Visiting Kaunas (For 36 Hrs.) | Recap Visiting Lithuania's 2nd Largest City

Continuing my journey around Lithuania, i have finally gotten around to making a video for Kaunas.
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[@LithuaniaExplained]

Hey there! Just writing an update to say that I’ve made another channel to better focus on my personal experiences of Lithuania. This channel will focus on Lithuanian geopolitics, military, and defence/security. You can check out the other channel here: youtube.com/@lithuaniaexplainedvlog?si=8RijI-sKDzOcquZA

[@abouthammertime]

I had the pleasure of living in Kaunas for two months last year and absolutely fell in love with this City, my family and I had plenty of free time to explore every day and as a runner and cyclist I got to see much of the surrounding area ❤️

[@333jone]

I have been watching your videos for a long time now and never thought to be as surprised as I was just now! The apartment you stayed at belongs to my parents, it is a very small family business and I really appreciate your kind comments ❤️ everything in that apartment is done by my parents, from the construction to the smallest interior details. We would be more than happy to host you again, so you can explore more of our beautiful Kaunas! :) Thank you!

[@seanshepard2000]

very cool!!! amazing how small the world can seem sometimes thanks to the internet!

[@LithuaniaExplained]

Wow! What a small world! It was very beautifully designed as is obvious in the video. Your parents deserve every point of that stellar booking.com rating!

[@nicolegrace287]

oh wow, I used to live in that street too as an international student & often saw the apartment. When I visit Kaunas next time, would definitely love to book it :D

[@nooneontheearth]

I studied in Kaunas for a year and after 4 years passes, always want to go back and stay there. So this video reminds me of my happy days and makes me cry Thank you for posting!!!

[@PRAMODKUMAR-qd2kb]

I was there in Kaunas in 2018 and I found it a beautiful little city. The old town is amazing…

[@jygeb]

The Church of St Michael the Archangel is called Soboras by locals.

[@algieturas612]

I was in Kaunas in 2016. It is my favourite city in Lietuva..

[@dundulis1]

I went there like a month ago. I've spent like 7-8 hours of walking/going by bus around the city. I walked like 30 km. and saw most of the popular places in Kaunas, it was awesome.

[@saulepranskunaite4610]

I would recommend going outside the city centre because the city is beautiful but the villages or the sides of the city are the most fun

[@RichieLarpa]

I was thinking about having a picnic snack in a small village, but since I cannot rely on a car, since I do not have one, it will be hard to do, so I gave priority to some nearby lake, where I can go on foot.

[@DS.J]

Good points on urban planning in Kaunas. Sadly this also applies to Vilnius, Klaipeda, Siauliai and other cities. Some of the good urban planning practices are already being pushed but it will take time as society and even some local governments still don't quite understand it. Many people think that carparks and wide roads is the most important thing as opposed to good public transport, walkability and quality street level environment. People are discussing this on Lithuanian internet but you're probably right that there are not many discussions on it in English. I guess Reddit would be a good place to do that. Also, why didn't you take a train? Driving to Kaunas is mostly fine but taking a train is a good option too, especially 1st class.

[@LithuaniaExplained]

Good question. I usually take the train to Kaunas but as I was travelling with my wife and she had to meet friends in the outskirts of the city, her preference was to drive this time. If we had only stayed in the city center with limited baggage, bus or train would definitely be the way to go!

[@robinrussell7965]

There is a huge shrine Kauno Marios outside the city. Shrine pilgrimages are a great way to see Lithuania, I did this with my brother.

[@blueeyedbaer]

I think you're looking for a word "monastery"

[@RichieLarpa]

That was about time, since I plan to go there this year and I look for more plans. My current goals are watch basketball in Žalgirio Arena, eat traditionally at Bernelių Užeiga and pay a small tribute to knygnešiai in Karo Muziejus, maybe my comment will inspire other people to add it to their list.

[@pavojus]

Laisves aleja used to be more of a shopping strip, we didn't have a lot of restaurants or caffe's there back in the day (around 15 years ago), so lot's of clothing stores, apparel, shoes and stuff like - you guessed it, eye glass shops! It's even where i got my first glasses, So i think that's why there's still so many of em lol Only now when i recently came back from abroad i noticed that laisves aleja is filled with restaurants bakeries , more hotels and focus towards entertainment and eating out rather than shopping

[@mujimax007]

It was nice video and with good commentary. What a lovely and peaceful city Kaunas is. Love and regards from Islamabad, Pakistan.

