The Vilnius Bell Tower

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

What a great picture to start our morning.  It was sunny, so we headed out to enjoy our day in the city.  I hope these sweet ladies don't mind that I got a hurried shot of them, but this will be me and my friends one day - I hope.

A sunny day deserves to be seen from the top of the Vilnius Bell Tower.  We loved our tour of it earlier on, so we took McCords there to show off the city.

 First set of stairs up.

 Looking up into the bell tower - there were about 8 sets of stairs - all of them steep, some of them more like a ladder.

One of the stair cases we climbed

 2 of the bells

My favorite view - Vilnius Cathedral, Gedimino tower.  It's hard to see here, but the river is to the left of the orange roof and St Peter and St Paul church is in the distant center and just off the picture is the Hill of the 3 Crosses.

Looking down on Gedimino St.

 The white of the Vilnius Cathedral was so brilliant against such a clear, blue sky.

The Bell Tower

 The stairs into the Bell Tower.

A selfie with my cutie

These footprints mark the starting point from when people from the Baltic states formed a line and held hands from Vilnius to Tallin, Estonia to celebrate their freedom from the Soviets and symbolize their unity.

Watching Andrew enjoy the view from Town Hall

We went back to the set for the afternoon to watch one of our friends, Ethan, in his one scene in the movie.  Nothing ends a blog post faster than to say we went on set where I can no longer say anything.  It's annoying!

The Spontaneous Bel Canto Choir

Monday, April 3, 2017

Sorry for the continual weather reports, but the weather and temperatures greatly impact our daily activities.  Today was not freezing cold and somewhat sunny, so for Lithuania it is a day to be out to enjoy.  But we must have still been exhausted from Saturday, because we all slept in until about 10.  We had a light breakfast, introducing Allison and Andrew to our favorite cereal: 

It's particularly amazing over their creamy, delicious yogurt.  Oh, how we are going to miss the food here!

I takes a while for 6 people to get ready, but we finally did.  Tyson has been so anxious to take Andrew to his favorite burger joint, Boom Burger.  It's up by the Vilnius Cathedral, so that's where we headed.  Across the street to the west of the Cathedral is Gedimino St. and on the north corner is this light grey building.  On the street level is KFC - a place we have fortunately not had to go this trip.  But just to the left of KFC is Boom Burger.  

They have a lunch special for only 6 euros, so it's a good spot to go.  They have great burgers, fries, onion rings and shakes.  We arranged for a driver to pick us by the Cathedral so the McCords could get their first glimpse of filming in Lithuania.  Andrew was in heaven.  I think he would have been happy going there every day to watch - although, he also loved being in Europe, so he seemed torn between two loves.

I got a shot I think is ok to show.  Adam was sitting in where the actor was going to be so they could adjust the lighting.  We were able to sneak in for a part of the time to watch what they were doing.  Other times, we just have to watch the monitors outside of where they're shooting and take turns listening in on the 1 or 2 headsets we can snag.

It was cold on the sound stage, since the building isn't insulated yet.  It was a good excuse to introduce Allison and Andrew to our favorite ginger and lemon tea - which they weren't big fans of.  But that was ok.  I didn't like it the first couple of times I tried it.  You have to get the right combo of ingredients, and I've now come to like it better than regular teas.

Since we came home with Adam, we didn't have any time to make dinner, so we went to our favorite French restaurant, La Boheme.  They have fun, unique appetizers and an amazing Norman chicken dish.  And, of course, good desserts.  We had just finished our meal and had asked Tyson to share a Family Night thought, when about 50 people filed into the restaurant and filled the room we were in.  We knew something was going on, but we didn't know what.  We just sat there curious to see what might happen.  And what happened wasn't anything we could have anticipated.  After about 10 minutes, a guy stood up and started everyone singing.  They sang "We are the World" and were obviously a rehearsed group.  Allison googled Vilnius choirs, and we figured out they are a group called Bel Canto and they will soon be performing in Las Vegas!  Tonight they were there to surprise their conductor for his birthday.  I'm sure it had be pre-arranged for him to be in the next room eating dinner, and was brought into the room by his dinner companions once the singing started.

The song went on for at least 5 minutes.  There were great acoustics in the room and we enjoyed the free concert.  We were sitting in the back of the room, so we thought we were out of the way.   But then the conductor come into the room from where he had been sitting, which was right by our table, and stood there.  So I'm pretty sure we are on every video that was taken that night.  Following the song, there were speeches that we couldn't understand, followed by another song.  The conductor was obviously embarrassed by the whole thing, so he went back to his table as soon as they were done and everyone left.  About 5 minutes later, after our waitress had come to our table and we were able to ask her what had been going on, the conductor walked back through the room and flipped off the guy who had been the lead of the group that night.  We all got a good laugh over that.  

