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!

Jitka Dunger: who's that girl?

As I mentioned in some post before I came to Lithuania to visit this friend of mine, Jitka. The deal was to visit her before she would return to Germany in Mai. So here I am!!

Jitka under a pet's skin.

Let me tell a little about her!
I met this young little lady almost ten years ago, after I moved to Freiberg in Saxony. Her mom, Corina, was the coordinator of the PhD program I was accepted in, used to take her little daughter once in a while to some of the events with the international Phd students. We got close friends and now, ten years later, we have a lot of stories to tell.

Jitka in Alytus.

Jitka is now 19, finished the high school last year and decided to go to a foreign country to do some voluntary work. She's been living in Lithuania alone for a few months and working as social assistant taking care of children, between 6 and 13 months old, all coming from socially problematic families.
What did move her to leave everything behind and accept this challenge?
In her own words:

Playing in the park.

"Since the 8th class, I was 14 by then, I wanted to go to a foreign country, get in touch with a different culture and learn a foreign language. I didn't want to go straight to the university after the school and thought about doing some social work. My first choice was Russia, but It was really hard to get a chance there, so after some further research and a few attempts I came to Lithuania with the support of the International Youth Voluntary Service, which is connected to the International Red Cross."

On the top!

Soon Jitka will be back home with the plan of starting the studies in Sport Therapy, possibly, in the Humboldt University in Berlin.

This young lady is such an example of determination and dedication and has given me some lessons about it lately.

All the best sweetie!

First impressions in Lithuania

After landing safe and sound I got some money. The local currency is called litas (Lt) and corresponds to approximately one third of the Euro.

Off course, one realizes the language everywhere. Nop! Not Russian but Lithuanian. They have their own language.

With the bus line 1 from the airport I could get into town and to the main bus station. The ticket for a single ride costs 2,5 Lt (0,50 Ct).

Hint: Don't enter the bus with no change money. Everything above 20 Lt is not accepted. In the case you only have a 100Lt note like I did, ask a young nice lady if she can change it for you. It worked!

Now sitting in the bus on the way to Alytus. The ticket for the almost 2 hours journey costs 22,0Lt (approx. 6,3€) and they have WiFi in it.

I keep on moving! Vuuuuush!
Cheers!

Next destination Lithuania!

Yay!!
Just started getting prepared to the next trip by learning something about Lithuania.

I never thought about heading to one of the Baltic countries before but since my dear friend Jitka is living in Alytus and I promised to visit her there, the chance just knocked at my door.

Till know I got to know that their currency is called "litas" and they are kinda fascinated by the devil. One can even visit the Devil's Museum there.

The plan sounds like: after landing in Vilnius and take the bus to Alytus, where Jiitka is working. A visit to her wok place, where I'd have the opportunity to getting in touch with the children, with whom she works. After two days we head together to Vilnius and enjoy the weekend together. Wanna try some typical food, visit some museum and learn something about the country and culture... I honestly dont know much about it!


Guess what? Excited! I surely come back with some great pics! :)
Cheers everyone!