektas, Vilnius'
main street.  The window of our room on the sixth floor faced the front of the hotel and
provided us with an excellent view of the street below, of Savvalddybes Square directly
across the street, and of Vilnius' beautiful skyline.
A view of Vilnius seen from our hotel room.
Gedimino Prospektas seen from our room.  The yellow
tents are for the "Capital Days" celebration, which took
place during our stay in Vilnius.
Another view from our hotel room window
In the afternoon we were glad to take a nap which helped us overcome the effect of
twenty-four hours in planes and airports, as well as the six-hour time-zone change.  

At dinner that evening we enjoyed meeting the twenty-six other members of our tour group,
consisting of about an equal number of men and women.  They were from various parts of the
United States, and from Canada.  We were off to a good start.
Next morning, 1 September, we went with our group on a walking tour of the city.   We
started down Gedimino Prospektas, a wide avenue lined with a mix of old and recent
multi-story buildings and in fifteen minutes or so arrived at Vilnius' attractive Cathedral and
Cathedral Square, located on the edge of Vilnius' "old town".  
One of several altars in Vilnius Cathedral.
Vilnius' Greek-style Cathedral.  The structure on right is the
Cathedral's bell-tower, sheathed in green plastic during renovation.
The "old town" is a part of Vilnius built mainly during about the 16th to 18th centuries, and
little changed since then.  Within the "old town" are Vilnius University, many ornate
churches, historic houses, restaurants and bars, and the Presidential Palace.  It was a very
pleasant walk down narrow cobblestone-paved streets with occasional street performers.
A street in Vilnius'
"Old Town" section.
Here we see one of Vilnius' city gates which
has been extended by the addition of a small
chapel above the arched gate.
After our morning "old town" group tour Virginia and I explored parts of town not included
during the group tour.
From our part of town we
walked on the "Great Bridge"
to the far side of the Neris
River, then along the bank of
the river.
One of the interesting sights
on the far side of the river
was this ornate stone building.
During the day we noted that a large stage was being assembled on the street in front of our
hotel and that temporary stands were being put up over the entire length of Gedimino
Prospektas between our hotel and the Cathedral.  We learned that we had serendipitously
arrived in Vilnius at the height of an annual festival, "Capital Days" commemorating the final
withdrawal of Russian troops from Lithuania in 1993.  
We came back to our side of the
river over the uniquely modern
Karalius Mindaugo Bridge.