[@eglunasklimavicius9771]

Not enough! My City! Thank you!❤

[@rutamurphy6656]

Kaunas yra Kaunas. The end ;) Thank you for this clip. I grew up in Kaunas (Kalbieciu rajone. Siaures pr. ) and felt nice and nostalgic watching it. It/nostalgia was the reason I clicked :) "Labas" to your wife, and hope she has made you 'cepelinai' many a time ;)

[@guodaripinskaite6314]

From someone who moved to Kaunas from a small town 7 years ago, hated it at first, wished I was in Vilnius instead, but has grown to love it very much: It is way smaller than Vilnius, which can be seen as both a pro and a con. I see it as the former. It’s cosier The nightlife is not as vivid and active as it is in Vilnius, but I don’t mind The architecture is different. Kaunas is mostly known for its modernistic, Lithuanian art deco buildings, but you have to kind of know what to pay attention to. And various small and big churches. Vilnius has a more historical feel to its old town buildings. Kaunas old town is easier to navigate. Ofc Vilniaus street and the old town surrounding it with little shops and cafes and stuff. Then you got Laisvės avenue and its parallels: Putvinskio, Donelaičio, Kęstučio streets. All of them lovely to walk around, beaded with galleries and museums, many of them about Lithuanian history or art, which I miss in Vilnius. From Kęstučio you can choose to go the science island and Žalgiro arena and sports complex, the Akropolis mall, or, like me, pick any of the one hundred hidden stairs from Putvinskio/Laisvės up to Žaliakalnis, and explore the cosy neighbourhood,Perkūno alėja and the neighbouring streets with 20th century apartments, or the holy grail, my haven and consolation - Ąžuolynas, the meaty oak park in basically the middle of the city, with its lovely paths and hidden treasures. Around it’s perimeter you’ll find the lovely Ąžuolynas library, zoo park at the other end, the student town/campus, another, wilder grove with a small creek, lovely food trucks at both ends, Žalakalnio neighbourhood with traditional lithuanian houses in half circle streets (gėlių ratas and minties ratas). It’s a lovely place to live in, I think. Both Nemunas and Neris shores are walkable for long slow strolls or bike rides. But what I enjoy the most is the art scene, the giant graffiti, poetry, hidden gems like the Yard Gallery (a used to be ghetto turned neighbourhood turned fluxes art nook). Countless small artist residence museums, several galleries. It is lovely.

[@Gildar76]

I visited Kaunas in 2016 or 2017 and loved it. I'm very interested in history, and the city has some good museums and sites to visit. Especially if you are intersted in the world wars. 9th fort is worth a visit, so is the war museum which I can't remember the name of off of my head. The old town castles and churches are obviously great visits as well.

[@markplenty2631]

I was there last week, it’s an amazing city but only there for the day until our flight home to Uk.

[@konstantinasnavardauskas4495]

Interesting point about the connectedness of the city. Have you been to all the sleeping neighbourhoods of Vilnius? They take long to reach and it's definitely not walkable. I think both Kaunas and Vilnius has this. Agreed on the streets however, if they were a bit more humane it would tie the urban space together more.

[@LithuaniaExplained]

Thanks for your comment! I live in an outer area of Vilnius and walk to the city occasionally. I’ve been to most sleeping neighborhoods around the city. There’s probably one main road (Kalvariju g.) that feels acceptable to walk on while the others are more like walking alongside a highway. Maybe Laisves Pr. Isn’t too bad on most parts too. Nonetheless, all four main roads connecting northern neighborhoods to Vilnius have sidewalks, so that’s nice. Perhaps if I were a visitor and only judged by looking, it wouldn’t feel connected/walkable.

[@konstantinasnavardauskas4495]

@@LithuaniaExplained Great that you get your steps in! Perhaps it's the perspective indeed. And around Mega where you visited it's very car-heavy since it's the country's main highway there. On your next visit to Kaunas visit the neighborhoods that border the new and old town: Žaliakalnis, Vilijampolė, Šančiai, Aleksotas. These are reachable by foot and also very historically significant. Thanks again for making a great video!

[@blueeyedbaer]

I lived in both Kaunas and Vilnius (also Klaipėda) equally long and I think both Kaunas and Vilnius are equally connected and disconnected at the same time. Vilnius has a much larger center and old town, that's why it feels more connected. But travelling fron Pašilaičiai or Jeruzalė to the Vilnius center is the same as travelling from Šilainiai or Dainava to the Kaunas center - the same long and wide streets. Kaunas has nicer buses and trolleybuses though.

