Vilnius - Angels, Artists and Uzupis

1658 Miles GMT +2 Temp -3

Lithuanian Angels

At breakfast this morning we were told that we had made the right decision to leave Trakai yesterday, as a coach load of tourists had been stranded there. Ah the joy of being independent and not part of a group, and god forbid I ever do a bus trip........I'd rather walk to Vladivostok.

Cloudy and cold this morning we start with a walk to the 'Hill of Three Crosses'. Another cheerful story, last one though. There are several versions of the story, but essentially they all follow the basic story that 2 monks arrived in Vilnius to convert the pagans to Christianity around 1330. The local pagans took exception to this and murdered the monks. Sometime later a chapel was built on the site and the crosses were added later. Wooden crosses stood on the hill until 1869, when they collapsed, the Tsarist authorities refused to allow them to be rebuilt. In 1916 a new stone monument was built without permission, which the Soviet authorities demolished in 1950. The 1916 design was rebuilt and consecrated, without permission, in 1989, 6ft taller than the first time - in other words, up yours Soviet Union - and its still standing.

My next quest could be a little more difficult to find, as it's only about 12 inches square. 'The Stebuklas' or miracle marker, to commemorate the Baltic Way, which was a show of solidarity against years of occupation by the Soviet Union and was organised by the pro-independence movement of all three Baltic States. On August 23rd, 1989 some 2 million residents across all of the states joined hands as part of a non-violent protest action calling for the restoration of independence for the three nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The marker is the spot where the chain began. According to local folklore if you find the stone marker in Cathedral Square you should stand on the spot and turn 360 degrees to have a wish granted. Finding the marker turned out to be much easier than I thought, as we saw two young chaps dressed as angels turning round in the middle of Cathedral Square..........Is this some kind of sign?

The rest of the day has been very pleasantly spent in 'Uzupis', an independent state within Vilnius, set up by Artisans on 1st April 1997. Until Lithuania's independence it was one of the most neglected areas of the city, having previously been a Jewish area. It contains a majority of houses in various states of repair, and is the haunt of artists and bohemians. Uzupis has it's own flag, currency, president, arm (numbering 17 men) and Constitution, and Uzupis day is celebrated on 1st of April. We enjoyed visiting several art studios, meeting wood carvers, metal workers and felt makers.

We've found the people here very friendly and have only had to use a phrasebook twice. The hotel has been excellent, and are allowing us to use the facilities until we leave tonight, as apparently the area around the station can be 'undesirable' late at night. We’re looking forward to travelling onto St Petersburg tonight and will meet up with Yelena tomorrow.