When I set off to Vilnius on a Spring Break 2012 backpacking adventure, I never expected that I would be greeted by this....A MONUMENT TO FRANK ZAPPA right in the middle of a parking lot (I KID YOU NOT!) Along with Frank, I met plenty of great people throughout my journey to Lithuania and Latvia that made my stories of Backpacking in the Baltics complete. I also got to see many amazing sights and learn a lot about the histories of both countries, tying together my experience in Russia and how it has effected the formation of its neighbors. Lithuania and Latvia, both of which experienced tough times until the 1990's after the invasion of Nazis and the Soviet forces, have overcome a lot in their past in order to claim their independence and establish a thriving, vibrant, welcoming culture.
On the first leg of my trip, I flew from Moscow to Vilnius, Lithuania-known for its beautiful Old City, where I spent 3 nights and 2 days visiting castles, museums, and hanging out with the locals.
Ok, so it didn't exactly greet me, more like I had to go out in search of it on one of the funniest and most random monument hunts I have ever been on, but when in Vilnius, seeing Frank Zappa's Monument is a must. Take a look at Frank's Lithuanian digs...
Moscow----->Vilnius: Monday, March 19, 2012.
Good-bye Moscow, hello snow-storm arrival...
After a train through the Moscow country-side and a plane to Riga continuing to Vilnius, I had finally landed. I hopped on a bus, got out at the train station located down the street from my hostel (yes, I did stay at a hostel...), to a wonderful mix of snow and lightening (shown in the photographs below). After wandering around for a bit, I decided to finally find my hostel (and by "finally find" I mean the directions I found online were faulty and I wandered around, mostly [I'd like to have you believe....] to take photos for a few hours but partially because I was a tad bit lost. I eventually found the usual location of my hostel, but discovered it had been moved due to renovations and set off further up the street where I finally found a bed with my name on it! It was certainly one way to start off my trip!).
Making Friends.......
Cue in the fun times with an Aussie!!!!!
On all proper backpacking trips, the secondary goal to seeing amazing sights on a limited budget is to make friends. I have to admit I was a tad bit timid in the beginning, but if you're up for the challenge, there are always interesting people passing through the hostel. In Vilnius I quickly found a sight-seeing buddy and hit the Old Town to track down some of the city's interesting sights, eat delicious pizza, and embark on a mission to find Frank Zappa.
Even in the over-cast, sometimes dreary weather, we still got to see some pretty cool things and even climbed to the top of a castle to get a bird's eye view of the city. On my last day, I took some time to wander the city myself to soak up the last views of the city before my bus to Riga, Latvia. Enjoy!
dream.love.discover,
Dachelle
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