Our guide and driver were very good. We loved to watch Andreus give bad drivers the European gesture for ‘crazy person’. If you put your index finger to your temple and twist your hand back and forth, that is pretty much it. He was also very adept at the ‘Death Stare’. If possible, he would pull up even with the passenger window of the offending vehicle and stare at the driver with squinted eyes and a scowl. We have given up this practice in California many years ago since bad drivers started toting guns and shooting at scowling, squinting motorists.
Many evenings after a long day of walking through the various cities, old Towns, castles, museums and shops were spent sampling snacks and Vodkas from Lithuania. One evening we were fortunate to meet Mom’s cousin Bruno and his wife. They didn’t speak any English and our Lithuanian consists of ‘thank you’, ‘hello’ and ‘please’, so we relied upon Mom to translate. As you can see, Bruno is quite animated so very often a translation was not necessary!
Occasionally a party would break out in Pat and Carrie’s room. Go figure….
We ran out of space on the table for snacks and Vodka so we asked Carrie’s brother to do double-duty as a table.
Things to eat/drink: The breads and cheeses are outstanding, just like you would expect from a European country. The coffee was outstanding, not at all like the American brown water we are use to. Potatoes, better than Idaho and served with just about every meal. Vodka, we liked all of the Lithuanian brands that we sampled (with the exception of a home brew). Krupnikas, a very tasty Drambuie-like drink.
This is Old Town Kaunas. We really enjoyed the atmosphere of this town and poked around in many shops. It is also a great place to order a Svetureys (beer) at an outdoor cafe and people-watch.
Things to buy: Amber, the most prevalent gemstone in Lithuania. Linen clothing, very nice styles and beautiful fabrics. Glass art, there are some extremely talented atrists. Carved wooden items, wood carving is everywhere. We brought back a wooden spatula with carving in the handle.
One of our favorite sightseeing destinations was the castle at Trakai. It is a fully restored castle with items from many different eras. Very interesting.
Outside the castle, sailboats were available for a ride. Six of us went out for a nice easy sail and enjoyed the captain’s stories (through our guide as translator).
It was a great trip. If you are looking for a new place to visit, go to Lithuania. It is a wonderful country, they like Americans and our dollar is still doing very well over there.