The second Klaipeda hotel was very sweet this morning -- I had mentioned yesterday when checking in that I wouldn't be able to have the breakfast at 7 AM because I would be leaving. So imagine my surprise when I checked out and they presented me with a take-away bag of a packed breakfast of yogurt, a sandwich, orange, bottled water and some cookies. Very sweet. And with no prompting by me. When was the last time a Westin took that initiative for me? How about never? The clerk also confirmed that it was totally safe to walk to the train station ("But it is still cold and windy outside, madame" -- noted, though at least it had stopped raining overnight) so off I set, snapping a few pics of things I had missed before.
As I was traveling between Klaipeda (the third largest city in Lithuania) and Kaunas (second largest city), I had assumed there would be a direct train. Nope. The trip required a connection in a place called Kaisiadorys that seemed rather, er, rural. Okay.... I had about 25 minutes between the arrival of my train and the departure of the second to Kaunas, so I was hanging out on the platform, since there was only one, and just stretching my legs, when I saw the train whiz by. Wait, what?! Well, turns out there IS another platform, but it wasn't at the train station itself. You had to go about 1/8th of a mile down by the tracks, take a stairway up and over the tracks and down into the center (like the Blue Line El in Chicago by UIC, for my Chicago friends). Ummm..... [And behold, there was swearing....]
Now when I had booked my train, there was the now-typical scenario of a train around 5 AM another at 6 AM, and then the next one was around 4 PM. I had zero interest in hanging out in Kaisiadorys for six hours. But there also weren't any taxis hanging around. What to do, what to do? So I went into the train station and the first ticket agent said she didn't understand English (let alone speak it) BUT there was another employee there and, thank goodness, she both understood and spoke English. I explained the situation and she was TERRIFIC. She immediately put my mind at ease, noting that the next train was in another half hour (it's apparently the higher speed trains that run less frequently), notified me that I'd need another ticket (it's not like Deutsche Bahn where you can just take the next train -- you buy a ticket for a specific train), sold me that ticket, told me not to worry, and then came out from behind their desk/counter area and walked me outside to show me exactly where to catch the train. So helpful. I am so grateful she was there.
This was another 25,000+ step kind of day. In addition to the hike to the train station in Klaipeda at the crack of dawn, I also walked several kilometers to the hotel in Kaunas; I'm not sure I want to do that again tomorrow because parts of it were kinda ghetto and not something I'd want to do if I ended up taking an early train. I dropped off my bag at the hotel (too early to check in) and then continued to wander around Old Town, taking in the historic Town Hall Square, the gorgeous Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and Kaunas Castle. It was still too early to check into my hotel and I had heard great things about Ninth Fort, but it was also a couple of miles out of town. Now, again, I'm not averse to walking, but over 80 minutes each way in a strange city operating GPS that would quickly drain the battery on my phone didn't sound like a good plan.
So I had an immersion experience and decided to take the bus. GPS had told me which bus to take and where to catch it, but it didn't say anything about what kind of bus it would be, how much the fare would be, how one buys tickets or anything like that. So I show up at the bus stop and start asking young-looking people if they speak English and they're too shy to try and speak it. I finally asked a young woman who must've still been in high school, "Tru puty[sp?]?" as in, maybe you understand a little? She shyly nodded and then we had a bit of a conversation based on which I determined that I could pay on the bus and it was likely under EUR 2. Okay, then! Ended up being only EUR 1 and the bus wasn't initially crowded, but then we went past what must have been a Catholic elementary school and all of these adorable kids in their uniforms invaded, I mean "boarded," the bus. I had this one girl who couldn't have been more than 6 or so as she was looking at me at eye level while she stood and I was seated, and she was just staring at me. Um? Apparently my attempts to not look like a tourist were not fooling her. She didn't say anything, just stared. Until what could only be her brother started kicking her. Ah, siblings, the world over....
If you are ever in Kaunas, you should go to the Ninth Fort. Not for the bus experience, but for all that you can learn about Lithuania and its tragic history that all comes together there. The Ninth Fort was originally designed for defensive measures, but is much more well known for its role in holding individuals against their wills. Specifically, it was a holding area by the Soviets for individuals before they were transported to labor camps. That was both before and after WW2. But during WW2 when Lithuania was occupied by the Nazis, the fort was used as a place to execute over 30,000 Jews as well as captured Soviets and others. The museum contains a lot of details on Lithuanian history and the occupation by Russia before and after WW2 and all of the displacements of Lithuanians to parts of Russians as well as to labor camps. The Fort part of the site goes into more detail of what happened with the prisoners, their housing, and courageous people who sheltered Jews or others. In a nutshell, it is very sobering. I teared up more than once. It is a reminder of the courage of the Lithuanian people and their struggles against invading countries. And that, beyond all the niceties of Kaunas, is why everyone should know about Kaunas.
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