# Lithuania: Vilnius and Klaipeda



## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

My recent trip to Lithuania. A few snapshot of the capital city *Vilnius* and the port city *Klaipėda* which is located 300km away.


First, 
*Vilnius*










The skyline of New City Center seen while entering the city from the North via A14 road








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Gediminas Avenue. The beautiful central shopping street. It has largely lost its fame as a real shopping street though. This is due to competition from large shopping malls outside the city center and partly due to the recent crisis which made shoppers' wallets thinner








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It's best to visit Vilnius during the summer, however there is no shortage of tourists during the rest of the year either. Strong growth in tourist arrivals is expected this year








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Statues at the entrance of the National Drama Theater








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"The almighty God will save you from all kinds of shit and if he won't then that's what you deserve", says the holy statue on the top of the Cathedral of Vilnius... just make sure you leave him some cash: Euros, US Dollars, Pounds Sterling and all other major currencies accepted. Oh yeah, don't forget to pray as well. Lithuania remains a largely Catholic country despite many people not being extremely strong believers. I'm thanking the almighty God that Lithuania is not as Catholic as our Southern Polish neighbours . The sooner we get rid of that religious Catholic mindset, the better it will be for all








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Volvo 7700 makes up a large part of Vilnius's bus fleet. The buses are designed for cold climate (double glazing, powerful heating system) while also have air-conditioners to cool down the hot heads during the hot periods in summer








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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Plate on a bridge railing: "There are poeple who care about you. Emotional support via freephone. Youth line". Sadly Lithuania is among the record-breakers when it comes to suicide rates per capita not only in Europe but the world (being second only to Belarus).








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Jewish memorial. Vilnius used to be one of the major European centers of Jewish culture prior to WW2. Sadly, no more.








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Skyline. Cathedral Bell Tower. Hanner Building (the first high-rise building built in Vilnius after 1990) and residential districts in the far background








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Free parking in the outskirts of the Old Town. I saw some guards giving warning tickets for parking illegally and not paying though. Seemingly the parking is not free anymore. The municipality has decided to get some easy cash








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Green Hall building which is also known as the headquarters of Barclays IT Center in Vilnius. Barclays runs four global IT centers: in UK, India, Singapore and Lithuania. If you have an online banking system with Barclay's it's very likely that the 'brains' of it are located in this building.








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Some freaky stuff








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Swedbank Building. A great job they did with the public terace. It's basically an open space made ontop of a lowrise part of the building which is open to all public at any time. They even provided some stylish colored chairs for those wishing to sit down and relax. There is also a cafe which is also open for public. In my opinion, this is the best contemporary building in Lithuania built with an excellent understanding and consideration for the surrounding area and not just chasing "square meters" or cheapness. A great example of how modern developments should be done in the future. The tarace instantly became one of the popular spots to hang out during nice and warm evenings








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Not just steel and glass but also wood








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View from the terace. Below there is a nice pedestrian walk and a cafe








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National Art Gallery. A recently reconstructed Soviet era building which was designed in the late 60's and completed in early 80's. The building is one of very few valuable pieces of contemporary architecture of those times in Lithuania and was preserved during the recent reconstruction








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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Gelezinio Vilko (Iron Wolf) Bridge. This is the widest and busiest bridge in Vilnius accomodating 8 lanes for traffic and two pedestrian sidewalks.Opposing directions are divided by a crash barrier in the middle. The bridge is 39m-wide and 260m long, completed in 1979. The bridge is in good technical condition, however the municipality has seemingly forgotten to paint it... or at least give it a good clean








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Vilnius Gate multi-purpose complex. It fulfiled the excellent urban idea of building a high-rise above a busy 6-laned highway which was an engineering challenge, however the architecture is quite bland and boring. Still a good addition to the otherwise empty landscape of the area








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If anyone would ever wonder what this is: it's a roof of... underground garage entrance/exit








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Wood can look good in modern designs. I used to be sceptical about the use of wood in modern facade constructions but changed my mind 








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A few more shots of the Swedbank building









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A new pedestrian walk near the Swedbank Building. Those concrete and glass figures on the right are the decorative lighting. Looks good at night








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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Green Hall. "Green" because it employs some contemporary "green" technologies such as double-facade which helps to save energy on heating and cooling. Not sure how much of practical use it has but they surely played a good PR game with it. Barclays thinks it's cool 








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The fellow driver who bought this €100K+ Panamera Turbo has forgot to buy a custom (or at least a decent one) number plate... now he's a "***". It was parked in a busy area packed with tourists and foreigners working in Vilnius. Many of them are Brits... the conclusion is as follows: if you have shitloads of money, dedicate some of that to fucking learn English!








