It's good we've been out walking these past days, because it's becoming colder and windier, and may even be a blizzard by tonight or tomorrow. "Winter in Vilnius" is living up to its title.
On Tuesday I walked Liz down to Cathedral Square.
Lots of activity - it seems to be the spot where Russian tour buses drop their passengers.
Liz had a meeting on the Square at Hotel Kempinski. The wife of the minister-counselor at the Embassy of Finland had invited Liz to come to a festive occasion on which the profits of a Christmas bazaar were distributed to lots of beneficiaries - the total was about 350,000 litas - about $140,000.
I left her to enjoy the party and took a walk, first up Gedimino street past the National Drama Theatre, above, with its three ladies above the doorway - maybe Macbeth?
The hill is the Hill of the Three Crosses. A story or legend is told of seven Franciscan monks who were killed on a conversion mission many centuries ago (the Lithuanians were a tough bunch of pagans!). As a tribute this monument was erected in the 1600s, only to be destroyed by Stalin during the Soviet occupation, and then restored in 1989 as one of the early in-your-face acts of rebellion.
And great views of the old city - not that these fairly depressing, snowy photos give the best impression.
And this is looking back up the couple hundred snow-covered steps I took back down on the other side, down to the Vilnia River, across a little bridge, and up a very interesting street (below):
Literature Street! Hundreds of tiles or metal plates set into the wall along the street, with some kind of reference to books or authors - Gunter Grass is one I remember - and a puzzling something which is sort of like an Illinois license plate. I'll have to check it out again!
A couple days ago while Liz was at the women's Bible study I took another walk along the Neris River, going west this time, on a very snowy, unshoveled path.
Finally the river intersected Gedimino street, where I found the Lithuanian Parliament Building. The Seimas, or gathering, was built in 1982, under the Soviets, but retains, on the western side of the building, some of the barricades built on January 13, 1991, to defend the self-proclaimed Lithuanian Supreme Council from Soviet forces. The thousands who gathered did, in fact, keep the special forces out, although the troops killed a number of people that same day at the TV tower.
Down the street from Parliament, this attractive building turns out to be the old KGB headquarters, now the Genocide Victims' Museum. We'll say more when we've actually visited it.
One more walk: yesterday Liz left me with my sermon cogitations and went up through some nearby winding streets to the Hales Turgus, a big old-fashioned pavilion-covered market where you can buy anything.
Would you buy a chicken from this woman? Liz did, cooked it all afternoon in our slow cooker, and it was delicious!
The market and surrounding area remind me of the rynoks in Moscow, 35 years ago, where you could buy all sorts of things you couldn't find anywhere else, including Easter eggs under the counter.
If you made it all the way this far you are a very patient customer. Thanks for taking some walks with us in Vilnius!
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