Champagne Bucket trips, churches, former Soviet Union, Lithuania

The Vilnius Series… Learning about Lithuania’s history at a pigeon’s eye view… (part three)

On Thursday morning, we woke up to partly cloudy skies. The weather was still a bit chilly, so we put on long sleeved shirts and pants, and then went down to breakfast. The hotel offers a very generous buffet with all kinds of cold cuts, fruits, vegetables, breads, hot breakfast items, and a few things you can have made to order. They even had little cakes and candies, some of which were gluten free. Naturally, there were also juices and cava– sparkling wine from Spain.

*The light fixtures looked like white blood cells.*

Bill and I sat in the restaurant, and I noticed I didn’t like the chair I was sitting on. It was one of those small chairs with a rounded back that didn’t quite have arms, but was still a bit confining. I also didn’t like that there was a huge mirror right next to our table, and many of the others.

Bill and I both tried the Eggs Benedict, which were good. Maybe I shouldn’t have, in light of my expanded ass. After breakfast, we headed over to the cathedral… a place that had served as a picture gallery and concert hall in the Soviet era, but actually has a long and fascinating history. I took lots of photos… Later, when we toured the crypt, we learned more about the history of the cathedral

We were about to walk out of the cathedral, but the organist started playing, and I had to listen for a few minutes. I got a short video, which I will include with another I got of Bill in the tower.

After we walked around the cathedral, we headed to the cathedral bell tower, which stands at 45 meters and dates from the 13th century. Bill bought tickets for the tower, the English crypt tour, and the church treasury, which was in a different part of Vilnius (easily reached by foot). The triple ticket was 20 euros each for both of us. After we got out tickets, we went down the basement of the tower and watched a very cute little video starring a cartoon pigeon named Pranas, who explained the tower’s history and showed off a special tile in the area near the tower where, if you jump in a specific sequence and make a wish, your wishes will come true.

I didn’t have the chance to try the tile, because when we were by the tower, the tile was commandeered by a couple of Asian ladies who were fascinated by it and were taking many photos. Then they were displaced by a large tour group. We never did manage to give the tile a whirl, or even get a picture of it. Oh well…

We ran into a couple who were curious about where we were from. They were watching the video at the same time we were. They had accents that suggested they came from Eastern Europe. I guess it’s a compliment that we weren’t immediately recognizable as Americans. They didn’t have anything else to say to us, once we told them we are Americans.

Anyway, after the video, we managed to climb the tower steps. There were two very narrow bricked flights, which stopped at interactive exhibits that included headsets telling the story of the tower, video monitors of the conditions around the tower, and a large horseshoe shaped table. The table had drawers that could be opened and showed different aspects of how the tower came to be and how people lived. Each of the headsets had little boxes with doors on them that could be opened. They shared quotes and interesting facts, all of which were in English and Lithuanian.

*Here is where we met Pranas, the tower pigeon.*

Bill also rang the bells…

A video of the organ music and Bill ringing the bells in the tower.

After Bill rang the bells, it was time to gear up for the steep climb. The tower isn’t that tall, but it does have very steep, somewhat rickety steps that are only a little bit deeper than a ladder’s. I’m not in great shape, so I was hanging on for dear life as we climbed up and down the tower. A fall would have been a disaster! Fortunately, we made it, although I did give thought to not trying to get to the top. Happily, I went for it and made it, even though there was a “steep” price to be paid the next day… Below are some more photos from the tower.

As you can see from the photos, the observation areas are behind wire. They do allow you to open a part of the wired in window, so you can take pictures without the grate destroying the view. I read in a review that there are other observation opportunities in Vilnius. The university also has a bell tower that looked even taller than the cathedral’s tower. We didn’t try that one, though, because we found it on Sunday and weren’t really wanting to be sore on Monday. ETA: I looked up the bell tower and discovered that it has an elevator for those whose flesh is as weak as mine. But it wasn’t a really clear day, anyway, so it was no big loss not going up that tower on Sunday. Maybe if we go back, we’ll try climbing it on a clear day.

One guy who was at the top of the Cathedral Bell Tower with us rang the bell, scaring the ever loving shit out of all of us on the observation deck at the time. It was LOUD. I’m not sure he was supposed to do that, either. But it’s not like anyone was going to come storming up to reprimand him, or anything. Climbing above the first two levels is a slow process, even for the fit types. You really have to be careful going up and down the ladder like steps!