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"oh shiiiit, that loks so high, I'm gonna fall down!". What an idiot riding a horse on a roof








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Enjoying the sunny day. Still not warm enough. I was disappointed because even the trees didn't look like they were about to go green. And that was the end of April. I think things should be much greener (and warmer) by now. It was a very long winter this year









"See what the glorious Motherland gave to us. Even if we're rusting". One of the four Soviet era statues on one of the Bridges over Neris River. All of them are in a rather bad condition and in a need of restoration. Quite recently Russia has offered money to restore those statues but Lithuanians refused despite being in deep shit finance-wise. Very clever. They probably won't get restored for another century before rusting to pieces. 








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"The worse, the better". It kinda fits the previous picture








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Near "Akropolis", the largest shopping mall in Vilnius (and Lithuania) with 100K sq.m of shopping, eating and entertainment. It is a massive place and is hugely popular with locals and tourists offering hundreds of shops, a hypermarket, cinema, bowling, ice-rink, plenty of restaurants of all kinds and loads of other stuff. If youhave nothing better to do in the old town or if it's really bad weather outside, it's not a bad idea to visit there. There are at least other 2 massive shopping malls withing 5 minutes of driving so there are options to choose from. Hanging out in a shopping center is something Lithuanians have learned very quickly and seemingly enjoy








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Independence Square near the Parliament








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Russian Orthodox church








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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Building on the right - a corner of the newly-built Parliament hall of the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) where parliamentary meetings are taking place








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Gediminas Avenue. The white building in the far distance is Vilnius Cathedral which is about 2km away








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On the right - Žvėrynas Bridge. Built in 1906 and recently restored is the oldest (and arguably the most beautiful) Bridge in Vilnius








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Parliament and Vilnius Gate in the background








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Žvėrynas bridge, Green Hall and Hanner Building









Daytime traffic








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Gedmininas Avenue near the Parliament








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This is the end from the capital 










*Klaipėda* is next


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## bleetz (Feb 13, 2009)

Beautiful stuff, can't wait for photos from Klaipėda!


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Vilnius is really very nice; i will also wait for Klaipeda photos


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## Johnor (Jan 8, 2008)

Vilinius seems to be a very modern city. Was it bombed?


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## whatever... (Feb 23, 2006)

Johnor said:


> Vilinius seems to be a very modern city. Was it bombed?


I presume you're talking about the WW2? Then yes, it was, by soviet airforce and artillery in 1944, when aproximately 40% of the buildings perished.

But don't get the wrong impression - Vilnius is very much a historic city, that, despite the destruction, still has one of the larger old towns in Europe. There are plenty of threads in SCC dedicated to a more historic face of the city.


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

I think the pictures can talk better than words 

The Old Vilnius (not my pictures)


















So Vilnius is very far from being just a "mdern" city.


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

After a 3-hour ride on the A1 Motorway you will hit *Klaipėda*, the onlly real sea-port city of Lithuania.


*Klaipėda*











Klaipėda was a Prussian/German city until 1920's and was never part of Lithuania in the recent history prior to that.. 

Today Klaipėda is a nice, tidy if a little boring place.

The historic old-town suffered heavily during the wars but a large part of it survived to this day with the remaining historical street network. Such grid planning was untypical for Lithuanian cities and towns back in those days








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New buildings trying to resemble the old Germanic buildings. Not sure if this ia a good idea because the red-brick mania is all over Klaipėda. I understand the importance of keeping the city's identity and shapes but something different could be given a go as well








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On the right - an actual old German warehouse








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Restored public spaces near River Danė








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Something different... at least it's not using any red bricks








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The old warehouse looks much better though








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Memelis (Memel) is the old German name of Klaipėda








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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

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People hanging out near the riverbank








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The recently restored public space near the river








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Old with new... the new trying to look old . That chimney must go!








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K and D Towers








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Access to the seafront. Previously the area was closed to public. Now it's open, only that there is nothing much to do, just an empty space with benches. There are massive plans for urban redevelopment of the seafront. Some works are slowly progressing but I guess it will take a few more years for anything serious to start happening. The projects are very nice though.








