Vilnius - Užupis

I love interesting art and unusual places. Užupis in Vilnius, Lithuania was right up our alley with some fun outside areas to explore. It's an artist district with a twist. On April 1, 1998, the district declared itself an independent republic (The Republic of Užupis).

Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania

We had a great day exploring this big museum in Vilnius for the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. A new palace compound was reconstructed on the ruins of the old palace. Part of it opened in 2013 and the whole thing opened just last year in 2018. There's some history on it at the link above.

The ruins are incorporated in the interior of the building so just walking through that is really cool. Their great presentation of Lithuanian history and reconstructed palace rooms are also worthwhile. The whole thing was just 8 euro so it's worth at least a quick stroll through the buildings even if you're not that interested in their history. We were interested, so we spent most of the day here exploring it.

Vilnius

We took a Lux Express bus to Vilnius, Lithuania for the 3-day weekend. Lithuania is the country south of us. Latvia sits in the middle of the three wonderful Baltic countries. Lux is a great and affordable bus service with many trips per day to a variety of places in this region. The bus to Vilnius had some nicer premium seats similar to first class airline seats for only 10 euros more than the already affordable bus prices. The bus had a toilet, which was convenient for the 4 hour trip to not need pit stops.

Lavtian National Museum of Art

We've already been to the main building of the Latvian National Museum of Art (Latvijas Nacionālais mākslas muzejs) but I didn't blog about it then because the rooftop terrace wasn't open. There's several other buildings and you can get an annual pass to the whole museum system which is a great bargain if you're planning to see them all. Here's a look at this grand building in the summer with the view from the rooftop.

Latvia National Botanic Garden

The National Botanic Garden (Nacionālais Botāniskais dārzs) in Latvia is 30 minutes away by car or train. It's always nice to stroll around beautiful gardens and a nice park while summer is still hanging around for a bit.

Promotion to FP-03

Rīga City Festival

"Is Riga ready?" is not supposed to be answered with yes (see below)