You always know whats on my heart,

Oh the joy you give, everytime.

Under the stars I look to you,

Ruler, king. Loving, true.

When I do wonder; What could be?

I look across the distant sea.

Longing to see a plan for me,

Loving true. Jesus, you.

No-one but you fills me annew

Or saves me from a life so blue.

Truthful friend, awesome, you.

Musing tonight, I came to you,

In no doubt of all you would do

Now filling the gaps, as I look…

Eyes fixed, again to you.

After making elaborate plans of what I want to say, i realise, I dont need to…

Ecclesiastes goes further.

The basic plan is for me to spend 7 nights in Lithuania travelling as shown above.

In case of emergency please refer to my twitter for my latest status and notify my  UK emergency contact. The British Embassy in Lithuania can be contacted on +37052462900.

1. Why Lithuania, the back story.

Until recently I did not even know Lithuania existed…

1. Nov 08: Met a Lithuanian tourist in brum who had been offered drugs and had a bus ticket stolen after one day in England. In conversation I was horrified to discover I did not even know where Lithuania was, assumed it was near Belgium?
2. Jan 09: Randomly found myself eating with some Lithuanian’s in a cafeteria, surrounded by people from many nations, despite many people I could have eaten with, I ended up with them.
3. Feb 09: Read an amazing design magazine at uni, engrossed in it for a while, then decided I wanted to subscribe. I flicked to the front cover and to my horror I discovered it was titled “Lithuanian Design Review.”
4. Did further research on the country, blogs, industry trends etc. Discovered they’ve only recently joined the EU (2004), and they currently boast (in order of discovery);
   1. Lowest EU corporation tax
   2. Fixed  rate, low Income tax
   3. One of the highest domestic Internet Speeds available in Europe, 7 times faster than what I get here on optical in Birmingham.
   4. Amazing national health service.
   5. Less debt per capita than the UK.
   6. Sound education system.
   7. Growing links, trading with the UK, textiles etc.
   8. A great place for outsourcing.
   9. Host democratic elections and recently appointed a female Prime Minister.
   10. Till recession LT was experiencing substantial economic growth, not looking so healthy atm, hard to tell from figures, need to see for yourself.
   11. Litas is the currency.
   12. Best to travel by coach rather than Train, quicker.
5. Sadly, its not all good news;
   1. Highest Divorce rates in Europe
   2. Highest Suicide rates amongst young men in Europe
   3. Low minimum wage of €1 an hour
   4. Predominantly mono cultural, Caucasian.
6. So, I decided to book some low cost tickets there, needed a holiday anyway, and here we are, nine hours before I depart.
7. Since booking the tickets I have discovered. (random mix I know)
   1. Lithuania was part of the Teutons empire, as a child I used to play a game with Rob, I’d often be Teuton, lol…
   2. Apparently Lithuania have more than there fair share of attractive ladies.
   3. Due to recent turmoils where US military distribution centres are located near the middle east, Lithuania is being considered as part of a new supply route.

2. What I expect from the week;

1. A holiday, to relax, explore and learn about Lithuanian culture first hand, gaining basic familiarity with some of the cities.
2. Speak with the locals to weigh there views on topical current affairs.
3. Test out locations film worthy qualities, trying out various shots.
4. Test out the quality and variety of available fruit, coffee and the national puddings.
5. Slightly warmer weather than England. Lithuania has slightly warmer summers and much colder winters than the UK.

Max budget, £300, 100 each for buses, food and hostels. I expect to spend only 70% of this. Flights were £110, so in total the 8 day travelling holiday will cost £310-400.

3. The basic Itinerary

N.B Actual postal addresses and contact numbers will be posted on Twitter.

Day 1, Wednesday 17th of June – Birmingham / Kaunas / Klaipeda

This day will be packed with travelling, I will fly 1”700 miles  to Kaunas (flight 1214), hop on a bus and travel 200 km to Klaipeda. I must be back at Kaunas in good time before I fly home, so I will look at Kaunas city then.

04:58 UK Bus – Erdi to Bhx, 966 (will be at airport by 6am, two later busses avail to reach before gate closes)

07:15 Flight FR1214 BHX-KUN, gates close at 6:45. ARRIVE 12:15 local time (10:15 GMT)

Bus route 1 gets me to the coach station, regular.

Hourly Coaches Kaunas / Klaipeda (2:45 min journey, arrive at 4pm) (£12)

Hostel (£3 deposit, 37.8 lt due) Its the hostel at the bus station.