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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

One of the seafront projects, the Old Mill Hotel








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Europa Royale Hotel slightly off the seafront


















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We were getting hungry in Klaipėda. One of us suggested to go to a Chinese place and I could not disagree because I would never miss a chance to have some Chinese food no matter where I am. Three of us got one massive portion of fried pork, three egg-fried rice and tea. It made all of us _very_ full and costed about €15 alltogether. Not bad. Those pork pieces tasted soooo good. 
I have never thought Chinese food could get so popular in Lithuania. just a few years ago there were merely a few Chinese restaurants in Vilnius. Today they are just about everywhere you go and I think it's really great!








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Some small-scale construction taking place at "Sea Gate" development. Eventually it will develop into a multifunctional complex of residential, retail, office and recreational facilities








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Still waiting its turn for restoration








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Street music








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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

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Port








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Where River Danė reaches the Baltic Sea








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K-Center








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Baltic Sea near Klaipėda








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And an obscure skyline photo from the A13 Klaipėda bypass highway


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Great photos. Are they any Germans left in Memel?


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Chadoh25 said:


> Great photos. Are they any Germans left in Memel?


I don't think so. Like all other cities in Lithuania it was completely reshaped during the Soviet era which included a complete re-balance of the population. 

According to the surveys the ethnic composition of Klaipeda in 2007 was the following:

Lithuanians 63%
Russians 28.2%
Poles 4.8%
Belarusians 0.5%
Other 3.5%

Even if there are any Germans left from the old days they are probably completely naturalized and may not even know that.


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## whatever... (Feb 23, 2006)

Chadoh25 said:


> Great photos. Are they any Germans left in Memel?


Despite the region belonging to various german states since 13th century, it has always maintained an ethnic Baltic majority.

To answer you question - yes, there are a few of them left. There is a german/memellandish community in Klaipeda.


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## Johnor (Jan 8, 2008)

Thank you for informing me...seems to be a very beautiful city. I should one day take a tour of the baltic states....



Pansori said:


> I think the pictures can talk better than words
> 
> The Old Vilnius (not my pictures)
> 
> ...


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## bleetz (Feb 13, 2009)

Chadoh25 said:


> Great photos. Are they any Germans left in Memel?


There are lots of German tourists around Memel/Klaipeda, especially in summer months in places in Curonian Spit (Nida/Nidden, etc.).


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Pansori said:


> "The worse, the better". It kinda fits the previous picture
> 
> 
> 
> ...


An extraction from the lyrics of one lithuanian band, active in the 80s and 90s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHpEe2kEX5A :banana:






In 1988, during the tour Germany, they shared the stage with these guys http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4MKBCU6n6...Cf0/cImR13mqFqM/s1600/NirvanaSliverposter.JPG :nuts:


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

But the biggest atraction in Klaipėda and one of the most interesting museums in the whole region is Lithuanian sea museum, Dolphinarium and Aquarium, visited by more than 400 000 people annually.

It houses old german military forts and bastion on the Curonian spit.
Also this fortification buildings were enlarged by adding some new additions when museum was found in the 80s. Now some of the buildings are on reconstruction.
Museum is There:









You can get there by this means of "public transport" :nuts: :









:banana:

Once there were electric tramways in the city... But in the 30s buses were more modern form of public transportation and trams were closed in favor of this:









But the city is thinking of reintroducing of tramway network.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

This museum is also interesting.
It tells the history of this region.









Also one of the oldest surviving buildins in Klaipėda.

Unfortunately, only 1/3 of the buildings survived Second World War and Communism. Almost all churches were torn down in the 50s :bash:









Talking about history, I believe, this picture represents Klaipėda the best: _modern lithuanian_ shop, _old german_ inscription and the street, supervised by _Matryoshka doll_


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Nice church and ugly building from soviet times. Both were built in the 60s. This church was designed during interwar period by lithuanian architect, but was illegaly built (nb!) during soviet times. This angered authorities: the building was made concert hall and the priest was imprisoned.










Once tens of towers of the churches dominated the skyline, but in soviet times, the churches were demolished and chimneys of the factories, built in the suburbs, became major dominants of the panoramas hno:










After the Independence, towers of some new churches, and tens of new highrises improved the view significantly. There are some plans to rebuild churches in the Old Town.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

About 1/4 of Klaipėda inhabitants are Orthodox as there are a significant number of russians, belarussians and ukrainians in the city.
Lithuanians 71.3 %, russians 21,3 %, ukrainians 2,4 %, belarussians 1,9 %, polish 0,4 %, others 1,2 % (2001).

