Exploring Europe

Written by Evan Daus, Foster School undergraduate student, studying at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain.

After the completion of my semester abroad, I decided to see more of Europe before returning to the United States, but my difficulty was deciding where to go! In Europe there are 51 different countries, each of which is unique and contains a variety of different cultures, and each of which I would love to visit.

In the end, I decided to book a series of the cheapest flights around Europe and just see what I find in each destination! That is how I ended up in Lithuania.

Lithuania is not a common tourist destination, but it should be. I arrived in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania and stayed in a lovely hostel within walking distance to almost everything within the small city. Vilnius was lit up for Christmas and the streets were full of Christmas markets, selling wooden handicrafts, amber jewelry and mulled wine.

The Lithuanian people were extremely warm and friendly. They always seemed to smile and were quick to start conversations with me.

I also traveled outside of Vilnius to the region of Trakai, where I visited the misty lakes, parks and forests of the region. The most beautiful part of Trakai is its island castle, which is only accessible by walking over a pleasant series of bridges connecting the various islands on the lake.

Lithuania was an unexpected delight and I cannot recommend it highly enough. On my next trip to Europe, I wish to visit all of the Baltic countries, including Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which are all inexpensive and well-connected with buses and trains.