Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Tuesday 16th of July
08.36 Christer and myself have woken up in our room at the Panorama Hotel (https://panoramahotel.lt) in Vilnius. The day when we will seriously revisit the Lithuanian capital is here. Before that, we must have gotten to know the breakfast that is included in the price of the room.
09.04 On the way out of the room, we have once again admired the view towards the city center, the panorama that gave the hotel its name. We filmed and photographed the beautiful view.
09.43 Down on the entrance floor, we have consumed today's breakfast. It wasn't the widest range but it worked. Right now we're going to watch Roberth's video from his cycling trip to Norway. It has arrived during the morning.
10.16 It was once again a good video from Roberth. He has now crossed the border and he is in Norway. Now it's time for the two of us to hit the streets of Vilnius. The last time we were here in 2005, we met a babbling addict who we called scarface because of a scar in his face. We hope to meet more likeable people this time.
10.57 There are many construction projects underway in central Vilnius. We have made it past these and are for the first time at a place we recognize from before, Rotušės aikštė (Town Hall Square).
11.06 A butterfly flies from flower to flower in a park. We sit in the shade and plan where to go next. Next door we have The House Gastropub, hmm, a beer would be nice. There might be one later today.
11.30 After making a short excursion to the beautiful church of Šv. Kotrynos bažinchia (St. Catherine's Church) next to a high school we will now look for coffee.
11.47 We are back at Rotušės aikštė (Town Hall Square). Just like we have seen in several other cities this summer, there are small showers here that spread cold water for those who need to cool off a bit. We have photographed Vilniaus rotušė, the city's town hall/city hall. There has been a building here since the 15th century, but the building we see now is considerably newer than that.
15.02 The lunch was not so Uzbek for me. I chose to consume German beer and chicken nuggets. However, Christer had dumplings with an Uzbek touch. Now we have to pay. That is usually appreciated.
19.03 I have lost energy during the day, I feel lethargic. It's time to pull myself up. Is it the heat that squeezed the must out of me? I hope so.
Wednesday 17th of July
Before breakfast we enjoy the view of Vilnius.
For the first time today, we recognize the city from previous visits.
Šv. Kotrynos bažinchia (St. Catherine's Church).
In Lithuania, the support for Ukraine is strong.
Rotušės aikštė (Town Hall Square), Vilnius.
Vilniaus rotušė, Vilnius city hall/town hall.
Coffee break at Caffeine.
Souvenirs in front of Šv. kankinės Paraskevės cerkvė, an orthodox church.
Pilies gatvė, a street with many restaurants.
Gedimino kalnas (Gedimina's Tower).
Was the hill this clear of vegetation before?
Grand Duke Gediminas resembles Darth Vader.
Vilnius Cathedral with its bell tower.
The presidential palace in Lithuania.
We have found Bek, an Uzbek restaurant.
Peter eats lunch at Bek.
What is needed on a hot summer day.
Šv. Kazimiero bažinchia (St. Casimir's Church).
Decorations at St Palace Hotel.
The city gate Aušros vartai, built in the 16th century.
The Azeri dinner.
Christer at the restaurant Old Baku.
08.30 The second and last night at Panorama Hotel is over. I have a request for a room with AC and more space. What we had here has lacked these. However, there is little hope that the wishes will be fulfilled at the next accommodation, which is of the cheaper variety. Here in Vilnius, we have at least been able to sleep with the room window completely open.
09.53 It was cool and relaxing in the breakfast room this morning. Now that we are back in room 519, we have some time left for various activities. 10.45 With a few upcoming bus journeys booked, it is starting to be time for us to get ready for today's journey which will take us north from Vilnius. 11.27 Now we are back at the railway station where we sat when we just arrived in the city. Drinks from IKI Express will also now be arranged. The store has so-called self-scanning, not to my taste. 11.43 The time has come for us to leave Vilnius by train for the second time in our backpacking career. The last time it happened was on June 28th, 2001. 12.44 We have initially traveled along the same railway as the day before yesterday, but now after the station Kaišiadorys the journey goes north. 12.55 The locomotive pulls us through nature bursting with colour. It draws us ever closer to the first of the two stations we are going to today. Various clouds are visible in the sky.
