One beautiful December afternoon director Vida Pulkauninkienė and members of the Dukstyna Tolerance Education Center travelled to Vilnius to meet with Jewish Community member Geršonas Taicas. The knowledgeable Taicas took them on a tour of the Vilnius Old Town and told them about famous Jewish personalities.

During the walking tour Taicas took them to the remnants of the old city wall where in the early 17th century the Bastillion was built at the Subocz Gate. This is a defensive fortification consisting of a tower, an artillery section and a tunnel connecting them. From there they walked to a location where the city and its surrounding areas are clearly visible and took in the view.

On Strazdelio street they saw the building where the Romm publishing house operated.

They also saw the building where Jascha Heifetz, the famous 20th century violinist, studied.

Members of the Dukstyna Tolerance Education Center visited the apartment of Aušra Teresė Tuminaitė-Kučinskienė built in 1905. This is the building where the novelist, pilot, diplomat and director Romain Gary lived. Gary was a famous writer in the French language in the 20th century and wrote more than 30 literary works. He talks about his life and the war in Vilnius in his books.

They concluded the walking tower at the Gates of Dawn with its famous Black Madonna painting. As Moshe (Moyshe) Kulbak the Yiddish writer in his poem Vilna once wrote:

You are a dark talisman erected to Lithuania,
Overgrown with moss and grey lichen,
Every wall is a scroll, every stone Holy Writ…

Vilnius is slowly recovering its lost portion of culture. Last year [sic, 2015] the first Israeli embassy was opened in Vilnius and the new kosher Bagel Shop Café opened its doors, which members of the Tolerance Education Center also visited.

Dukstyna School student and Tolerance Education Center member Agata Pakėnaitė said: “This is another life lesson where we each discover, recognize and accept what a high level of culture and education was possessed by the people of Jewish ethnicity who made Vilnius famous.”

The trip was organized by the Ukmergė Regional Jewish Community. The main financial support came from the Goodwill Foundation.