Once we managed to climb down the tower and stand on firm ground again, we decided to walk around the cathedral grounds. There are a couple of museums there that we really should have toured on the next day, since it was a rainy day. We didn’t get there, though, because we were hurting… but the pain didn’t really set in until we’d had a sleep. We had enough strength and energy to look around some more, take photos, and find our way to the main shopping drag. We stopped in one more Catholic church and an Orthodox church before we found lunch.

*These gold signs were all over the city, explaining things.*

Before we started our day’s activities, we ran into a couple of Air Force folks with instruments. I was curious as to why they were there, and found out through Google that a quintet had come to perform with a Lithuanian band in the town square. We passed the area where they were setting up. The crew was playing Billie Holiday as they put up the equipment. The concert was free and open to the public, starting at 6:30 PM. I hoped we’d be able to attend and mentally made plans.

I was about to settle for a lunch of fish and chips, when I noticed a quiet side street. I saw tables and chairs, and since experience has taught me that restaurants off the main drag are often better, decided to turn right and investigate. That’s where we found the cute little French place called Balzac.

Of course, the restaurant was named after a French book, but that didn’t stop some of my Facebook friends from making the obvious jokes and warning us against ordering hot tea (which I’d never do, anyway)… Balzac turned out to be a nice place for a leisurely lunch. I had duck and Bill had lamb, preceded by starters… I liked the clever use of corks on the beams in the ceiling.

*Bill had duck ravioli with a red wine sauce…*

Oops! Can’t forget the wine!

*When my dad was stationed in England, we knew a family named Virant…*

After our leisurely French lunch, we headed back toward the hotel. Our tour of the crypt was set to begin at 4:00 PM, so we had about 90 minutes to kill. We stopped by another Orthodox church, and then went to our room for a short rest. I was already starting to feel the soreness seeping into my muscles. I’m not sure what the second Orthodox church was about. Photos were allowed in there, but not in the first church we visited. I watched a woman in the first church very reverently performing rituals, showing deep faith. Again, I was very struck by how faithful and religious the people in Vilnius seemed. We would later find out why religion seemed so prominent there.

This post is getting a bit heavy with photos. Because the crypt tour involves many photos and stories, and we didn’t do that much on my birthday, I’m going to save that story for the next part. Stay tuned!

Champagne Bucket trips, churches, Iceland

Our first Icelandic adventure: Another “free” day in Reykjavik… (part twelve)

Finally, we arrived at Friday, September 6th, our second “free” day in Reykjavik. Originally, we were going to fly home on that day, but when I started researching flights, I realized it was a lot more expensive to fly home on Friday than Saturday. So Bill had Iceland Luxury Tours to add a day to our itinerary, and we planned Friday as a day to go souvenir shopping and rest up a bit.

In retrospect, it wasn’t a bad idea to schedule a day to relax, even though I was already getting a bit antsy to go home. I missed Charlie and Noyzi and clean laundry, and I was itching to write and make videos. I don’t know why… It’s not as if people are that interested in these blog posts. I do take pleasure in writing them, though, and I have so many beautiful photos that I was dying to edit and arrange.

We tried to make good use of our last full day in Reykjavik, starting with breakfast in the Saga Hotel. It was just as noisy and crowded as ever. 😉

After breakfast, we took a walk back toward Lake Tjörnin, a small lake right next to the Saga Hotel, at the entrance of downtown Reykjavik. We spent a few minutes there watching the ducks. The lake isn’t super exciting, but I do like to watch water fowl.

Next we walked back to the Hallgrímskirkja, Iceland’s largest church, which looms over the city. When we were there a week prior, the nave was closed to the public. I was hoping to go inside and get some photos and, perhaps, take the elevator up the church tower and get some photos. We were successful in that endeavor. In fact, we were able to sit in the sanctuary for a short time and listen to the organist play. That was a treat for me. I liked that the benches were turned toward the organist and the instrument itself. They were movable, so I guess when they need more seating for actual church services, they can turn them around. I was glad we went back to the church so I could get photos of the organ.

