Today was more of a relaxed day rather than a tourist day. We got up and ran along the Neris river. Vilnius has created a great park along the river with paths for biking and running. There were many runners out which was a first for our Baltic run experiences. As we were running to the river, we came across a cycling race going on in the city. It was the Vilnius Velo Marathon. Their route was on the roads above the path we were running so we were able to spectate as we ran.

After our run, we headed to a cafe for breakfast. I had the French breakfast which was perfect for me.

Then we wandered some around the old city to see churches we had not already visited but it was very casual. At one church, the organist was practicing for Mass and it was fun to sit and listen to him/her play.

Tom had an introduction to someone in Vilnius so he head off to meet the person while I continued to wander. I found the Uzupis collective (the free republic which I described earlier) and wandered through the old and original collective. Very hippy!

I found a nice spot to have a beer and read which is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon on a travel adventure.

Then Tom and I met back up and headed out for dinner. We found a Belorussian restaurant off the beaten track and had dinner. We had the Beer Share dinner which consisted on Sausages, barbecued ribs, Potato Balls stuffed with cheese, Fried Cheese, and Fried Bread. It was a huge portion but great.

We met a nice American couple, Victoria and Bruce, in the restaurant and enjoyed a nice chat with them. They were retired and liked to travel. This trip they were spending 6 weeks in Europe and basically traversing the continent. They started in Finland, then the Baltics, training to Cracow and Prague, taking a Viking River cruise to Budapest and then heading to Italy and then home from Geneva. They were doing public buses and trains. They planned to hike the Dolomites in Italy. My guess they were early to mid-seventies and were going strong. I hope I am doing the same thing for the next 10 years.

Off to Gdańsk, Poland next. It is going to be a long bus ride but it should be relaxing.