Vilnius, Lithuania
SEE PASTEBOARD EUROPE
4 REGION
Helsinki, Finland Hill of Crosses, Lithuania
ITINERARY
DAY 1 • Depart U. S. You depart today on your overnight flight to Vilnius, Lithuania.
DAY 2 • Arrive in Vilnius, Lithuania Upon arrival in Vilnius, we meet travelers from the pre-trip extension to Poland: Krakow, Auschwitz & Warsaw. Congress Avenue Hotel or similar
DAY 3 • Vilnius • KGB Museum visit Our city tour of Vilnius will focus on the restored Baroque buildings and medieval charm of Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We’ ll also view the linked courtyards of 16th-century Vilnius University, and speak with a local student about their studies. Later, tour the KGB Museum. Meals: B, L, D | Congress Avenue Hotel or similar
DAY 4 • Vilnius • Trakai • Karai culture • Home-Hosted Dinner After a conversation with a local expert about Lithuanian independence, we’ ll visit Trakai, the medieval Lithuanian capital. We’ ll meet with some local Karaims, members of an ancient Turkish tribe, and enjoy a Karai cooking demonstration before returning to Vilnius. Tonight, enjoy a Home-Hosted Dinner with a local family. Meals: B, L, D | Congress Avenue Hotel or similar
DAY 5 • Rumsiskes Open-Air Museum • Klaipeda On our way to Klaipeda, stop at Rumsiskes, an open-air ethnographic museum of rural dwellings and farmsteads from Lithuania’ s past. We’ ll also stop by one of the original railway cars used during deportations in the 1930s. Meals: B, L | National Hotel Klaipeda or similar
DAY 6 • Klaipeda • Curonian Spit • Hill of Witches Begin today with a visit to the Curonian Spit, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we’ ll hunt for some of the amber that washes up on the beaches during storms. Then we’ ll hike to the“ Hill of Witches,” a forested path through the dunes filled with unique wooden sculptures. After lunch in the private tavern of a local family, visit an amber workshop for a hands-on demonstration of the uses for this fossil resin found along the Baltic Sea. Meals: B, L, D | National Hotel Klaipeda or similar
DAY 7 • Klaipeda • Riga, Latvia On our way to Latvia, visit Lithuania’ s Cold War Museum and legendary Hill of Crosses, a grassy double hillock blanketed by several thousand crosses. We’ ll arrive in Riga later this afternoon. Meals: B, L, D | Radisson Blu Ridzene Hotel or similar
DAY 8 • Riga • Controversial Topic: The removal of Soviet-era monuments in Latvia • Visit Rumbala Holocaust Memorial & Salaspils labor camp We’ ll start off the day with a conversation with a local on the Controversial Topic of Soviet monuments in Latvia, and why they are being dismantled today. Then, our tour of Riga continues at the Salaspils labor camp, which was established in 1941 during the Nazi regime and saw the demise of thousands. We’ ll also stop at Rumbala Memorial, which commemorates the lives lost in Latvia during the Holocaust. Meals: B | Radisson Blu Ridzene Hotel or similar
ADVENTURE HIGHLIGHT
On Day 9, spend A Day in the Life of a family-owned goat farm in the Latvian countryside.
Information & Reservations 1-800-955-1925 www. oattravel. com / blt 161