Day 34 – Kaunas at Last

In the morning weather.com said 70% chance of the evening rain. It was a risk worth taking. We packed and left the house at 7:30am. Georgia was very good about getting ready to go in 15 minutes.

We caught an 8:15 train to Kaunas. It was a nice trip. We got let out a stop early on Kaunas 1 because they were fixing the train tracks near the main train station. There was a group of people on the street waiting for the trolley or the bus. We asked a few how to get to the center of the city and they were very helpful and told us the number of the trolleybus (5) we had to take.

We got to the center city, got Kaunas in Your Pocket at the news kiosk, and figured that zoo was not very far from where we had arrived. The lady at the news kiosk suggested to take the #3 bus. So with the help of a few more people we finally arrived there.

Having not had our breakfast yet, the first thing we did after getting in was to head for zoo coffee shop. Since we assumed that no one speaks any language we tried the body language to convey that we would like the list of the cooked, preferably deep fried dishes. The bar girl seemed at a loss. Then a lady who spoke Russian came and offered belyashi. Once we got some oil flowing we found out the bar girl speaks a pretty good English.

We had very low expectations about the zoo, based on reviews that it is almost 100 years old and in deplorable condition. The trip was to show Georgia some kind of live versions of the animals she saw in the zoo and on the Internet.

We were pleasantly surprised. Even though the zoo is very old and many areas could really use a lift, the zoo grounds are continually taken care of, and efforts are being made to make it a pleasant place for both animals and visitors. There are some run-down areas but it is very clean and there is new construction. Some environments are comparable to US. Caretakers we saw seem nice. There are many play areas for kids. Some are really cool like the giant slide to the zebra/pelican section of the zoo. The only thing that reveals the deadly nature of the place is that there is a lot of animals of the same kind (back-ups?): lamas, camels, pekari, zebras, and, in some instances, there are none even though signs indicate there is still someone living there.

My favorite were the porcupines. They have 2. It is a big thing. One was running around and looking threatening and nervous. Supposedly they have 30,000 loose hanging needles that are waiting for the chance to get detached and stuck in the victim’s skin. The second one was lying next to the pile of food and dead leaves. The zoo attendant was hanging around it. I figured it was dead and he came to pick it up, but attendant said it was sleeping. It looked very peaceful compared to the other one.

By the time we were done with the zoo it started raining. We caught a cab to the center on the Laisves aleja next to the post office. The plan was to get some lunch and put Georgia to sleep in the stroller and walk around and see some galleries. It worked on every account. We got lunch at Maesto Soda (Dan said City Garden) – a huge restaurant with great food and service. Georgia fell asleep as soon as we wrapped her in the water-resistant jacket. And we walked around. We even got a bonus when it started to rain again and we got the cover, cappuccinos and cakes at Kavine Kerai.

Kaunas center does not appear to have has changed since our last visit three years ago. Many buildings are still dilapidated. The main cathedral needs some freshening up. While some of the nicest places in Vilnius seem to be gone, the same shops are still there in Kaunas. The one area where Kaunas can beat Vilnius any day are the art galleries. Things are moving forward faster than in Vilnius. We visited them in turns.

When Georgia woke up we caught a mini-bus back. She was really good. And even though she had to go to the bathroom 2/3 into the trip back, she held out and entertained the other riders by singing and trying to pick my nose (the latter one is the payback for what I tried to do to her while she was sick).

Then Alicia came and we headed to Cili Kaimas for dinner. We stayed inside this time. The menu is very extensive and the food is great. Near the entrance they have a cage with funny looking rooster with sideways comb (it was sort of handing across its head like bangs). One of the waitresses went to the cellar with us to open us the section with a pool where a hippo was swimming. Just kidding, there were some rainbow carps. They also have a snake in a terrarium near the bathrooms. When we were leaving, there was a crowd of people waiting to get in and they started to open up the pool section.

So today, we traveled by train, trolley, bus, cab, and a mini-bus. Quite a day. Back home we ate ice-cream with the last remaining strength.