10 things I learned about Lithuania on my trip to Saiuliai

1. The best laid plans often require revision (see previous post)
2. The Lithuanian countryside is beautiful, with some rolling hills, lots of agriculture, beautiful woods and grassy plains.
3. There are a surprising number of birch trees here. I'm not sure when I have seen so many. There are certainly other types like various evergreens and what appear to be ash or aspen but would require a closer look. The birch just add a slender elegance that's noticeable.
4. One-off apple trees were noted in several instances -- like amongst trees in an off-ramp area or just by themselves in woods, but separate from farms or residences. I couldn't help but wonder if someone had just thrown an apple out of a car window and somehow the seed grew. They were quite pretty this time of year as they are full of rosy apples.
5. Tickets for both bus and train can be ordered online through a mobile site, but the tickets are delivered via PDF rather than though an app. I was concerned that I needed to print them out, but it was no problem to simply show my screen to the bus driver and, today, to the train attendant. An exception is when you're crossing a border with another country, in which case a printed ticket is required.
6. There are random bus stops along the highway. I generally have no idea how people get to those bus stops, though I saw at least one guy just walking through the grass on the side of the road into a small village so perhaps that's it? This is not unique to Lithuania as I have seen it in a few other countries and have wondered the same thing.
7. Lonely, single farm animals (cows and horses) graze by themselves outside of fenced in areas. In only one instance did the animal (a cow) seem to be actually staked out rather than grazing. I guess I would trust cattle not to roam far, but horses?
8. Russian seems to be the primary second language, at least for older individuals. Makes sense with the history, but I was nevertheless surprised that the few times people have spoken to me in Lithuanian and I said I didn't understand much Lithuanian, "Pas Russky" (sp?) was usually their follow-up.
9. There are numerous, often very large, ornamental religious crosses along the highway, sometimes at intersections, other times in the lawns/fields of families. Unfortunately, you can't necessarily anticipate them and I wasn't able to catch a photo in time for any of them.
10. While Siauliai is known for its Hill of Crosses (which I sadly didn't get to visit due to rain yesterday), it is also home to several interesting specialty museums, including a bicycle museum (closed on Monday, unfortunately), a cat museum (no joke, though unfortunately closed until autumn, which would seem to be now, but that's what their web site says), an angel museum and a chocolate museum, among others. The latter was open yesterday, so I checked it out. It's affiliated with the Ruta chocolate company where the grandmother of a friend worked. Small but interesting tour, but interesting corporate history -- started in the early 1900s by a 36-year-old, was severely damaged during World War I, was re-opened/expanded afterwards, was nationalized during the Soviet occupation, pretty much destroyed during World War II, the wife and youngest son of the owner were exiled to Siberia, but was returned to the surviving family members in 1993 after Lithuania once again became independent.