Kaunas, Lithuania

Usually, when traveling to Lithuania, people go to Vilnius. We decided to stray off the path a bit and go to another historic city, Kaunas. Kaunas is where two rivers meet and it has lush forests. It seems like a place you would find In a fairy tale.



Apparently dandelions are not weeds here.


This church along the river was built in the 1400's, I believe. There are lots of churches here. If I understand correctly, they are mostly Russian Orthodox Christian Churches. That may not be right as it seems like a lot of Catholic Churches to me.


We came to check out the view from this hill. The plan was to ride the funicular but due to the fact that it was closed , my ole bod got a real workout climbing up a ton of stairs! It was worth it though. This is a view of old town.


In the old town this interesting "Pam" sign caught my eye. Turns out this word means monument or memorial.


The building is called Thunder House because while excavating it an icon representing the pagan god of thunder was found in a wall. Lithuania was the last European country to abandon their pagan ways . That's why the crusaders came here to straighten them out.



Soooo, I order to protect themselves from the crusaders the Lithuanians built a fort back in the late 1400s. Death and destruction ensued.



Down some stairs we saw the dungeon. They had one guy in here for 4 years.


Through the window we saw an old church


with busted out windows that had been bricked up from inside. So we knocked on the door or course. Much to my surprise, a Franciscan monk opened the door and let us in. The church, completed in 1504, has been through a lot to say the least. It was a spooky feeling quietly slipping in and sensing all the history and all the people who were a part of this place.


After having been used as a warehouse by the communists for decades, it was really decrepit. Actually they removed the floor near the altar to expose a number of crypts. Very interesting. The monk, in limited English, seemed to say that the colorful artwork was done by students at the art school.


Shots of the inside of the church. It is called the church of St.George. I hope they can refurbish it.












Near the church was a lovely park where we had a picnic and played on the cool exercise equipment.


This guys is keeping watch over the park, the church and the fort. Maybe he is the thunder god? I have to say Lithuania is very mysterious.