Greetings from Lithuania (Vilnius)

I arrived in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, this afternoon.  My first impression was surprisingly less than positive.  The airport is relatively modern, but deserted.  There may have been one or two other airplanes at gates when we arrived.  The ride into the city from the airport was bleak.  Everything was covered in graffiti, and most of the buildings were square gray shells from the Communist days of occupation.  It was not a good introduction to Lithuania.  The center of Vilnius is like a small town in the US midwest, nothing to describe as modern and urban.  The Old Town has a charm about it until you visit the churches (of which there are many), then you see how the interiors were trashed by the Soviets.   Those are my first impressions. Perhaps when I am here a little longer, I will modify them.  It is extraordinary what the Soviets did to both Warsaw and Vilnius.  From what I have seen (admittedly in a very short time), both cities have a long way to go to become vibrant, modern, and colorful capitals.

What I did not include in yesterday's posting, was my afternoon in Warsaw.  I was walking through a park near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and saw a ceremony taking place at the tomb.  It was some sort of veterans' commemoration.  I was there for over an hour, captivated by the obvious patriotism of the people who were there.  It was a sight to behold!  I have many photos of that ceremony which I will post in due order, but I first need to attend to Munich.  However, the hour is late here in Vilnius, so I am only going to post one photo from Munich and one from Warsaw.  I will catch up soon!

Munich's Town Hall

Saxon's Park in Warsaw.

The dilemma will be to decide on which photos of Munich and Warsaw to include, since I have taken 534 photos of both cities.  I will start taking photos of Vilnius tomorrow.  I have the feeling the number of photos I will take here will be far fewer.  

And now, it is time for me to turn in.  It was only a one hour flight from Warsaw to Vilnius, but an hour's change in time.  It is now 11 PM, and it has been a long day.  Until my next posting...