Back Down To Earth
Had some definite aspirations for Vilnius. Wanted to learn about this place of the world and go hot air ballooning. Managed to do both, so check it off as a successful endeavour. Both things were very interesting and in different ways exciting. Yesterday we thought it was going to be wet and cold so we went to the "KGB museum". Gave us a history of Lithuania from World War II until the Soviets left in 1991. Very sad account of the struggle for independence against a cruel regime. Quite inspiring as well because they never gave up trying and finally succeeded in 1991. Then did some site seeing and
Mike Rose
97 chapters
Vilnius in the Air and on the Ground...."
July 10, 2017
|
Vilnius, Lithuania
Had some definite aspirations for Vilnius. Wanted to learn about this place of the world and go hot air ballooning. Managed to do both, so check it off as a successful endeavour. Both things were very interesting and in different ways exciting. Yesterday we thought it was going to be wet and cold so we went to the "KGB museum". Gave us a history of Lithuania from World War II until the Soviets left in 1991. Very sad account of the struggle for independence against a cruel regime. Quite inspiring as well because they never gave up trying and finally succeeded in 1991. Then did some site seeing and
ended up in a park where there was a festival going on. They were celebrating the old days in costume and song. Was quite enjoyable and a surprise to run into it. Got up this morning knowing we could do a hot air balloon ride over Vilnius but not over Trakai like we wanted. So we hopped on a bus and spent half a day in Trakai touring the island castle. Very nice place and well worth the visit. Got a good grasp on the history of the area. Very well organized place with a real plan to create a city and a country. Got back in time to grab a bite and head to the park to catch our flight. It was such a relaxed place and nonchalantly they launched about 8 balloons from this little park. Sat back and watched the process in amazement before jumping into the basket with Katelyn and 12 others. Into the sky we went for an hour trip. Was a quiet peaceful trip across Vilnius before landing in a bit of a swamp. Packed the balloon up and returned to the starting point. They burned a piece of our hair (still attached to head) and put it out with champagne as a ceremony for a
first flight. Don't believe some of the girls appreciated the tradition. For me with less hair it was okay. Katelyn and I finished the night with a beer to celebrate a great day. Tomorrow we head to the coast and the beach at Nida!
1.
It all started with the first grey hair.........
2.
On the Road again.....
3.
Eataly and Old things......
4.
Culture Day
5.
The Medici Curse
6.
A Slanted View.......
7.
Lining up for David
8.
Holy Cannoli
9.
Exploring Paradise......
10.
Verona and Shakespeare......
11.
South to the home of Pizza and Mozzarella.....
12.
Sunday is not a slow day in Napoli...
13.
Pom Pom's for Pompeii
14.
Totally Different.....
15.
Hidden Gem of the Adriatic.....
16.
Kotor below the mountain.....
17.
King's Landing......
18.
Surf and Sun .......
19.
A Pleasant Day of Travel.........
20.
Rainy day in Croatia......
21.
Plitvice and Plum Brandy.......
22.
Whacked Crazy Day of Travel ......
23.
Fathers Day in Buda (with a) Pest.
24.
Relaxed Day in a Vibrant City.....
25.
Vienna the Good, the Bad, and the Lucky....
26.
Music and Mountains.....
27.
More of Magnificent Vienna...
28.
Day and Night in Prague.....
29.
Sunday in Prague.....
30.
Lots of Bones........
31.
Beer is Cheaper than Water......
32.
Perogies in Poland....
33.
A Sobering Day.......
34.
Happy Birthday Canada from Poland......
35.
A Few Days in Warsaw
36.
Shall we Gdansk.....
37.
Long Trip to Lithuania
38.
Vilnius in the Air and on the Ground...."
39.
Nida Break......
40.
Latvian Charm......
41.
Riga in the Rain....
42.
Estonian Excitement......
43.
Taking It Easy in Tallinn
44.
Pasty No More
45.
Hel(yeah)sinki
46.
Helsinki Highlights.....
47.
Sad Day as Katelyn Goes Home....
48.
To Russia With Love......
49.
Peterhof the Russian Versailles
50.
St. Petersburg Crazy........
51.
Moscow or Bust
52.
Moscow's Finest.......
53.
Moscow Winding Down...
54.
Gorky Park......
55.
Trans Siberian Railway........
56.
Baikal in the Rain.....
57.
Russia Ends, Mongolia Begins......
58.
Mongolia Camping Trip..........
59.
Busy Beijing
60.
Beijing and the Great Wall
61.
Great Wall Hike
62.
Great Wall Hike 2
63.
Back to Beijing and Summer Palace...
64.
Walk around Beijing
65.
Ancient City of Pingyao
66.
Warriors of Xi'an
67.
Panda-mania
68.
The Fun of Travelling
69.
Lijiang a Breathe of Fresh Air......
70.
Tiger Leaping Gorge-ous
71.
Stone Forest
72.
West Mountain of Kunming......
73.
Hot and Humid Guilin
74.
Rice, Rice, and More Rice......
75.
Terrific Tianmen Mountain.....
76.
Avatar Park in China.....
77.
Yellow Mountain in the Sky.....
78.
Tranquility in Chaos.......
79.
Modern Urban China
80.
Tibet or Bust
81.
Tibetan Temples and Taboos.....
82.
Treading in the Footsteps of the Dalai Lama...
83.
Tibetan Countryside......
84.
Everest
85.
Nepal Travel Hell........
86.
Trekking into the Top of the World.....
87.
Life Between Treks
88.
Annapurna Beauty
89.
Pokhara Relax Days
90.
Jungle Adventures
91.
End of Nepal
92.
To Thailand for Rest
93.
Beach Life
94.
Week on the Beach
95.
Christmas in Paradise
96.
Few days of Cool
97.
Fun in the Sun
Share your travel adventures like this!
Create your own travel blog in one step
Share with friends and family to follow your journey
Easy set up, no technical knowledge needed and unlimited storage!
