"First steps into the former Soviet Union " a Lithuania Travel Page by carteraa

I traveled into Kaunus on one of the flying busses (Ryanair) leaving from London Stanstead at rediculous o'clock which meant sleeping on the cold hard floor at stanstead for the umpteenth time. (note to self; Sleeping bag good) the flight was packed and took 2 and a bit hours to travel.We had a bumpy landing in the fog. As we cleared through the fog i could make out the terminal "Kaunus International." This is a querky name for a building that views like a small shopping center with one arrivals gate and one departures gate. As i walked out of the plane i was knocked down by my first impression of the country..... the cold.

We decided to give Kaunus the slip and we drove directly to Vilnius, passing the imposing soviet era blocks of Kaunus on the way. The towns here appear at first to be cold and unatractive. Perhaps its the colour that gives this impression as everything i have seen so far appears to be a dull grey without a hint of painting.
We drive down the motorway as i observe cars changing lanes and overtaking at what appears to be daredevil skill. (i live in England where driving tends to be more conservative than in some other parts of the world). I confess that i become intoxicated by the deep south blues gently trickeling from the cars CD player and i submit to sleep. Luckily i wasn't the one driving. :)

First impressions: I have to confess to having a feeling of Deja Vous when i first entered the city, it was remenisant of the time i had spent with a good friend of mine in Gdansk (poland). Although i cannot put my finger on what it was that was so similar it definately had the same vibe. When i questioned a Lithuanian on the subject she agreed that allot of cities in the center / east of Europe had a similar structuring.