La Boheme

The Bel Canto Choir

It was one of the most random things I've ever found myself surprised to be in the middle of.  We couldn't any of us really believe it had happened.  Thank you to the Bel Canto Choir for being our spontaneous Family Night activity.

A Perfect Sunday

Sunday, April 2, 2017

We had the privilege of taking Allison and Andrew with us to the Russian Branch.  The girls left in the earlier taxi so I could have some time at the building to practice the hymns before church started.  We are also going to provide the musical number on Easter, so I wanted to practice the song I will accompany for the boys, Gethsemane.  It was General Conference weekend back home, but because of the huge time difference and the translation needs, the church here watches conference the week after.  So it was the regular Fast Sunday schedule for us.  

Last week, one of the counselors in the Branch Presidency invited us to share our testimonies, stating that there would be a translator made available if we wished to get up.  So of course the pressure was on.  I think I was more nervous to have a translator than to just speak - I felt the pressure of needing to say something brilliant, knowing he was going to have to repeat whatever I said.  But Adam and I both bore our testimonies while the counselor translated for us, and we both made it through.  It is such a different pacing when you have to continually pause, so you end up thinking and speaking in phrases and also trying to speak in simple words and ideas so that the message is translatable.

Andrew was amused by the weekly speak-off between 2 of the brothers in the priesthood lesson the guys attended.  Apparently, they get into a heated discussion weekly, pretty much dominating whatever the lesson was supposed to be.  It seems to be in the Russian blood to speak very loudly and boldly.

When we got home, we treated the McCords to one of our favorite meals of bread and cheese, sharing our favorites of each.  The day was absolutely gorgeous, but everyone was exhausted from all of our walking and working and jet leg, so we all went quietly into our own spaces and napped.  By 5 we were all awake and anxious to be out in the 70!!! degree weather.  Apparently, all of Vilnius wanted to be out enjoying the weather!  It was crowded out on the streets, but there was so much energy in the air.  We walked without coats and it was glorious!

We decided to give our guests an orientation walk.  Here are some of the places we visited:

The cobbler exterior location.

On the stairs at the Gates of Dawn to show them the pilgrimage picture of Mary.

The cobbler market street.

Down the street from the cobbler market location is this sign that has always made us giggle.  We had to have the guitarist among us pose with this guitar angel.

We enjoyed the sites along Pilies (Castle) Street,

including a funny new sign in front of the restaurant, Grey.

We walked to the Vilnius Cathedral, witnessed part of a mass happening inside, then headed to the park to bask in the warmth until the sun began to set.

We passed by the beautiful St Anne's

and St Michaels,

and enjoyed the plaques on Literatu Street.

We hit pretty much every place we love most in Vilnius and feel blessed that we got to share it with some of our family.  This has been such an amazing experience and knowing we will have others to talk about it with after we get home has made our hearts feel lighter.

We came home to a delicious pork roast and mashed potato dinner, followed by some pretty heated rounds of Bluff.  Surprisingly, we were all tired and ready for bed at a decent hour - exhausted this time by the perfect day!

Paneriai and Trakai

Saturday, April 1, 2017

We have been waiting for the arrival of our guests to make the trek to Trakai (Tra-ky - as in the y in sky) Castle.  Adam was supposed to have the day off, which was another reason to wait, but they ended up using it as another work day to do some catch up - so we had to go a second year without him.  

We got up early enough to catch a train to Paneriai (Pan-er-ay) at 10:00 - no small feat with 6 of us and 2 bathrooms.  

The Vilnius Train Station

We hadn't meant to go to Paneriai twice so close together, but the earliest train to the castle wasn't until 12:40, so we knew if we went to Paneriai first, we would have time to show them around and still catch the same train from there to Trakai.  Maybe we should have just waited and only done the Trakai leg because it was a cold morning!  We had looked at the weather and knew it was going to be a nice day, but it was raining as we pulled out of the station and, although it stopped by the time we got there, it was still cloudy and cold.  But regardless, it is still such an amazing experience to be there.  This time when we arrived, there was a tour group who had just started.  They were English speaking and wore Kippahs, the Jewish head covering for men, and se we eavesdropped a little on what their guide was saying.  However, we decided that probably wasn't the right thing to do, so we ventured off on our own.  The forest felt even more hallowed being there when it was colder, trying to imagine what it would have been like for those being brought there in a train under very different circumstances.

