The
drive to Kaunas seemed long but pleasant. The party had lasted past 2
am and Soren caught some zzzz’s on the way to the capital during soviet
times. I stayed at the same place at 50 Laisves Aleja (Freedom Lane).
Daiva gives me a frequent customer discount, so my studio apartment in
the center of town (similar to staying on Union Square in SF) will cost
$36/day. We arrived in town and called ahead and Darius met us at the
gated parking lot (mc photo). He gave me the key to the ground floor
studio apt. and I paid him cash for 6 nights. He told us to just call
when the guys wanted to leave and he could open the gate by phone.
We left immediately after a quick tour and pit stop at my apt. for the
folk art shop and arrived just before she was going to lock the door. It
has been at least 80 degrees every day since I arrived and the lady
said she was closing early (the streets were pretty empty and it was
around 3 pm.) We bought souvenirs made by pagans, and I added 2 new
purple belts to my growing collection. Then we took a 2 stop bus ride to
the other end of Old Town and we walked up and down stopping where ever
the Danes wanted. I tried to find the Gothic Perkunas Temple, and when I
did I was heartbroken. It has a new concrete and glass skin, and except
for one wall of exposed brick, it was unrecognizable from the gothic
masterpiece it used to be. Those darn Jesuits (they own the building)!
We stopped at town hall square for coffee and yummy gelato and watched
several wedding processions and even saw a stretched Hummer. We
meandered back through Old Town and just before Freedom Lane we stopped
at Lithuania’s version of Starbuck’s, the Vero Café. I ordered an
Americano, and when I asked for cream, she topped it with freshly
whipped cream – pretty good! No cars are allowed on tree-lined Laisves
Aleja, and we had to go down and up steps under the end of Old Town to
reach it. We were total tourists back to my place where the Danes said a
fond farewell and headed back to Vilnius. (I hope they found their way
back, I haven’t heard from them since.)
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Saturday, August 9, 2014
A Week in Kaunas
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