Day 15 - Tour Day 4 - Wednesday 17 July 2019 - Vilnius

Sunrise:         5:04am                                              Sunset:          9:44pm

I had a lazy start to the day.  Didn’t go down to breakfast until 7:30 and we started our walking tour at 8:15. I had trouble hearing the guide or perhaps I wasn’t listening properly, so I really have no idea what some of the buildings that we saw, were. 

We walked through the main street of the Old Town and then through the University area. 
 The Vilniaus Universitetas is the oldest University in the Baltics States and one of the oldest in Northern Europe. It was founded in 1579 by the Jesuits.

We also managed to go to a viewing point to see the Presidential Palace from the back. 

Front of the Palace

Back of the Palace

From there we walked to Cathedral square, where the cathedral is and it’s bell tower.  Vilnius Cathedral, 1779-1783, is in the neoclassical style. 

 It’s in the historic centre of Vilnius and was UNESCO World Heritage listed in 1994.

From the square, we loaded onto the bus and were taken out to Trakai and a visit to the red-brick fortified island castle.  Trakai Island Castle is an island castle located in Trakai, Lithuania, on an island in Lake Galvė. The construction of the stone castle was begun in the 14th century by Kęstutis, and around 1409 major works were completed by his son Vytautas the Great, who died in this castle in 1430.

After that, we had some free time and then came back to Vilnius, where the people who were doing the KGB optional were dropped of near the building and the rest of us were taken back to the hotel.

I went for a walk up the street looking for a supermarket or place that I could buy a sandwich or something light but had no success, so I returned to the hotel.

As I couldn’t wash my hair this morning because the water in the shower was barely tepid,  when I returned I tried the water and it was hot again, so I showered & washed my hair and got myself ready for the Bon Voyage Drinks at 5pm tonight and then I’m doing the optional dinner with entertainment, which departs from the hotel after the Bon Voyage Drinks.

We arrived at the restaurant Senoji Trobele around 5:45pm and were taken into a private room.

The starter was brought in shortly after. 2 shared plates of 2 different types of meat, 3 cheeses, 2 herring, pickled vegetables, some salad vegetables.  As we were only having 1 drink, I ordered a long beer. The appetiser was pork inside a potato outer and the potato was a combination of raw potato mixed with cooked potato.  We were given a demonstration by one of the young chefs, as to how it is made.  
Mincing the raw potato

Squeezing the excess water out of the minced raw potato

Combining the raw potato with the cooked potato

Inserting the meat into the potato  mix 

The final shaping

Then the main came out and I did take a photo of that. Salad vegetables with mashed potato and thinly sliced seasoned chicken with chopped mushroom sauce.

Then the entertainment. A 3 piece band, some singing, dancing, a bit of length guessing. A nail hammering competition, a blind folded beer drinking event. 

After that, dessert came out.  Apple pie with ice cream.

When eveyone was finished we headed back to the coach.  There was another Insight group there, as well as a Globus group.   We were back at the hotel around 8:30.  Once I have finished updating this, I’m heading for bed and an early night. 

Steps Walked                     8,726

Hotel: Radisson Blu Royal Astorija Hotel, Vilnius