Odd-looking Orthodox church 




























There are more Orthodox churches with more standard exteriors in the South part of the city.

Tartars are thinking of a mosque in Klaipėda.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Another church and another twentysomething-storey building. 







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:bowtie:









Nice mid-rises.









Modern building with grass on the roof.









Ecological, clean energy.









Old quarters. After the Independence,  experimental geothermal plant  near Klaipėda was built and part of Klaipėda as these buildings is heated from that ecological source.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Another modern building.










Ultramodern toilet. Guess why


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Nineteen, twenty, twenty one, twenty two, twenty five, twenty two, twenty, twenty one, twenty five, twenty eight, thirty four,...









Klaipėda is becoming Lithuanian Chicago or Hong Kong.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Oddities.
:shifty:


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Old town. The building on the left was built more than 100 years ago and it's construction is the same like of the first skyscrapers although initially it was designed much bigger. 










Waterfront.









Rebuilding of the opera theatre's soviet addition on the right. This is where infamous Hitler spoke for the masses :bash:hno:


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Rebuilt  Simon Dach monument. :angel1:










Theater- the oldest in Lithuania.










Square.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Shipbuilders.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

To be honest, Old town of Klaipėda is not that interesting. I liked the other part of the river more. Manto, Liepų, Daukanto streets were the most interesting for me.



















Unfortunately I ussualy don't have spare time while in Klaipėda to make photos of these nice districts further from the Old town.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

This part of the city is the most interesting for me. :bow:




























New bridge with heated pavements :rock:










Natural border of the city. In that park most klaipedians spend their recreational time.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Northernmost part of Curonian Spit is also used for recreational needs of klaipedians.




























But the city itself is also like a quiet health resort. :hug:


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Pig's Back island- the place where the gas terminal will be built. 









And this is where belarussians spend their money


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Some cool clubs, wine-cellars and restaurants are located in this part of the city









Unfortunately huuuge "Akropolis" with tens of restaurants, hunderd of shops, cinemas, ice rink together with other huge malls outrivaled most of the shops 
in the city centre...

Heimatstil, Jugendstil is something what lithuanian can see only in Klaipėda region or abroad.









:wave:


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## RonnieR (Jul 13, 2007)

Beautiful. Awesome.


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

I have to say your photos are very interesting indeed, Vilniusguide. Please keep it on if you have more.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Pansori said:


> I have to say your photos are very interesting indeed, Vilniusguide. Please keep it on if you have more.


No more Klaipėda, only Wil... Vilnius :|
Here are some:



















If you are coming to San Fran... to Vilnius, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Gimme fuel, gimme fire,



























I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike.


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## Totu (Sep 2, 2005)

Oh! I love it!


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## Rapter (Nov 5, 2010)

Awesome pictures Vilniusguide :applause: keep'em coming kay:


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Rush hour in the city centre.




































































































opcorn:


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

If You think Vilnius is only about baroque, You are wrong













































Huge quarters of 19th- early 20th century architecture is all around the old town!


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

This is how they look like


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

:|


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Meanwhile on the roof :bash::madwife:



















A closer look


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Early 20th century neo-gothic/neo-romanic buildings in the New Town district.














































Nice bay window!


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

:banana:





































:nuts:


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Or these _fin de siècle_ Art-Nouveau buildings!!













































































































etc.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)




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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Vilnius is not only about magnificient architecture, but also a place with quiet corners and stunning nature!









Views towards the centre.





































A fan of hillwalking? 
The highest hill of Vilnius (236 m.) is located only ~3,5 km from the Cathedral square (90m) and offers great views.










