Europe's Best-Kept Capital: Vilnius in Frames

Welcome to Vilnius, Lithuania!

With five days to spend in the city, I worried at first that it might be too long. But I embraced the opportunity to chill in one place for a while and therein, fell a little in love with the vibe of the city. I stayed at a nice hostel tucked into a great location within the Old Town, an area which, in despite of indeed being old, is quite modern, clean, and quiet.

In fact, the city is so silent that my tour guide made a point of whispering to us during the tour to prove a point -- that we would all still be able to hear him perfectly.

What's the first thing you should do whenever you get into a new travel destination? Once you've finally gotten some food and sleep, you should definitely go for a walking tour!

I usually book whatever my hostel recommends, which in this case was Vilnius with Locals Tours. Free walking tours are great ways to get to know the history, culture, and background of wherever you're visiting. (Just be sure to leave a tip at the end!) Walking tours are always great ways to check the pulse and personality of a city while also getting a feel for what you should actually do and see next.

If I hadn't done this tour, I would've missed so many details around the city, like the streets named for the immigrant groups that once populated them. I also would've walked right on by the "Portal," the giant, circular LED screen that live-streamed us to another Portal in Dublin, allowing us to wave at whoever was eyeing us from that part of the world.

Walking tours can also be a great way to meet other people. We had an interesting cast of characters on my tour. My favorite "character" is the guy I'll call "The American," who, as we introduced ourselves with our names and countries at the beginning, began with, "I'm from America, unfortunately."

Our tour guide, Saruna, was fantastic -- very knowledgeable on history and had a great answer to every question thrown at him. We spent an especially long time in front of the Presidential Palace, asking him questions about politics and government. "Politics is your favorite topic ever," he joked with us afterward.

"Wow, we had a talk about politics without any fights, or guns. That would never happen in America," commented The American, before making several jokes and impersonations of Trump jealously eyeing the palace and wanting to take it.

Saruna always had a clever transition to the next location. In front of one of the (many) churches, he spoke to us about paganism in Lithuania and how pagan symbols even made their way into the crosses we were viewing. Some Lithuanian names are also pagan names, including his. He explained that his name translates to "Very Fast." "Catch me!!" he said before speed-walking to the our destination.

He explained to us that everyone confuses Lithuania and Latvia. Even in an online review, someone made the mistake of reviewing his tour of "Latvia."

But Lithuanians will love you if you know anything about their country, since it's not a very well-known place. At the start of the tour, he gave us the nutshell version of its history, which included a fun little tidbit that Lithuania used to be the largest country in Europe. "For you young people," he suggested, "tell anyone on Tinder that Lithuania used to be the biggest country in Europe, and they'll love you."

The American was quite interested in Lithuanians' views of Russia. All around Vilnius hang Ukrianian flags and various symbols of support for Ukraine, from a count of the number of days of war on a local menu to messages of support on local buses. The American asked, "Do you think that when Russia is done with Ukraine, they'll come for Lithuania?" Saruna answered every question, but I could see in his eyes that this was a serious topic. He answered that Putin has promised Belarus access to the sea, and although Putin didn't specifically name Lithuania, it's easy to look at a map and see exactly which country lies between Belarus and the waterfront. "We won't let Russia take Lithuania. They can't," said our tour guide with a certain hardness in his eyes and a NAFO logo on his t-shirt. (I had to look it up. NAFO is an organization devoted to countering Russian propaganda.)

I'm a moth to flame when it comes to big personalities, which The American absolutely had, but my laughter turned to sympathy at some point of the tour. Like a dog hearing the word "treat," his ears perked up when someone said the word "weed," and he deflated when he learned it's illegal in Lithuania. He talked about gambling, sharing his knowledge of how Lithuanians love to gamble, and how he already knew where he would go gambling that night.

"Where are the shops here? Where are all the shops? Cities always have a shop. Where can you get booze around here?" he kept complaining during the whole tour, looking all around for a place to buy alcohol during our 11 AM tour. Finally, at a stop on a long street, The American directly asked Saruna where he could find a "shop," and Saruna answered there was a shop just down the road, gesturing in a general direction. The American's eyes lit up, and two minutes later, he went running down the road in search. We all stopped to watch him, amused and laughing. Saruna even paused his spiel to watch, saying, "I hope he knows drinking in public is illegal." A few minutes later, The American came running back up the street in a goofy way with an equally goofy grin on his face, with a beer can in one hand and a pastry in the other.

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One of my favorite neighborhoods of Vilnius is Uzupis.

Uzupis declared its "independence" on one April 1st. They imposed a border crossing on the bridge that leads into the neighborhood (you can see the signs showcasing their rules below -- yes, that is some kind of art/Mona Lisa rule) and created a flag and a currency. One Uzupis currency note is equivalent to the cost of a beer -- apparently, the new gold standard. The only catch about this currency is it's only valid on April 1st.

That first April 1st, Uzupis also founded a parliament (in a bar -- they call it "Barliament") and a constitution, which was written by two drunk guys and later translated into a bunch of languages, including Korean, Spanish, Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Hindi, and more. The constitution was posted all along the street. If you read them carefully, you may find nuances in each language to reflect something specific to that culture.

A "border patrol" was established, where you can get a passport stamp (be warned -- don't do what I did and put it in your actual passport) and a stamped postcard that you can send to all your confused loved ones who will wonder, "What the heck is Uzupis?"

