After we visited the Church Heritage Museum, Bill and I visited a couple more nearby churches. You could spend all day looking at churches in Vilnius. They are EVERYWHERE…

The weather was relatively warm, and I was pretty tired, since we did so much walking. On the way out of the churches, we took a different way back toward our hotel. I looked up and noticed the three crosses on the hillside, where I noticed a lot of people visiting. The Three Crosses monument (or The Hill of Three Crosses, if you wish) makes an attractive landmark. According to the link:

A wooden castle was built on the hill in the 12^th and 13^th centuries, and a settlement was later established in its place. The hill got its name after Franciscans died as martyrs when pagans tied them to crosses and threw them down the hill. The three crosses were erected to commemorate this event. The current monument was created by architect and sculptor A. Vivulskis in 1916 and rebuilt in 1988.

We passed a nice looking park and Bill wanted to walk through there, but I was pretty tired and “peopled out.” I’m kind of sorry we didn’t visit on Saturday, as it did look like a beautiful park. I was just really ready for a drink. We went searching for one, hoping for a quiet place. We wound up at a bar called Baras Ir Vinilas, a place that had interesting canned beers and annoying music…. and then they played a Lithuanian basketball game. Half the players appeared to be Americans. I was surprised by how entertaining it was. They had cheerleaders and even little kids holding up signs, hoping for jerseys.

We continued down an unfamiliar road and, thanks to my excellent sense of direction, no doubt bestowed on me by my dad, the former navigator, we found our way back to the hotel by a different way.

We decided to see if we could have dinner at an attractive looking restaurant near the Nisha Craft Capital pub where we spent my birthday. Unfortunately, that restaurant was closed. They were also closed on Sunday night, so we assumed maybe they were taking a vacation. That is one thing we see a lot of in Europe. Restaurants will close so people can take vacations. That sure wasn’t the case when I worked in that business in the United States.

I was disappointed that the restaurant was closed, but I didn’t mind spending a little time in Nisha Craft Capital’s beer garden, so I could have another Angry Rooster brew. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and had dinner there. I was curious about their Wagyu burger. It was okay. Bill ate about half of it, because I wasn’t that hungry, and because I didn’t really like it that much. But the wine was good…

On Sunday, we woke up to overcast skies. It wasn’t raining, though, so that was a good thing. I wanted to go shopping and see if we could find some gifts for Bill’s grandchildren and art for our house. We were successful in that quest. We walked around Vilnius University, a church with beautiful blue windows, and the Presidential Palace grounds. We decided not to try to go up the bell tower at the university, although now I know it has an elevator. And we also had lunch at a very nice Italian restaurant called Fiorentino’s on a quiet side street.

We bought three paintings from a lady selling her art at a small market. There were a few artists there, but we bought from the lady, because she was the most interested in selling to us. I think we made her morning, because we spent 180 euros. I bought a cat painting and a couple of sea landscapes… They are framed, but we may have them redone.

Then we went to a souvenir shop, because Bill was out of euros and needed to use a card. We bought a mug, some magnets, and several little hand puppets for the kids. I figured that was safe enough from breaking, melting, or choking anyone.

Things were winding down, so we made our way back to the hotel to rest up and get ready for our flight on Monday afternoon. We did go out to dinner, though. We found a very cool family owned brewpub called Būsi trečias. It had friendly service, a large room with many board games, great music, and really good food, along with excellent locally made beers. Prices were very reasonable, too.

I wish we’d found that place earlier in our trip… or really, on Saturday afternoon, when I was hoping to find an interesting place for a rest and dinner. But I’m not sorry we were at the place where they showed Lithuanian basketball, nor am I sorry I got to try pomegranate lime beer. I really liked our last restaurant, though. The bathroom signs alone were worth the trip.

And… just because, we stopped at Nisha Craft Capital again, so I could have another Imperial Stout…

I think I’m kind of at the “fuck it” stage of life… My poor liver.

We decided to turn in somewhat early on Sunday, since we were a bit worn out from all the walking. There’s still a lot of Vilnius we didn’t get to see, and I would definitely not be averse to going back!

Last post in this series will be about Monday… and our trip back to Germany. It should be a quick one!