Leaving Lithuania behind

Anticipating another awkward journey of getting buses back to the airport, I looked up the words for bus station so that I could make sure my first bus would be going in the right direction. I also found out the word for airport and set off two hours early, not knowing how frequent the buses were. I was half way to the bus stop, when I found the 120 mini bus that I wanted two days ago. Although the driver was on a break, I persuaded him to let me on there, since I had no idea where the proper bus stop was. It was a really quick and direct journey, although this meant arriving at a tiny airport stupidly early. There were only three flights out, that day. The airport had one cafe and a shop.

Kaunas, Lithuania

Kaunas in February feels like a sleepy little town, rather than Lithuania's second largest city. The old town seems empty and even the new town, with its long street of fashion stores and cafes is so quiet for a place of this size. I keep thinking if this was London, the streets would be packed, but Kaunas is nothing like a British city. The people here seem relaxed and go about their daily life with an acceptance of what they have. Some of the buildings are quite run down and many unoccupied, yet the people seem content.

Today it rained a lot, so I made my way to The Devils museum, which had some really imaginative carvings of Lithuanian devils as well as a floor of international exhibits such as Mongolian masks and Bolivian straw dolls. As with everywhere else, I had the museum to myself, apart from the staff, who really should know better than to rustle about behind curtains, in a dimly lit room of devils because it felt a bit spooky. They were working on the display, completely oblivious to the macabre situation. Most of the depictions were quite sweet but there were a few masks, with hair and teeth that conveyed the horror that was intended.

I would really like to visit Vilnius because I hear its a lot like Kaunas, except that its bigger with more to do and see. They also have a craft market and a lot of art galleries. After seeing the standard of their illustrations and creativity, it sounds like somewhere that I would like to see.

Kaunas, Lithuania

Getting into town was quite a task. The words for place names are destinctly unfamilar and trying to understand written signs felt impossible. After arriving at Kaunas airport, I waited at a bus stop with a group of people until no. 29 turned up. Not the one I was expecting but everyone got on, and usually following the majority usually leads to the town center. The driver pulled away before I had chance to ask, and I was on board, so I had blind faith as well as a bit of reassurance from the other passengers that they thought the bus 'might' be going via the train station. At least that was on my map. The driver took payment and juggling change whilst negotiating duel carriage way slip roads and other obsticles. The view became more build up and we were approaching the edge of the new town. I began to catch street names, so knowing roughly where I was helped. A while later, the driver looked over and hinted that this was my stop, either that or it was as far as I had paid for, so I got off. The guidebook mentioned bus 1, 3, 5, or 7 all lead to the old town, so I got on the next no. 3, presuming that since we had been heading towards town on that side of the road, that it would be the right direction, but to my horror, the bus was heading back out of town. A girl on the bus confirmed this and told me to get a no. 1 trolleybus to the old town, from the other side of the road. It felt identical to the last bus, packed with locals and the same system of payment to the driver. Eventually I made it to within a short walk of the guesthouse.

Kaunas is a really creative place, with beautifully illustrated books, wooden toys and amber jewelery. There is a strong sense of individual style, heavily influenced by folklore. I think I may have to visit the museum of devils tomorrow because we don't have one of those at home!

I like the architecture here. The buildings in the old town look a lot like Prague, or any other European city, with tall merchant houses, painted in pastel shades. However, the churches and cathedrals seem to have a Russian influence, being more domed than angular, in whites and grey. I'm staying in a converted church, which is a gorgeous building. My room is cosy, although the crucifix on the wall is a bit disconcerting, as is a Lithuanian version of the Bible next to my bed.