lithuania, to check republic and poland. lucas stake begins his troubles in lithuania, capital vilnius, the largest city in the baltic states. the co froelich heads, the prague in the czech republic, where she wants to see how tourism has changed. since the pandemic began, and later lucas stay goes to condense the port city in northern poland, where the solid artist movement played a significant role in what led to the fall of the iron curtain. but 1st to vilnius the symbol of vilios stance. 140 meters above the city, the giddiness tower, a remnant of what was once the city's most powerful defense system. the giddiness castle. hello, from vilios. in lithuania, have you ever heard of it? we lithuania is one of the 3 baltic states in eastern europe, russia, and bell roost our direct neighbors. and, well, the war in ukraine is not that far away. and i want to know, is it still safe to travel here in these times? let's find out. the russian warrens ukraine is viewed with concerning lithuania. no wonder because the length of the lithuanian border separating the russian ex clave of coline grat from bill a ruse is only some 100 kilometers. many lithuanians fear that it could be putin's next target. of course, this also worries tourists like neat. is it the same for other holiday makers and vilios even how safety you feel as if you me to ties the i feel complaint, a site a mix and i didn't even think that we will be traveling to some dangerous area or something like that. he's no the only his it's, it's you up. so if ever sucking up her ear, i think europe kendra ricks jamante about his situation. ukraine weekly. give it a 2nd thought that decided it was all the more recent again crashed. hardly any other country has condemned the war in ukraine as vehemently as lithuania. they've taken a firm stand in a way that is as creative as it is. clear. solidarity is huge in lithuania, both among the general population and the politicians. the street where the russian embassy is located has been renamed street of ukrainian heroes. the war in ukraine and attends atmosphere can be felt everywhere in the country. one business that is benefiting from this fear and c sales skyrocket is the oxalis arms dealership. according to the owner demand increased tenfold in the 1st month after the war began. this is for self defense for home defense. yes. i mean why you're so surprised because of it's a long video for me and machine guns are the homes, you know? yeah. but i don't know anything about guns, so this is all pretty new to me. you know. and well, if i'm thinking of self defense, i'm thinking about a small handgun another about a shotgun. yeah, but it's more effective up and actually, you know, it's more effective than i found, gung who needs listed here. you can like this. yeah. you can load it, you know, just like in a movie, just put the bullet back. i'm even though i'm safe as a tourist here and vilios, i still have a sinking feeling but now city guy, creased to pus, will show me the city. our 1st stop, a small memorial plaque, vo. while we starting here and his application. what is so special about it was did what does it say last? the bul are still said in class. that means miracle. wonder versus what miracle went to plot his clack, his hits remind us that the miracles happen every day does. and the biggest miracle is that we got our independent shed here, 3 unarmed nations fought against a mighty u. s. a song next against severe to europe, back then the people united in that belief that nobody should have to live under the. so if you talk you patient any more. so from that i thought i did it peacefully. i, belmont, nobody threw molotov cocktails or stones of the police of ty, now people just came together and sang. and that was a, not an issue him a couple, i'm guessing just working on this is against cervical. many people have passed. my stand has a close their eyes and turn 3 full circle decimal did i am. i mean, while you have to make a wish, and that wish will come true, stick and to die, or in the 10 years of fruit ever does, but you must not santa latin, flaxen yet. i lit a smith without his i am not allowed to say it. it. yes. okay. of course, i can't say it out loud, but because of the war in ukraine you can probably guess what i wish for. we continue to the most famous site of the city, the cathedral of saint stanislaus. it is the center of the catholic faith and lithuania, the classes. this building was finished in the early 19th century. the bell tower stands alone. as is the case with many churches from the baltic states at 68 meters high. it is the tallest building in vilnius, old town. next, chris to person takes me through the old town. it is huge and has been a unesco world heritage site since 1994 winding streets and alleys, magnificent town houses and palaces. i like it. vilnius is also called the city of churches. they are more than 50 of them. and so he had been visa to important churches are the church of saint francis to arrive from the church of saint an to allah allocated by it's not one but 2. why 2? i but they are bound by blood and blood eloquent. according to la jennifer, analogous german architect of the church of saint francis was jealous of his lithuanian pupil with or who had made the church of an answer beautiful that it