New Digs & Day Trip to Kaunas
On Thursday, I said goodbye to Zivile and headed out with my big orange backpack (aka the "turtle", compliments of Flannery Bethel aka Baby Honey aka Flantasy aka Nanny). I bussed and then walked to my next accommodation, a hostel called Jimmy Jumps House in the heart of the city right next to the town hall. I picked this hostel because it got great reviews, and the vibe was immediately pleasant and fun. They had everything - friendly staff, laundry service, beanbag chairs, comfy beds, grenade launcher, the list goes on and on.
Also a dope waffle breakfast.
I left my bag at the hostel and set off for Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city. Per usual, after some confusion on my part about how to buy a ticket, I jumped on the train literally as it was pulling away from the station. What followed was a pleasant one-hour ride through the Lithuanian countryside, costing about €6. I ended up spending several hours in Kaunas and walking a total of 19km (about 12 miles).
It didn't take long to find the main city square and promenade with a beautiful church sitting in the middle. Apparently the promenade floor had been dirt for many months, and when I arrived they were just finishing up re-paving it in lovely light grey stone.
Promenade & Church.
Everyone loves a good panorama.
Inside the church - "Jezus Kristus yra Viešpats" = "Jesus Christ is Lord".
Looking out from the front steps of the church.
Promenading.
My first destination was Kaunas Castle (Kauno Pilis in Lithuanian), an actual medieval castle built in the 14th century. The creepiest part was the basement/dungeon, where they had a fun "ghost" projection to scare the living daylights out of guests.
Cool artwork looking at the castle.
What dummy would fall for this? Me, apparently.
Standing on the top level of the castle. Special appearance by the sun.
Full view of the castle.
Next I headed over to a viewpoint hill, and was looking forward to taking the funicular (tram) up for a bit of a rest. Alas, I arrived four minutes after it closed. Although since it was built almost a hundred years ago this may have been for the best. Plus the biggest benefactor in all of this was my butt muscles so I guess it was a win overall.
Funicular on the left, stairs on the right.
Artist depiction of me climbing the hill.
Finally at the top!
Ok, I guess it was worth it. Notice the basketball next to "Lietuva" (Lithuania) by the river.
Located at the top of the funicular. I hope your life, like mine, became a little brighter realizing that trash cans in Lithuania are called "smelis".
After the photo op I went down the hill and headed off for the last couple of sights. Since the sun was about to go down, the lighting was gorgeous. My first stop was the Kaunas Town Hall, and second was Christ's Resurrection Church, which has an amazing panoramic view of the city. There is an elevator to get to the rooftop of Christ's Resurrection Church, but I opted to take the stairs because I hate my feet. On the way I found some cool wall art.
Graffiti in Lithuania is truly on another level.
Kaunas Town Hall and Square. Blue sky making an appearance.
View of Kaunas from the rooftop of Christ's Resurrection Church.
Rooftop of Christ's Resurrection Church, I wasn't kidding about the lighting.
Rooftop of Christ's Resurrection Church.
I headed back to Vilnius on the train - exhausted, fulfilled, and happy to have a few moments to rest. When I got back to my hostel all was quiet and I went straight to sleep in preparation for an early morning the next day.
Just kidding, I went out to the bars until 4am with some hostel mates: a Scot, an Argentinian, two Aussies, and a Brit. We accidentally crashed the graduation party of a Lithuanian university class, which included live music and a limbo contest, and other things that none of us understood. Tai gyvenimas.
DAY 5 - 3/17/17 - Friday
Klaipėda And Back: A Story of 8 Hours On Trains
I woke up in a sweaty hostel room full of snoring people. Nothing could dampen my spirits though, as I was planning on heading to the seaside for the night! My original plan was to leave for Klaipėda - the biggest coastal town on the West side of Lithuania - at 6:30am. I ended up leaving closer to 10, and had a nice 4 hour journey to Klaipėda during which I slept, read, and gazed out at the rainy countryside. Luckily, I've discovered that I absolutely love train rides.
