I recognize that little or almost nothing I knew about Lithuanian history before knowing that I will go to visit it. But as usual when something or someone link me to a place I try to find, know and learn the maximum possible about it.

In this case, my link to Lithuania has been an amazing human being that crosses my path already 4 months ago. From that moment I get interested in her culture, her history, her gastronomy…till finally I landed in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania in an old fashion helices plane.

The first thing I noticed and I’m getting used to it, is that everyone speaks a more than decent English. Unfortunately for a Spanish man like me is not that common, we are still far from a good English level.

The people of Vilnius embrace the tourist with open arms and a smile on the face, from the Uber´s driver to the owner of the Airbnb Apartment. Sympathy and politeness it’s normal and it’s appreciated it.

The capital, Vilnius, it is not like many others, full of people, crowd squares, sometimes dirty or expensive restaurants…Vilnius is quiet, with life and rhythm relax, clean streets and made for the people. A positive point for the city.

Gastronomy is just great, you cannot leave the country without tasting the delicious national dish called Cepelinai, made with potatoes and meat. But the extraordinary discovery was, without doubt, one of the best hamburgers I’ve ever eaten in my life. My friend took me to a small local place, open air, live music, good vibes and the best homemade hamburger probably I eat.

It would be almost impossible to know this kind of places if you don’t go with a local. Visiting places with people from the country it’s the best way to discover the city, the gastronomy, the culture in deep.

Night life in Vilnius is quite fun, a lot of rock and roll, many cocktails and a sky bar to enjoy a gintonic with amazing views of the city. It is worth it.

Talking about the culture there are many museums that are worth to visit. The Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in the old town is really well structured and shows you the history of the city in a really nice way. There is also the ruins of the old castle there. The museum of the victims of the genocide it’s really attractive for people who love history. It is an old KGB headquarters and its bottom floor was an Old Russian prison.

Close to the capital, 30 minutes by train, you can visit the Trakai’s castle, a medieval fortress in the middle of the Galve’s lake. Its interior shows an exposition about Lithuania in the time of Vitautas The Great (1350-1430) where you can also shoot medieval weapons as a crossbow or an arch. Really really fun!

Lithuania and its capital its, without a doubt, a country that is worth to visit and discover and is going to be one of the countries to take in into account in the European Union for the next years.