First time I was going to Lithuania, I got really scared. Not scared of being in that country, but to fly.
Last time I had been on an airplane was when I was 18 years old. And of course, during the years I created a fear towards airplanes.
The night before the flight I couldn't barely sleep. My heart was beating fast and my body was filled with adrenaline.
I took a taxi to the airport that day, and my nervousness went out on the taxi-driver. Poor him, who needed to listen to me talking non-stop about how nervous and scared I was to fly.:)
He tried to calm me down and ensured me that everything would be ok!
I finally arrived at the airport, and went in through the gates. I was standing there with my eyes wide opened and I just realized how lost I was! Everyone in the airport seemed to experienced, but I didn't have a clue what to do next.
I went to the information and asked the lady behind the desk for help how to get my tickets.
She smiled at me and said; It's the first time for everyone, and pointed at a gate where I could receive my flight tickets.
I finally managed to get my tickets and next stop would be the check-in. That went smoothly, and I went in to a discovery-mood. The airport had plenty of different stores and restaurants. It was still a couple of hours left until my flight would take off, so I sat down in a restaurant and ordered a salad and a cold beer (to calm my nerves a bit).
Those couple of hours went by really fast, and it was time for boarding.
Finally in the plane I sat down and waited for the take-off.
It was so exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. I never thought a view could be so beautiful from a plane window.
After a little bit, my nerves was kind of in normal mode and I even had courage enough to take a small nap.
The flight was headed to Stockholm, and then I needed to change to another flight who was heading to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
The flight from Stockholm to Vilnius felt like it took forever. I looked forward to see my boyfriend and I looked forward to see Lithuania.
Finally the captain was talking in the speakers that we were close to landing! Oh I was so excited!
I was only there for 3 days, so we decided to discover a bit of Vilnius city. A beautiful town with churches in almost every corner. A city with a lot of history. And people seemed reserved but friendly.
Since 1 of January 2015, Lithuania have euro as a currency, before that they had litas.
It wasnt that hard for me to convert prices to the swedish krona in my head, because its pretty much the same amount, just need to add an extra number. So for example if something cost 2.30 euros, its pretty much as 24 swedish kronor.
We went to a small cafeteria and bought one cup of coffee each. I looked to the left and saw to older women sitting in front of each other and drinking vodka. In the middle of the day!
After our small visit in the cafeteria, we continued our walk and came to the President of Lithuania's Palace.
A beautiful building!
And then we headed to Vilnius Cathedral
It was really beautiful in there!
The biggest grocery stores is "Iki", "RIMI" and "Maxima".
Prices in lithuanian stores may look cheap to some people, but its not, compared to what people actually earn there.
Hygiene products is quite expensive, pretty much the same price if not even a bit above swedish prices.
For example, a Nivea deoderant cost around 3.50 euros. Whats cheap though, is eggs, smoked sausage, fish, rice etc.
Alcohol prices is a bit below swedish prices, but still cheaper. Also alcohol is sold in normal stores. A can of beer cost around 90 cents and a bottle of wine around 4,50 euros. You need to be 18 years old to buy alcohol there.
I also noticed how people put up their groceries in the checkouts. They put it all together in one pile. Thats rare to see in Sweden, since we like to put it in a line:) Also, people pack their groceries before they pay, also rare to see here, since a lot of swedish people pack their groceries AFTER they paid.
People are very quite while standing in the checkout lines. They don't smile that much. But it doesn't matter, because they are really friendly people.
Women dress really well, even if they just need to go to the store. Men, on the other hand, seem to like sweatpants there.
Talking about men in Lithuania, they really care about their women, and what I mean with that is that they help their other half to carrying bags from the store. :)
My trip ended, and I needed to say goodbye and fly home to Sweden. With me, my heart was filled with love for the beautiful and historical city of Vilnius. So much to see and discover!
Hugs from me to you! :)
Picture source:
Pic nr 1: https://pixabay.com/en/laugh-smile-smiley-funny-plush-1966858/