As soon as we have arrived in Lithuania, at least in terms of the landscape, one has the feeling Poland not to have left. Here, too, fields over fields adjoining forests and every now and then you can see a stork.
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Merkines
We have about 2 hours left Druskininkai used, which we had set as a point. But since we did not consider the time conversion + 1h, it would have been too late for us to get to Merkines would have arrived. So we drove to our sleeping place in Merkines in the Dzukija National Park and ate comfortably and spent the evening. Since it was a kind of hiking parking lot with a tent field, we could also stay here. There was nothing except an outhouse, a fireplace and a covered seat. For this we stood directly on the Memel River. In the evening it is probably a meeting place for young adults with their cars, who then hiss a few beers.
From our place you could see a lookout tower on the other side of the river and so we went there the next day to walk up the tower. We had to climb 150 steps to have a wonderful view over the Memel and the national park. The effort was worth it. Curiously, cows can be seen on a small island in the river. Since one side of the river looks very much like low water, we suspect that the cows were driven onto the island through the river bed.
Vilnius
Now we are on the way to Vilnius on the A4, whether this is a motorway or just A4, we do not know. But when I googled there wasn’t much of a difference between autobahn, expressway and country road anyway. What amazed us both while reading is that there are also pedestrians, cyclists and tractors on the highways in Lithuania. But we didn't see any.
We are hungry and want to stop somewhere, but the problem is that parking spaces are very poorly signposted. You can hardly see them and when you see one, you're almost over. We found a very small parking lot in time, where we stopped for lunch. Shortly after we stopped, a Lithuanian ambulance stopped across from us on the other side. An older man got out and immediately spoke to Sebastian in German. The man could speak German really well and we must have talked to him for 20 minutes.
There are also several campers on the parking lot in Vilnius, which is a public car park but is monitored by video. Again all from Germany. Unbelievable, everywhere we go, only German campers. Since the weather looked bad, there was a lot of wind and it rained a bit, we stayed on the bus for the time being and relaxed a bit and also worked. When the sun came out in the late afternoon and the wind had subsided, we went with Finja and camera and saw the ruins of Gediminas Castle viewed. From up here you have a wonderful view of the entire city of Vilnius and the three crosses.
After we had a good night's sleep, we walked into the city of Vilnius, which is only a few hundred meters away on foot. The city impresses with its centuries-old buildings and many churches. Vilnius will too "Rome des eastens" called. The city got its nickname because of its more than 50 churches. It also has several parks with benches and many large squares, which are then surrounded by restaurants and small shops. The old town itself has beautiful old houses in which there are smaller shops on the ground floor, some of which are modern in design. Here again it is noticeable how clean and well-kept it all is. Everywhere the lawn is mowed briefly, and not just in the city.
We are then also up to bastion walked up, from where you have a nice view over Vilniusstadt. You can see very clearly that Vilnius has a lot of churches and the towers protrude everywhere. After that we are still through the self-proclaimed republic Uzupis walked, an artist district of Vilnius. Uzupis is very small and narrow and is separated from the river on three sides. Again, a lot of old houses and a small square in the middle. Uzupis even has its own constitution, which says that everyone has the right to be happy. In addition, Uzupis has undertaken to completely renounce violence. The constitution is posted on a wall in 23 languages. Then we ate vegan, which was delicious, but also really cheap.
Vilnius has been a World Heritage Site since the mid-90s and was even European Capital of Culture in 2009. Here you can more about Vilnius Experienced.
Kaunas
On Saturday noon we drove from Vilnius towards Kaunas. We mostly drove on the motorway because it was the fastest route and is no different from a country road. On the highway, however, we had one construction site after the other. But here in Lithuania everyone is very relaxed at the construction sites and also drives slowly and not aggressively, but rather defensively. In between I saw five or six storks in a field and a fox in the middle. The fox was completely confused and looked from one stork to another.
In Kaunas we wanted to drive to a parking space, which was probably converted into a corona center. So we went on to a KaunasCampInn. It was on one side by a lake, on the other side on the main road and on the third side on the highway. There was already a lot of noise, but we were still able to sleep quite well. Then I used the time and washed and dried 2 washing machines for a very cheap price.
The next day we actually wanted that IX. Away look at. It is a fort built in the tsarist times, which should serve as a protection for Kaunas. It was completed at the beginning of the 20th century. During World War II, more than 50,000 people were murdered here, including 30,000 Jews. It's a shame we couldn't see it, certainly very interesting historically. However, a dog is not allowed on this area and so we took a lunch break first. How lucky we were. Just as we were done, the sky opened its floodgates and it poured a lot. We would have gotten completely wet if we had come to the site.
You can find more pictures in the Lithuania photo gallery.