became the most famous church vilnius of the time. the older architect asked his people to explain the technical details to the sun and when they were standing on the roof of them, hit him on that. i was there. the young man fell to the ground level and that's how the church got his romantic red. come, i'm to show up to father now grease the bus takes me to the last remaining medieval city gate. lithuania, the small chapel above not only attract tourists for the crystal palace. i've already seen a few people making the sign of the cross. why is that all? it's in the garage, the gate of dawn, and it is the holiest place for christians. in lithuania, it has an image of the virgin, young for also known as the black, madonna vilnius, had said that it can cure any illness. so people have been coming here to pray for centuries. sunday. vilnius presents itself as a very western city, not much evokes its soviet past, but there are still a few architectural relics from the communist era. for example, the former concert and sports palace, the building and the brutalised style. in 2006, it was placed under monument protection. however, the building remains unused and is falling into disrepair. the parliament building of lithuania was built in 1976. the supreme soviet of the lithuanian soviet socialist republic met here. soviet architecture is usually a huge architecture. the opera house, which opened in 1974 is also a reminder of the soviet past. operas and concerts are still performed here to day mixed up. pri can a city typically overrun with tourists, charles french products, most famous landmark. only be early birds among you will ever get to see it this empty. it's 7 a. m, and i've managed to beat the crowds, the bridge, the vaults have a river. the spires now seems to be the perfect time to take it all in. the 5 is very special progress. one of the most visited cities in all of europe, and that's not really surprising if you consider that it's been a political and cultural center and europe since the middle ages. so what's left of all of that today, we're about to find out from his home to about 1300000 people. since it's my 1st time in town, i'm getting some help from one of the after and tour guide christian mice like 1st i want to learn some basic check skills. i mean, i would like to be able to be polite. okay, i'm a bit slow and hello. yes. so you know, hello. this is one of these. hello. if you say hello, it's like a hoity by. it's a little bit more formula. so when you come to the shop and you feel like a hoity is not the best thing, you can do so many do. benita. and like guten, soc, is saying, right to wouldn't talk. is nobody, nobody den that nobody, nobody them, almost perfect. somebody that the meta dumping then you know, then you should probably know how to say goodbye. yeah. no, scott, no, never think i will have to stay here forever. this is a good idea. we love people. i do not wanna know before the pandemic, the old town was often very overcrowded. a relaxing stroll through here was basically impossible. although tourists have returned this year, it hasn't gotten out of control. there are about half as many as before. the crisis christian tells me our 1st stop is the old town square and friend of the old town hall. a ticket for the tower costs $250.00 check crowns. yep, prague is part of the you, but not the euro zone. that's about 10 euro at 41 meters. you have the city at your feet. a. why is prog than called the golden city? i think it's in the time that they started to use it, prague was one of the capitals of seats, place of the holy roman empire for the emperor vas, we don't use it anymore. actually, we locals don't use it as much. we, you know, we use the expression mother of 100 us pyre scale because if you look all from the window from the bars, because he thus pires everywhere. actually, i would say there's even more, definitely done hundreds of them. at the top of every hour, a tourists gather in front of the astronomical clock on the town hall facade to witness a little play. but the true highlight is the clock itself built. in 1410, the figures were added later. and then there's the skeleton mascot and rings the bow tie dongle skeleton is that it's quite remarkable that death would be depicted in such a way in that time. isn't that what you do? the message is, remember that india is the death. so just like try to fill the life as a full, full life was as much as we can do that it's really beautiful. the square is a must for every proc visitor. and as you can see, we're not alone. so where are you from richard scotland, from mexico. how come from austin, texas, from tank truth? what brings you to prague? why prague? betty fuson and her foot. i didn't wondering about that she could just get the atmosphere is the kind of thing that we like to do and just sort of soak it all in . it's a museum in itself. oh, it's wonderful in boys heard progress such a beautiful city. and it is with telecom on which little it's true, what you hear about progress, arts and culture. and there was a piano player in the metro station and music on the bridge. no. and it went, that was the guy. never legacy wanting to this thing for the buildings and toasty for the structure of the town and the food and the food. of course. by the afternoon, the