The first train journey of the day ended in Radviliškis.
Old locomotive outside the railway station in Radviliškis.
The municipal hall in Radviliškis.
We will have lunch at Linda's.
Christer is waiting for the food at Skonio Namai Linda.
Now we've got our beers.
14.21 In the small town of Radviliškis, we have left the train and then the station. We are looking to find a place that can serve our lunches. If we had chosen to stay here in town, we would not have been completely alone. Around 15,000 people have their home here.
14.35 There is something about this place that makes us think of Sweden. When we went on our road trips around our homeland during the 2020 and 2021 pandemic, we stopped at many small towns similar to this one. Here there is a small center with a few shops, a municipal hall and then not much else. 14.48 Water and some green leaves is on the table and now the menus also arrived. The speakers are singing about Christmas here at Skonio Namai Linda, a small restaurant that we found after a walk through the town. 15.23 After a bit of a wait, the food finally arrived. It is good but warm. Let it cool. At first we were worried that there would be a lack of time to get the food before the next train leaves, but now we seem to be keeping the timetable. 16.06 Satisfied with food and happy with both beer and food, we returned to the railway station. Our train was not mentioned on the information board at platform 1. We then entered the station building and received monitor information to instead go to platform 2. That's done and now we wait. 16.12 Our short train rolled in and we boarded the third-class carriage, which is also the only carriage. Right now the tickets are being checked in Christer's mobile. We are now traveling east. 16.30 The train has just stopped in Šeduva, a small town with a tragic history. None of the city's Jews survived the Holocaust. A total of 664 people were killed here in June 1941 when the German army passed through as part of Operation Barbarossa, the attack on the Soviet Union.
We walk over the rails towards platform 2.
Peter travels in third class.
We get off the train in Panevėžys.
We will follow the river Nevėžis towards the center.
Nevėžio senvagė, Panevėžys.
Panevėžys, Lithuania's fifth largest city.
17.25 Today's train journey has come to an end. Panevėžys, here we are. More precisely, we are currently about halfway between the railway station and the next residence. One of the scents in the air makes me think of popcorn. We look towards the river Nevėžis. With its 209 kilometers, it is the country's sixth longest river. Panevėžys is Lithuania's fifth largest city and has 86,599 inhabitants.
17.50 A new stop has been made at the same river as the last. We fill up with energy, fresh air and seek information on how to go. Right next to where we are sitting now there is also a small lake, Nevėžio senvagė. Around it there is a lovely area where you can stroll around, rest in comfortable chairs and enjoy the beautiful environment. 18.20 It was a bit confusing to find our way in the area around the bus station. It didn't get any easier when our accommodation had attached a photo of the area that was not up to date. Finally, we found Artihost (https://artihost.eu), a hostel that received good reviews despite its low price. They are probably hiding a few floors up in a worn stairwell. Now we're going to enter the code and go to our room. Self-check-in applies here. It is becoming more and more common. 18.33 This is not going so well! The door code we received via email does not work. Ringing the doorbell doesn't help either. They also do not answer the phone number you should call for assistance. We'll probably have to go out and find another hotel. We see no other solution. 18.47 Room number 5 at Hotel Conviva (https://conviva.lt), a hotel very close to Artihost (or should I write Antihost) is our new unexpected home. It will be an extra cost for us, but it's a home anyway. Here we were met by some friendly ladies instead of not being met by anyone at all at the other accommodation. A Finnish-registered motorcycle stands outside the hotel. Christer has written a message to Artihost asking for a refund for the room we couldn't get into.
Laisvės aikštė square with the town hall.
A colour-changing fountain on Laisvės aikštė.
The Galerija XX restaurant will serve us dinner.
We eat indoors tonight.
Director and actor Juoz Miltiniis sits here.
A retired hotel.
19.51 After a shopping trip to the IKI supermarket at the bus station, we are now ready to go out again. We need to have dinner.
