Went to Vilnius yesterday for just 12 Ls, with the Mari agency. Loved everything. The guide was decent, we checked out the huge and quite interesting Kaziukas fair, where massive crowds of artisans sell their (and factory-made, naturally) crafts, bread, and meat. To keep the people's energy up, they serve hot beer and snacks; you could also just hit up a local eatery, thankfully Vilnius has a massive old town that is quite tourist-friendly.
We also saw the traditional Gediminas' hill and tower, and climbed the hill where crosses are set up in honor of the drowned Franciscans (nearby). The fact that the hills are high, and climbing them wasn't so easy, is pleasing, but it'd be better if they were about 3 times higher, that would've been even more interesting.
Afterwards we drove to the Akropolis mall, where we hung out at a Lido equivalent called Delano. The food is tasty, the prices are moderate.
My impressions of the trip are just fantastic, especially regarding the European approach to everyday design (à la Lebedev). Examples below.
For example, at the Akropolis parking lot, the zone signs feature animals alongside the numbers.
In a computer store, kids' drawings are pasted all over the entire wall.
In a bookstore, there's a long bench strewn with pillows, so you can sit down comfortably and leaf through a book.
In Gediminas' tower, the handrails on the spiral staircase are not only on the left along the wall, but also vertically on the right, which greatly eases the climb up and down.
I also saw an electronic traffic display above the highway once; we don't have those (or maybe just a few?).
The porta-potties are divided into men's and women's, haven't seen that before. Didn't make it into the men's, so I can't say how it differs.
Along the Viliya river there is an incredibly cool sculpture, in the shape of a pipe coming out of the soil and instantly plunging right back into it. A decent figure in the shape of steel ribbons is also attached underneath the bridge.
The artisans selling pretzels and bubliki mount enormous copies of their wares on their tents, of a truly monstrous size (about a meter in length).
Vilnius itself is also beautiful, situated on hills, the skyscrapers are pretty, kind of miniature copies of the real skyscrapers in London or, say, Chicago.
As a funny anecdote, I can add the fact that we were brought a menu in Lithuanian at the tavern, but when the giggly waitress realized we weren't from around there, she brought over the same thing in Russian at our request. This helped us choose, but absolutely didn't help her remember what we wanted, because she couldn't read and couldn't remember the dish names in Russian, instead just being horrified by the complexity of the words and laughing. In the end, though, she got all the orders right, except for my rosehip tea. (I got a fruit hibiscus tea, like everyone else). I ate pelmeni baked in wine sauce; not bad, but nothing super.
Considering, however, that the prices in Lithuania are often slightly lower than Riga's, you couldn't wish for more. My respect for Lithuanians grew even more (as you might remember, I enjoyed my previous trip to Lithuania too). Of course, the good company and sunny, warm weather played a big part, but nevertheless.
Bottom line: we'll definitely travel with the Mari agency again, they promised a sea of tulips and a 10-hectare lilac garden — you couldn't possibly sniff them all.