vic.gedris.org

Another yellow Karaim house in Trakai, Lithuania.

Yeah, here I go again with the yellow houses. I will post another one tomorrow too!

A typical Karaim house in Trakai, Lithuania. Karaims are a minority ethnic group in parts of Lithuania, most notably in Trakai. Read more about them on Wikipedia.

Exploring the Trakai Island Castle, in Trakai, Lithuania.

Kernavė, Lithuania: Yellow House

Here's a cute yellow farm house in Kernavė, Lithuania. As I mentioned before, I love colourful houses like this, especially yellow ones.

Kernavė, Lithuania

It was a cloudy and somewhat rainy day when we went to Kernavė, Lithuania. This village of just a few hundred people is one of Lithuania's best-known archeological sites, due to its piliakalniai (hill forts), secret underwater roads, and being a one-time capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Unfortunately, due to the cloudy and rainy weather, my photos of the beautiful countryside around the piliakalniai didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.

Looking down the elevator shaft at the vacant Tower Automotive building on Sterling Rd.

June 20th, 2009: Unofficial opening parade on the West Toronto Railpath. One of my favourite features of the neighbourhood!

In the background is the Wallace Ave. pedestrian bridge, from which I took yesterday's photo.

Wallace Ave. Pedestrian Bridge

Taking another short break from posting vacation photos. This one is much more recent and closer to home: Looking east from the Wallace Ave. pedestrian bridge.

I like this view because it shows off two very old and prominent features of my neighbourhood: The Wallace Ave. bridge, and the old General Electric water tower a little further east on Wallace Ave., closer to Lansdowne Ave. This is a great place to spend a few minutes just watching things happen in our 'hood: GO trains going by underneath, people walking and cycling along the West Toronto Railpath, environmental cleanup of the old Glidden Paint factory site, construction of new condos on Wallace Ave., heavy machinery at work on the West Toronto Diamond railway grade separation project, and much more.

I often "take the long way home" from work just to come across this bridge and stop to watch things for a few minutes.

Vilnius: Trijų Kryžių paminklas

During our second tour around Vilnius, we climbed Trijų Kryžių Kalnas (The Hill of Three Crosses). Check out the Wikipedia link for the whole legend behind it!

Needless to say, this is one of Vilnius' most visible and best-known monuments. It's easily visible from many parts of the city, and also offers a spectacular view of the Vilnius Old Town below.

Aušros Vartai, Vilnius, Lithuania

One of the first places we visited in Vilnius was Aušros Vartai, which means "Gates of Dawn". This is the last remaining gate into the Vilnius Old Town, and contains a chapel with a famous painting of Mary.