When you consider that this city was nothing but a pile of rubble in 1945 you begin to understand the love and pride the Polish people have for their city. Those buildings in the above pictures were identical rebuilds from pictures of the streets before the Germans demolished them in WW2.
Frankly, we were startled to be reminded so many times of the many tragedies that have struck the Polish as we walked around Warsaw. Every block seems to have another memorial to fallen heroes and heroines, another story of bravery or tragedy or desperate injustice. This is not tourist fare but a reminder to the everyday Polish people of who they are and who they are is most striking. Friendly, openhanded and hardworking easily come to mind of who they are. When you see this country you will also see that they are survivors.
Here are 2 examples of these memorials. The first is of a saved section of a foundation wall of the Warsaw ghetto. There are a few of these sections. They are quite unannounced and are here and there around the city. The second is of the recent plane disaster at Smolensk.
Yesterday Diana and I left our canoe and camping gear at the campground in Suwalki, Poland. The next leg of our canoeing adventure will start there in 3 weeks time. The picture below is of the Czarna Hancza river where we begin another 450 kms. paddle. Southward, this time to Warsaw thereby completing our paddle across Poland.
The train to Vilnius took about 5 hours. It was a 3 car train which was close to half full. It is necessary to disembark at Sestokia, Lithuania and then get on a Lithuanian train which is waiting at the next platform. I'm not sure if the track gauge is different or if there are other reasons for the train switch but it was quite simple and went smoothly. We were very glad to have only 1 bag and 2 daypacks instead of all our gear.
The first stop is the town of Kalvarija. The photo below is of a few houses there. It is here where young Vytautas Svelnys, my father, learned to walk and run, perhaps in these very fields. The following photo is also in Kalvarija and is a example of a typical country home in Lietuva, as Lithuania is called here. We have not seen this filigree moulding anywhere else.
The southern part of Lietuva we were travelling in is rolling farmlands very similar to central Ontario. Corn fields and dairy cattle broken up by woodlots, small lakes and villages. Storks were everywhere, usually sitting in their huge nests caring for their young, but also around the edge of ponds or walking behind the tractors in the fields looking for grasshoppers.
We arrived in Vilnius without incident and walked about 1500 meters from the train station to our apartment. We have a nice 1 bedroom place there for the next 2 weeks. The photo below is from the steps of the town hall looking northward over the square towards the Neris river and the castle district another 700 meters distant.
Radiating out from this square is a maze of winding single-lane one way streets which are lined with boutiques and restaurants, hotels and embassies as well as churches.
The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Ladislaus houses the remains of the patron saint of Lietuva, St. Casimir and is one of the countries national treasures. The bell tower in front of it is actually not falling down on it but stands quite straight when not viewed through a wide angle lense. The last photo is of the Neris river which flows through the middle of Vilnius. There are many pedestrian and vehicle bridges and the wide and winding river provides a place for the sun to reach into the heart of the old city and brighten it up. We are looking forward to enjoying roaming around the interesting streets and parks of Vilnius. It may have the most charm of any city we have visited yet, but then again we may be biased.
Over the past few months Diana has been in email contact with a Lithuanian family who may be related. It seems their heritage is from the same small village and of course they share the same name. Today we met Virginijus at the bell tower and he very kindly showed us up to the Gediminas Castle.
Parts of the castle date back to the 13th century. There is a small museum within the castle now with some models of how Vilnius looked during the 14th and 18th centuries as well as some artifacts found on the grounds. Also inside the castle tower are some photographs commemorating the incredible event of Aug. 23 1989. It was on that day that over two million people from the 3 Baltic Republics of the Soviet Union came together in a peaceful protest of the illegal Soviet occupation of their countries. On that day they formed a continuous human chain of clasped hands of over 600 kms. from Vilnius to Riga, Latvia and then to Tallin, Estonia. Known as the "Baltic Way", the publicity from this event was so enormous that the Soviet Union was unable to counter the momentum created from it. Within 6 months Lithuania became the first of the republics of the former Soviet Union to declare independence. Virginijus' pride in participating in this event was understandably evident. Our walk up to the castle tower was also rewarded with these views over Vilnius.