Hill of  The Three Croses (165 m.).















































Towards the regional park.














































Remember, no mather in what part of Vilnius you are, 
you will need no more than three steps to reach mother nature 
(forest/hill/marsh/lake/huge outcrop or just another abandoned railway tunnel with EU preserved bats) :nuts:


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## drowningman666 (Nov 5, 2007)

heh so you can actually go skiing in Vilnius


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

^^ Easily  There are 3 or 4 skiing trases in Vilnius.
Vilnius was built in the place, where the last glacier stopped, on the border of the ice and ice-free land. Northern part of nowadays' Vilnius was covered with the ice, and southern part and further to the south-east direction- Medininkai, was not. When the glacier was retreating, the water fell down from the glacier thus making huge canyons. Vilnius' old town was established exactly in one of this canyons near Neris river, surrounded by hills up to 100m high. The flowing river deepened the valley and the hills, previously squeezed by the ice and now free from it, were growing (as scientists say, they are continuing to do so even today by some 3-4 mm a year ).
The city was built, but now no matter where you are, hills dominate the horizon.

http://www.viv.lt/images/big/avp34.jpg
So this is really standard view in Vilnius (the lowest point-82 m.,the highest point- 236 m.),
although the highest point in Lithuania is just only some silly 295 m. 
http://binged.it/sGD62P
http://binged.it/vAZhmf 
(it is easy to measure the height of the hill using the electric pole
as a unit of measurement )
http://binged.it/tnEsM0
http://binged.it/rp0Wjp
http://www.bernardinai.lt/file/ea32ab8f7d5d704bac89e31eb104367f141ef0d0_article.jpg
Lithuanian Salzburg or Grenoble you may call it :lol:

And if you are interesting in skiing, you can do it in Lithuania not only in winter, but also in summer then there are +30 outside 
Lithuanian resort Druskininkai has built an indoor skiing complex recently, one of the best in the world. 
Unfortunately, Vilnius was late in this race, oh well, good for (click me)>>  Druskininkai - superb Lithuanian town!


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

There was  the garden city movement in the urban planning of 19th and 20th centuries, but most cities failed.
Vilnius was successful!


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

The greenest capital in Europe


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Modern buildings.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)




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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

Nice updates....thanks for sharing.:cheers2:


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## Artura Lithuania (Dec 21, 2011)

Lithuania is the best and richest country in the world! Everyone should visit it! The pictures are the best evidence of it!


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## Mindtrapper0 (Mar 18, 2010)

looks so damn charming!! I love these almost unknown/unheard of countries, well at least for me


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

From Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, with love.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)




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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

nice, thanks for the updates...kay:


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Interwar buildings in Vilnius, Žvėrynas district.

Beware of the green dragon.


















Observing Žvėrynas from the hills.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

City versus Mountains :lol:





































Who won?


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Vilnius = urban superpower!


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## GogoSabev (Apr 26, 2011)

Nice city, nice country. Greetings from Bulgaria.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

GogoSabev said:


> Nice city, nice country. Greetings from Bulgaria.


Thanks.  Bulgaria is as nice, so many ancient, cool cities and towns with nice landscapes! :cheers:
And this  guy.


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## GogoSabev (Apr 26, 2011)

Cheers to that :cheers: It looks like Sofia can learn few things from Vilnius - your commie blocks look in much better shape! We're only starting to renovate them now and will probably take several years till we see any results...


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

GogoSabev said:


> Cheers to that :cheers: It looks like Sofia can learn few things from Vilnius - your commie blocks look in much better shape! We're only starting to renovate them now and will probably take several years till we see any results...


Well, most of these blocks on the pictures are demokratblocks, build only recently, but yes, most of the commieblocks look quite good except chaotically glazed balconies... hno:
Renovation here is only starting also, there are more than 6000 soviet houses in Vilnius, only about a hundred of them are renovated. 

Here are some commieblocks from the same roof.








Actually, I quite like them. Many green areas between the groups of the buildings in these quarters.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Spring in the yard of the Old Town of Vilnius.









I want to ride my bike in spring.









They want run to the hills!


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Spring in the parks.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)




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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)




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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Went bankrupt probably long long time ago. Patina looks nice anyway 









A work by some local Banksy.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Good bye, Lenin 








One can find everything in  Užupis Republic!


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Courtyard in the Old Town of Vilnius.


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Next page :lol:


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## vilniusguide (Oct 6, 2011)

Renaissance St. Michael church. 
This church was neglected and robbed by Cossacks in the 17th century with a lot of tombs smashed and young nuns brutally killed and later desecrated by commies bastards. 
Restored a year ago. With magnificent interiors, never seen something more stunning outside of Italy! 








Now very impressive, European level museum inside. http://www.bpmuziejus.lt/ 
E.g. hundreds of works of art like golden monstrances from XIV c. are shown there.


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