Trakai Castle near Vilnius, Lithuania

S2D14 (Day 28) – We ❤️ Lithuania; Biking into Vilnius

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Day 28. With four weeks and six countries under our belt so far, today’s arrival at Vilnius marked the completion of Stage 2. Tomorrow is our weekly rest day, after which we will embark on the third and final stage of our epic Napoleon Cycling Adventure from Paris to Russia.

Alytus To Vilnius

  DAY #28 of 35   Lithuania   1,751 miles total

Once more, we began the day surrounded by luscious forests and sublime lakes. Little did we know that the road ahead would take us through a landscape that could easily fit into the fantasy genre.


Excited to cycle to the beautiful and historical city of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

Cool yard art? Or, one person’s treasures are another person’s … ?

Lovely pasture landscapes with overcast skies….

….later turned to lovely pasture vistas with blue skies and puffy clouds.

A bit hard to see here, but almost ALL cows we saw were staked on ropes with no fences. Often it was because the households only owned one or two cows and put up no fence. In this case, there were about a dozen or so cows in a fence, but most if not all still had ropes on.

More storks at attention; not just a Poland phenomenon.

And unfolding ribbons of good roads.

As in Poland, the cemeteries had fresh flowers on almost all of the graves.
The little church yards were well cared for.

As were the yards of most of the houses.

A common sight in many of the small villages – aged grandmothers by themselves.

Cycling Into Trakai National Park

Vilnius was the point of no return for Napoleon in 1812 as he crossed into Russian territory. Around a dozen miles shy of our destination we entered Trakai National Park, another beautiful setting on our #napoleoncyclingtour.

The magnificent Lake Trakai and the castle with its natural moat.

Here we paused for an extended lunch stop in one of the lakeside castle viewing restaurants, and even had the option to take a dip in the magnificent lake Trakai.

Trivia Fact:   The castle utilizes the vast Lake Galvė as its natural moat, resulting in the world’s largest moat.

  There are 5 national parks and 32 regional parks in Lithuania, altogether covering 11% of the country. Trakai is the smallest national park but stands apart from the rest because of its status as an ancient Lithuanian political center on state-protected territory. It is also the most beautiful 😉

Aerial view of Trakai Island Castle and the world's largest moat
Aerial view of Trakai Island Castle and the world’s largest moat.

  Trakai is one of the best-preserved castles in Europe. It was an important defensive center close to the major Grand Ducal residence of Vilnius. However, in the 17th century, the town ceased growing because the natural conditions which had favored the defensive needs of the medieval town now formed an obstacle to economic and urban development.

A place where time has stood still (ok, been reconstructed) through all the Napoleonic bluster, Trakai was once a home to Lithuania’s grand dukes. It now houses the Trakai History Museum, with archaeological objects, coins and crafts. On the lake’s southern shore are the stone ruins of the Trakai Peninsula Castle.

Our friend, Michael Lister, an Aussie from the Gold Coast. Definitely an A rider, he had a nasty collision with a chasing dog two days ago. Even though he had bruises, cuts and scrapes (e.g, notice the long scrape on his arm), he didn’t miss a day of riding.

Shauna moves Mike into position for a selfie in front of the castle.

Lunch was a Mexican pizza beside Lake Trakai. Mark staked his claim on our first taste of Mexican in weeks. And ordered more jalapeños.

Trivia Fact:   One of Trakai’s sister cities is Giżycko, Poland, which we visited a few days ago.

Riding into Vilnius

Following this extended lunch break, we pedaled onward into Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania and our destination of the day. Much like yesterday our journey felt like a trip through ‘big sky’ country.

The sky above Vilnius, capital of Lithuania
The sky above Vilnius, capital of Lithuania.

As we entered into the central part of Vilnius, we rode through lush parks.

Cyclists, pedestrians, skaters, scooters, and here… a skater hitching a ride with a scooter.

The Neris River passes through Vilnius and becomes a tributary of the Nieman River.

The pedestrian bridge across the Neris River with the The Vilnius TV Tower in the background. The 1,071 ft tower is the tallest structure in Lithuania, where is national Lithuanian Radio and Television Centre. The TV tower played a major role in the events of 13 January 1991, when 14 unarmed civilians lost their lives and 700 were injured opposing the Soviet military seizure of the tower.

Entering the old city which we found to be absolutely charming.

A Taste of Vilnius

As the capital of Lithuania and its largest city, Vilnius is a hub of activity with plenty to offer tourists as a result of its rich history dating back 700 years. The Old Town of Vilnius, one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in Northern Europe, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

Panoramic View of Vilnius Old Town.

  The greatest concentration of sights and attractions can be found within these 1.5 square miles, including Vilnius Castle, five palaces and even more churches, not to mention numerous other assorted places of interest.

To be honest, we really needed a complete rest day, and didn’t do any proper touring of Vilnius, so just providing a few pics from our guide Richie here … we’ll definitely come back to do it justice.

The 14th century Church of St. Nicholas in Vilnius is the oldest surviving church in Lithuania


Vilnius has become an alternative art scene … very Bohemian.

  Back in 1812 Vilnius was not only part of the Russian Empire but the capital of the Vilna Governorate. It also lay directly in that path of Napoleon and his Grand Armée on their ill-fated march towards Moscow. The city was taken with ease by Napoleon and his army for the first time on June 28th, largely due to their overwhelming numbers. Six months later Napoleon was forced to conquer the city a second time during the army’s disastrous winter retreat from Moscow, this time with a much greater loss of life. Thousands of soldiers died in the city during the retreat – the mass graves were uncovered in 2002.

Best Meal of the Tour at Amandus

Our Stage 2 celebration dinner was at one of the best restaurants in Vilnius – Amandus. Chef-virtuoso Deivydas Praspaliauskas, who has been name best Lithuanian chef several times, has brought together a creative and youthful team in his own restaurant with a great purpose – to create a perfect tasting dinner experience. He has absolutely achieved it. One of our best meals ever, anywhere.

Video: Chef Deivydas told several entertaining stories as they brought out the courses.

Such inventive combinations of flavors.

Presentations that were like art.

Fresh and flavorful.

Theatrical touches too.

This dessert – which the chef calls Hedgehog in the Fog and is named for a Soviet-era children’s animation which Chef watched as a child – was one of our top ten desserts of all time. Liquid nitrogen cooled ice cream was spooned over the top.

Video: Finishing touch to Hedgehog in the Fog dessert.

Topped off with a cup of decaf and a macaroon to rival those in Paris. YUM!!

Our Route

Tomorrow we have a MUCH-NEEDED rest day before beginning the final Stage 3, the fifth and final week of our Napoleon Cycling Tour.

Next Stop:   Anykščiai

2 thoughts on “S2D14 (Day 28) – We ❤️ Lithuania; Biking into Vilnius”

  1. Thanks for all the wonderful photos and history lessons. Want to come to one of my classes for a talk? That would be awesome for students (and me as well).

    Reply

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