My dearest Freiberg

Freiberg is always worth visiting!


This little town in the heart of Saxony, more exactly midway between Dresden, the capital of the state, and Chemnitz, is my "German" home town.

Freiberg...here we go!

I lived for almost 8 years in Freiberg. During this time I got my Phd and worked in a research institute. In Freiberg I  made an uncountable number of friends from all over the world, I did some voluntary service in some schools and in the local theater. Till today I am connected to this extraordinary project in Kenya (www.openhearts.jimdo.com), which started in Freiberg.

The upper market (Obermarkt).

Freiberg is a 850 years old and very picturesque small town. Its history started with the discover of silver in the region, justifying its mining tradition and its tradition in mining education in the Technical University and Mining Academy of Freiberg (TUBaF). Freiberg is also known as the door to the Saxonian ore mountains (Erzgebirge).

The upper market (Obermarkt).

The most famous spots of the city are the Upper and the Lower Market, the Freundenstein castle, the St. Maria Cathedral, Donat tower and the Nikolai church.

The Nikolai church at the "Butter Market".

The Donat Tower.

It was good to meet the old friends, above all, my German family, the Bienecks, and feel the Saxonian warmth again.

The "Roter Weg" house.

Freiberg is kinda temporary station in the life of almost all the people I met there. It gave them such a great time, lots of fun and adventures, in their lives, then let them go. This is what this lovely little town is.

The restaurant potato house (Kartoffelhaus).

Note: I'm specially proud of the little bit of Saxonian accent on my German I got along the years!

It was good to see you again!
Glück auf!

At home in Saxony

Being back in Saxony is always a great feeling specially for meeting old good friends.


"I've walked through these streets before
Ive walked through these feelings before
I've felt these streets before"

Dresden Neustadt.

Martin at his Phd celebration in Dresden Neustadt; the family Dunger, Corina, Susann and Volkmar in Dresden town, my German family, the Bienecks, Gabi, Hartmut, Martin and Thomas in in Halsbach; and to ben with Anja, Frauke and Marina in Freiberg and to GDR museum on Radebeul.

Dresden Neutstadt. View from Martin's flat.

Dresden Neustadt am Albertusplatz.

Dresden Neustadt am Albertusplatz.

In der Neustadt.

The restaurant Kartoffelhaus in Freiberg.

The Albrechtburg in Meißen.

All the places and so many memories. Such a short and intense time.

Thank you all beloved people.

Visiting my German homeland: Saxony

Just got a ride (mitfahrgelegenheit.de) and heading up north to my German homeland , Saxony, more exactly, to Dresden and Freiberg.

It's a bit suspect that I say that, but Dresden is one of the most beautiful cities in Germany.

Excited about meeting old and new friends and partying with them.

On the road now! ...vuuuuuush!

This is Lithuania ... #thiislithuania

Lithuania together with Latvia and Estonia form the Baltic countries. Lithuania is the most south one. All the three countries belonged to the Soviet countries till the beginning of the 90s. Reminiscences of the the soviet systems can be recognized in the old block buildings, which still can be seen specially in the outskirts of the capital, Vilnius, and in the countryside.

Along the road from Vilnius to Alytus in Lithuania.

Today Lithuania belongs to the European Union. It's one of the countries, which kept theirs own currency, the Litas (symbol Lt.).

Street artist in Vilnius.

I was pretty much impressed by the landscape in the country, many small lakes, all of them still frozen in the middle of April, and many forests. The country is not very populated. Has its own language, the Lithuanian, although the Russian is spoken quite often, specially by the older population.

The countryside of Lithuania.

The country seem to be experiencing some development wave with the support of the EU right know. Travelling to through the countryside a could realize the very good quality of the roads and a good transportation system.

The countryside of Lithuania.

On the way back to Vilnius.

The two things I liked most in the country:
-Everything is very cheap compared to Central Europe. One get a lot for a few euros;
-People are very friendly and willing to help. They try to communicate with hands and feet if necessary to give some information;
- The many stork nests along the roads;
- Vilnius is a very sweet town;

Oops! There were four!
Cheers!

Vilnius: the fastest sightseeing ever!

After saying goodbye to Jitka I left Alytus early this morning and headed with the express bus back to Vilnius.

Since I had just a few hours till my flight back to Munich, I gave my luggage in the luggage deposit (3Lt = 1€ per luggage) at the bus station and headed to the city center right away.

