Images of Lithuania

On my second trip to Lithuania I am even more impressed by how widely English is spoken. During six days wandering through Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda, only once did I ask a local a question in English that was not understood. I was asking which beer types were light pilsner/lager and the waitress did not understand me. Two other women at the pub translated my question into Lithuanian for her. I got the kind of beer I wanted.

I will likely write 20 or more articles about hotels and travel through Lithuania and Latvia when I get back to Monterey, California. But for today, I simply want to lazily post some photos of Lithuania. I am too excited to get outside and explore Riga, Latvia some more on a clear, warm spring weather day.

Vilnius, Lithuania – Woman hanging her laundry on clothes line beside Vilnia River.

Hotel Jamaika – Vilnius, Lithuania – Flag display shows U.S.A. flag hanging backwards.

Vilnius, Lithuania – Swing suspended from bridge over Vilnia River. I saw swings suspended from bridges in Kaunas too.

Uzupio Republic is an artists’ enclave in Vilnius with its own constitution and  eclectic art awaiting visitors around every corner.

  

Uzupio Republic artworks.

Vilnius signs of spring. White storks returning from the savannah of Africa to nest in Lithuania is another sign of spring I witnessed (but no good photos since I saw a couple dozen nests only while speeding along bumpy two lane roads in a moving bus). Lithuania has the highest density of nesting white storks on the planet.

LaisvÄ—s alÄ—ja, Kaunas, Lithuania – Liberty Boulevard Kaunas at 1.6km/1 mile in length is longest pedestrian shopping lane in Eastern Europe. Fantastic street for a Kaunas pub crawl.

Hitching a ride in Kaunas.

LaisvÄ—s alÄ—ja, Kaunas, Lithuania 3-day craft fair featured hundreds of booths lining both sides of mile long Liberty Avenue on the day after my other photo.

Klaipeda, Lithuania Old Town mural.

Klaipeda River Dane on a foggy night.

Klaipeda passenger ferry Baltija crossing from Curonian Spit.

Klaipeda Old Town is tough to walk in places where streets are covered in large cobblestones. Two different times I was inches from colliding with cyclists I did not see coming, who were riding on smooth sidewalks I was walking in places where streets are large cobblestones.

Klaipeda Sculpture Park is a Soviet era park built over the city’s former cemetery. There are 116 sculptures in the open air public park.

However, the most popular sculpture in Klaipeda, according to TripAdvisor, is Golden Mouse.

The Baltic morning fog has lifted, the sun is out with clear blue skies. I am heading outside on a photography binge of Riga, Latvia today.