Kaunas apartments

As the name indicates, this is a company based in Kaunas. They have a variety of apartments, mostly in the center of the city. Prices are not bad, although not really a bargain, and representatives from the company are usually easy to get hold if you need them. They also offer to pick you up at the airport (for slightly more than it would cost to rent a taxi), and I strongly recommend to go for this option. If you do, you will be met in the airport by a man holding a cardboard sign with your name on it. For those of us who have only seen such things in the movies, this can be an experience in itself. Not to mention the following small talk with the driver, whose English skills might not extend far beyond “okay, okay”.

 



Laisves avenue, Kaunas

 

The apartments are nice and most of them are located in the very center of the city. The buildings they are in, on the other hand, often look quite terrible. One should be prepared for balconies that look like they are about to collapse, backyards smelling of urine, and shabby looking men going through dumpsters. Then again, that`s life in the city center. If you want to shield yourself from such things, you had better seek refuge in a hotel. If on the other hand you would like to experience what it is like to live in a standard apartment in the heart of Kaunas, such things are part of the package. Along with other realities of everyday life, like for instance:

-          The fact that you are not supposed to flush toilet paper in the city (yes, that is indeed what the bucket is for)

-          The fact that heating is poor in winter, and that rooms can be cold as hell

-          The fact that both water pressure and hot water temperature can be very poor. Sometimes to the extent that taking a shower can give the feeling of being urinated upon by a person with a mild prostate problem. In a cold room.

 

 

Kaunas Apartments

 

Well, at least it is authentic. And all the major attractions of the city are within walking distance.

Rated: #3 “A decent alternative”



Kaunas

 

 

 

 

Vilnius Airport Hotel

When exiting the airport you will find my favorite Lithuanian hotel just across the street: “The Hotel formerly known as Skrydis”. Currently named AirInn. Although commonly trashed by reviewers, I find that this place offers all you really need. Superb location, cheap rooms, food and drink, and an overnight stay that becomes memorable.

 

Picture shamelessly borrowed from tripadvisor.com

 

In this case, the experience is that of staying in a soviet style hotel. A functionalistic concrete building erected to serve a useful purpose – to give decent shelter to travelers. The hotel has no swimming pool, spa area, meditation garden, fitness center with personal trainers, rotating restaurants or in house stylists. If it does, then these facilities are well hidden. Instead, it offers such things as:

-          TV with no western channels and no batteries in the remote control

-          Empty minibar (even before you arrive)

-          Vending machine with instant coffee so bad it almost makes you feel sorry for the manufacturer

-          A breakfast so modest that you suspect the staff of being concerned about your weight

-          Rooms that remind you of your old student dorm – with authentic furniture

-          Bathrooms so small that you can reach almost any surface in the room while seated on the toilet

-          Soviet elevators that sometimes remind you of how fragile life really is, and how it all can be over in an instant.

-          Ridiculously long preparation time for food in the restaurant (no, the chef has not suffered a personal tragedy – he is just waiting for your Chicken Kiev to defrost)

-          All the rustic details, like a dry wall screw, sticking up from the carpet in the middle of the room. Apparently placed there for no other reason than to snag your socks as you pass by.

 

View and rustic details from Skrydis (now AirInn)

 

So, nothing is new and nothing is perfect. Perhaps that is why this hotel makes me feel at home. And besides, 100 Litas pr night and directly opposed to the airport? What’s not to like?

Rating: #1 Money well spent!

How to pack for Lithuania?

So, I was finally going. To the polluted and godless country of semi-Russians, where a large part of the populations were deprived of everyday essentials and consequently resorted to a life of crime. How to pack for such a destination? First of all, I packed two wallets and a double set of cash and credit cards. After all, most travel guides tend to warn visitors that they might be robbed or violently attacked for various reasons in Lithuania, and since I was going in February I also assumed I would be just about the only tourist there. Statistically, I should then expect to be robbed. As a result of this, I only packed items I was prepared to part with, including an old laptop belonging to my employer.

 

Arriving at the airport with my bag of expendable luggage, I soon located “The Lithuanian Gate”. Flights from Norway to Lithuania for some reason tend to be given smaller gates often hidden away at the end of the terminal. They are however easily identifiable by two things: The almost complete absence of smiles among the waiting passengers, and the fondness that Lithuanian women seem to have for decorated jeans. When you see the line of serious men and women in creatively decorated jeans, you know you have arrived at the correct gate.

Flying to Lithuania is usually like flying to any other destination, apart from the fact that the passengers tend to be slightly more undisciplined. Some pass bottles between themselves, pretend to be oblivious to the ban on mobile phones while in the air, and display an irrational need to open the overhead compartment almost immediately upon landing. But aside from such, passengers on flights in and out of Lithuania are in my experience very well behaved.

 

Most international flights arrive in Vilnius Airport, which is also the airport I normally use.  After landing, the passengers are transported to the terminal building by bus, where they all rush to be first in line to claim their luggage. While doing so, they usually rush past the only available toilet in the arrivals lounge. Later, after realizing that their luggage will not arrive immediately, many of them tend to rush back and form a line outside the toilet. The experienced travellers will by then long since have relieved themselves, and can casually stroll to collect their bags and pass through the arrivals gate. Into the Lithuanian reality.

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