Traveling educates. Never claim anything else! Despite my third time in the Baltic States, after trips to Latvia and Estonia, I still can’t assert that I know the region. Each country is different and all of them differ from Austria. So while traveling through Lithuania for a week, I noticed quite a few quirks and differences which you can find below. Happy reading. Yours, Pollybert
1.) There is a lot of noise on the streets of Vilnius in the morning.
2.) In the Lithuanian coat of arms the horse tail is up, in Belarus’ it is down. I am not sure if there is any meaning behind the horse tail, but I would like to know if there is.
3.) The Gediminas mount is 48m tall and one of the highest points in the old town of Vilnius. Here you can climb a mountain in ten minutes.
4.) Napoléon stayed in the presidential palace in Vilnius. I hadn’t even known that he passed it on his way to Moscow in 1812.
presidential palace @Vilnius
5.) In Lithuania you plant an oak tree for a boy and a linden tree for a girl.
6.) Vilnius has a couple of outdoor gyms, Kaunas as well.
outdoor gym @Vilnius
7.) There is no jaywalking in Lithuania. That’s something I’ve already noticed in the other two Baltic states as well. I also saw a crossing in Kaunas where all four lights for pedestrians glowed ‘Green’ at the same time.
all four pedestrian crossings light up green at the same time @Kaunas
8.) Veto cafe and Caffeine appear to be the most popular coffee chains in Lithuania. Although I much preferred the local ‘Kepyklélé’ (bakeries). Delicious pastries and way better pricing.
a local bakery @Kaunas
9.) It’s not wise to visit a city the year before it becomes a European Capital city. Kaunas prepared most of its old town for this honor and therefore most of the old town was a construction site.
10.) Most shops write their opening days with Roman letters.
roman letters instead of days @Kaunas
11.) On Sunday everything is closed. This is very much like in Austria.
12.) Apparently in Lithuania the older population can’t get Corona. Sitting on the bus to Klaipeda it was mostly the older generations who sat without a mask.
13.) A large beer in Vilnius and Kaunas was 0.4l while in Klaipeda 0.5l, not sure why one country has different sizes.
14.) I really dislike it when burger places are too fancy for regular mayonnaise and ketchup. Honestly, French fries need these dipping sauces.
15.) Don’t forget to look up, especially in Vilnius. The sky is full of church crosses.
one church after another @Vilnius
16.) Never before have I seen seen such a waste of good milk as in the Caffeine store in Palanga. Every order got its own jug of milk heated. Whatever didn’t fit in the cup was poured down the drain. Argh!
17.) At most places in Lithuania you are not allowed to throw any paper into the toilet. So far I only know that from Greece. It’s either the sewer pipes are too small or they drain everything into the sea.
18.) Every house with a garden has at least one apple tree. As a minimum. Mostly it’s two to three trees. I wonder what they do with all the apples?
apple trees in a garden @Siauliai
19.) Summer in Lithuania feels like fall in Austria.
20.) Lithuanians have a lot of dogs but there is no dog poop anywhere. What a very pleasant surprise.
21.) There are a lot of public portable toilets.
public Porta-Potti in a pedestrian zone @Silauliai
22.) Every hotel reminds you to think about the environment when it comes to fresh towels. Also, almost every hotel changes my hanging towels for fresh ones. I don’t get that, what’s the point of reminding me about the environment?