Our tour guide pointed out the water tap in the square just past the bridge. On April 1st, AKA "Independence Day," it isn't water that flows from the tap but beer.

Unfortunately, I was in Uzupis one week before "Independence Day", and I wouldn't be around long enough to watch the Erasmus kids go crazy. But best April Fool's joke ever, right? All the locals loved the prank and have since then totally devoted themselves to it. It really shows how eccentric the people of Vilnius are, in addition to the other pieces of evidence that point to this fact, like the mayor candidate who rolled over illegally parked with a tank and this actual marketing campaign.

I often see people post a question online along the lines of, "I'm in my ##s -- am I too old to stay in a hostel?" The answer is really easy: NO!! I started staying in hostels in my 30s, including Mikalo House in Vilnius. I will admit that I'm a much bigger fan of staying in a private room within a hostel so you can get the best of both worlds: the privacy and the community. But that's not always possible, depending on availability and finances. I got lucky to stay in a private room for my first few nights (left pic), which is exactly what I needed to recharge and bring my nervous system down a bit after all the excitement I'd just left behind. The dorm room was quite comfortable (right pic), although I will always be the biggest proponent for curtains on the bed, especially in co-ed rooms.

Shout-out to the newest friend I made at this hostel -- an American veteran and fellow travel photographer, Rachel! This is her Instagram, where she posts all her own travel adventures -- go show her some love! She's awesome!

I've been slowly getting back into running regularly, up to five miles now! Armed with my Aftershokz, Strava, and Couch to 10K, I went for some runs through Old Town, down to the paths along the river. Patches of snow still stuck to the ground. I haven't seen winter in a hot minute!

Running is a great way to work up an appetite, which you definitely want to have in Vilnius! They've got a wonderful soup culture (including their famous pink soup, pictured below) and plenty of vegetarian and vegan restaurants and accommodation around the city. The food is another reason why I was in heaven in Vilnius! I miss the soups already!

One of the most-dos in Vilnius is the KGB museum. It's located in the old KGB headquarters of Vilnius. I knew it would be heavy, but I don't think I was able to expect exactly how heavy it would be. And despite the information being delivered in a pretty cut-and-dry manner, it's just naturally a difficult, yet fascinating, history. It peels back painful, complex layers of Lithuanian Soviet history that help you to understand why the locals are so anti-Russia and pro-Ukraine. (Notice the cutout of Putin in the cell, pictured below, top right.)

As I exited the museum, I walked right into a tribute ceremony happening just at the entrance. School kids waved Lithuanian flags, and the number 77 was visible everywhere. The audience was a juxtaposed mix of youth and elderly. A choir of elderly people concluded the ceremony. I asked around upon the ceremony's end to see if I could find anyone who spoke English. A couple of humble women told me no, but they knew enough to explain to me that this year marks 77 years of independence from the Soviets. Both the women had been born in Russia (one in Siberia) and came to Lithuania when they were young, even at the tender age of one.

With five days in Vilnius, I had every intention of taking a day trip to another city, particularly to Trakai to see the famous castle. But in the spirit of going with the flow, I decided not to. I was feeling tired, and Vilnius was growing on me. I decided, instead, to take another photo walk around the city and sample more soups.

One of the special parts of this trip for me was discovering the rich Jewish culture that used to exist in Vilnius, which was once called the Jerusalem of the North. Before WWII, the Jewish population accounted for about 7% of the country's total population. During the Holocaust, about 90% of the country's Jewish population was murdered.

Before the war, Vilnius Jews were integral to much of the economy of the city, and Jewish culture, from music to Yiddish schools, flourished. There were more than 100 synagogues around the city. Now, the municipality pays tribute to the tragedy of those lost lives with statues and plaques around the Old Town, as well as a couple Jewish museums with an abundance of stories and cultural remnants.

One of my friends in Tel Aviv is a descendant of Vilnius Jews. In fact, his grandmother had owned a building in the Old Town. With the help of the information he provided me, along with the assistance of a genealogist at the YIVO Institute of Jewish Research (seriously, go visit it if you want FREE help with locating your Lithuanian Jewish family's heritage!), I was able to trace his family tree and find his family's old building.

Because I couldn't get enough of the history, I also registered for a Jewish walking tour. We visited a local synagogue and got to see their matzo-making machine, learned about the Vilnius ghetto, and visited some buildings in the Old Town that still have remnants of Yiddish letters on the faded storefronts.

My biggest takeaway from the tour was the story of the ghetto, particularly one boy's story. Sometimes called the Anne Frank of Vilnius, Yitzchak Rudashevski wrote a diary in the Vilnius Ghetto, documenting a harrowing history infused with the hopes, horrors, and ambitions of this intelligent young boy.

History always hits differently when you're there where it happened. You wonder whose footsteps trod the paths you walk, and you inspect the world you for hints of what happened before. Old tales come to life, even in the decrepit or missing walls around you. And when you visit regional museums or go for local tours, you uncover stories and details that you would otherwise struggle to find in textbooks or internet articles that generally feed you surface-level, over-encompassing concepts. Here, boots on the ground, it's like immersing yourself into the past, into reality, and the more you learn of each reality and world of the various places you visit, the more connections you can weave together to understand the complex, multi-layered fibers of the tapestry of life we are now also woven into.

On my last day in Vilnius, I departed for the airport with reluctant but excited steps. It's always hard to leave a place that finds a way to nuzzle into your heart, but always, new adventures await! Our next flight will take us to Riga, Latvia. Stay tuned!

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