20.42 It was full at the outdoor seating at the restaurant Galerija XX (http://galerijaxx.lt) so we went inside instead. We have just ordered our dinners here. 22.01 Despite the fact that mushrooms played the main role in Christer's chicken dish, we are still fairly satisfied with the dinners. After dinner, we strolled around Laisvės aikštė square and admired a fountain that changed colour with the spray of water. Now back at the hotel, Christer's first bottle of lens solution ran out. Soon there will be evening coffee here in room 5. 23.29 Now we have seen Roberth's last video for this summer. It was a short bike trip, a bit boring for us who like to watch his videos as evening entertainment. The accommodation Artihost we didn't get into has contacted us. They apologize for what happened, confirmed that the code has been changed and the owner has apparently been offline in the woods when we tried to contact him. We will eventually get the money back by contacting Booking.com.
Thursday 18th of July
08.20 It is morning again in Panevėžys. It seems to be cooler today. It is welcome for us.
09.25 On the bottom floor here at Hotel Conviva we had our breakfast. It was really a good start to this day. Now we will get ready for the long walk back to the train station. 10.00 We don't have time to see everything worth seeing here in the city, but we do manage to pass one sight despite our heavy backpacks on our backs. On our way back to the railway station we have stopped at a tree. It is an ordinary tree but the unusual thing is that there are keys hanging on the trunk. In the past we have found padlocks without keys. Now it's the other way around. Next to the Raktų medis (Key Tree) tree there are also a bunch of strange works of art that seem to be built from scrap metal. 10.10 Within an hour we should be on board the train that will take us west. The railway station is about 25 minutes away. Right now we are sitting on a bench looking out over the small lake Nevėžio senvagė or is it a pond? 10.26 Fifteen minutes, a quarter and about a kilometer to go. It's time for another little break. The weather is pleasant and it doesn't smell fishy here today. We suspect that the strange smell we felt yesterday comes from the nearby brewery. The beer Kalnapilis is brewed here in the city. 11.06 Now we're on board the train or should we call it the railbus? It is time to travel on here in Lithuania.
Peter is having breakfast at Hotel Conviva.
Morning in room 5.
Interesting artwork in Panevėžys.
Christer photographs Raktų medis (The key tree).
We stop for the view.
Nevėžio senvagė with surroundings.
12.10 It is at least as good to travel by rail bus in third class as it is to travel by a more ordinary train. We don't notice a big difference.
13.01 When we arrived at today's final destination, Šiauliai, it started to rain. After a short break under a roof, we walked towards the center. Since it was a little early to check into our hotel, we went to Caffeine for a snack, cheese/ham croissant and coffee. Šiauliai, Lithuania's fourth largest city with 112,581 inhabitants, is perhaps best known for Kryžių kalnas (Hill of the Cross), a hill about 12 km to the north with a large number of Christian crosses. Unfortunately, we will not be able to get there during this trip. 13.18 During coffee time we were visited by a dog with different coloured eyes. It's not every day we see such a dog. 13.59 It's nice to have a room of your own. Soon it will be a shower and a bit of calm. The hotel we stay in is called Turnė and the room number is 28. We stay right next to the big sign with the hotel's name. 15.03 It's almost time to arrange some afternoon coffee before we head out to discover more of the city. 16.03 It got too hot to drink the coffee in normal drinking glasses, but now it's done. With less blood in the caffeinated circulation, it's now time to go outside.
In Panevėžys, the beer Kalnapilis is brewed.
The railway station in Šiauliai.
Walking towards the centre.
Peter visits Caffeine.
Turnė, our hotel in Šiauliai.
Vilniaus gatvė, Šiauliai.
17.00 Maxima has a a real big supermarket here. We found what we were looking for there and are now back in the room. It's time for a break before the evening activities begin.
