Re: Neringa, Kaunas better to live in than Vilnius

On Sep 25, 7:24 am, Dmitry <dmitrijsfedot...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 17 Sep, 10:28, "J. Anderson" <anderso...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
My girlfriend visited Kaunas recently.  She described the town as poor
and boring, almost like Bratislava.  She said that people are very
unfriendly there, some of the descriptions reminded me of old SU.
She's been to Riga many times before and in her view Riga is far more
vibrant and interesting than Kaunas.  However, the bread she brought
back from Kaunas is of outstanding quality.

One should always take such surveys with more than a grain of salt. I mean
what's the point in comparing living in Vilnius and living on the Couronian
Spit? As to Kaunas, I can understand your girlfriend.

It could be my fault.  I described it as a cool place as it was in my
memory from the 80's, but my measurments then were obviously
determined by circumstances (we weren't allowed out to see other bits
of the world -)).  I raised her expectations too high.
She expected to see a vibrant place - Instead she found it very
boring and unfriendly.  Her description of how shop/post office people
interact with customers reminded me very much of USSR and Russia in
particular.  And apparently, most outside activities stop after 5pm
like in English villages.  She found Skopje much more interesting than
Kaunas.

 I've always liked Kaunas, although
I can't say exactly why. A Lithuanian friend of mine, who is from Kaunas but
has been living in Vilnius since the 90's, can't understand what I see in
Kaunas. Maybe it's the city's unpretentious genuineness: having been an
inland port of some importance ever since medieval times it was made into a
guberniya centre and then surprisingly found itself to be the capital of
independent Lithuania -- all these different roles are still reflected in
the cityscape of central Kaunas.

I am curious to visit Kaunas again and see what my reaction would be,
but I doubt I will ever have time for such trips.

Hey, what's all this beating up on Kaunas? I think it's a cool
place. OK, it's not New York, but most places aren't. As for being
unfriendly – well, that depends on the company you keep. I find it
very friendly.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Neringa, Kaunas better to live in than Vilnius
    ... and boring, almost like Bratislava. ... She's been to Riga many times before and in her view Riga is far more ... back from Kaunas is of outstanding quality. ... what's the point in comparing living in Vilnius and living on the Couronian ...
    (soc.culture.baltics)
  • Re: Neringa, Kaunas better to live in than Vilnius
    ... according to a Veidas magazine survey published on Monday. ... parts of Lithuania to reside in, ... back from Kaunas is of outstanding quality. ... what's the point in comparing living in Vilnius and living on the Couronian ...
    (soc.culture.baltics)
  • Re: Neringa, Kaunas better to live in than Vilnius
    ... according to a Veidas magazine survey published on Monday. ... parts of Lithuania to reside in, ... back from Kaunas is of outstanding quality. ... what's the point in comparing living in Vilnius and living on the Couronian ...
    (soc.culture.baltics)
  • Re: ??????? ??????????
    ... Btw, I went to Vilnius, Kaunas, and Riga in May, I went to Riga again in ... June, I went to Tallinn last week, and I will go to Kaunas, Vilnius, Riga, ...
    (soc.culture.baltics)
  • Re: ??????? ??????????
    ... Btw, I went to Vilnius, Kaunas, and Riga in May, I went to Riga again in ... June, I went to Tallinn last week, and I will go to Kaunas, Vilnius, Riga, ...
    (soc.culture.baltics)