Scruffy Shoe Diaries PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN

Advantages: Top of the list for "Rock" tourism, lots of lovely ladies
Disadvantages: Not as good as other cities in the Baltic region

.... Reconsecrated in 1989 after being used as a picture gallery during the Soviet era, the glorious interior has been sensitively refurbished and betrays little of the turbulent history of this most central of buildings. The square itself has been the focus of the city since the 13th century and was the scene of many of the mass gatherings during Lithuania's campaign for independence. Elsewhere, Vilnius is very pleasant to walk round but to be honest you just don't get as much bang for your buck as you do in Riga or in Tallinn. For history and architecture buffs, however, there's still plenty to view and do and the atmosphere is laid back and friendly. The main hub of the new town, Gediminas prospekt, is a busy modern shopping street with department stores and fashionable boutiques, coffee shops, bars and restaurants as well as the obligatory Mc...

Paiceyjohn 09.05.2002 · Read review
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Review of Vilnius (Lithuania)

I love Lithuania, Like no place else !

Advantages: Very beutiful and exceptional.
Disadvantages: Rather small but that doesn't matter :)

...I love Lithuania, like no place else! Hi, you probably know nothing about this country, but that is O.K. It’s a small country with 3.5 million people, another 300000 is somewhere in other countries. Though Lithuania is a small country we are proud of our traditions, capability to keep our language unique and other things. Also we are happy to join NATO, and ES. Such event gives us self- confidence and the world is beginning to know what the word Lithuania means. I think that LT is a great place for sightseeing and for spending your holidays. Let me describe you same places that you should visit, if you are in Lithuania. First and one of the most famous is the Park of Europe (near Vilnius). Here you can find lots of works of art. They are really very interesting each of it has its own story and a reason of its appearance...

jonyzass 13.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of General: Lithuania

Lithuania's greatest attraction

Advantages: Beautiful peaceful environment
Disadvantages: Don't go here if you want nighclubs!

...Lithuania has a fairly short coastline on the Baltic Sea. To the north the coast meets Latvia, and to the south the strange enclave of Kaliningrad - part of Russia but completely cut off from it. I have been told that going to Kaliningrad is like stepping back in time into the Soviet era - but I don't think they are too keen on tourists as they make the visa costs somewhat prohibitive. Although you could offset this cost by flying from Kaliningrad to St Petersburg - its a cheap way to get there as it's classes as an internal flight. Meanwhile, along Lithuania's coast the main feature is the Curonian Spit National Park. This thin spit of land - attached to Kaliningrad at one end, and petering out in the sea off Lithuania the other end, is unique, famous for its sand dunes, its pinewoods, its wildlife, especially elk, and its peaceful...

kittenkong 31.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of General: Lithuania

Visiting Lithuania? Lift yourself to the sky..

Advantages: Available to visit, escalator lift, cafe-restaurant
Disadvantages: Not neccesarilly as attraction, need refurbishing, not as cheap

...reasonable to pay a visit only to the tower and then fly back to the country you came from, so if you want a visit, you might as well plan other attractions, the easiest way is by air, many european capitals are served by Lithuanian Airlines (LAL, flyLAL), there are plenty of european nationals serving, including seasonal British Airways journeys, SAS, Lufthansa, Finnair, or you might consider a cheaper ticket with Ryanair from London, Dublin, Stockholm Liverpool and so on to KAUNAS, which is second largest city in Lithuania, also full of attractions to choose from, and only 60miles away from VILNIUS. Other types of journey available are buses, Eurolines serves around europe, or by the ferry from, e.g. Stockholm to KLAIPEDA, third largest city, around 300km away from the capital. Also, there are possibility by rail, or by car, whichever...

jaisonix 31.10.2006 · Read review
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Review of Television Tower (Televizijos Bokstas), Vilnius

A sore point for Lithuania

Advantages: Very interesting
Disadvantages: Museum development still in progress

...We visited the museum in late 2004. From the outside it looks like another rather grand town building - but below street level are the chilly and dreary corridors with cells off them. We were told that although everyone knew this was the KGB HQ, it was not known that people were held in detention here and even tortured. They get a steady trickle of former inmates coming back, and telling them what went on. We were shown the room with bullet holes in the walls, where people were shot dead. So I guess there are not so many to tell the tale. The guide, although a young man in his 20s who had not lived through much Soviet time in Lithuania, was knowledgeable, dedicated and emotional about the place. He was able to open up so much of ths history of the place through his enthusiasm for communicating his subject. There were a lot...

kittenkong 30.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of KGB Museum (Genocido Auku Muziejus), Vilnius

A cultural experience

Advantages: Central yet quiet location, beautifully renovated building, stylish accommodation
Disadvantages: More expensive than other hotels in Vilnius - but worth it!