Allison later read a story of an older man who came to Paneriai in 2005 with a guide - only this was his second time there at the rim of one particular pit.  The first time he stood there was with his family when he was a young boy.  When the guns fired, he, for some reason, wasn't hit.  Instinctively, he fell back into the pit and allowed himself to be covered by the dead bodies of his family.  When nightfall hit, he escaped into the woods where he lived in caves and dugouts for 2 years alone, only leaving the forest at night to steal food from the local farmers.  He stood in the freezing cold in 2005 and removed his shoes and coat, adorned himself with the phylacteries of the Jewish prayers and prayed for an hour.  Once he was finished and had his coat back on, his guide asked him how he could stand the cold.  His answer was that you only get cold when you know there is a heater or blanket that will soon warm you.  He hadn't been cold since those 2 years as a 12-14 year old.

We walked around for about an hour to different pits and monuments.  The small visitor center was still closed, but we did read the outdoor sign they had and learned that the trench we had seen was where they lined the Jews up after they marched them there from the train while they waited their turn to be shot.  Mankind can be so inhumane!!!

 Memorial to Jews shot at Paneriai

 Allison and Andrew overlooking one of the pit sites

and walking along the forested path.

The horrifying trench

On our previous visit, Jacob really needed a bathroom.  With the visitor's center closed, there just wasn't one.  But back behind the center was this old outhouse.  Jacob refuses to ever use a porta potty and most public bathrooms, so I was shocked by his willingness to use this place - a wooden seat over a hole that was beyond disgusting.  But he was brave... and desperate.

The bathroom entrance.  I refused to take a picture inside.  Gross...

 This station is small and we noticed last time that the locals don't bother to use the stairs and bridge, but just walk over the tracks.  When in Rome...

Waiting for our train to Trakai and trying to stay warm.

After eating our the picnic lunch we brought with us, we caught our train.  We happened to sit behind a group of college kids.  They were being loud and silly and we didn't pay much attention until English started creeping into the conversation.  It seemed that one member of the group was a visitor and they spoke to him in English, and then one guy started a commentary that had us all laughing.  From our eavesdropping, we learned that the national bird is the stork and saw a huge nest on top of a pole.  But one sad commentary was, "And here we have muddy ponds, fields and poverty all around."  Sometimes, the lack of a budding economy does seem to drive the youth away from this country.  We have learned that many immigrate to England, willing to work in fields or any form of manual labor just to get away.  The average yearly income here is 7000 euros.  How do you live off of that???

Here are a few shots from the train:

When we arrived in Trakai, we decided to take the route through town to the castle just to get a feel for the town.  The walk is about a mile from the station to the castle, and with only 2 taxis in town, a walking we went.  We passed this church along the way and Tyson wanted to see inside.  We were not expecting to see a full service going on.  There was a band with singers and, I know I shouldn't have taken the picture, but I was so fascinated by the priest at the confessional, which I have never actually seen live before. Father, forgive me...

The band on the right center

I remembered this split in the road from last year and knew we were about 3/4 the way there.

Just before crossing the bridges to the castle on the island

Trakai Castle - the new brick shows where the reconstruction took place

 On the castle grounds

 POW

 Guilty

He almost got a bulls-eye

Having recently seen Beauty and the Beast, we all wanted to sing about the draw-bridge of the castle.

Model of what the pre-renovated castle looked like

 Ceiling

 Courtyard

 View from the castle

 In the throne room, some of the tourists were dressed in costumes and learning to dance medieval dance steps

Tyson walking the moat

 The lake view from the castle grounds - we need to be here in the summer!

Looking back at the castle from along the lake

We chose to take the lake path back to the train station.  It had warmed into a very pleasant day and it was so lovely to stroll along the water away from traffic and surrounded by others enjoying the lake.  However, it was a longer walk than we expected and we ended up missing our train by about 10 minutes.  By this time we had already walked over 6 miles and we were tired, but the next train wasn't for 2 hours!  We couldn't just sit at the station and we were hungry.  However, the restaurants are mostly up by the castle - almost a mile away and we were still on foot.  So we trekked back up.  The restaurant we chose had a patio to sit on where we could enjoy the lake and castle and rest our feet.  They had a good menu we were excited about and ordered quickly.  And then our food took forever to come.  We knew we needed about 40 minutes to guarantee we'd make the 8 pm train.  If we missed it the next train wasn't until 11pm, so we couldn't miss it.  But our food wasn't coming!  We set a time that we would just get up and walk away if our food didn't come.  It came about 4 minutes before that time.  It looked good and was really delicious, but we all inhaled our food in about 5 minutes.  We even asked for our check as she was laying our food on the table and we paid before we were done eating - it was that fast!  And then we high-tailed it back down to the station and got on the train with about 8 minutes to spare. 

 View from the restaurant - it was getting dark, but the edge of the castle is behind the boat.

 I stopped long enough on our rush back to the station to catch this glorious sunset.

We're exhausted, but we made it!  It was a good day!

As we left the station to start our walk home, we ran into our college friends from the train ride earlier.  We chatted for a second before heading in our different directions.   Sarah's app logged our miles for the day.  It was over 10 miles in total!  We all slept well that night.