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Keith EckersallKeith Eckersall
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traveled in 15 countries Read more Poulton-le-Fylde, United Kingdom
  • A Holiday Where? ........ Why?
    Day 8

    The Last Day....

    October 22, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Today is going to be a hard day as this little penguin is still feeling sorry for himself and we have to check out of our room by 11:00 am. Unfortunately, our flight home isn’t for another 12 hours!!
    After what has become the habitual lazy breakfast, we finished packing our bags, paid our bill and checked out. With our bags locked away we decided to go out for a walk towards the other side of town. As we headed in the direction of Kaunas Train Station we came across a park and decided to check it out. The park is called Ramybė Parkas (Peace or Tranquility Park), a public park established in 1959 in the territory of the Kaunas City Old Cemetery that was also known as the Carmelite Cemetery. During World War I and subsequent Lithuanian Wars of Independence, Russian, German, and Lithuanian soldiers were buried in the cemetery. During the interwar period when Kaunas was the temporary capital of Lithuania, many famous people were buried there and several buildings (churches, schools) were constructed on the cemetery's territory. In 1930, a monument to fallen Lithuanian soldiers with a tomb of an unknown soldier was unveiled. Around the same time, a tradition to honour fallen soldiers on the All Saints' Day began. On All Saints' Day in 1956, a spontaneous anti-Soviet demonstration started in the cemetery in support of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. After smaller incidents in 1957 and 1958, Soviet authorities decided to demolish the cemetery and turn it into a recreational park. Families were given a few months to rebury their relatives elsewhere (many were moved to the Petrašiūnai Cemetery). Tombstones, monuments, crypts and a Catholic chapel were demolished. The Soviets installed a monument with ashes of four communists executed after the December 1926 coup. After Lithuania regained independence in 1990, the Soviet monument was moved to Grūtas Park. The monument to Lithuanian soldiers was reconstructed, and new monuments dedicated to the participants of the June Uprising and Lithuanian partisans were erected.
    Heading back to the hotel we stopped off at the Akropolis Shopping Centre, staying there for an early evening meal at a lovely Chinese restaurant; called Devyni Drakonai, where the food was equally as lovely and cheap in price, only £34.
    After heading back to the hotel, we collected Pat from her room and after a short wait the taxi arrived to take us all to the airport for our flight home.    Read more

  • A Holiday Where? ........ Why?
    Day 7

    Poorly Penguin 🐧 Stays Home...

    October 21, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    It was not a good day today as this little penguin had a sleepless night and developed a “stinking” cold 🤧, so after breakfast, I sought refuge back in my bed 😴 at the Radisson!! This left Jayne with a free day to do as she pleased apart from regular refreshment visits to her TWO room bound travelling companions. So, there are no photographs today but a chance to share some of the Street Art we saw in Kaunas.

    1st Photo is the Bearer of Light by Vytenis Jakas, 2019

    2nd Photo is ‘Wise Old Man’ has become an Instagram staple; an enormous mural that dominates the entire side of a former shoe factory on the leafy avenue of Jonavos Street. The giant gentleman in question — wearing a red bodysuit while smoking a pipe bigger than his own head — is Jurgis Maciunas, a Kaunas-born artist who carried Lithuanian modern art into the wider world in the mid-20th century. He would have known the surrounding streets and buildings well — including Kaunas Castle, the medieval stronghold whose striking red-brick tower stands directly opposite the painting. Painted as a tribute to influential Kaunas-born artist Jurgis Maciunas, the 'Wise Old Man' mural adorns the side of an old shoe factory.

    3rd Photo is a big mural that can be found on the walls all over the city. This particular one was painted by a well-known Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic (who also has works in Vilnius or Warsaw).

    4th Photo is apparently one of the best street art pieces; “Princess on a Horse”. It was painted by a 7-year-old girl, Gabija, and then transferred to the wall by one of the artists. This is such a cute mural, and it definitely puts a smile on your face with its bright colours!

    Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how interested you are, I could not find any information on the remaining street art photographs that I took.    Read more

  • A Holiday Where? ........ Why?
    Day 6

    A bit of Culture?

