Pictures from Lithuania: the ones I like most!

I was pretty happy about the pictures I was able to take in Lithuania, specially those presented here. Its always an amazing feeling to have the opportunity to get to know a different environment and pass it further somehow. In this case, through my pictures.

Outskirts of Alytus.

While visiting my friend Jitka in Lithuania I've been to Alytus, one little town south west from the capital Vilnius.

Outskirts of Alytus. Lithuania.

In the industrial area in the outskirts of Alytus. The presence of the Soviet influence could be seen in some abandoned industry buildings on in the still inhabited old apartment blocks.

Abandoned building in Alytus. Lithuania.

I could experiment with my lenses and films from this amazing app, the Hipstamatic, and got great results.

Jitka in Alytus. Lithuania.

The "angel of freedom" in Alytus. Lithuania.

In the park in Alytus. Lithuania

In the graveyard at the St. Guardians Angel`s
church in Alytus. Lithuania.

An ancient Lithuania house in the Alytus Museum
of Ethnography. Lithuania

Industrial area in Alytus. Lithuania.

The sunrise as I left Alytus. Lithuania.

I left Alytus early in the morning to Vilnius with the plan of spending a few hours in the capital of the country and get some impressions of it.

Street artist in the capital Vilnius. Lithuania.

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.

Grandma selling her self knitted wool socks.

Hope you enjoyed!

Cheers everyone!

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!

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!