It was nice to see a somewhat young person playing this instrument so well. Church organists are a dying breed!

I was especially happy that the church tower has an elevator, which makes sense, since the church dates from 1986. Most of the churches in Europe that allow people to climb towers involve going up lots of steps. I know it’s good for me to climb steps, but the older and fatter I get, the harder it is. You can climb a few flights at the church in Iceland, but it’s only a few, and not in a tight place. And yes, we did go up the flights of stairs to get the best possible views. I often suffer for this blog, you know…

Going up the tower does involve a small fee, which you pay in the church’s gift shop before taking the elevator up. It appeared to me that the tickets were on your honor. There was no one there checking them. Below are some shots from our walk, an the church and its tower…

By the time we finished visiting the church, it was about time for lunch. We headed down the main thoroughfare by the church and walked until my nose picked up the smell of something appetizing. A small restaurant called Salka Valka was putting off the pleasant aromas, so we went inside for lunch. When we arrived, the place was almost full, so we sat next to a an older woman who was sitting alone, reading a book. While we were deciding on lunch, she offered an unsolicited opinion, saying that all of the fish dishes at the restaurant were “amazing.”

For once, I didn’t mind that someone offered an opinion I never asked for, because I was having trouble deciding what I wanted. I settled on the fish soup, which was rich and satisfying, with a chickpea base and a delightful zing. It came with a slice of fresh sourdough bread, slathered in butter. Bill went for the catch of the day, which was probably cod again. I don’t remember! Anyway, the food was excellent and healthy, and the music was great. The lady sitting next to us had a very nice looking chocolate cake for dessert. I was tempted by it, but decided my gut didn’t need any enlarging.

After lunch, we walked a little bit further down the street and found one of the many souvenir shops in Reykjavik. We stopped in and bought some gifts for Bill’s grandchildren, as well as a mug and a magnet (or two) for us. I saw a few things I liked, but decided I didn’t want to carry anything more in my bag. The new rain jacket and hiking boots were already taking up precious space in my bags. The book I saw that tempted me could probably be found somewhere online. Now I wish I’d bought it, of course…

On our way back to the hotel, we passed through an area we hadn’t yet explored. I looked up and noticed a cafe that had a strange looking “airlock” set up at its door. It turned out to be a “cat cafe” called Kattakaffihúsið, where people can enjoy or even adopt the resident cats. It was really cool! I would have gone in, but Bill is very allergic to cats. I’m sure my mother-in-law would love that place!

We decided to go back to the hotel for a short while to work on packing everything, since we had an early wake up call for our ride to the airport on Saturday morning. So we spent time doing that, and wondered if we wanted to venture out again for dinner, later. The weather was looking pretty grim. As it turned out, we did go out for dinner, at a place called Duck & Rose. I had duck two ways, and Bill had more fish! It was a good place to people watch. At one point, a goth looking couple walked by. The guy half was wearing a weird looking mask that covered his whole face. His woman was dressed in straight up goth ware.

I think it was pretty safe to say that we were both pretty much ready to call our vacation done by the time we had dinner. It was time to go home and get back to normal living. But we really had a good time in Iceland… and before we said goodnight to the city of Reykjavik for the last time, we stopped by the store and picked up some Icelandic candies for Bill’s grandchildren. I’m sure at least some of it has liquorice in it.

Now… there will be one last post in this series… an exciting description of our flight back to Germany. I hope you’ll join me for that! Then, it’ll be time for my much anticipated “ten things I learned post…” which no one ever wants to miss. Bwahahahahahaha!

short breaks

Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part five

We had big plans for Saturday. As I mentioned before, Bill has an interest in the work of Carl G. Jung. His home and museum is located in Küsnacht, which is on Lake Zürich. Jung died in 1961, but his home is still in the hands of his descendants, who live there. Because of that, Carl Jung’s museum is not open every day. In fact, it’s only open on Thursdays and two Saturdays per month during the summer season. We were very fortunate that we happened to be visiting at a time when Jung’s house would be open. Bill purchased our tickets online prior to our visit, thus guaranteeing us a spot on the tour. You can buy tickets on the day of your tour, but only if space allows. The first floor of the exhibit is self-guided, but the library and Jung’s office can only be visited as part of the tour, which is about fifteen minutes long and conducted in German or English or both.

