Lithuania
Lithuania [1] is a Baltic country in Central/Eastern Europe. It has a Baltic Sea coastline in the west and surrounded by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east, Poland to the southwest, and Russia (Kaliningrad) to the west.
Regions
Cities
Ports and harbors
Other destinations
- The Hill Of Crosses - site of religious significance, north of Siauliai
Culture and History
Climate
Transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
Terrain
Lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil. The fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits.
History
Lithuania was a huge feudal country in middle ages, in 1569 entered an union with Poland to form a commonwealth. Lithuania was part of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth until the Polish Partitions in the 18th. century when it became part of the Russian Empire.
Independent between the two World Wars, Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but this proclamation was not generally recognized until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow).
The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently has restructured its economy for eventual integration into Western European institutions.
Travel to Lithuania, visa requirements
As Lithuania is a member of the European Union, citizens from these countries do not need a visa and can enter Lithuania with a valid passport or a valid identity card. Full list of countries whose nationals do not require visa is here: [2].
Flights to Lithuania, airtickets
Most airlines arrive at main Vilnius international airport and smaller seaside Palanga airport, while no-frills carriers (Ryanair and Wizzair) land in Kaunas airport.
Majority of flights are operated by http://www.flylal.lt/ and http://www.airbaltic.com/
For destinations in Northern Lithuania Riga airport is an attractive option.
By train
There are train connections to Vilnius from Warsaw, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Minsk, Riga and Kaliningrad.
By car
Major "via Baltica" road links Kaunas to Warsaw and Riga/Tallinn. The Baltic road, which links Vlinius to Tallinn, was just reconstructed. It is a very easy and pleasant route.
Buses to Lithuania
By boat
There are several passenger/car ferries from Klaipeda to Sweden, Germany, Poland. See http://www.krantas.lt/
Get around
By train
Litrail [3] has services to major cities in Lithuania. Fares are low compared to Western Europe: Vilnius-Kaunas ~11 Litas, Vilnius-Klaipeda ~40 Litas, Sestokai (Lithuanian-Polish border) - Kaunas ~11 Litas.
Narrow Gauge Railway in Anyksciai offers short trips to a near-by lake. In summer it runs on regular schedule, rest of the time tours must be booked in advance.
By thumb
Hitchhiking in Lithuania is generally good. Get to the outskirts of the city, but before cars speed up to the highway speeds. The middle letter on the older licence plates (with Lithuanian flag) of the three letter code usually corresponds with the city of registration (L for Klaipeda). Newer licence plates (with EU flag) are not bound to city of registration in any way.
By Bus
Buses operate regularly between the main centres as well as the regional centres. Kautra [4] operates a number of routes out of Kaunas with the cost of ~20-30 Litas for most journeys. Other companies with intercity routes worth to mention are Toks (from Vilnius) and Busturas (from Siauliai). For students with Lithuanian student id, bus companies grant 50% discount around the year with the exception of July and August. In addition to common busses, there are minibuses which usually operate express routes. For schedules, consult
By Taxi
Taxis are run on a metre and can be booked by the phone numbers shown on the door of the taxi,. Taxi's are relatively cheap compared to western Europe. Beware however, some companies may not be as safe as others, common sense will keep you safe in this regard. "Taking the long way round" used to be common but had nearly been irradicated, western Europeans may still find themselves taking the scenic route, don't worry though, the maximum that this will add is a few litas. It is customary to give a small tip at the end of your journey.
It's usually cheaper to order a taxi by phone instead of taking one in the street, especially in bus stations or airports.
Talk
The official language of Lithuania is Lithuanian, making up one of only two languages [along with Latvian] on the Baltic branch of the Indo-European family. Despite the kinship of Lithuanian to many other European languages, the archaic nature of its grammar makes it hard for foreigners unfamiliar with the language even to form basic sentences. Russian is spoken almost universally by the older generation, whilst the younger generation is becoming more and more proficient in English. Polish and, to a lesser extent, German are also spoken in some places for historical reasons. Samogitian is spoken by some 500 000 thousands Samogitians in Samogitia (Western part of Lithuania). Lithuanians are always eager for an opportunity to practice their English, but those who learn a few basic phrases of the local language are always amply awarded with good will and appreciation for their efforts.
Shopping, Lithuania souvenirs
Vilnius recently became a shopper's paradise when plenty of massive shopping centres were opened all over the city. Akropolis is one of them and definitely worth visiting, as it houses an ice track, bowling lanes and a cinema.
Klaipeda is a major shopping center for people from Latvia and Kaliningrad. The main shopping centers are: Akropolis, Arena, Studlendas and BIG. Many people comming to the city on cruise ships shop in Klaipeda, due to the good value and plice combination.
Good restaurants and cheap meals
Lithuanian dinners usually include meat, potato and a curd sauce of some sort. Case in point: the cepelinai, or zeppelin, which is a meat or cheese-filled potato zeppelin slathered in dairy. Needless to say, vegans will have a hard time eating out.
Many restaurants have menus in English and Russian. Though use caution as sometimes menus in other languages may have inflated prices.
Lithuania nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs.
Lithuania is a beer drinking country, with the most famous brands being Svyturys, Kalnapilis, Utenos and Gubernija. Compared to other European countries, beer is usually affordable, in shops approx. 0.50 to 1 € a litre, in bars approx. 1 to 1.50 € per half litre(beer is sold by the half or full litre). The beer tastes excellent, putting global brands to shame and it can be said that Lithuanian lager is of at least equal quality to Czech and Slovak lager.
In addition to beer, rather cheap but high quality vodka is consumed, but not to the extent usually associated with this part of the world. Also, every region has its own home-made speciality of which "Samane" is most famous/notorious.
For tourists, quality sparkling wines, such as Alita or Mindaugas, and local liqueurs are popular choices to bring back home.
In shops and cafés different tea and coffee qualities are widely available. The selection in coffee ranges from northern European brands to French ones. In coffee houses, you should expect to pay up to 1.50 € for your coffee. Some cafés offer also a variety of special coffees with more or less special prices. Tea is usually sold at 50% of the price of coffee.
A law banning smoking in cafés, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, discotheques and other public establishments was passed in May 2006, and came into effect on January 1 2007.
Hotels, youth hostels, lodging
Learn
Lithuania has one of the best educational systems in the World. Many universities participate in student excange programs. Most popular international colledge in Lithuania is Lithuanian Christian Colledge in Klaipeda [5].
Work
There are now many work options in Lithuania. Any EU national can work and live with no limits in Lithuania. Especially there is a hudge demand for work force in Klaipeda (most in construction, wholesale and port companies).
Stay safe
In general, Lithuania is a safe country. But you should take basic safety measures: try to avoid showing big sum of money, visiting potentially dangerous neighbourhoods at night, etc.
Stay healthy
If you are searching for some health treatment or recreation the best resorts for that are Druskininkai and Palanga. Neringa is a great option for a nice, calm holiday for comming one with yourself.
Respect
Lithuanians are not Russians, nor even Slavic. They are a distinct nationality and speak their own language (Lithuanian). Thinking that Lithuanians are Russians, or speaking in Russian, is insulting to many Lithuanians as Lithuania was under Russian occupation for many years. You should also try to remember that the Lithuanian capital is Vilnius, not Riga, which is the capital of neighbouring Latvia. This mistake is not as insulting, because Lithuanians and Latvians have always had good relations, but it is a frequent mistake and tends to annoy locals.
Most Samogitians consider themselves as Lithuanians, but some of them consider their nationality as Samogitian.
Contact
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