Exploring Kaunas

A much better overnight sleep but we seemed to be still in UK time as we didn’t get going till around 10:00. Today was to be another museum day but this time here in Kaunas. We decided to walk to the War Museum which took us up our favourite VERY long and steep steps.

Once we had reached the high point it was quite flat until we moved sufficiently south to descend to the centre of the old city. The variation in age, style, and size of the buildings is dramatic with very modern apartments interspersed with old wooden single story houses on Telšių g

The descent to the museum area was again very steep so we were not planning to go back this way! The square outside the museum is spectacular with the continuous flame in honour of all those who died in the many conflicts trying to maintain Lithuanian sovereignty.

On entry through the large regal doors at the top of the steps we paid our €10 for the two of us and were show where to go initially to hang up our coats and then start with the crypt where there were large marble memorial plaques in a darkened hall listing soldiers of the different regiments

From the crypt we progressed through the various exhibitions in this huge building with its very high ceilings. Some fascinating exhibits include the crushed remains of the aircraft flown by the two Lithuanians, Darius and Girėnas, to be the first to fly air mail from the US to Europe; unfortunately their plane crashed before reaching Lithuania but it was of great significance to the Lithuanian population.

Navigating round the exhibition took a considerable time so we decided to find a cafe close by. However the one across the square was full of students and pretty noisy so we walked on until we came across the Caffeine cafe which we had been in before. Now on the boulevard we turned east and walked east to the magnificent church at the end of the boulevard before setting off uphill towards the sports university and surrounding wooded park.

Along the boulevard there are lots of fashion shops and we visited a few then we went into a shoe shop which had lots of bargains on display. In here we met an Englishman who had travelled yesterday to have a consultation about his foot. I was very impressed with a particular pair of shoes and the lovely manager gave us an extra 10% off the sale price of these Bugatti boots:

Armed with my new, more comfortable footwear we continued on our journey past the end of Laisvės al. and its magnificant church, which doubles as a blind sensory exhibition.

It was a stiff walk up the pavement to the top of the hill where there were great views along the walk through the park past the university sports arena and the spectacular Darius and Girėnas Monument.