Also on the agenda was a stop at the Fraumünster church in Zürich, home of stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall, a French-Russian artist of Belarusian origin. I’m not a particularly religious person, but I do like visiting European churches and admiring the architecture, windows, and pipe organs. Our friend Meg had suggested seeing Chagall’s windows, as well as a few other places that, sadly, will have to wait until the next visit!

After breakfast, we headed downtown, which was very close to the hotel, but was made more complicated by the construction zone I mentioned in part one of this series. Then, once we got to the city, we had to find parking. Unfortunately, Bill chose to park at a garage owned by an upscale department store, not realizing how very expensive it would be. A whole day’s parking at Jelmoli’s garage cost about 49 Francs! Bill was impressed when the machine spit out a paper to help him remember which level he parked on… well, there’s a price for that kind of service, isn’t there? 😉

Anyway, we were blissfully ignorant of that when we parked and set off toward the church. It was five Swiss Francs to enter the church, but it was fine to take pictures and visit the crypt museum. I liked Chagall’s windows fine, but I actually preferred the other windows, which were made by Augusto Giacometti. The crypt museum was just opened in 2016, having previously been sealed from the public. The pipe organ, which consists of 6959 pipes, is the largest in the entire canton of Zürich. The church itself dates from July 21, 853! Below are some photos from our visit to Fraumünster.

*Chagall’s famous windows… We will have to see the ones he did for St. Stephan’s Church in Mainz.*

After we left the Fraumünster, we went to the Grossmünster, which is very close by. On the way there, we ran into a wedding party… actually, there were a bunch of them on Saturday. I saw at least three brides in dresses having pictures taken and quaffing champagne. Augusto Giacometti also made windows for the Grossmünster. Below are some photos from that period between churches.

Once we were finished looking at the windows, it was just after noon. I wanted to eat lunch (and pee), mainly because I have a tendency to get “hangry” when I get hungry, and our tickets were at 2pm, which I figured would put me over the line of hostility. I suggested lunch after our church visits, but Bill looked at his watch and said he was concerned about the time. I reminded him of what I’m like when I’m hungry. Again, he said he was worried about missing our appointment at 2:00.

At that point, he wasn’t sure if we were driving or taking a boat to the museum. I told him to make up his mind. He told me it was my choice. I got pissed off and said, “You’re always trying to lead until it’s time to make a decision. Either lead, or don’t lead. This museum visit is important to YOU, and you’ve done the research, not me.”

So then we headed toward the dock… and I said, “So, hot dogs for lunch, then?”

Bill tried to deny that was what was coming… but when we got to the dock, sure enough, that was what was available. So I made him pose for a photo. The short lake cruise takes about 90 minutes to go round trip, or you can do one way trips or get off at stops. And, for the curious, yes– there are concessions on the boat, and bathrooms. I think Bill paid about 6 Francs per adult for our tickets. It’s a pretty good deal, especially for Switzerland. Below are some photos from our pathetic hot dog lunch and our cruise to Küsnacht.

I almost forgot to mention, while we were waiting for the boat to arrive, we wound up standing near a group of obnoxious young Americans. One was a guy, who looked to be about twenty or so, and there were also three or four young women, who looked to be the same age.

The guy was very obnoxiously smoking a pipe, trying to look cool and failing miserably. I wanted to grab the pipe from him, because it was bad enough we were all standing in line, waiting to board the boat in masks. He had to pollute the air with a pipe, too… and he looked really stupid in the process. And making matters worse was that they were loud, talking about their adventures in Geneva and other areas of Europe. I did agree with one of the young ladies, who said the weather was agreeable. I’m sure that wherever they came from in America, the temperatures were a hell of a lot higher. The pipe smoking guy, though… he was making my temperature rise with temper. What a clueless jackass! I was glad they didn’t follow us to Jung’s house and we didn’t bump into them again.

In part six, I’ll write about our visit to the museum. Stay tuned!

Bavaria

Rothenburg ob den Tauber: Part four– Sushi, Sunday services, and sunshine!

