Vilnius Day 2 & 3

{Thursday May 10}

 Today we took a train to a place called Trakai with a lady named Lena that Reed knew. It was about a 30 minute train ride. Trakai was a pretty, little town. We went there to see a castle that is famous around here that everyone goes to see.

 

 The castle was really cool and pretty as you can see after that we walked around Trakai a little bit. Its just a cute little town.

When we got back to Vilnius I had to go to the bathroom so Lena took me to show me where it is. We go into the bathroom and it is both men and women's but a room on the right for women and a room on the left for men. There is a paper towel holder that both men and women get to dry their hands but you also have to get your tissue there to wipe with so Lena gets me some or else I would've walked in without anything. Immediately after walking into the room it reeks like pee so bad. Then when I walk into the stall this is what I see.

 At first I was confused thinking this was the men's but there were ladies all around me so this had to be right and now I understand why it smelt like pee so bad because I'm sure some people don't have good aim. I'm just super thankful I didn't need to go number 2. :) These bathrooms were super disgusting and when I went back to take a picture I had to search to find one this clean. Walmart has nothing on these bathrooms!


 Then we went to eat at a place called the Yellow Submarine. It was one of Reed's favorite places to eat. I got a pizzia with cucumbers. It was weird but pretty good.

 Then we met up with a member named Ganati. He was a super super nice guy and bought us some ice cream. He has a really cool conversion story and is just a happy happy man. Talking to people like him make me really thankful for what I have and especially the gospel in my life.

Then we went to see the church here. There were some people there so we were able to walk in and look around.

This picture was taken at almost 10. It stays light late here so we are able to hang out and walk around longer it is really nice.

 {Friday May 11}

We started our day by going to this Gadamino Tower. It was a good hike up to it but it was worth it. Not sure what the purpose of this tower was for but it was cool. On top of the tower is a really good view of the city. It looks really cool from up high.

 We ate lunch at McDonalds today. Super adventurous I know! We were meeting a lady here so we just ate while we were here.

 We went to some markets downtown today to look at a few things that we might want to take home with us. Afterwards we went to a lady's house named Galina.

 These are the apartments that EVERYONE lives in. They are all concrete buildings that the soviets built when the Baltic countries were under their rule. They are super old and super ghetto. Inside these buildings it is scary and stinky but Galina's apartment is remodeled so it was really nice inside.

Galina was a sweet sweet lady. When we got there she had fruit tea and little refreshments waiting for us, it was really cute. We talked to her for quite a while. She has a cool story as well. My favorite part of meeting all these people is listening to Reed translate back and forth. Everyone says his Russian is really good, I just love it. Leaving Galina's house made me teary eyed because she is just such a sweet happy lady who is thankful for what little things she has. She was so happy to see us.

We left her house to see Christina and her little family. Her husband is out of town so we weren't able to see him. It was fun seeing these kids and the funny things they do. The two little girls did a dance for us with their barbies.

We ended our day eating stat dogs with a coke. This is another favorite of  Reed's from the mission. His parents also fell in love with them when they were visiting with him. Their hot dog buns are awesome. It is a bun with a hole in the top so you squirt your toppings inside and then when you put the hot dog in the toppings squirt up so you eat it from the top and its super good and super easy to eat.

It was a super good day. We have been doing a lot of walking so by the end of the day my feet are just beat. But it has been a blast so far seeing a different part of the world and how these people act and dress. We have seen some crazy styles for sure. We are loving every minute of it though and I am just loving seeing Reed here.