charles bridge is indeed pretty crowded, despite the unfavorable weather, but apparently still no comparison to the time before the pandemic back then proc with overflowing with tourists, i brag, was having a bit of a problem before the pandemic with the over tour is definitely, definitely i don't know how big of a problem is it then right now, be slightly getting to the high numbers, but as i said before we giving out in 2019 we had like 8000000 people coming to brock. and now we are, they say we are getting to like 54 to person of that as a to work on you. of course one people coming to your city, you're right. so what is problematic about too many people coming or that amount? if it is through the atmosphere, you know, you see all these posters like the proc castillo, or charles ridge like know people really like a roof like a really romantic atmosphere. the overthrow isn't really kills the atmosphere and actually even destroys that thing. because image and there's like a 1000000 tons of people coming with really distress the stuff because well, how can that be managed though? because this is a beautiful city and you've done like a great work showing it to me. thank you but, but how can you keep people out? honestly, i think there's like, because we have the inner city, but we have a swell, so many beautiful districts all around the main city. i mean the, the main center. so we have like districts which we're really industry are like whole issue of it's got a lead cisco, then we have really push areas like vantage over and over that. so there's so many things to explore just in widest at the center. so what i think is the solution is just to, to little bit to direct the people out of the city center and to explore with them . these are beautiful areas. thank you so much and we are sharing your think. we love landry meeting with me. i've got to take his advice and head out of the center. sonya who's also a tour guide will show me this other side to proc were all still lushin bits in the hip part of town. fancy will. how many and buildings in a district that grew during the industrialization? this is where it's on your lip. she takes me to her favorite cafe. so gretna, i've seen them with one whole feel like it's kidding me. it's one of my favorite go for it. so unexpected, i know that's like some think like a small paradigm or a little paradise. exactly. so there are a lot of different plans and you can be sitting here always on the co face. very good or making ever seen home made and really, really good one coffee. you don't have to tell me twice in sunday it tells me that only 20 years ago, the less of it was a gray and dull part of town that has seen a lot of change in the past year. they chose to live here, whatever you appreciate about how let them at the de life of the freedom m. d a. relax. no rush. a bursting board i need to for my living is here. i don't need to, as i mentioned before, i do need to go to the city center and the price is lower than the terrific center. therefore, we do not live to dine. so we're in the city center because the prizes are here for us better. and you see there is a baba baker river. there is unaddressed surround that is a tea room here. you can choose what you i have everything your name. exactly. so if you will like to me, check people come here and enjoy living with us because we apply a very hard to opening p and we live to speak went to foreign s ah, night has fallen, and time has come to bid prompt farewell back, where it all started uncharged spreads. and even if this time, i'm not entirely by myself, the mass tourism that laid destiny before the pandemic, has not returned the way many fear and hate. who can blame people for being attracted to this beauty? it's a perfect blend of history and modernity, so much to offer, especially off the beaten path. ah, chickens lost up the polar city of good dunst. you can tell by looking at scenic duns, that it's a city in europe marked by fate. but we'll get to that in just a minute. with its historic center, gdansk is one of the most popular city destinations in poland. pre pandemic, $1500000.00 tourists vacation to year annually. mostly german, c. scandinavians but poland, borders, ukraine and with the war right next door people are staying wait. there are 60 percent fewer foreign tourists. v old port on the mot while the river without it the gdansk of to date what not exist. it's lined with good faith restaurants in the middle ages. it made gardens the richest city in europe. the city is seamlessly connected to the port which has developed around good dance, over the centuries. it's the biggest port in poland, with one of the largest repair yards in the world. for the people of dunst, these cranes are a symbol of home. most of them belong to the old shipyard, which is the soul of the city will. and not only that, this is a place that fundamentally changed europe. the famous guns shipyard over 40 years ago, there was a strike here by shipyard workers. and with that began the decline of socialism in poland. and the end of communism in europe. ah, the struggle for workers rights gained momentum here. millions of polls organized themselves in the solid dotted nash movement fighting for freedom and democracy under an authoritarian regime. the european