Part 3 – Kaunas and Vilnius, Lithuania
Roadtrip Series – Table of Contents
Crossing into Lithuania and arriving in Kaunas
Crossing the Polish-Lithuanian border on a bright Sunday afternoon was a pleasant experience. We could notice that only one customs officer was walking out of a Toi Toi mobile toilet at the border, and he did not bother at all about who was crossing and why. A funny border crossing to remember, for sure.
We did not have to drive long to reach our next destination, Kaunas, which is the second-largest city in Lithuania. This city has unique museums, fascinating architecture, and excellent street art. Even this time, we managed to book a special apartment for ourselves. Here, you need to enter the gate at Ožeškienės 21A in order to step into this artistic place, and our apartment was on the right side in the courtyard.
Ten years ago, a local artist named “Vytenis Jakas” moved into one of the flats in this complex and wanted to make something more lively out of the grey walls. At first, he placed photos of Jewish families who used to live in those houses, to remember the past. Later, other artists and neighbours started collaborating in decorating the walls. There is even a free, small car parking area in the courtyard, so we could leave our car there while we stayed.
We stayed only one street down from Laisves Aleja (Freedom Avenue), the main shopping avenue, which is a tree-lined pedestrian street with shops, cafés, and restaurants. Laisves Aleja is like the runway of the city. We loved walking there. All the trees had beautiful yellow leaves, and the vibe of the street was just perfect.
At the end of the street, you will notice the Archangel Church, which is a Russian Orthodox church. It was used by the Soviet army and is located in a small square.
Food in Kaunas and a very artistic stay
On Freedom Avenue, there is a restaurant named Radharane Hare Krishna, where we had our first vegan lunch in town. This is a vegetarian place, but it also has some vegan options. To be honest, the dish we tried was too oily and less tasty for our liking.
In Arbatine, we had coffee, pastries, and cakes. This was the first vegetarian coffee shop in the town, established 21 years ago, and 9 years ago they turned it into a fully vegan-friendly place. They serve meals as well, but we did not try any. It is an affordable place with a friendly staff, although they were not English-speaking. I wrote the previous post from this coffee shop.
I must also mention that we ordered pizzas for two evenings through the Bolt Food app, from Mammma pizza. Verdure, Colorato, and Autonno are vegan pizzas with vegan cheese, and we loved them. The folded, double pizza was mouth-watering and very delicious.
When the Baltic plan changed
We spent the evenings planning our next trip to Latvia and Estonia, trying to find apartments according to our likes and needs. It was hard work, and by the middle of the week we had all our accommodations booked until December. We had even bought tickets for a stand-up comedy show in Tallinn. We were so relieved once all the bookings were completed. We thought we could now relax for a few weeks and just enjoy travelling and sightseeing.
Shortly after feeling this satisfaction, we walked to the nearest Lidl to buy some groceries, and a security guard stopped me at the entrance, asking for my Covid Pass QR code. We felt that something was not right. Previously they had asked for the QR code in bookshops and restaurants, but now even in grocery stores?
Arriving back at our flat, we checked the news and read that Latvia had gone into lockdown, introduced an evening curfew, and closed all restaurants and non-essential shops. We also read that hospital capacity had stretched to the maximum and that Estonia had the same problem. We quickly decided that it was not wise to continue sightseeing in the countries in Europe where Covid was currently at its worst.
We managed to cancel all our bookings — free, huh! — and started to draw up a new plan. Soon we decided: let’s go to Italy! It felt quite safe then, and it is one of our favourite countries as well. We only kept our booking in Vilnius. So finally, our travel plan was adjusted to the global situation, and we could continue our sightseeing in Kaunas.
I must admit that travelling in the pandemic was often not easy, but we certainly travelled the most in 2021, even compared to pre-Covid times. So yes, it is possible to travel, but it requires flexibility and patience.
Sights in Kaunas
One afternoon, we walked to the riverside to Santakos Park, located past the old town, at the confluence of the Neris and Nemunas rivers. From the park, we passed Kaunas Castle, a beautiful 13th-century defensive bastion. We finished our walk in Chaika, a cozy vegan tea and coffee shop with amazing plant-based cakes.
The following afternoon, we walked to the Old Town and the Town Square. One of the most iconic sights in Kaunas’s old town is the City Hall with its 53-meter-tall tower and the surrounding square full of bars and restaurants. Walking in Kaunas Old Town was a nice experience, and we noticed many traditional German architectural influences on the buildings.
On our last day in Kaunas, we stopped to visit the Ninth Fort. During WWII, the Ninth Fort was the site of mass murder, where approximately 50,000 Lithuanians and Jewish people were killed, and today it is the site of an impressive memorial and museum.
Alfonsas Vincentas Ambraziūnas designed an incredible monument on the site and completed it in 1984, after thirteen years of work. The monument is 32 meters high. The magnificent grey structure rises sharply from the ground. It features ragged edges and understated, stern faces. The jagged, sharp top of the monument includes the carved fists common in Soviet propaganda. The whole site is a must-visit.