[@PijusONLINE]

Enjoyed the video, although as far as 01:08 goes, somewhat jokingly I'd point out ('jokingly' about actually being fussy about it, but I'm about to drop straight facts) that Laisvės Alėja begins at "Vytauto parko laiptai" as they're marked on Google Maps, it's just that it's the unrenovated and boring part with nothing much to do.

[@LithuaniaExplained]

👍😁

[@arturasandriusaitis8832]

Kaunas is an Art-Deco city that has no equal in the world. The spirit of the interwar period is alive in it. Kaunas was then the temporary capital of Lithuania, when the capital Vilnius was occupied by Poland (1920-1939). It has many interesting buildings, such as former embassies of foreign countries etc. But such an educational route requires special preparation.

[@zodziumisraine]

Ačiū, kad pasidalinai savo įspūdžiais 😊

[@huuishuu]

Interesting video! It sums up my experience with Kaunas whenever I got to visit it over the years as well, as I also have had experience mostly with the Old Town, Laisvės Alėja and the train station (since I usually travel to Kaunas by rail). One thing we Vilnius residents have is a joke about Kaunas, going something like "Kaunas ne miestas, Vilnius ne kaimas" (Kaunas isn't a city, Vilnius isn't a village). I think Kaunas residents have something similar for Vilnius as well, though I don't remember what it is. My Kaunas friends have mentioned it though, I just forgot. Kaunas and Vilnius have this "friendly rivalry" with each other from my own experience as a Vilnius resident going to Kaunas, and my Kaunas friends visiting Vilnius, which I think is really interesting, even as a Lithuanian. I hope you revisit the city in the future to explore more of it. Last time I was there was in April 2023 to attend a friend's convention he was hosting, and I got the chance to walk from the train station all the way to the Kauno autobusų parkas (or the Kaunas bus park, which is where the public transport buses terminate at and are maintained at), and walking along the parks & the riverbed from the train station to there was really relaxing & refreshing.

[@ZhylvisLT]

There ain’t no such saying as you mentioned or it is just your friends inner joke. The real saying is “šūdas ne sviestas, Vilnius ne miestas, by*is ne štanga, Rytas ne komanda” (shit is not a butter, Vilnius is not a city, dick is not a barbell, Rytas is not a team),it’s probably way older than you and was initially used by Kaunas Žalgiris fans.

[@huuishuu]

@@ZhylvisLT Probably a generational gap, because I hear the saying I mentioned said by plenty of Vilnius folk that I know. Both in my work & friend group, and even outside of it, including people I've personally never met but had a brief conversation with. Thanks for the clarification though.

[@manometras]

You may walk or cycle trough Kaunas parks and green areas quite a lot, but if you have a car, and you have appointments, you will choose driving to do everything faster, and, in this case, you will see all those wide roads which are not pleasant to walk, so nobody does walk along them. Vilnius has bigger old areas, yes. Vilnius has more life in them as well. Kaunas has some exact walk routes to some pleasant destinations instead. You must conciously avoid those wide cartrafic streets, and go trough hills, and through the cottage-areas only.

[@PemycOfficial]

If that will be possible, I will try to show you more because I live in Kaunas

[@jurgitaranceviene3053]

Panemunė, Šančiai, Vičiūnai, Pažaislis ;)

[@sazarkanas5921]

fun fact MEGA is the secound biggest shopping mall in Baltic countries

[@arturask3202]

No it's not. The old Akrpolis in Vilnius is the biggest one with 110k m2 of shopping space and over 240 stores. Mega is the size of 102k m2 and 210 stores.

[@sazarkanas5921]

@@arturask3202 thank you for correcting me

[@Mendogology]

Nice video!

[@jimm9360]

I noticed the same thing about the optical shops on my first visit to Kaunas! As for the city itself, I think it’s great but feels much smaller than Vilnius. Be sure to see 9th Fort and also the war museum. Both are worth the visit.

[@emilycurtis4398]

I adore shakshouka. Used to make it all the time when I was in grad school. Go to the Devil's Museum!

[@manometras]

The Devils’ museum is still closed for renovation, but it opens soon, I hope.