In the center of this photo is St. Anne's Church. This Gothic masterpiece is beleived to have been built in the late 15th century and is one of Vilnius' most famous landmarks. The bell tower beside it was built in 1873 and so was not part of the original structure. Behind them stands a Bernardine Church and Monastary which date to the early 16th century. Here is a closer view of them.
In the following photo the modern side of Vilnius comes into view. Of course these banking and insurance buildings and the mall beside them are all recent investments made since Lithuania secured it's independence.
The maze of narrow streets of the "Senamiestis" or "Oldtown" definetely require a map if you want to wander around. The streets are easy to stroll along and there are plenty of places to stop and people watch with a beverage.
Now, the way this works with the rowboat is unlike a canoe. Although the number of paddles is the same, in the rowboat someone rows...
... and someone rides!
Over Diana's right elbow the Island Castle of Trakia is starting to come into view. This castle was first built as a defensive fortress in the mid 14th century. The crusaders and the Teutonic Knights both attacked it repeatedly. When the combined nation states of Lithuania and Poland finally defeated the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 the castle fortress was no longer needed and it became a Ducal Palace. By the way the 600th anniversary of that battle passed on July 15 while we were in Warsaw and we considered going to the annual re-creation of this important historical event. It is beleived to be the largest battle that ever occured in Medieval Europe. Estimates of over 65,00 combatants are accepted as accurate. This huge victory secured a lasting relatively peaceful existence for Lithuania and Poland. Democracy, universities and religious tolerance, fine arts and commercial growth became possible afterwards. At any rate we deciced not to attend and have learned that over 200,000 people along with dignitaries and media did attend and apparently the logistical nightmare was what you would expect.
At any rate this castle predates the "discovery" of the New World by approximately 150 years and is impressive for it's history as well as the excellent re-construction.
Our swim in the lake was excellent as the lake is within the protected national park and the water is pristine. This was a great spot to spend a hot summer day and we enjoyed imagining the nobility of yesteryears doing the same.
In the early 13th century a tower stood here looking out across the valley to another such tower and sentries watched for invaders and communicated by smoke signals. This type of existence was necessary as Lithuania was later in becoming Roman Catholic than it's neighbours and attacks from crusading Livonians in the north as well as the Teutonic Order from the south were common. Lines of these forts covered many kilometers of approach to give the people adequate warning.
Another of our stops was at a grouping of barrows dating from the 6th century. These burial mounds were most impressive sitting isolated deep in the oak forests of this park.
The culture that developed here dates to 3000 BC when nomadic deer hunters and fishmen from the east began to settle here. A fuel made from local swamp ore burned hot enough to make iron tools and a community of people grew here to become the biggest and most important for it's time in eastern europe. Such was the importance of this region that it flourished to become the home of the first and only king of Lithuania, Mindaugas, who ruled over these lands around 1230 AD. His home was on the hill to the left in the following photo and his pagan nation of people lived below along the river.
These hills were flattened and steepened to make them easier to defend. For scale try to find a couple of people walking on the path in the center of the photo. Mindaugas died here defending his people and the forts were torched in 1263. He ruled a kingdom of around 350,000 souls spread out over thousands of square kilometers from these hills. This "piliakalnis", or hill for the people, is now one of five UNESCO World Heritage listed sites in Lithuania.
After going for a refreshing swim in a small lake close by, we enjoyed a dinner with his family at their brand new home. We were served a traditional Lithuanian meal of cold cucumber and dill soup with black bread, fresh honey, cheese and potatoes. This was followed by a unique cake that is baked while being spun on a tall spindle to create a tall tower of arms of marbled cake. It was served on beautiful dinnerware on the back deck looking over Virginijus' running stream and pond and it was all quite delicious.
