Daily Archives: 29/01/2020

Tuesday 21st January 2020 Although we had a flight to catch we wanted to pay a visit to see some of the places which had been closed the day before. We therefore walked to Halės Turgus, the oldest market in Vilnius. The exterior of the building is picturesque but the stalls were not as universally interesting as some of the markets we have visited recently. It seemed to be in the process of redevelopment as a tourist attraction, with interesting displays of local foodstuffs rubbing shoulders with people who looked as though they were selling homemade jams, woollens and second hand goods off makeshift tables. Curiously, although both Lithuania and Latvia have flourishing wool and knitting stores, we did not see any sheep in the fields during our train and coach journeys. Perhaps they are kept indoors at this time of year as the weather is expected to be much colder. From here we went to the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania which offers visitors several different colour-coded tour routes: History, Archaeology, Architecture; Reconstructed Historical Interiors; Weaponry, Everyday Life and Music as well as an exhibition centre. The Palace was originally built within the lower castle of Vilnius during the 15th […]