Lithuania, part V - Vilnius Aušros vartai, Pilies street and Old town (Senamiestis)

Back to the city centre, and I wandered around for a bit. I lived right next to the Gates of Dawn, which gave me easy access to the Old Town. Let's see what wikitravel has to say about it.

It is a city area which began to develop extensively around the Middle Ages and it eventually became surrounded by a defensive wall after some time. The wall was distinguished by its strong surroundings and its shape for a long period of time, but this area is now called Old Town and has a separate status in the Vilnius administrative division. While the urban structure reflects the earliest development from c. 14th century, the architecture of the buildings is mostly from Baroque and Classicism periods with some examples of Renaissance and Gothic, to a lesser extent. One should keep in mind that medieval Vilnius was once a wooden city. The huge fires ravaged Vilnius several times since 1513 to 1749. Therefore, many buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries (still considered new) have Gothic and Renaissance cellars, many of which now are occupied with restaurants, bars or shops. (source)

WHO

Lithuania, part I - Hostelgate and Aušros vartai (Vilnius)

I arrived in Vilnius, and my first impression was that it was much colder here than any other countries I had been previously, although the latitude was lower. Strange.

I'd booked another hostel, Pilies 13, but according to google maps it was half an hour walk from the bus station and I didn't want to walk that long, so decided to stay at Hostelgate, which Jake had stayed at in 2014, and was only about 6 mins walk from the bus station. It was love at first sight. I texted Will right after - look, I said, this is exactly like Corner Hostel in Wroclaw where we met.

I see what you mean, he said.

Damnit, I miss Will.

More to come.

Trakai - next entry

Aušros vartai