Vilnius, with a population of around half a million, was a super chill city. Then again, maybe it was just that we visited on a Monday! We stayed at a pretty interesting Airbnb, which we couldn’t check into immediately because a photoshoot of some sort was on (???).
Our photoshoot worthy airbnb
We started the day with some amazing pancakes at the Gusto Blynine Cafe. The cafe had a really extensive selection of sweet and savoury pancakes, crepes, and even buckwheat/vegan pancakes!
To the pancakes!!
Lazy Curd Dumplings (“Virtinukai tinginukai”)…boiled pancakes with sour cream, tasted like gnocchi but slightly sweeter
This was followed by a walking tour of the city. In the Baltic states, it seems like Sandeman’s doesnt have a presence, so our tours were usually the “yellow suitcase” free tours. Vilnius, at least the old town bit, is very walkable. After the walking tour, we headed to a local restaurant that served local beers made in Lithunian microbreweries. Oh, and we are completely on-board with the average price of 2 Euros a pint even in restaurants.
Literatu Gatve – each plaque is a tribute to a Lithuanian author or a foreign author connected to Lithuania. Did you know Hannibal (Lecter) was born in Lithuania?
After being fuelled by a few more 2EUR pints, N, thanks to her superb social skills and non-threatening appearance, got talking to a few folks. A fun bunch, who took us to a few other bars. The place we went to next, Mars, had a happy hour going. It was two for one on all beers, making each pint a Euro.
Let that sink in – a pint, for a Euro, or 70p, or 1.5 SGD.
Bars visited:
Snekutis http://www.snekucio-alaus-pasaulis.lt/ A local establishment with a few branches across the city. Affordable local food and a great selection of beers from local microbrewers. Try both the dark and unfiltered beers – some interesting flavours like honey, and of course a good selection of IPAs and Weissbeers.
Marsas bar – Happy hour!
Vasaros Teresa – Outdoor food and drinking area, usually with live music and/or DJ. The night we went, the DJ playing was Ponty Mython. Yeah.
On a separate note, one thing I’m enjoying quite a bit is the slow travel across time zones. So far, we have moved forward in time twice, once at Paris and once at Lithuania. It really makes the time difference and the distance feel real. SG is now 5 hours ahead of us, India, 3ish, and London 2hours behind.
To end this post, I’ll leave you with a video of the (former) mayor of Vilnius, trying to combat illegal parking in bicycle lanes in the city. Enjoy!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-fWN0FmcIU
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Travel facts:
Total cumulative expenses since start of trip:
GBP: 293 plus EUR: 668.50
Accomodation – Vilnius, 1 nights
AirBnB – 22 GBP
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