From Comiso Ryanair begins to fly, but the flights offered in 2013 do not interest us, until in April 2014 the direct flight to Kaunas, in Lithuania, departs. It takes a few days to organise ourselves, just enough to lose the best fares, but in the end we book. We set off as 4, departing on 13 April, returning on 20. Lithuania will be just one stage of the trip, which will take us to visit Latvia and Estonia; transfers that will be made with a Hertz car rented at Kaunas airport (Skoda Octavia at 400 euros for a week, including Supercover and additional driver supplement). Hotels: on the night of the 13th we sleep in Kaunas, in an apartment, at 69 euros at the Family Hotel; in Vilnius on 18 and 19 April we stay at the Comfort hotel (180 euros for 2 doubles) 500 m from the Gate of Dawn.
Day 118 Apr 2014
Along via Piles and surroundings
We arrive in the capital of Lithuania at 4 in the afternoon. Check-in at the hotel and we begin our visit of the city, a UNESCO Heritage Site, starting from the Gate of Dawn, known for the Chapel with the image of Our Lady of Mercy, which is accessed from the Church of Santa Teresa. We walk along Vartu Gatve to the Town Hall Square, get information at the tourism office, then continue along the avenue to the Cathedral, stopping and entering the Churches of St. Nicholas and St. Paraskeva. Piles Street is rich not only in churches but also in bars, amber shops and souvenirs in general. Vilnius Cathedral, and its Bell Tower, occupy part of the square of the same name, shared with the Lower Castle; the Upper Castle, or rather what remains of it, the Gediminas Tower, offers a splendid view of the city.
We have dinner at the former Cili Kaimas, now Forest, enjoying typical Lithuanian dishes, based on potatoes, dumplings, and a liver-busting fry-up (the service, slow and impolite, is best forgotten)
Kaunas Castle
Day 219 Apr 2014
Trakai and Vilnius
In the morning we drive the 30 km that separate Trakai from Vilnius. As soon as we arrive we start photographing the fabulous castle that rises in the middle of the lake from every angle, then we cross the two walkways that separate us from the entrance. Every hall of the castle brings back to life the history and the life spent by its inhabitants. The numerous stalls waiting for us at the castle exit invite us to buy little amber souvenirs. We return to Vilnius after lunch to visit the Churches of St. Anne and of Saints Peter and Paul (the interiors are spectacular), and to dedicate ourselves to a walk in the independent Republic of UZUPIS, whose Constitution we read in full. We have dinner with typical dishes (cepelinai first and foremost, that is, filled dumplings) at Forto Dvaras, in a characteristic cellar.
Upper Castle - Vilnius
Day 320 Apr 2014
Kaunas
The country's second city and capital before the Russian occupation, Kaunas is a town that deserves more than the half day we dedicated to it. One of the city's symbols is undoubtedly the castle, an ancient fortress built at the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers around the 14th century; today only a single tower remains standing, surrounded by a park. A stroll along Freedom Avenue and its surroundings is unmissable; you'll see the city's other attractions, from the Cathedral to the red Church of Vytautas, to the White Swan, the city's Town Hall.
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