    October 20, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Meeting up with Jayne in the hotel, I was surprised to hear her say shall we go to the Acropolis.🏛 Wow, I thought I didn’t know there were any ancient Greek monuments I Kaunas. Shortly after we arrived at the Akropolis 🕋 shopping centre 😁. Anyway, the weather was changing and threatening rain 🌧 plus I felt as though I was starting with a cold 🤧 so after a look around the shops, I sat in a coffee shop ☕️ watching the world go by🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️ and waited patiently for Jayne 👜👡🛍👠🧤🧣.
    In the early evening Jayne and I headed back down into the Old Town and fancying a glass of wine we popped into a sort of bar / restaurant; called Pjazz, playing good music and although not to busy gave off a really nice atmosphere. The wine 🍷 🍷was tasty, and we soon found ourselves calling our friendly waitress over and ordering another couple of glasses 🍷🍷. Still loving the atmosphere and now the music 🎶 we decided to order food from the quite appetizing menu; Salmon and vegetables for Jayne and a large rack of ribs (or as google would have you believe maxi ankle boots!!) for me. Oh, and another couple of glasses of wine🍷🍷.
    Our bill came to £60 with 48% being for the wine! We had a thoroughly enjoyable time in a lovely atmosphere with good wine, tasty food with friendly and attentive staff. ….. Why had we not been in here before???    Read more

  • A Holiday Where? ........ Why?
    Day 6

    A Lazy Morning

    October 20, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    It's another lazy morning for me anyway. As Jayne helped Pat, I went back to the Church of St, Michael thee Archangel, to take a few photographs 📸 📷 from a different perspective. I also noticed that it was open to the public , so I went. In 1895, Russian Czar Alexander III ordered construction of the Orthodox Cathedral for the Kaunas fortress garrison, as a representational structure, expressing luxury and official status The Sobor was designed by Russian architects and decorated by Petersburg artists. In 1919, it was transformed into a Catholic St. Michael the Archangel church garrison. In 1965, the church became a stained glass and sculpture gallery. After the restoration of independence, the St. Michael, the Archangel Catholic Church, is now operating again, and once again, the once removed crosses are raised high. ⛪️Read more

  • A Holiday Where? ........ Why?
    Day 5

    A Walk in the Dark

    October 19, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    After meeting back up with Jayne at the hotel, we went out for our evening meal. Walking back down the Laisvės Alėja we came upon a very nice-looking Italian restaurant called Cash Della Pasta that we had noticed on more than one occasion during our many walks down Freedom Avenue. Jayne enjoyed her Salmon al Forno, whereas I; being rather adventurous, went for the Spaghetti Bolognese. £37 including a couple of large glasses of wine 🍷🍷 for us both.Read more

  • A Holiday Where? ........ Why?
    Day 5

    Another Day Another Church

    October 19, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    Christ's Resurrection Church
    This magnificent Art Deco church is a reflection of Lithuania’s turbulent history. It is the biggest basilica-type church in the Baltic States. The church was built in 1932–1940 after Lithuania regained independence. In 1922, the idea was to build a church as a symbol of thank-you to God for freedom regained in the temporary capital Kaunas emerged. However, construction was stopped by the Soviet occupation. The building was confiscated and used as premises for the radio factory (later called “Banga”) after the war. In 1990, the church was returned to congregation, during the restoration of the church, some changes were made in its project. The space in the church is in the style of a basilica with three naves. The architecture is monumental and laconic; the tower is 70 meters high. Visitors have the possibility to go to the observation deck on the church roof to enjoy the panoramic view of the city.
    After walking into the Church and having a look around the nave area with its altars and confessional boxes I decided to explore the upper echelons’ and feeling fit with no gym time I took the stairs rather than the lift! Stepping past numerous locked doors and windows in the tower; looking out onto the street below, I was thinking maybe the lift would have been a better idea!! Finally, with a beating heart 💞 I see daylight only to realise I have reached the roof of the church and not the top of the tower, which thankfully didn’t have any access. Unfortunately, the way the roof is set up didn’t provide 360-degree views. One side of the church overlooked the old town and river, including the area with our hotel whilst the opposite side looked out over the industrial area and residential area in the distance.
    It was a lot easier walking 😁👍 down the stairwell and then again walking down back to the old town.    Read more

  • A Holiday Where? ........ Why?
    Day 5

    A Different Part of Town..

