The Doors of Learning

 

Our last morning in Vilnius  we had to get up early; we had an important appointment at 9:00.  When Brigita found out that Sister Davis used to work in a library and LOVED books, she said she could try and get us in a tour of the Vilnius University Library. Brigita works at the University and she knows these things. Tours in English are given on request and she would see if one was available.  Sister Davis was so excited.  Vilnius University is the oldest in Eastern Europe...having been founded as a Jesuit College in 1568.  There was a tour scheduled in the morning of the day we were to leave and we could "tag along" for a mere $4 each .... and you readers get to come along for free!

 

The bronze doors of learning....

  This used to be the main research room, but now holds most of the really old artifacts the University has been collecting for hundreds of years.

 

 Mary protecting the Jesuit priests...painted on the ceiling.

Original "New World" maps from expeditions of the 16th century explorers.  It looks like California has already fallen into the ocean...

 

Africa looks fairly accurate...

 

Can you just imagine how Sister Davis felt as she toured this gorgeous library?

 

 

 

The beauty of the room is in all the ornate details. That is a picture of Christ looking down on the room where "knowledge is learned".

A picture of Christopher Columbus:

After climbing about three flights of stairs we  were shown the "White Room".  This is where the professors (they are called doctors here)  come for research or study.

 

A REALLY old globe.....

A REALLY old telescope:

 

There is something exciting about libraries!

 

So many things to learn in them....

 

And the view outside was of Old Town...a good place to sit and daydream.

 

Down several flights of stairs and down a corridor, was the Blue Room.  The bookcases here were full of the more important books the library owned.

 

Ah! Here is something Sister Davis remembers from her youth.  A card catalog. Those used to be the backbone of a library...now it's all computerized.

 

 Our English speaking guide was one of the librarians and she talked really fast.  We later found out it was because the tour group with us had limited time and she was trying to fit everything in.

 

Vilnius and all of Lithuania takes great pride in this university and you could tell by how well maintained the buildings were.

Signs of the Zodiac on the wall...

 

Alma Mater....Vilnius

 

Our next building was the chapel...a very ornate church built in the middle of the campus.

 

 

 

Inside the chapel

 

At the back is the pipe organ...

The front is overwhelmingly ornate.

 

The original stain glass windows were taken out during the Soviet occupation and plain glass windows were installed.  The university is trying to restore everything but as our guide told us, "Lithuania is a small country and we just don't have enough money to fix everything at once."



 

Everything in this small rectory was gilded in gold....

It even had a small pipe organ in it....

The next room was painted in the 1970's by a local artist. Neither Elder or Sister Davis could quite figure out what the artist was trying to tell us. Our tour guide said the paintings all have elements of the history of Lithuania which began as a pagan nation.

 

Sister Davis did recognize the beehive style stain-glass window...and knew that beekeeping is still important to the local people.

On closer inspection she noticed the little details in some of the hexagons.

Trees are also important in the lives of the people here. Most all furniture and kitchen utensils are made of wood. Natural products are preferred and it is hard to find "plastic" things here.

The tour was over when our guide asked if we would like to see more now that the other group had gone. She had more to show us and since she loved talking about her university she wondered if we had time to see more of it.  Who would turn down getting their own private tour? Not us!

 

She took us to a room where the kids getting out of class gathered to socialize. The walls were lined with fresco's done by a local artist. Each picture was symbolic.

These were three famous Lithuanians and though Sister Davis listened and was interested in what the guide was saying, she didn't write anything down so she can't remember any of these guys names.

Nor can she remember why the horse is jumping over the bear...yet there was a reason for it!

The next room in our private tour was the Department of Philosophy ante-room. Here another local artist made huge mosaics from Lithuanian stone of four muses.

These were remarkably gorgeous. The stones are all tiny pieces put in place with no mortar.

 Four happy missionaries enjoying our day of  "learning".

 

 

And the last place on our tour...the unique University Book Store!

Where the ceiling murals are fantastic.

 

After thanking our guide profusely, we headed to the Three Mexicans restaurant.  Hoping for great Mexican food.... but realizing our hopes could be dashed.

