Lithuania

July, 18-23, 2024

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Unlike my cycle tours in 2007 (returning from the North Cape) and 2009 (cycling around the Baltic Sea), the distance I travelled by bike in this country is very short. Just 1 ½ days of cycling take me from the Polish-Lithuanian border in the Suwałki corridor to Marijampolé in Lithuania. From there, I use efficient public transport for the next stage destinations. The reason for this: despite the limited time frame, not only to drive through the two cities of Kaunas and Vilnius, but also to discover them and – contrary to the original plan – to visit Riga.

Nevertheless, I take away even a few yet interesting impressions of the country and its people:

• an obvious but downright likeable national pride, without any arrogance, but rather combined with a great affinity to the European Community and membership of the North Atlantic Alliance;

• The legacy of the Soviet occupation, which is still easily recognisable to the outside observer, especially in the suburbs, in decaying industrial and large agricultural enterprises and in former representative buildings that are now unused, is being actively reappraised historically, for example in Vilnius through a museum dedicated to this period;

• high level of loyalty and attachment to Ukraine, which manifests itself in many ways, much stronger than in Germany, for example, which is certainly due to the ‘frontline state status’ due to the border with Belarus;

• an upgrading of the infrastructure, which has happened at a rapid pace since my previous visits, even if the urban-rural and, in the cities, the city centre-suburb divide is still quite marked;
• a strong urban culture and art scene with a high presence of artefacts, galleries, museums, theatres and culture-promoting institutions;

• a visible love of tidiness and cleanliness, which can be seen in all areas of public life, e.g. in exemplary clean streets, squares and green spaces as well as in the absence of litter, illegal waste disposal or excessive graffiti, and in the microcosm of private households through well-kept living style and comfort and in rural and suburban areas also in the lovingly – sometimes bizarrely – designed front gardens.

I gain all my other impressions as a common tourist in Lithuania’s two largest cities, Vilnius and Kaunas, which I report on in detail in my Blog.