    October 19, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    Thursday, I decided to go to the other part of town and check out the big white church we could see at the top of the hill from our hotel the Basilica of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
    Setting off down the Laisvės Alėja I then turned right at the fountain and headed to the Vytautas Magnus War Museum. Just to the left of the Museum is a garden that contains the Monument to the Fallen for Lithuania’s Freedom (Žuvusiems už Lietuvos laisvę, 1921), in its immediate surroundings, there is the Altar with the Eternal Flame in front of the Monument, the Grave of the Unknown Soldier in between them (Nežinomo Kareivio Kapas), and the busts of Povilas Lukšys and Antanas Juozapavičius – respectively, the first soldier and the first officer killed in the Wars of Independence in February 1919 – on the both sides of the Monument to the Fallen. Additionally, behind the monument are we wooden crosses and praying poles. In 1921-1922, four crosses, two poles with rooftops (“stogastulpis” in Lithuanian) and one praying pole (“koplystulpis” in Lithuanian) were placed on both sides of the Monument. The decorative crosses are part of Lithuanian tradition and today they are recognized by UNESCO and put on their Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. Crosses are made of oak wood and richly decorated, also with pagan symbols.
    Continuing on and following the signs for the Basilica I arrived at and took the; Žaliakalnis Funicular, built in 1931, and one of the oldest funiculars still in operation in the world, up the hill.    Read more

  • A Holiday Where? ........ Why?
    Day 4

    A Taste of Lithuanian 🇱🇹 Fayre

    October 18, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Heading 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ back to the train 🚉 station or, as I have already said, the Stotis we decided to eat before we left and diverted into a traditional Lithuanian restaurant called Restoranas Etas Dvaras and ordered typical Lithuanian cuisine. For starters, we ordered Grated Potato Pancakes and Potato Dumplings filled with meat to share. For mains, Jayne ordered the Roast Chicken Breast and Salad whilst I went for the good old Chicken Kiev. With a couple of drinks, our bill came to £33.81 and to be honest, apart from the potato pancakes, it wasn’t very enjoyable!!
    We then caught the train 🚅 (2nd Class for £13 .91 just £8.86 or £4.43 each cheaper than 1st class and headed off into the sunset 🌇 towards Kaunas.    Read more

  • A Holiday Where? ........ Why?
    Day 4

    It's Raining 🌧☔️☔️....

    October 18, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    As we made our way 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️ to the Old Town of Vilnius, we could see the sky getting blacker and darker. As the skies opened, we were lucky enough to be across the road from a lovely Italian restaurant that didn’t bat an eye lid when asked if we could come in and just have a drink. The best thing about this restaurant was that they sold lovely wine 🍷🍷. So while the heavens opened and people sheltered 🌦🌧☔️ in doorways, we sat nice and warm just getting wet 🍷🍷on the inside. Once the rain stopped, we paid our bill and ventured out carrying on further down the street finding ourselves in Cathedral Square which is dominated by the Neoclassical cathedral, dating from the thirteenth century when a wooden church was built here on the site of a temple dedicated to Perkųnas, the god of thunder. The highlight of the airy, vaulted interior is the opulent Chapel of St Casimir, the patron saint of Lithuania. Next to the cathedral on the square is the white belfry, once part of the fortifications of the vanished Lower Castle. Between the cathedral and the belfry lies a small coloured tile with stebuklas (miracle) written on it, marking the spot from where, in 1989, two million people formed a human chain that stretched all the way to Tallinn, Estonia, to protest against Soviet occupation.
    Around the corner from Cathedral Square is Gediminas’ Castle Tower, which is the remaining fortification tower of the Upper Castle. Legend has it that the Grand Duke Gediminas dreamt of an Iron Wolf howling at the top of this hill, which he took as a prophecy of the great city that would one day stand in this place. The hill is where he eventually built a wooden castle.
    Grand Duke Vytautas completed the city’s first brick castle in 1409. Gediminas’ Tower has changed purposes since then, including being used as the city’s first telegraph building in 1838. The Lithuanian flag was first flown at the top of the tower a century ago. The Vilnius Castle Museum was opened in 1960, and in 1968, it became a subdivision of the Lithuanian National Museum.    Read more

  • A Holiday Where? ........ Why?
    Day 4

    A Grand Day Out....

    October 18, 2023 in Lithuania ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Today is the day of Pat’s Operation, so there is nothing Jayne can do for her, so we are off to Vilnius the Capital of Lithuania. We caught the trolley bus 🚎 from outside the hotel to take us directly to the Kaunas Train Station or Stotis as station is in Lithuanian. For £22.77 we rode on the upper deck of the carriage in First Class for the 80-minute journey 🚅 to Vilnius. Enjoying the views as well as our free bottle of water, we arrived in Vilnius. Following the street signs, we made our way to the old town to see the cathedral and stand-alone tower after I had googled what to see in Vilnius.Read more

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