Virginijus' family were most kind to welcome strangers into their home and although the document proof of shared ancestory couldn't be found we hope we are related to this extremely kind and warm family.
We had the chance to visit Kaunas this week. Lithuania's second largest city is only 120 kms. west of the capital and it was only an hour and a half bus ride. Kaunas sits at the confluence of Lithuanias 2 major rivers the Nemunas and the Neris. It's location gave it strategic defensive advantages and people began to settle here in the late 11th century. It's old town has many restored buildings including churches and monastaries. Possibly it's most famous is St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral-Basilica. The baroque interior of this cathedral which was renovated in the 17th century is reportedly one of the most beautiful in the country.
Another of the prominent buildings is the town hall situated in the middle of the main square. We were there on a Saturday and watched a continuous procession of weddings follow one after the other through the building. Wedding parties pulled up to the front door in stretch hummers and limos all afternoon. It was all very colourful and festive and champagne corks would fly as the groom carried his bride out the side door 20 minutes later.
On Thursday, Virginijus took some time out of his busy schedule to once again pick us up in his car and we headed off, this time to the ancestral village. The village of Byciai, in the north of Lithuania, has perhaps about 25 homes and this number has not changed since anyone can remember. These are all farm homes, mostly wooden, with outbuildings, livestock and field or two for crops. Virginijus and Diana share the surname of Kregzde which is an unusual name for Lithuania and both families have origins here in this small village. In his research Virginijus has gone back as far as 7 generations looking for the connection between our families. This is as far back as the records go and they are often confusing as couples would remarry with the records not showing the complete history of both individuals.
Virginijus had copied a family tree for us which showed the branches of each of our families and the place where the probable joining took place but the documented positive proof was not found. It is a beautiful chart with everyones picture as far as was possible and the names and dates that we had of Diana's ancestors matched perfectly with the chart.
It was a 2 hour drive to the village and we stopped in Kupiskis, the large town nearby, to see the cemetary. There are densely packed burial plots here. It was only by using the cellphone to call Vytautas Kregzde, Virginijus' father, that we located a large monument to a common burial of 2 young Kregzde's who died in 1948 and 50 of TB. Vytautas remembers our ancestors from the village and new of this plot. Next to this plot was another marker to the Kregzde name and upon closer reading we found this to be the burial place of Diana's great grandparents.
Never did we imagine that it would be possible to find this physical link between the new world and the old. Here before us was not only the names but also embedded in the gravestone were their pictures. Here are Diana's great grandparents, Ona Kregzde nee Barzdenyte 1873-1923 and Jonas Kregzde 1863-1923.
Surprisingly, also carved on the headstone was Elzbieta, Ona's older sister, who had married Jonas before her but had passed away in 1889 at the age of 21. Diana's family was unaware of her life at all. The Barzdenis family are apparently still living in the region and must be caring for the site as we found it trimmed and planted with healthy begonias.
We then visited the site of Virginijus' grandparents in the same cemetary wondering still if Diana was visiting relatives here too.
Virginijus' father remembered where the family farm of Jonas Kregzde was and we then drove the few kilometers to the village of Byciai to try to find it. A few minutes later we headed up a dirt driveaway and stopped the car to talk to a woman who was out in the field caring for her milk cows. Actually, of course, Virginijus did the talking. Unbeleivably here we were at the exact family farm of Jonas Kregzde. This very friendly woman had been living here for the past 30 years and knew of the history of the farm. She invited us into her house and showed us which of the rooms would have looked exactly as when Diana's great grandparents lived here, albiet with somewhat newer paint and fixtures.
This unexpected experience delighted Diana very much. We both were keenly aware that this day and our entire visit to Lithuania had become richer than we could have ever hoped for. As well, we knew that without the good fortune of Diana finding Virginijus through facebook and his interest and incredible generousity this experience would not have been possible. We are very much indebted to him and his family and we hope to be able to host them when they visit western Canada.