On the last Tuesday of October, around 4 in the afternoon, Big Eagle and I boarded our flight to Frankfurt!  From there we connected to Helsinki, and finally arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania late Wednesday afternoon.  Our son Danny and his wife Erin picked us up at the airport.  I’m excited to finally share about our trip!  The number of pictures I took is CRAZY, and I really had a hard time narrowing them down.  To say that this is a heavily-loaded photo post is an understatement, so consider yourself duly warned.

In the Frankfurt airport on Wednesday morning, we were introduced to the strong, but delicious coffee we would be served in Europe.  And the custom of serving water in individual glass bottles.

 

After taking us to their apartment to drop of our luggage and freshen up a little, Danny and Erin took us to a Georgian restaurant for dinner.  I had never even heard of Georgian food before, so it was a new experience!  The restaurant was in a building that appeared to have been a residence before.  We ate in one of the upstairs rooms.

 

 

 

 

The next day while Erin was at work, Danny drove us to Traika to see the castle there.  Trakai is about a 30-minute drive due west from Vilnius.  Before walking to the castle, we ate at a restaurant that I believe was called Kiubete.  They served delicious kiubete pies that are similar to a pot pie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following day was Friday.  We would be leaving once Erin got off work to begin our drive to Poland, but while she was at work Danny took us to the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights in Vilnius.  We walked from their apartment toward the city.

 

 

 

I didn’t take any pictures of the museum, but it was very interesting.  The building itself is a former KGB headquarters and prison.  The museum honors the Lithuanians killed there during the Soviet occupation following WWII.

We picked Erin up from her school late that afternoon, and began our drive to Poland.  We stayed that night in Bialystok and continued on the next day to Krakow.

The one drawback was that Big Eagle got sick right after we arrived in Krakow.  So that night, Danny, Erin, and I went out to have dinner and explore without him. 😞

 

Danny had read about a place having trivia night two nights later, so we stopped in there to inquire about it, and we made plans to be there!

The next morning, we had a walking tour of Krakow booked.  Big Eagle was still under the weather, so he stayed at the hotel and rested while Danny, Erin, and I did the tour.  It began outside the Barbican, built in the first half of the 17th century, it had been the city’s defense system.

 

 

The tour went to many more places and was super informative and entertaining, but I didn’t take any other pictures.

By lunchtime, Big Eagle was feeling better, so we met him back at the hotel, and then we all went to lunch at The Black Duck.

 

 

 

 

 

Next we went exploring through one of the main squares in Krakow.

 

 

 

 

The following day was Halloween.  While it is somewhat celebrated there, it’s not as big as it is in the U.S.  We began our day by going to the Schindler’s Factory Museum.

 

 

 

 

As we walked toward a popular square afterward, looking for a place to have lunch, we saw this cute spot.

 

 

 

 

 

That night, we went to trivia night at the pub we had checked out previously.

 

 

The following day, November 1st, was All Saints Day, which is widely celebrated there.  This day Big Eagle, Danny, and I went to see Auschwitz and Birkenau.

 

 

 

 

 

We rode in our transport to get to Birkenau, which is about 3.5 km away from Auschwitz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After such a somber day, it was good to meet back up with Erin and enjoy a wonderful dinner at that Michelin recognized restaurant in the square.

 

 

 

 

Since it was All Saints Day, after dinner, we headed to one of the prominent cemeteries to see the displays honoring loved ones who have passed.

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, we drove south to Zakopane, a resort town at the base of the Tatras Mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After exploring downtown Zakopane, we headed to our accommodation for the next two nights.

 

 

 

 

 

I loved that place!  The second day we were there, Danny and Erin did a hike in the Tatra Mountains while Big Eagle and I just hung out.  We walked the neighborhood, and had a nice down day.  When they got back that evening, we all went to Termy Bukovina, which is a thermal bath place.  SO relaxing!  Really enjoyed that, and then went to dinner nearby.

That was our last night in Zakopane.  The next morning, we got on the road headed to Warsaw.  We did take a bit of a detour on the way, though, to visit the quaint little village of Zalipie.  Zalipie is known for the extraordinary floral folk motifs that the women of the village paint on the inside and outside of homes and other buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived in Warsaw after dark.  Once we got checked in and situated, we went walking looking for a spot to have dinner.  We lucked out, and stumbled upon another trivia night!  This time a British one.  Fun!  Fish and chips and trivia…winning combination!

 

Our plan was to set out and explore Warsaw together the next day, but in the morning, I realized I had lost my credit cards.  I keep them all in one holder, and it was missing.  So after breakfast, we told Danny and Erin to set out without us, and we stayed in our room, contacting all of our credit card and bank companies to put a hold on my cards.

When we finished, we took a cab and met them in the old town part of the city.

 

 

 

 

 

It was Saturday, and Erin was flying home to do some catch-up there and prepare for the coming school week.  She had wanted to make a reservation at this particular Italian restaurant the night before, but they were full.  Danny, Big Eagle and I were able to catch a table that Saturday night, though!

 

 

 

The next day, before we left the hotel, lo and behold…I found my credit cards!  Yay!  It had been niggling at me, so I looked again through my backpack, and found where there was a zippered compartment I hadn’t checked.  There they were, and I remembered then putting the holder I carry them in inside that compartment before we went to the thermal baths.  So I was much relieved and happier as we checked out of the hotel and drove outside the city to the Wolf’s Lair, Hitler’s hidden headquarters during WWII.

 

 

 

 

When we finished touring the Wolf’s Lair, we headed back toward Lithuania.  We stopped for the night along the way.

The following morning, we drove the rest of the way back to Vilnius.  It was our final day in Europe.

When we got back to Danny & Erin’s apartment, we unloaded our bags and waited for Danny to go park the car.  While we were waiting, I took these two picture showing the sharp contrast between the old Vilnius and the new.

 

I think this final afternoon was one of my favorites of the whole trip.  The three of us walked across the river to the old town area and had lunch at the fairly new food court.  Then Danny took us on a walking tour of the area.  Vilnius is such a cool city!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following morning was an early one.  Erin had to get to school, and we had to get to the airport!

It was such a GREAT trip!  We thoroughly enjoyed it!  And if you’ve read through this whole post, I think YOU’RE pretty GREAT, too!