Once at my destination, I set off for a hostel I had found online, hoping they would have an open bed for the night. They did not, and I went to a coffee shop to regroup and have something hot to drink. By this point I was soaking wet because - did I mention? - it was pouring rain.
Rainy streets of Klaipėda.
Bunker in a playground with a tree growing out of it?
Thank the coffee and chocolate cake Gods above.
Ah well, that's the excitement of traveling. I came up with a plan to check out the Curonian spit, as my one big goal was to see and touch the Baltic Sea. As the weather was so terrible and there were no open hostels (some kind of tour group had come into town and booked them all up), I decided to take the last train back to Vilnius at 6pm after seeing the spit.
The Curonian Spit is an amazing natural rock and sand formation about 500 meters off the west coastline of Lithuania. The southern half is actually Russian territory. It is only accessible by ferry, and forms a barrier between Lithuania and the Baltic Sea, meaning that the only way to get to the sea is to take a ferry to the spit and then hike another 2.5 kilometers across it. Using the power of Google, I found a ferry port which seemed functional. The journey to the ferry port proved to be quite interesting, as I accidentally ended up on some industrial back roads. But at least it had stopped raining!
Cool - an old Russian train!
Huh, looking pretty industrial out here. And desolate.
Yes, just what I was hoping to see on my solo walk by the train tracks.
Amazingly, I arrived at the ferry port alive. For anyone wanting to have their own adventure in Klaipėda, the port was called "AB Smiltynės perkėla, Naujoji perkėla". I trust you can remember that.
At first my heart sank thinking only cars were allowed, but the kind old man working the port explained (using gestures) that I needed to buy a ticket at the machine and then could come aboard. The ticket cost 80 cents. Joining me on the ferry were a few fishermen, and about twenty cars. It was cold and windy, but I couldn't contain my excitement at being so near the Baltic Sea.
Not pictured: seagull party.
I got off the ferry and headed for the entrance of the park, which luckily had a sign. During warmer months this is a popular destination, but since it was the off season I didn't see a single soul from when I got off the ferry to when I returned.
It's bigger than it looks.
"There You are!"
Starting out - cloudy and peaceful.
Hiking through the park was a magical experience. It was at first eerie, and then calming and empowering to walk through this beautiful place completely alone.
Lovely, lovely woods.
"Total beach" (?), according to Google translate.
I nearly cried when I got to the top of the dune and saw the ocean for the first time. It was breathtaking. There was something about it that just felt different than the Oregon coast, I think it was the way the sun reflected off the water.
No more rain here, only tears (of joy).
Selfie with my new sea pal.
Exciting just to look at!
My legs and the BALTIC SEA! I touched it too. It was cold.
After walking alongside the sea for awhile, picking up shells and thinking about how lucky I was to be in such a beautiful place, I headed back out and hiked across the spit back to the ferry. Myself and the fishermen rode back to the Klaipėda port and I tried to figure out how I would get back to the train station.
Goodbye dear sea.
By this point I realized I was not going to make the 6pm train, aka the last train back to Vilnius. Luckily, after some frantic searching, I found a bus heading back around 8pm. I took a city bus to the bus station, and then took the 4 hour bus ride back to Vilnius. I arrived back at the Vilnius station - which now feels like home - at midnight, and walked the 20 minutes back to the hostel.
I call this "Portrait of Klaipėda Hotel Through Dirty Bus Window".
Walking to the bus station. Feeling much more comfortable in train yards now.
Sunset view just before heading into the bus station. What a day!
Klaipėda bus station.
Once back at Jimmy Jumps House I stopped into the common room for some tea, then went to bed.
Haha - nope! I went out again, this time to a club called Salento with a group of Spaniards. We didn't even leave for the bar until 2am, which they say is typical for Spain. They were awesome and so was the bar. Coat check was free and the drinks were around €4, which let's be honest are really my only standards. We danced on the tables and stayed out until the sun rose the next morning.