18.29 The evening's slightly early dinner will be at Kepsmas, a restaurant on the main street Vilniaus gatvė. We do not focus on the purely culinary, but prioritize belly filling. So we have ordered pizzas. 19.22 That was exactly what we needed in terms of energy. Now we are sitting on a bench at a small square near the restaurant we just visited. Soon it will be time to move on. 19.42 We are now a bit outside the city centre. We're sitting at Saulės čaraiko aikštė, the Sun Dial Square. On the way here, we saw a young girl drive by on a moped car. I have never seen such a vehicle outside of Sweden before. Right now two Spanish women are passing us where we are sitting. 19.57 Now we have arrived at a park area by a lake, Talkša. Here we have seen the sculpture Geležinie lapė (Iron Raven), heard a couple of young people speak Swedish and we have sat/laid down in wooden deckchairs. It is a beautiful summer evening and peaceful here by the lake.
Povilas Višinskis in granite on a pillar.
Peter is having dinner at Kepsmas.
You can get a pizza like this at Kepsmas.
The water tower in Šiauliai.
Saulės krākiko aikštė, Sun Dial Square.
Geležinie lapė (The Iron Fox).
20.18 The sunbeds were left after a while and we changed to a round bench around a round table. Here we have consumed some drink that we brought with us.
20.52 Now that's enough with the roundtable discussions. At least we paid for a room here in the city. We're starting to move back there now. 21.07 Soon it starts to get dark and soon we are also back at our hotel. Right now we pass another, the large Hotel Šiauliai. 21.19 How can our room be so much warmer than it is outside? I hope it gets cooler as night falls. 22.17 Outside, kites fly over the roofs and seagulls scream to catch up. Here in our room we drink coffee, eat croissants and look for a lunch restaurant. To clarify, we are not having that lunch today. 23.22 A night's sleep soon awaits. Tomorrow the journey continues to the next city here in Lithuania.
Energetini's Labirintas are claimed to increase your intuition.
Talkša lake in Šiauliai.
Christer rests by Lake Talkša.
Dusk in Šiauliai.
Friday 19th of July
08.11 Soon it will be time for us to continue our tour through Lithuania. The night at Hotel Turnė has been good. Now we just have to have breakfast, pack and embark.
09.19 Me and also Christer are back from the hotel breakfast on the entrance level. Now we just have to pack before we go to the station. 09.54 On platform 1 and at track 1 we are currently waiting for the train. When it has rolled in and stopped, we will also enter carriage 1. Lots of ones today! 10.12 The train honks and rocks. It's a little shaky but we and our belongings are still there. The journey goes west, towards the coast and the Baltic Sea. 11.42 The journey has gone well. In Kretinga, there are many who want to get off. We do not belong to that crowd. Those who leave here should in most cases continue to the large tourist resort of Palanga by the sea a short distance from here. 11.52 Without worries, we travel on. Everything feels OK, but of course I want to find out how it all will work out. 12.01 We have arrived and disembarked from our train at Klaipėdos traukinių stotis, the railway station in Klaipėda, Lithuania's third largest city. Klaipėda has 172,292 inhabitants and was previously called Memel during history when it was in German possession. The city has not actually been called Klaipėda until after 1923.
Time for breakfast at Turnė.
Another truth about coffee.
We get off the train in Klaipėda.
Klaipėdos tražių stotis, the railway station in Klaipėda.
Christer at Čili Pizza.
Peter attacks the lunch plate.
12.07 We have started a longer walk towards the center and eventually the apartment we rent here in the city. However, we intend to take a break in the walk by eating lunch.
12.19 Kristijono Donelaičio aikštė, a square dedicated to a Lithuanian poet. That's where we sit now. More precisely, we are on a bench, 1.7 kilometers from our home here in Klaipėda. The poet Donelaitis studied theology in Königsberg and served as a priest from 1743 until his death. He translated hymns into Lithuanian and wrote poems in German and Lithuanian. 12.40 Čili Pizza (https://cili.lt) is a chain we have seen before on our travels in the Baltics. Now we are taking another step and have settled on the chain's Klaipeda representative. Lunch will be here. 12.50 The menu was arranged by scanning a QR code. Then we had to state what we wanted to a waitress. Couldn't we just as well get a decent menu right away? You have to be able to eat without having a phone with you. 13.05 The food is on the table and so are the ordered beers. Now we eat! 13.36 Artihost, the accommodation where we did not stay in Panevėžys, has contacted us. They will arrange for the money we paid to be paid back. That was good news. When it comes to bad news, it is not possible to reach our travel website. Soon we´ll make the final push and head towards our local home. 13.45 Right now we are standing on a bridge that vibrates every time a vehicle passes. The bridge is called Biržos tiltas and is a steel swing bridge. It crosses the river Danės. 14.09 After a continued brisk walk through the center we may now have come to the right place. We can be at the apartment Mild Old Town. We are sitting on a bench at an outdoor gym. Soon we go to the gate and check if the code is correct. 14.24 It went well to get into our apartment and finally to open the balcony door. Now we're going to settle in here. Apparently there is a global IT mess going on right now. Is our website also involved?