Sunday morning, we woke up feeling great. Because we took it easy Saturday night, we were well-rested. My little dietary indiscretion at Roter Hahn successfully ran its course (literally) and as a bonus, we had sunshine! One of Bill’s co-workers told him about a great sushi restaurant called Louvre, located in Rothenburg. It’s been ages since we last had sushi and even longer since we got to enjoy it while sitting in a restaurant. I knew I didn’t want anything heavy for lunch, so Louvre seemed like the perfect choice for Sunday’s midday meal.

A sunny picture of the brewery.

But first, we took another stroll around the city and visited areas we missed on Saturday. The weather was delightful. I’m told it was grey and cloudy in Stuttgart on Sunday, so I am equally grateful we got such pleasant weather. Rothenburg is pretty when it’s cloudy, but it’s even more gorgeous when the sun lights up all the gold hardware on the signs and rooftops. It looks like a showplace. Below are some pictures I took on our lengthy walk around town.

Although Rothenburg is a tourist friendly city, like everywhere else in Germany, things close on Sundays… at least during the low season. I did notice Der Schottenladen had Sunday hours posted on its Web site, but they were not open yesterday. Still, one can window shop all day…

This tower is close to Louvre, a lovely Japanese restaurant…

This is Louvre. It wasn’t quite ready to open when I took this photo. Japanese cuisine is served, but there’s art on the walls. I guess that’s why they call it Louvre!

I’m so glad the sun came out so I could get these pictures of the beautiful countryside. It reminded me a little of Asheville, NC.

At about 11:30am, we arrived back at Louvre. We were the first customers of the day. We quickly learned that it’s a good idea to make a reservation if you want to eat at this place. Not only is it popular, it’s also very small. The dining area only accommodates a small group of people at a time. We noticed there were a couple of reserved tables, though fortunately, there were a few tables left open.

An adorably tiny Japanese lady took our order, bowing and smiling the whole time and very courteously correcting us when we murdered the Japanese pronunciations of the dishes we ordered. Although we had sushi, we noticed they had several options available that weren’t sushi. One of the groups who came in after us were having ramen, soup, and other cooked delights. We were very happy to eat sushi, though. It was fresh and delicious and very inexpensive!

Bill checks out the menu. It was hard to make a decision!

I liked Bill’s “Kin” dish better than my “Dai” dish… His sushi came with fried shrimp!

That salmon sashimi was so fresh… and the tuna and avocado rolls were a bit spicy. I really enjoyed this lunch, even if I did overload on protein a bit.

I liked the tables at the restaurant. I didn’t get a picture of our booth, but it was set in cement blocks like the one pictured above.

This was the painting hanging by our table. There is artwork all over the dining room to go with the beautifully prepared sushi rolls.

We enjoyed Japanese beer, too. Nice change of pace!

All told, I think our lunch came to about twenty-five euros. It was probably the cheapest of the meals we had in Rothenburg and definitely the most enjoyable! Next time we visit Rothenburg, we will have to go back to Louvre.

Just beyond the arches is a lovely park.

We also visited St. Jakob’s Church, a Lutheran place of worship. Their services were to start at 2:30pm, so we were able to tour the church. We paid five euros to go in, but were allowed to take pictures and take an informative leaflet that was printed in several languages. There was also a guide there who was telling visitors about the church, but he was speaking German.

Oh, how I love the sound of a pipe organ… My mom was a church organist for over fifty years and every time I hear an organ, I think of her. She is still living, but stopped playing organ about ten years ago.

Pull my finger… obviously, a lot of people have judging by how shiny it is.

After lunch, we decided to check out the Criminal Museum. More on that in the next part.

Hebridean Island Cruises

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part ten…

On Friday morning, we had plans to visit Londonderry, the second largest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth largest city in Ireland as a whole. Although the city is officially called Londonderry, it is popularly known as Derry and that is how it was tagged in my iPhone photos.

Prior to our visit, the only thing I had ever heard of regarding “Londonderry” was the song “Londonderry Air“, otherwise known as “Danny Boy”. I have sung that song many times, but never thought I would one day visit the walled city known for its architecture. The cruise officials had arranged for us to meet the mayor, who was presented an award by Hebridean Princess. We had a brief tour of the Guildhall, a gorgeous building that houses a very impressive pipe organ. Too bad my mom wasn’t on this trip, since the guide asked if anyone played organ. My mom was a church organist for over fifty years, although I don’t know if she played a lot of pipe organs.

