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LITHUANIA
A few years back, I came up with the hair-brained idea to visit Latvia (which neighbors Lithuania as one of the Baltic states) in early-February. Normally, the words 'visiting, Baltic and February' shouldn't fall in the same sentence. It was colder than anything I'd experienced in my lifetime. Although being from Florida, I haven't experienced too grand of 'cold'. Despite our braving the frigid outdoor elements, we fell in love with Latvia. It was a surprise we weren't expecting.
With all that said, we flew to Lithuania expecting something similar to Latvia. - meaning...expect little and perhaps we'll be surprised. We were. Lithuania is full of lush green forests and yet offers one of the most stunning cities in all of Europe, Vilnius, known as the 'Blossom of Baroque'. Wow were we impressed! People are amazingly friendly, helpful and quite proud of their Baroque blossom. Food is great, sights are top-notch and the prices are a breath of fresh air, particularly when considering the value of the US Dollar here in Europe.
As we've been traveling quite a bit this summer, we sometimes grow tired of staying in hotels and long to submerge ourselves more into the culture of a place, by staying at a Bed & Breakfast. We decided to do just that. And again, we weren't disappointed. After quite a bit of research, I decided to go with Old Market Guesthouse, which is just a 5 minute walk into the heart of Old Town (http://www.oldmarket.lt/en/index.php). This B&B just opened one month before our arrival and is an insane deal. We would DEFINITELY recommend a stay here. We had the 'Fish Market' room which had funky, chic decor, a private bath, and each morning your breakfast (included in the price of the room) is delivered directly to your room (meats, cheeses, breads, jams, eggs, cereal, yogurts, juices and coffee). The price for a double is around 60 Euro. INSANITY, I say. The B&B is located in a 300 year old building with lots of juicy history, in a residential part of Vilnius.
During our stay, we visited Trakai Castle in Trakai, the original capital to Lithuania. We made a quick jaunt out to Europos Parks, an outdoor sculpture 'museum' built within a forest (and was my favorite part of the trip) and then to Rusiskes, an open air museum which exhibits how people within Lithuania used to live. But the better part of our time was spent exploring the stunner of a city, Vilnius. Put Lithuania on your list....you won't be disappointed.
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