Day 97 - Thursday 8 August - Villnius churches

Thursday 8 August

It was raining this morning, not a thunderstorm, but real rain, so we waited until about 10:30 when we thought it had eased. We walked 1.7km up T.Kosciuskos St, in light and heavy rain, to the basilica of Sts Peter and Paul, a baroque masterpiece that is naturally overdone.

 Polish  Pope John Paul ll came this way, and there are lots of photos at places he visited.

 I don't know why they have a dragon boat.

He's coming to get'ya.


We caught a trolley bus back to near the station, walked through the markets,

and then on to the Gates of Dawn, the only surviving gate of the ancient Vilnius city wall. 

We ate sandwiches as we went, photographing churches, looking in amber shops and ducking in and out of the rain until we got back home at about 14:00.

Fiona asked if I could get an amber nativity, but no-one anywhere makes such things.

 The entrance to the Holy Trinity church with 5 identical archways.

Another spire - of sorts.  You climb into this cabin, sitting around a table with your legs dangling.  Said table must already be laden with food, because there is no room for a waiter.  Then you are hoisted to the heavens for your meal, and a guy underneath walks around the square with a rope, pulling the cabin in different directions so you get a good view.

After a rest, we went across to the cathedral for a tour of the crypt, where bishops and dukes are buried. We also found out that the fancy chapel we showed you on Tuesday is the resting place for the remains of St Casimir, Lithuania's only saint.

This is a copy of a C14 fresco which is just around the corner behind it.

These footsteps mark the start of the Baltic Way.  There are similar plaques in other cities along the Way.


We came home again then went out and had traditional Lithuanian dinner.