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We woke up early on Wednesday the 10th of December and flew to Vilnius on a small plane. When we arrived at Vilnius, we had to wait for the Estonians for a while. After that we went sightseeing by bus and started with a famous TV-tower of Lithuania. Up in the TV-tower there was a small restaurant and we had a little snack there. The view from the TV-tower to the city was very impressive. After that we saw several gorgeous churches. All of them were full of different kind of statues and other ornaments. When the sightseeing tour ended, we checked ourselves in to our hotel. The hotel was very nice and we all were positively surprised. We had a few hours free time and some of us went shopping and just walking around. Then we went to the school and had a dinner there. After that there was the opening ceremony. We didn't have as fancy clothes as everybody else, but the ceremony was fine and well arranged. In the evening we studied a little bit and after that we relaxed and had a toga party in the third-graders' hotel room |
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It was the dawn of the contest day in Vilnius as the students of Munkkiniemen yhteiskoulu descended to the ground floor of the hotel to enjoy some breakfast along with the other teams and to prepare ourselves for the upcoming contests. The fact that no calculators nor chartbooks were allowed to be used in mathematics made some of us a bit nervous. That said we needed to orientate to using long division for the first time since elementary school! Pretty soon after the breakfast we made our way to the classes where the exam-like competitions were to be held. In these familiar looking rooms we were to sit for the next few hours. |
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After a tough competition we had a little time for a walk around Vilnius and chase after souvenirs before lunch in the school canteen. Some of us found true treasures from the marketplace, like old Soviet captain hats. For a lunch our hosts served us soup and deep fried chicken, which was excellent. After the filling lunch we were introduced to the most meaningful and of course the most beautiful historical objects in the Old Town of Vilnius. The sightseeing was held by local students. They showed the Vilnius University for us and we found out many little details about the town and it's architecture. One thing worth of knowing is that the marketplaces in the Old Town of Vilnius are actually of triangular shape, which isn't a very common design around the world. |
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After the sightseeing in the Old Town we had a little free time before our next program, bowling. We were taken by bus to a shopping mall where there was a big bowling alley. After a couple hours of bowling we had about an hour to wander around the mall before going back to the bus and leaving for our hotel. Report from Lithuania by the abiturients – the third day of the trip |
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Friday morning at eight we all woke up in the same bed. The previous evening’s toga party and Estonian students’ nightly phone calls seemed like a lively dream already. The next event was the finale of the Olympics, a festive ceremony. Everybody headed to their own rooms to prepare to a luxury hotel breakfast. Breakfast, which overall was delicious, tasted even better the last morning. |
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After eating, all students prepared themselves for the forthcoming finale to celebrate the end of the successful Olympics. There our students received fine prizes for their fabulous performances of the previous days. After some freshing up, everyone gathered in the hotel's lower lobby, and headed for the celebration. The festivities took quite a long time. Different kinds of performances were seen, the program was full of skilled dancers, musicians, and this jubilee certainly left no one unmoved. A local choir sang the Lithuanian national hymn which sung by a multi-voice choir sounded just fantastic. After the fine performances came the awards ceremony. The spirit of fair result: no one left empty-handed, as each of us received a certificate and a fine badge in addition to the other awards. |
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After the closing ceremony, some of us went to investigate the center of Vilnius. Others were just resting after a wild night. After having bought the last souvenirs we walked back to the school on a road lighted by Christmas lights. After that we had to leave for the airport. We got beautiful postcards and a picture of the team from the students from the local school. The last bus trip with the Swedes went well, but fatigue all around was noticeable. At the airport we all passed the safety inspections, after which the entire team headed straight to the Tax free. The girls were mainly trying the perfumes, as the boys still bought the latest "emergency gifts." Before boarding, we had a last common snack in the only bar of the airport. Teachers Kimmo and Mervi had still some time to have a close match on a driving simulator. The flight was on a small but surprisingly steady Baltic Air plane. Back home we thanked our fantastic fellow students of the successful trip! http://www.rvth.eu/ |
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