[@mdishak7110]

Nice vdeo

[@zigmass4899]

👍

[@bardhylbuzuku8640]

very good city❤

[@pijuskri]

Great video! Im also from kaunas and i agree that many parts of the city have very little life to them. I wouldn't entirely agree vilnius is better, but it does have a much larger city center that feels lively. Kaunas does only have laisves aleja as you mentioned. Outside the city center life is an issue with lithuania overall sadly. The difference is striking when compared to the netherlands. Might be an interesting topic to make a video about!

[@LithuaniaExplained]

Thanks for the comment! I’ll have to interview a Dutch person or Lithuanian person living in the Netherlands one day then! I enjoy the KZbin channel Not Just Bikes. It’s a Canadian living in NL discussing urban planning

[@manometras]

The Netherlands are biking, and using trains for travel around. The Netherlands are a long famous tourist atraction and have their own population 6 times bigger than Lithuania. Lithuania is the wanna be mini USA, imo.

[@pijuskri]

@@LithuaniaExplained that would be interesting. I'm mentioning the netherlands cause I've lived there for the past 4 years for university. Going back to lithuania often makes it easy to see the differences. I'm also a NJB fan, his videos often apply to the issues i see in lithuania.

[@xSandamx]

Not only Netherlands have 6 times the population, but Lithuania is 60% bigger... no wonder it feels more lively there.

[@pijuskri]

@xSandamx im mainly referring not to liveliness, but city design. That impacts liveliness also tho. For example, klaipeda feels a lot more empty compared to delft(a dutch city), while having 50% more population. The cities are more compact there and more time is spent in the city instead of staying at private homes.

[@Deerisdeer]

Priminė man kad belekiek optikos parduotuvių yra. Ar daug iš mūsų nemato?😂

[@ritasaveikiene2779]

Mylimiausias mano miestas.❤❤❤

[@donnaandreadioneda]

I am curious about thé country

[@wexer82]

Black Mirror, hell yeah =]

[@LithuaniaExplained]

I only liked two of the episodes in this season though :( not quite what I was expecting!

[@wexer82]

@@LithuaniaExplained Samsies. I think I liked Joan is Awful and Beyond the Sea the most.

[@LithuaniaExplained]

@@wexer82 yup- those are my favourites of this season as well!

[@IrmanGrey]

Ever thought of going to Alytus???

[@LithuaniaExplained]

Maybe one day, but not sure when

[@infiniteworld5855]

I live in Kaunas

[@RichieLarpa]

I plan to go to Kaunas this autumn to have fun and shoot a vlog. Would you like to collaborate and help me to get known better your hometown?

[@Teresa1444]

Me too:)

[@Teresa1444]

I would be happy to show around:)

[@seanshepard2000]

2nd greatest place in Lithuania! (the 1st is very clear on the sign at the 43 scond mark :) )

[@An_inquisitive_thinker]

Bizarre choice of music though, bro. Sounded grotesque. 😐

[@manometras]

A saying of Lithuanians who hate Kaunas goes like: šūdas - ne sviestas, Kaunas - ne miestas. But they should admit that Lithuania has max one city, if even Kaunas is not.

[@Tom-h6j7v]

Looks ok not that spectacular

[@darius2640]

I lived here all my life, and I never go to any shops in the centre it's criminally overpriced, daylight robbery, one simple donut in that shop you showed will cost you 1 hour of wage in a job where you need university degree. just in general it's a very competitive place everyone tries to trick or scam or exploit you in some way, from school to work to shops to buying and selling things between people like cars or real estate, it's eat or be eaten mentality, driving culture is terrible too, if you keep safe distance someone will cut in front of you, you always gotta be on high alert whatever you do

[@pijuskri]

Donuts are just expensive in general, it has very little to do with the store being on vilnius street.

[@LithuaniaExplained]

Thanks for the comment. That Holy Donut place definitely seems branded to be more upscale. I didn’t feel that mentality too much while I was there but of course I spent such a short time there anyways. That driving culture seems to be quite common in Vilnius too..

[@Trashste]

First!

[@mindaugaslukosiunas]

Margarinas - ne sviestas, Kaunas - ne miestas. 👍

[@gerald1108]

Kauen is a beautiful little city 🇩🇪

[@ritasaveikiene2779]

Mylimiausias mano miestas.❤❤❤

[@ritasaveikiene2779]

Mylimiausias mano miestas.❤❤❤

[@ritasaveikiene2779]

Mylimiausias mano miestas.❤❤❤