solidarity center at the former shipyard tells the story right above the entrance the ukrainian flag with didn't this? how did it all start back then? what prompted the strike? oh, dear vista, good impulse, what really triggered the revolution. vaughn was when a woman named ana valentino vege, got fired up, got all my hot. she'd been working at the shipyard for a very long time with one another. and then 2 months before going into retirement, she lost her job organ vian in dc. this prompted her co workers to go on strike. somebody talk about her case and support her da houses and it all resulted in a big explosive revolution expos, eva hoops your name's tom, does i? so she worked here that is this original organized. yes, she worked here by that another and the knowledge was a crane operator and later the founding member of the solar data notched or solidarity trade union got, how did that happened? why did millions of people join a local strike? does game comb freiheit when they were striving for freedom and justice salute is a good and wanted to shape the world holistically. gosh, the skype can they wanted independent union hike? of that the right to strike the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. hi to the person. they put together a list of 21 demands their list of i, it's part of our world, cultural heritage and, and one of humanity's most precious documents supplemented a man's height solely dot of moisture. this worker activism turned into an anti communist opposition movement. it spread across the whole country. the authoritarian regime increased the pressure ah, is come through, i'm film disconnected and they introduced marshal law good will just 16 months after sally don notion emerged even a mention. but that didn't stop people from opposing the regime own tongue wound they operated under ground. illegally lie to fulton, yelled when to demand in 1989 at mill. the round table talks took place. if on the wound into that was a major symbolic moment of a peaceful transition. amid the tense, political times in eastern and central europe at bonham in aust intimately they reached their goals with the principle of non violence left by windsor, a trained electrician and trade union leader left poland to independence. in 1990, he became president and remain so for 5 years these activists created change in a hopeless situation. this is what the silly dotted mush movement still stands for to day to day ships are no longer being built, the good dance shipyard. the area still occasionally used by companies, most of the production halls are empty. it's a lost place for the time b. but there are plans to create a new chic urban district here based on the model of london stock length, or a hamburger hoffen city, with apartments shops offices. the old shipyard area is like a huge at venture playground because the investor has left the empty spaces to artist. and now you can find galleries rehearsal rooms, in studios here. ah, there are more spots of the shipyard that people and get danced, have taken over and filled with the you life. the storage area is a container. settlement with lots going on with peer. you can be loud in party until the early morning. ah. and you can meet cool people on the very spot where the democracy movement and poland began more than 40 years ago. life and freedom are now being celebrated. he danced, gives us hope that history can change for the better, at any time with awe. ah ah, with you ah, the realm of the mountain guerrilla living in africa's wild life sanctuaries, they are the last in the world. once threatened with extinction, their population has now recovered. but what happens now that their numbers are growing, but their habitat is not. the last of their con, 15 minutes on d. w. oh, look at that to dora baby parents worldwide. a breast feeding how much attention to the new born actually need and is it okay to cry a town stories or maybe you a w. a said to patrick came up with an increasing number of women in latin america. i'm guessing fed up they're fighting against sexism by you and for access to abortion. how effective or protest on the street that up with dogs. november 25th on d. w. ah, music can't be destroyed. you can try. but it's impossible. with she performed for her life in auschwitz he was the nazis favorite to musicians who lived beneath the swastika of from about the sounds of power and inspiring story about survival. thanks to music. fetch the cello playoff. well, i was the only one i'm super lucky. using under the swastika starts november 19th on d, w ah ah, this is dw news live from berlin. ukraine celebrates as its for says, liberate the key city of air. so crowns are both key of ads are so cheer ukrainian forces taking the city after russia retreats presidents, a lengthy is calling it a historic day. also coming up.

Related Keywords

Germany , Mexico , United States , India , Vilnius , Vilniaus Apskritis , Lithuania , Texas , Czech Republic , Saint Francis , Prague , Praha , Hlavníesto , Poland , Russia , Berlin , London , City Of , United Kingdom , Ukraine , America , Ukrainian , Soviet , German , Lithuanian , Russian , Lithuanians , Square Isa , Charles Ridge , Baltic States , Charles French , Santa Latin , Sally Don , Europe Kendra Ricks , Isa Baba Baker , Lita Smith ,