River Danės in Klaipėda.
Peter in the Mild Old Town apartment.
View from our apartment.
Plenty of flowers on our balcony.
This is where we stay.
Klaipėdos istorijos ženki tells about the history of the city.
15.01 After showering, we have now activated both the washing machine and the kettle. Now we will soon have clean clothes and hot, good coffee.
15.08 We have sat down on our balcony to drink coffee. At the same time, we observe what is happening on the street outside. We stay near a large intersection where the streets Taikos prospekatas and Sausio 15-osios gatvė meet. 16.32 The laundry is done and hanging to dry. The coffee was unfortunately weak. Now we're going out shopping. 17.14 After buying some snacks, evening beer and breakfast in a Maxima store, we will now enjoy some alone time here in the apartment. The IT problem seems to have been resolved. 18.08 At the intersection of Vežėjų and Daržų we have found a small bench in a, slightly larger than the bench, park, collection of trees. We are out on a journey of discovery in the old part of the city. 18.13 Yesterday we saw a tree full of keys. Now we see an old door completely covered in small keys. 18.25 We take another break on a bench. We are at Teatro aikštė (Theatre Square), the square where Adolf Hitler stood on a balcony and gave a speech. More precisely, it happened on March 25th, 1939. 18.40 Now I'm sitting next to the small sculpture Stebuklingasis peliukas, the magical mouse. This little golden mouse, around 10 centimeters in size, fulfills wishes whispered to it. I've whispered a wish but can't tell you what. Then the whole thing is not fulfilled. There is a long line of sculptures in the city center that you can call out to look for.
Tomo gatvė, Klaipėda.
A keyed gate in the Old Town.
Teatro aikštė (Theatre Square), Klaipėda.
Klaipėdos dramas teatras, Adolf Hitler has spoken here.
Stebuklingasis peliukas, the magic mouse.
Flower splendor in the center of Klaipėda.
18.59 In a park, Karlskronos aikštė, someone sings and plays on a stage. Behind us in the river is a gray boat. M52 is painted on the port side. Nowadays it is a museum on board, the Laivas museum light "Sūduvis".
19.18 Our search for the sculpture Juodasis vaiduoklis, the black ghost, came to an end. We only got to see it from a distance. There was water between us and the ghost. 19.43 Now we have ordered Rūkytas, smoked hamburgers and APA beers. We are at Dock Meat & Bar (https://dockbaras.lt). 20.23 It was good, but not much smoke flavour. It was probably the first time that part of a conifer was included in a hamburger. Now we prepare for a quiet evening at home in the apartment. 21.31 It's time to make another attempt at making good coffee. 22.43 I doubt that the coffee here in our apartment is instant coffee. It didn't go well this time either. CNN reports ahead of the upcoming presidential election this autumn. Sky News talks about the IT mess that has been during the day. Hospitals, airports and other things have been affected, but the worst was probably that resedagboken.cc could not be reached for several hours. 23.24 Friday night is coming to an end. Tomorrow there will be check out of the apartment and a short trip to the next town.
Christer by the river Danės.
A cruise ship is seen in the port of Klaipėda.
We're having Rūkytas burgers tonight.
Christer at Dock Meat & Bar.
You can see 65 photos from July 16 in this photoalbum.
You can see 41 photos from July 17 in this photoalbum.
You can see 53 photos from July 18 in this photoalbum.
You can see 61 photos from July 19 in this photoalbum.