Klaipėda – tourist information

Turgaus St. 7, LT-91247 Klaipėda
Tel. +370 46 412 186, fax +370 46 412 185

E-mail tic@one.lt

www.klaipeda.lt

Day 2, Thursday 18th of June Klaipeda /Mazeikiai

Start the day buying the coach ticket, then spend the rest of the day around Klaipeda, pick up guide book, visit castles, history of Klaipeda museum. (near the old post office) Curonian Spit etc. I’m told Mazikiai is mainly the home of an oil refinery, so I wont stay there long… Just want to get a good look at non touristy bits, as well as main stream routes.

Coach Klaipeda /Mazeikiai (every two hours)

Hostel Plinkseshotel may vary depending on guide book.

Mažeikiai-tourist information

Ventos St. 8A, LT-89102 Mažeikiai

Tel./fax +370 443 95351

E-mail mtvic@mazeikiai.lt

Day 3, Friday 19th of June Mazeikiai / Siauliai / Panevezys

Early bus trip to Siauliai, have lunch then travel to Panevezys for the afternoon / evening. The contact for Panevezys works in the Eurolines office at the bus station, her name is Daiva, pronounced Diver. I hear Penevezys has a hotel with a great view from the top floor and a theme park… sort of…

Coach Mazeikiai / Siauliai (18lt) every 2 hours, 1.45 hr trip

Coach Siauliai / Panevezys every 2 hours 1.25 hr trip

Hostel Linos  apartamentai  Panevėžyje

Šiauliai – tourist information

Vilniaus St. 213, LT-76348 Šiauliai
Tel. +370 41 523 110, fax +370 41 523 111

E-mail tic@siauliai.lt

www.siauliai.lt/tic

Panevėžys – tourist information

Laisvės Sq. 11, LT-35200 Panevėžys
Tel. +370 45 508 081, fax +370 45 508 080

E-mail pantic@takas.lt

www.panevezystic.lt

Day 4, Saturday 20th of June Panevezys / Vilnius

(I have less specific plans for the rest of the holiday, I would have had time to read some of the guides, speak to other travellers and ask what they would recommend. Whats more, I will be in the capital and it will be hard to go wrong really.)

Early travel to Vilnius, got to be there by lunch for a timed call to Birmingham. Staying in a hotel this evening, thanks airmiles!

Meeting Ernesta Skorupskaite for drinks and to be shown around the town, also will meet Renata Ramanauskaite from the local church.

Coach Panevezys / Vilnius, twice an hour

Hotel Reval Inn Vilnius, Ukmerges street 363,  +370-52-388000

Day 5, Sunday 21st of June Vilnius

Visiting http://www.church.lt/map.htm or a small church or a small church that meets on the top floor of a house up the hill. (I do have more details on this.)

Hostel- unplanned, got a few options, will see how they look on the day.

Day 6, Monday 22nd of June Vilnius / Kaunas

Coach (23lt), 3 every hour. Vilnius / Kaunas

House Share – Mindaugas Gmm , ADDRESS: A ir J Gravrogku Street, Kaunas

Day 7, Tuesday 23rd of June Kaunas

Kaunas- tourist information

Laisvės Ave. 36, LT-44240 Kaunas
Tel. +370 37 323 436, tel./fax +370 37 423678

E-mail turizmas@takas.lt

http://visit.kaunas.lt

Misc in Kaunas

House Share – Mindaugas Gmm

Day 8, Wednesday 24th of June Kaunas / Birmingham

Get to the airport for midday by bus

Buses – Depend on morning activities, many options.

Flight FR1215, 12:40, arrive 13:40 (GMT)

An A-Z of Lithuania (Written by Adomas Wilson)

For further information I recommend checking out this amazing A-Z of Lithuania written by an Englishman who spent three years there, thanks Adomas Wilson!

It makes a compelling read and answers some of the questions I set out to answer on this holiday and many more!

A is for Arrivals

B is for Beginnings

C is for Contrasts, Changes and Character

D is for Demographics

E is for Entertainment

J is for Jews and Japanese

K is for Klaipeda

M is for Mašinos, Men and Mortality

P is for Panevėžys

Q is for Queen

R is for Random

S is for Sun and Snow, Sensible Shoes and Sunglasses

T is for Trolleybus

U is for Užsieniečiai

V is for Vilnius, Village and Versions of history

W is for Women

X is for X-List (Celebrities and a Top Secret Nuclear Site)