Kaunas, Lithuania

I left Riga with mixed news. It was great to hear that my mum and sister had confirmed their flights to come out and visit me for a week in Budapest later on the trip and also that Anneli would be flighing out for a few days to meet me in Prague. The bad news is that I would now not be able to visit Minsk in Belarus after various border crossing complications (I now plan to visit Ukraine instead).

Anyway, on to Lithuania. I had a only decided my next stop just a few hours before leaving Riga in the pouring rain (acting mainly on impulse as has been the best way so far) but I am trying to get a better feel for each country outside of their capital city so I stopped for a couple of days in Kaunas.

Kaunas is Lithuania's second city and was previously the capital between world wars. It has plenty to offer for a traveller and the old town, much like Tallinn and Riga, is the best place to start. My campsite was fairly dull although it does have a small swimming pool and is about 4km from the city centre so it's easily accessable by bike.

The centre of town is full of grand old baroque building, like several other baltic cities, but nowhere near as busy with tourists. The central square, Rotuses Aikste, is home to three major buildings - the Palace of Weddings, St Francis Church, and St Peter and Paul Cathedral. The "Palace" is a stunning white building and looks amazing when lit up at night while the Cathedral is very grand and detailed inside despite the rather modest exterior.

Along to the north-east from the main square is Christ's Resurrection Curch, a rather posh 1930's building with a great view out over the city from the top. To the west, the castle dominates the region where the Neris River and the Nemunas River meet but the majority of the structure has only been rebuilt in the last few years and is not the most intereting to look around.

In between are the former Royal Palace and the domed towers of the Archangel Church which are linked by the town's main street - joining the old cobbled streets with more high-rise modern buildings.

Elsewhere, The Museum of Devils is a rather odd but a worthwhile visit with over 2000 demon artifacts (many collected by artist Antanas Kazlauskas) although visitors are able to contribute to the collection themselves and there are many different nations represented over three floors. It is a bit surreal but represents an important part of local folklore and old stories.

Devil Stalin chasing Devil Hitler

Now I can finally complete the set of Baltic states on my wall as I head for Vilnius.