...When I found out recently that I was to head to Vilnius on a business trip, I have to admit to being prey to some misapprehensions about what awaited me. For some reason, I had matched the capital of Lithuania in my head with visions of some dull, grey Eastern bloc city with little to recommend it - but I'm happy to admit that I couldn't have been further from the truth. I'd heard and read a lot about Riga and Tallinn, but the extremely well-preserved centre of Vilnius came as a very pleasant surprise. The Shakespeare Boutique Hotel was also the perfect place to dispel any misplaced notions I may have had about the standard of accommodation in this Baltic capital. Hidden away in a quiet side street just off the main tourist drag, and only two minutes' walk from the main square and the cathedral, the Shakespeare is perfectly placed...

JVL 20.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Shakespeare Hotel, Vilnius

The fourth republic

Advantages: Nice thought, and a good place in which to think it
Disadvantages: Not much to see, except perhaps on April 1st

...- "Everyone has the right to be lazy and do nothing at all." Call me lazy if you like, but I don't think I'll quote all of the articles, simply because it would be to take them too seriously. Many are bland and unremarkable. In any case, I feel I've gone on long enough about U?upis; when you visit, you realise that there's really very little there to go on about. It's not a country, even if it does have its own President (currently a noted poet and musician), flag and volunteer army (said to number about 12 men; no one seems sure of the exact number). It's certainly not a country as Frank Zappa - a local hero for some obscure reason with his own monument, though this is sited elsewhere in Vilnius - would have defined it: "with its own airline and beer". No, not even the beer, which has to be imported from Lithuania. It's not even truly...

torr 05.09.2007 (07.09.2007) · Read review
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Review of Uzupis Republic, Vilnius

Undiscovered gem

Advantages: Quirky and new
Disadvantages: Not easy to get to

...Lithuania is one of the places in Europe that is most untouched by the terrible flood of tourists. While it is just as safe in most tourist ways as Western Europe, it also has an "off the beaten track" feel for those who want to see a country that doesn't quite fit the mould. Whilst you can wikipedia all the facts about population and location and so forth, it is a great place to learn about European history from a slightly different angle. The country is full of museums, castles and other monuments that are just plain bizarre (such as the Frank Zappa statue). It also has some of Europe's nicest beers. Most of the beers you can find in the shop are lagers, but if you look a bit harder, there are plenty of traditional Lithuanian beers that range from being unfiltered to cloudy, from a pristine factory to a beer that is made in an old...

amullett 07.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of General: Lithuania

I Love Lietuva!

Advantages: Naturally beautiful, unusually charming
Disadvantages: Still a little hung-over from the U.S.S.R era

...but ignorance and oppression. Lithuania is bursting with open lakes, flowing rivers, luscious forests, endless flat countryside full of colour, a beautiful coastline that looks out onto the Baltic Sea... Across Lithuania you see Storks (national bird) in the fields and vast, untouched areas of beautiful landscape covered in Rue (Ruta, the national flower). Lithuania has five national parks, which are: Trakai Historical National Park, just outside Vilnius capital city, which includes the most spectacular castle which looks like it could feature in a fairytale (and one of my favourite places); the Curonian Spit National Park which harbours an astonishing natural wonder; Dzukija , which features some brilliant old wooden farms; Zemaiciu Kalvarija, a place of pilgrimage and Aukstaitija which includes the country's most extensive lake...

SarahSkas 04.01.2007 (19.02.2007) · Read review
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Review of General: Lithuania

Cheap Chain Hotel in Lithuanian capital

Advantages: Cheap modern hotel with English speaking staff
Disadvantages: Food was not great, no excercise facilities, bit homogenous

...The Scandic chain of hotels is owned by the Hilton Group and as such the Scandic Neringa is a modern standard hotel in Lithuania's capital Vilnius. The hotel is much like any other in the Hilton chain, with a few minor 'twists'. There is no gym, no swimming pool, but there is a sauna. The sauna is on the top floor and is free for guests. Apparently it is fairly common practice to have a 'massage' in the sauna. Yes one of those massages. Not one where your back gets rubbed, well much anyway. The hotel has 60 rooms and is located in the centre of the business district. I can't say what all the hotel rooms were like, I only stayed in one. This was a global standard room, nice bathroom, mini bar, TV with English channels and twin beds. It was clean and equipped so that it could have been almost any 3* hotel anywhere in the world. I...

peteshone 31.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of Scandic Hotel Neringa, Vilnius