Curiosity Drive 🚐

[2/2] Kaunas cont. What drew us to Kaunas, however, was modernism. We’re not students of art nor architecture, but sought to understand what made the city’s interwar period (1919-1939) buildings special—gaining a UNESCO World Heritage listing. During this period Kaunas was the provisional capital of Lithuania (Vilnius being occupied by Polish forces). Consequently Kaunas experienced a rapid transformation, blending local design traditions (e.g. textile and woodcarving patterns) with prevailing international modernism (minimalist, sunlit designs featuring strict lines and tall windows). That buildings should be designed based solely on their purpose and function was core to modernism. Examples:

- The Kaunas Church of the Resurrection was begun in 1934, but wasn’t consecrated until 2004 (📷1); it has a thing for vertical lines.
- The former Land Bank was built in 1935 in a functionalist style (📷2).
- The 1937 Lithuanian Garrison Officer’s club "Ramové" is notable for its incorporation of patriotic motifs (📷3).
- The Central Post Office was another modernist example we hoped to see, but was under wraps for renovation.

Modernism explicitly rejected neoclassicism (revival of classical antiquity, emphasising symmetry, proportion and historical columns). For comparison, the Bank of Lithuania was built in 1928 in a neoclassical style (📷4).

🇱🇹 #europe #baltics #lithuania #lietuva 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

[1/2] Kauno pilis | Kaunas Castle is a ruin located strategically at the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers. The original fortress was destroyed in 1362 CE during an attack by the Teutonic Order. A 15th C. replacement atop the foundations of the first featured four stone towers—one of which has been reconstructed (📷1); the Neris tore down most of the rest. Adjacent to the castle is the Laisvės karys | Freedom Warrior sculpture depicting the Vytis, an armoured knight on horseback, which is the national symbol of Lithuania (📷2). The Vytis (the white knight) is one of the oldest state emblems in Europe, dating back to the 14th C. as the symbol of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (we’ve seen it on the red state flag flown at significant historical locations). The nearby Town Hall Square, bordered by the Church of St. Francis Xavier and the Town Hall, made us wonder where everyone was on a Monday lunchtime (📷3). We found a nearly empty restaurant and sampled from their “ethnographic menu”; perhaps we chose poorly, as it was rather bland (📷4). For dessert we tried spurgos from a popular café, a donut Kaunas is famous for, filled with curd cheese, jams or meat.

🇱🇹 #europe #baltics #lithuania #lietuva 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

[2/2] Dzūkija National Park cont. Trailside smalls included Fuligo septica | the 🍳 scrambled egg slime #mould, so named for its yolk-like colour (📷1). Looking like a bifurcated donut on a stick, this is Gyromitra infula | elfin saddle #fungus (📷2). We’re fairly sure this is Didymium spongiosum | 🐕🤮 dog sick slime mould because, well… just look at it (📷3)! Adding splashes of colour to the forest and representing the #plant kingdom, flowering Euonymus verrucosus | the warty-barked spindle (📷4). Although we had several sightings of the great spotted woodpecker, the European green woodpecker said to reside in the park was a no-show.

🇱🇹 #europe #baltics #lithuania #lietuva 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #hiking #nature #nationalPark

[1/2] Dzūkijos nacionalinis parkas | Dzūkija National Park is located in southern Lithuania, close to the Belarusian border and less than 100km east of the Sulwalki Gap. It’s the largest protected area in the country, enclosing vast pine forests, inland dunes and waterways/ wetlands. The park also contains several ethnographic villages that preserve wooden architecture and customs. We took the Zackagirio takas | Zackagiris Trail, beginning at the park’s Visitor Centre in Marcinkonys; we soon encountered some of those traditional houses (📷1). Much of the trail is pine forest, but waypoints include Šaudzyklos kalnas | Shooting Range Hill, a 13m high sandy edge overlooking the Grūda River (📷2), the Klonių (Gaidžių) kopa sand dune (📷3) and Meškos šikna | Bear’s Butt raised bog, which the trail skirts. We ended the day at ež. Kastinis, a small lake just a few kilometres from the trailhead (📷4). A 13km/ 4h circular hike.

🇱🇹 #europe #baltics #lithuania #lietuva 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #hiking #nature #nationalPark

About 25km west of Vilnius is Trakų istorinis nacionalinis parkas | Trakai Historical National Park. We began with a 4km circular wetland trail, Varnikų pažintinis takas | Varnikai Nature Trail, very popular on a Saturday morning (📷1). Lake Galvė, with 21 islands, is the largest of 32 lakes within the park; the best known island is Castle Island—the site of Trakų salos pilis | Trakai Island Castle (📷2). Originally built in the 14th C. the castle was extensively rebuilt after WWII in 15th C. style and now houses a history museum. Užutrakio dvaras | Užutrakis Manor, a restored late 19th C. residential estate, can be seen across the lake from Castle Island (📷3). Karaites are a Turkic-speaking people who settled here by invitation of the Grand Duke to serve as bodyguards/ soldiers at the end of the 14th C. The traditional Karaite kibinai, a savoury pastry much like a Cornish pastie, is readily available. Karaite wooden houses in Trakai typically feature three street-facing windows (📷4); note the house model fixed to the façade—we saw this several times.

🇱🇹 #europe #baltics #lithuania #lietuva 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nationalPark