Driving towards Vilnius, we stopped at the Lithuanian Folk Museum. This museum is one of the largest ethnographic open-air museums in Europe and stretches across an area of 195 hectares. The houses represent each Lithuanian region, stand in their natural environment, and have the interior and exterior of the respective period.
We spent about 4 hours wandering between traditional buildings, fields, and woodland, and still could only see about a quarter of the site. It is a beautiful place to spend a day and have a gathering with your family. Have your camera charged and ready for both the Ninth Fort and this folk museum.
Arriving in Vilnius
Less than an hour’s drive later, we arrived in Vilnius, where we settled into our apartment. We were lucky to find a free parking spot on the street next to the building because the underground garage had a height restriction again. After settling down in the apartment, we ordered food through the Bolt Food app once more.
This time, we ordered from Blue Lotus: tofu methi in fenugreek, garlic, and tomato, and a bean and lentil stew, daal makhani. The food soon arrived, and we enjoyed the warming Indian flavours after a long day.
Vilnius is a beautiful city that gives you a warm welcome. The city is quite compact, so you can discover most of it on foot. The best thing to do in Vilnius is simply to start walking around and see where your feet will take you. After every corner, there is another beautiful building, and behind every small alley there is another lovely courtyard to admire.
We spent our days in Vilnius working. We only had the evenings and Friday-Saturday to discover the city.
Food and evenings in Vilnius
Vilnius Old Town was beautiful. In the evenings, we walked into the centre to meet a fellow digital nomad couple. On another evening, we met an ex-colleague with his girlfriend. First, we dined in RosyHip Bistro – Pylimo. We did not try the one in Radvilaites.
We shared a beautiful nachos dish to start, followed by a delicious burger. We loved the vibe of the restaurant. It had nice decorations, and the impressive style made the meal even more enjoyable.
On another evening, we had dinner in Viet.inés, a vegan-friendly place in the Old Town. To be honest, we did not find the environment suitable for eating there in a relaxing atmosphere. The chairs were soft-drink bottle crates stacked on top of each other, very uncomfortable after a while. In the background, there was very loud, aggressive, post-communist Russian rock-pop music, and we could barely hear each other talking.
The staff was nice, but they did not care much about our request to lower the volume. The food was rather delicious, yet the environment made it hard to enjoy. So yes, in my opinion, this place is nice for a beer, but I do not recommend it if you want to have a friendly conversation with someone.
After dinner, we walked over to an awesome place called Casa la Familia, a vegan restaurant making wood-fire oven-baked pizzas. This place also has desserts, and the whole atmosphere is cozy and warm. Recommended! Later, we had takeaway pizzas from there twice — some of the best pizzas we have ever had. It seems Lithuanians know how to make very good pizza.
Another place you must try is SOMA café, a vegetarian place with some vegan dishes. They have a cheap and tasty daily menu, and the vibe of the place is amazing, almost like being in Asia. Buddha statues, pictures, and bells — a little Asia in the middle of Vilnius. For beautiful cakes and coffee, we found a Chaika in Vilnius too. We found so many sweet treats there for vegans.
What we saw in Vilnius
We had two full afternoons for sightseeing, so we mostly walked through the Old Town. There are plenty of museums, but we preferred simply walking through the city on sunny autumn days. Unfortunately, we did not have the chance to drive to see the Trakai Island Castle. If we pass Vilnius in the future, it will definitely be on my list. It looks like a fairytale castle, and we heard a lot about it. Locals recommend it first.
In downtown Vilnius, we walked through the Gates of Dawn, one of the most important pilgrimage places in the city. We passed St. Anne’s Church, dating from the 16th century. The main attraction was the Vilnius Cathedral and the main square, with the Gediminas Castle tower in the background, a 15th-century brick tower.
We had long walks between the walls of old buildings, and our doggy enjoyed those moments with us as well. Near the main square, between Gediminas Hill and the Vilnele River, you must walk through the Bernardine Garden. It was created in the 18th century and contains beautiful oak trees, some of them 400 years old.
On our last afternoon in the city, we sat on a bench there and listened to a busker playing trumpet. He mostly played Italian music. It was the perfect way to get into the Italian mood before our trip to Italy.
Stop near Krakow before returning to Hungary
Before driving back to Hungary for a very short break, we stopped near Krakow, halfway between Lithuania and Hungary. When we arrived in Poland, the local police stopped us a few times near the Belarusian and Lithuanian border, asking to look inside the car. Obviously, there were some immigration-related tensions in those countries, and the awareness was high. It did not bother us much anyway.
I must mention the hotel where we stayed near Krakow. It was called Rezydencja Luxury Hotel Bytom Piekary Śląskie, a 4-star hotel that would well deserve a 5th star. We had our most luxurious and best nights there in a long time. Renata woke up there on her birthday the next morning, so I was very happy that she could spend her birthday night in such a wonderful place. A happy and satisfied wife means a successful, happy husband.
The next day, after a 4-hour drive, we arrived in Hungary and spent only 5 days there. We visited part of our families, had a little rest, and prepared for our next trip to Italy. I am coming soon with a new post about what Italy is like in wintertime, what we saw in Trieste and Turin, and what living in the Italian countryside is like.