Derry’s Guildhall.

The gorgeous pipe organ in Derry’s Guildhall.

Stained glass was everywhere!

After a coffee and tea break, we took a tour of the city given by a local guide who wore a bright yellow jacket. Our guide’s surname was McCrossan, which made Bill perk up. For all we know, he could have been a relative of ours. Local guides can be hired for four GBP and Hebridean Princess hired one for our benefit.

Derry is right next to County Donegal, which is where Bill’s people are from. It’s very close to the border of the Republic of Ireland and, in fact, our guide pointed out where the border was. He also explained that Harvey’s Bristol Cream, a favorite sherry of Bill’s and mine, had a connection to Derry.

I learned a bit more about religion in Northern Ireland, too. Prior to our tour, I had no idea that there were so many Presbyterians in Northern Ireland. I was born and raised Presbyterian by a family full of them, so that part of the tour was especially interesting for me.

A charming block of shops near the Guildhall and the Bishop’s Gate.

David Indge presents Londonderry’s mayor with an award.

A kid unwisely walks by the fountains, which I observed to shoot geyser like sprays of water at random intervals!

Part of Derry’s famous wall.

These jets randomly sprayed water.

This was a settlement of the city inhabited by Catholics. The ground was very marshy, which the guide described to us in detail. In the distance, you can see the Catholic church. We learned that back in the day, poor Catholic households in Northern Ireland could only be represented by one person when they voted. That was one reason why they were so oppressed. It wasn’t until 1968 that this rule was changed.

A very famous Presbyterian church in Derry. The history surrounding this church was very interesting. I wish we could have gone in for a look.

I seem to recall taking these pictures because they reminded me so much of Lexington, Virginia, where my dad went to college and Bill and I got married. I felt as if I were standing there. It was kind of eerie.

Bishop Street Within… meaning it’s within the walls of the city. There’s also a Bishop Street Without, I believe.

I wish I could have taken some photos inside of this church, but you had to pay a fee… which I would have done, except we were running short on time. The guide recommended we come back and get a proper tour of Saint Columb’s Cathedral. It really is beautiful. He also told us a funny story about a woman getting married there when they had turned on the floor heating. As she was passing the grate in the floor, a gust of wind blew up her dress, Marilyn Monroe style. Now, when people get married, they make sure to turn off the heat.

A couple of shots of Bishop’s Gate.

And a pretty rainbow in Larne, after our drive back to the ship.

I would like to visit Derry again sometime, perhaps not while cruising. It appears to be a very charming city with plenty to see and do. I would have liked to have had lunch there, but the ship had arranged for us to eat at a golf resort about a half an hour away. To be very honest, I probably would have preferred lunch on the ship.

Our buffet lunch consisted of a bowl of vegetable soup, which was good, and a side of soda bread, also good. We also had wine. The main courses were Irish stew with beef, which I skipped because I was afraid of the dreaded fungus. There was also a chicken dish that was loaded with mushrooms. They had pasta and salad, mashed potatoes, and chips, too. I avoided the meat and liked the dessert, which was either chocolate lava cake or apple crumble with warm vanilla custard. I love a good crumble, so that pretty much made the meal for me.

By the time lunch was over, it had started raining. We were supposed to visit a house and some ruins, but it was mid afternoon and people were tired. Our intrepid purser arranged for a small bus to take some of us back to the ship. Bill and I decided to take the short bus rather than visit the ruins and the house. It turned out we were smart to do that, since the ground was really messy at the ruins and they didn’t stay long anyway. It gave me an opportunity to come back to the ship, relax, and try a few more local beers… and other boozy delights.

This appears to be a smoked salmon roulade starter.

Sole for me at dinner.

And Bill had veal, which I know was tasty.

A snifter of brandy…

And more dessert.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: pipe organs

The Vilnius Series… Learning about Lithuania’s history at a pigeon’s eye view… (part three)

Our first Icelandic adventure: Another “free” day in Reykjavik… (part twelve)

Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part five

Rothenburg ob den Tauber: Part four– Sushi, Sunday services, and sunshine!

Scotland and Northern Ireland 2017, Part ten…