The interior looked pretty authentic...but lets face it we are in Eastern Europe what are the chances of decent Mexican food?

 

Our hopes were realized, the food was great. 

The tacos even came with a side of refried beans!  

And then it was time to head back to Riga. The weather was great until we were nearly home.  That's when Elder Adams called and said he was worried about us because of the big storm in Riga.  It wasn't long before we could see it in the distance, ominous dark clouds....they didn't bode well for us.

It got dark quickly....

 

Then it started hailing....it was loud but didn't damage our car.

It started getting thicker....

And soon it was snowing! 

Yikes! It was only October and we were getting snow.

Elder Davis is a good driver and though it was nerve racking until we got home....

 

We managed just fine.

 

 

 

"Bob", Trakai, and the YSA's

 

 

You might be wondering what Bob is doing sitting on a croquet set.  Well, sometimes we become delivery drivers....like every time we leave Riga and head off somewhere.  We deliver mail to the missionaries that has arrived in the mission office for them.  We are usually very popular when we deliver mail.  We deliver books to Senior missionaries and clothes back to the mission office. On the way to Siauliai, Lithuania, we dropped off mail and Antti mentioned he had something to take to Vilnius and would we mind delivering it?  Of course not...and what Bob is sitting on is what we were supposed to deliver to the YSA's in Vilnius.

 

Antti sitting at his desk in his new Seminary & Institute office! He is a great S&I Country Coordinator and very dedicated to helping all four Districts get their Religion classes,  YM/YW's programs and Institute Student Councils up and running they way they are supposed to. 

 

The day we went to Paneriai Holocaust Memorial with the Flakes we also got to visit the darling village of Trakai. Small streets, colorful houses, old churches and huge lake are what you first see as you enter the village.

 

 

Trakai is surrounded by a lake and at then end of the road,

you run into this picturesque place.... 

 Trakai Island Castle

 

It is a picture perfect castle...really, we took about 7 photos of it and every one of them was perfect.

 Trakai castle is the only one of its type in Eastern Europe. The castle is surrounded by waters on all four sides. Construction began in the mid-1300's by Grand Duke Kestutis and suffered major damage when it was attacked by Teutonic Knights in 1377.  Kestutis's son, Vytautas the Great, strengthened the castle into a defense fortress which helped preserve it in the famous Battle of Grünenwald. Okay, maybe the battle of Grünenwald isn't THAT famous, as Sister Davis had to look it up. This is what she found: The battle was one of the largest battles in medieval Europe and is regarded as the most important victory in the history of Poland, Belarus and Lithuania.

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Trakai is known as the town of lakes, as seen from this arial view.

During the 1600's the castle was used as a prison and was completely neglected as seen in this artists rendition:

In 1905 the Imperial Russian authorities decided to partially restore the castle ruins.  After World War II, a major reconstruction project was started; the largest portion was finished in 1961.

The inner courtyard:

The outer courtyard:

The old stone walls of the palace with the newer brick ones above:

 

 It is quite a large place:

 

Trakai Island Castle is a beautiful and popular tourist attraction:

 

We were all hungry from a day of sight-seeing and we needed sustenance. There aren't any McDonald's or Hess burgers in these small villages, so we had to search for a cafe and found one selling Lithuanian food. 

Outside was a photo opportunity for Elder & Sister Davis.

And for Elder & Sister Flake:

Silly Missionaries!

 

That night we had another opportunity for food. We were taking the Lithuanian Student Council out for dinner. Marina, Brigita and Aliona:

We were so impressed with the calendar of activities the girls had taken to their District for approval. They were organized and enthusiastic and their attitudes and service will help the YSA program grow in Lithuanian. They are wonderful YSA women...and you can see the love they have for their senior couple, Elder & Sister Flake.

That is what we have discovered on this mission. The young people need role models. They love the senior couples who sacrifice so much to come help them gain testimonies and offer support. They love knowing that there is always someone around that truly cares about what is going on in their lives. They love the feelings they get at Family Home Evening and at Institute...of being a part of a group that has the same beliefs and values they do. We senior couples love them unconditionally and can make all the difference in their young lives.