A good start for the day depends on a good breakfast. Staying in an apartment we had to take care of breakfast ourselves.
At around 9.00 we went out into the cold to have breakfast. Fortunately when we walked back to the apartment last night, we walked by a Čili Pica restaurant. It was not too far from our apartment, it served breakfast and it was on the way where we wanted to go today. So our decision was made.
Gloves off, winter hat off, coat off... finally we could settle down by the window. We both ordered pancake. The Lithuanians seem to like pancake a lot they even serve it for breakfast.
1 hour later we were out in the cold again walking down Pilies gatvė (Castle street), a cobbled street, towards the Vilniaus Šv. Stanislovo ir Šv. Vladislovo arkikatedra bazilika (the Cathedral) and Vilniaus pilys (Vilnius Castle complex). In search of some warmth we went into the cathedral. We were the only visitors.
Vilnius' Cathedral:
Originally we planned to go up the Gedimino pilies bokštas (Gediminas Tower) - the only remaining part of the upper castle, weather permitting. But today the weather was not very good, as you can see in my pictures. Particularly the picture of the cathedral. So we walked on to the riverside and walked to the middle of the Mindaugo tiltas (Mindaugo Bridge). From there we decided to walk along the river on Žygimantų gatvė and make our way to the main street (Gedimino prospektas) via Vilniaus gatvė.
Neris River:
Once we reached the main street, we stopped by Double Coffee, a very cozy café. The interior is dominated by brown colour. We sat there for a while hoping the sky would clear up. Well, while we were sipping our drinks and making use of the free internet, the sky cleared up a bit. So we decided to get out of our comfort and head back to the Gediminas Tower.
View from Gediminas hill:
As it was cloudy again, we decided against going in and climbing the Gediminas Tower. Instead we walked down the Gedimino Prospektas again to visit the Genocido Aukų Muziejus (The Museum of Genocide Victims) located on Aukų gatvė in the former KGB headquarters where plans for deportations and the arrests of peaceful inhabitants, the persecution of opponents and the suppression of the resistance were devised and carried out by Soviet institutions between 1940 and 1991. Unfortunately the museum was not open today. So we continued down the road until we reached the river. Then we walked back to the apartment taking the J. Jasinskio gatvė route.
Wanting to take pictures of Vilnius just before the sky got dark we went out again at around 4 pm. The first place we headed for was Rotušės aikšte where the town hall is. And then we ventured a bit further before finding a place to eat near the station (we ended up by another Čili Pica restaurant) and calling it a day.
Vilnius' Town Hall (the white dots are the falling snow captured because I flashed):
Map of Vilnius
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