Vilnius impressed me with its classic and well-preserved building. There is not much of the Soviet touch through the old blocks, which are more frequently seen in the outskirts of the town.

Beautiful classic buildings in the Sodu gatve. on the train station square. 

View from the Vilnius All Saints Church (Viniaus Visu Sventuju parapija).

It was very cold in the morning but the amazing sunshine was just perfect to have a walk through the old town of Vilnius. I even sat in the park to eat a snack.

Geminidas Tower in the upper castle)

Geminidas Tower in the upper castle)

Modern side of Vilnius (View from the Gediminas Tower  of the  upper castle).

Old town (View from the Gediminas Tower  of the  upper castle).

Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (Lietuvos valdovu numai).

Backyard in the old town. Vilnius.

Backyard in the old town.Vilnius.

Vilnius reminded me a bit of Prague, with the small shops, traditional food and products, and the street artists.

The sweetness of Vilnius.

Typical picture of Vilnius old town: sweet grandma selling wool socks.

Now in the Vienna International Airport waiting for the last flight home. It's going to get late!!

Vilnius airport (Vilniaus oro uostas)

Cheers everyone!

Heading back to Vilnius

After a two days in Alytus I said goodbye to Jitka early this morning and took the bus back to Vilnius.
Got up at 6:00 a.m. and run to the central bus station of Alytus. Unexpectedly, it was pretty cold in the morning. The ticket costed 22Lts (approx. 6 EUR) and took one and a half hour.
I bought my ticket, sat in he bus and enjoyed the ride.

In the bus on the way to Vilnius.

From the bus: such a beautiful morning.

Right now sitting in the, listening to some good music (twitter: @Imanyofficiel) and enjoying the sunshine and the amazing Lithuanian landscape. A good moment for considering and reflecting on the turns life is about to give. It feels good.

A small town on the country side, Lithuania.

Outstanding landscape, Lithuania.

Lithuanian landscape.

My bus in Vilnius in the central bus station.

Cheers everyone!

A day in Alytus with Jitka

In the first day visiting Jitka, we went through Alytus for me to get a feeling of the town. To see the people, try the food and for me to listen to the language (yes! I like doing this!).

(Inter-)National feeling.

We used the time to have a long chat and report about all the things that have happened in our lives since we saw last time, one and a half years ago, and about the plans for the future.

Street life in Alytus.

City center in Alytus.

We went for a long walk through the town for me to get an impression of it. We crossed the city park and had a great fun in the playground. The perfect time for some pictures.

The monument "angel of freedom" Nike.

With Jitka in the park in Alytus.

In the park in Alytus.

A good hint: the local food and the 5,6% bier.

The tasty strong bier with 5,6% alcohol.

We also visited the Ethnographic Museum of Alytus (Alytaus Kraštotyros Muziejus) and the St. Guardians Angek's Church.

The Alytus museum of ethnography (Alytaus Krastotyros Muziejus).

Weaving and textiles in the Alytus Museum of Ethnography (Alytaus Krastotyros Muziejus).

St. Guardians Angel's Church (Sv. Angelu Sargu baznycia). 

St. Guardians Angel's Church (Sv. Angelu Sargu baznycia). 

Oh! And we finished the day in the cinema.
It was a great day!

Lithuanian specialties

Let's talk about food and drink.
Today I had this cold red beet soup (šaltibarščiai in Lithuanian) with potatoes in Alytus while out with Jitka. Delicious!!

Cold red beet soup (saltibarciai).

The expression "cold soup" sounded kinda uncommon since the words "soup" and "hot" are almost a synonym for me, but didn't disappoint at all.
Really good! Hmmmm!

Another typical Lithuanian specialty my friend told me about is this drink called "gira".

Gira.

Gira is a fermented beverage made from rye bread and common in the former Soviet countries. It has many different names across the ancient USSR. Its taste reminded me of the malt bier and the highest alcohol content it can have is 1,2%. I had to try it!

Only 1,2% alcohol.

From Wikipedia:
The word "Kvass" derived from Old East Slavic квасъ, kvasŭ, meaning "yeast" or "leaven".Today the words used are almost the same: in Belarusian: квас, kvas; Latvian: kvass; Polish kwas chlebowy; Russian: квас, kvas; in Ukrainian: квас/хлібний квас/сирівець, kvas/khlibnyy kvas/syrivets. Except Lithuanian: gira, which means beverage similar to Latvian dzira. In Estonian: kali, which means leaven.

Good! It wad definitely worth trying! :)