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Arrival, Nov. 9th: Today I am in Lithuania. I arrived here at 6:45 A.M. on November 9th. It was an 11 and a half hour flight, I eventually fell asleep though. It is about 47°F. Once I arrived, I headed straight toward my hotel. My hotel is the Shakespeare hotel in Vilnius. After checking into my hotel, and putting my luggage in my room, I went to go collect my Litas (currency of Lithuania). I drove to my hotel from the airport (I will probably drive most places).
Why Lithuania: I chose to visit Lithuania for several reasons. The first reason is that my Great Grandma was born here and I can't wait to see how she grew up! My second reason is that Lithuania doesn't seem corrupted by modern day behaviours. My last big reason for coming is that it is a very interesting country (in my opinion).
Packing: In my suitcase for this country, I have packed my favorite blue fleece, two long sleeve shirts, two short sleeve shirts, three pairs of pants, my fuzzy black boots, my pink tennis shoes, and my super warm pajamas. I also packed my toiletries consisting of a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, hairbrush, makeup, shampoo, conditioner, and my lotion.
Day 1 of 4, Nov. 9th: Today I arrived in Lithuania. After doing my chores, (unpacking, getting money etc), I went to have breakfast I had rye bread with goat cheese and hash browns, it was a good breakfast. After breakfast, I went to the Birzai Castle, an old castle in Birzai, it was built in 1586, and it was built by Krzysztof Mikołaj (the holy roman emperor at this point), and it is the best preserved Bastion fort. It is super beautiful, I couldn't stop taking pictures, it seems so medieval, and it is very large. After that I went to the Genocide Museum with Mia (remember her). It was really sad, but it was really interesting! The most interesting exhibits we saw were the execution chamber, the KGB prison, and the labor camps. Then its time for lunch! For lunch I had smoked eels, they are kind of gross. After my interesting lunch I went to see the Hill of Crossest it is located in Šiauliai, it has more than 1,000,000 crosses, it was created for World War II because no one knew how many people died, and for every death from a war when the amount dead is unknown, families place a huge cross on the hill if a loved one was killed. It was really cool, but I was sad because for 1,000,000 crosses means at least 1,000,000 people died in war. Lastly I go to my hotel room and relax. For dinner I had a chicken salad and mashed potatoes.
Day 2 of 4, Nov. 10th: Today I woke up a little late so I skipped breakfast and went straight to the touring. I decided to visit the Trakia Island Castle, it is on the island of Lake Galve, was built in the 1400s, built for Kestutis (a monarch of the 1400s), and was the main centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At the Trakia Island Castle I bought a piece of toasted rye bread, by the end of my tour I was starving! After that I went to the Raudone castle located in Raudone, built in the 1600s, belonged to King Sigismund II, and was used as a base and supply depot for expeditions into central Lithuania. That castle was an adventure, I lost my purse! Although I found it again. I also went to the Kaunas castle built between 1440 and 1460 (mid-1400s), located in Kaunas, built for many people, as of 2011 it holds an art gallery, and this castle went under siege and only one third of the castle was standing afterward. It was large, but you can only go in parts of it because some parts aren't safe. Today I am having an early lunch (11:30) because I am hungry, I had a baked potato. After my sight seeing I needed a nap, so I went back to my hotel room. After my nap I went to swim in the hotel pool. Then I had dinner, pork chops with a spectacular sauce. Then I took a late walk around the town.
Day 3 of 4, Nov. 11th Today I went to the hotel exercise room (I need exercise even on vacation). I felt good after my exercise routine. Then I went the Cat museum, it basically is about cats (a whole museum for cats, isn't that crazy). If I could spend three hours looking at cats I am defiantly a cat lover! I went back to the Birzai Castle and the genocide museum because I did't get to see everything I wanted to. About half way through my Birzai Castle tour I bought a chicken salad. Then I ate a turkey and wheat sandwich and went to bed.
Day 4 of 4, Nov. 12th: Today is my last day in Lithuania.I grabbed a small home made pastry and left. I have done every thing on my to do list. The trip to Lithuania was successful! Today I am not going to sight see, I have to pack up, check out, and head to the airport!
Souvenirs: While I was here I bought a few things here. I got a mini Lithuania flag, an amber necklace with a silver chain, a beautiful brown wool sweater, and a knitted blue scarf, all from one little market!!
Departure, Nov. 12th: I am leaving at 9:00 AM. The Lithuania airport is small and controlled. My trip in the airport went smoothly. I bought a turkey sandwich for the flight (I hate airplane food). I will miss Lithuania, but Greece will be fun too! I will arrive in Greece in about 2 to 3 hours. I am taking two planes, I am stopping in Bacharest, Romania, then I am heading to Greece. Goodbye Lithuania, hello Greece!
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