Kaunas Shopping

I always feel some kind of shy when I want to take a picture of someone's face. Fortunately, my digital camera had 7x optical zoom, so I could take this picture of a girl - street vendor.

What to buy: The girl - street vendor was sitting by northern wall of Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul and was trying to sell the picture.

What to pay: Excuse, I have no idea.

It was not a store/shop but a restaurant (with limited choice of food) and a bar which served limited choice of beer, wine and other drinks.

They offered Avilys beer brewed in mini-brewery located in cellars of nearby Avilys restaurant (Vilniaus gatve 34) not only to drink at place but to buy and take out in these large glass containers on my picture.

What to buy: If you like (taste first at place):
1. Avilio alaus (Avilys light beer) - 5.00 Lt (€ 1.5; US$ 1.83; 7.00 Polish zl) for 500 ml or 2.50 lt for 250 ml
My opinion: malt-accented pale lager clean and easy to drink in quantity :-). Sweetish aroma and taste with honey and almond notes. Very different (that's why it's a must) although not my favourite.

2. Medaus alus (Avilys honey beer) - 0.5 lt more expensive than the above.
My opinion: Avilys Avilio brewed with honey, industrial-grade honey note, not my favourite.



What to pay: Price for large glass container was a little bit lower than for the same amount of beer drunk at place.

Well, to be honest I paid more attention to the brick building which housed this bookstore than to books themselves. To be more exact I noticed strange pattern of red bricks mixed with navy blue ones.
This bookstore was called/advertised as "Tukstantis ir viena knyga" as well. Did it mean native and foreign books?

HOURS
Mon - Fri: 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm :-).

What to buy: What you like. Good choice of books in many languages including in English.

What to pay: Books generally were less expensive than in any Western European country.

Doing my... window shopping along Vilniaus and Laisves streets, I could see a lot of touristy, kitschy stuff sold there both in souvenir/gift stores and from a few street vendors. Just one example on my picture, in my opinion.

What to buy: I would NOT buy these ceramic eggs or mugs on my picture. Instead, I would look for:
1. amber (or amber + silver) jewelry,
2. linen clothes,
3. wooden art (esp. thin and high sculptures),
4. artistic hand-made ceramics.

What to pay: Inexpensive area! Not so easy to find in Europe nowadays! Enjoy!

Hmm... VT Currency Converter skipped Lithuania :-(. Check your currency at OANDA 164 currencies converter instead.

This store/shop was closed at the evening. I did only window shopping there. Well, they sold various souvenirs/gifts including these rag dolls in Lithuanian costumes, on my picture.

What to buy: Surely something Lithuanian. What you like. I would look for:
1. amber (or amber + silver) jewelry,
2. linen clothes,
3. wooden art (esp. thin and high sculptures),
4. artistic hand-made ceramics.

What to pay: Inexpensive area! Not so easy to find in Europe nowadays! Enjoy!

Hmm... VT Currency Converter skipped Lithuania :-(. Check your currency at OANDA 164 currencies converter instead.

Excuse me, I didn't do any shopping in Kaunas. I did it before in Vilnius and Trakai. But walking around Kaunas I did some window shopping and noticed a few souvenir/gift stores/shops in both the old and the new town. One of them was Suvenyrai (souvenirs in Lithuanian language) on my picture.


Where to find souvenir/gift stores/shops?
1. In the Old Town
- at Viniaus gatve (main walking street), at # 18, 32, 56 and 66;
- at Town Hall Square (Rotuses aikste).
2. In the New Town:
- at Laisves aleja (avenue) - main shopping street of Kaunas and the longest pedestrian street in Eastern Europe - at # 36, 57, 84, 110 and 118.

When to do shopping? (usual hours):
Mon - Fri: 10.00 am - 6.30 pm (or 6.00 or 7.00 pm)
Sat: 10.00 am - 4.00 pm (or 5.00 pm or... closed)
Sun: closed.

What to buy: What you like. Various amber jewelry, linen clothes and wooden souvenirs only Mon-Fri at 10.00 am - 6.30 pm.

What to pay: Inexpensive area! Not so easy to find in Europe nowadays! Enjoy!

Hmm... VT Currency Converter skipped Lithuania :-(. Use: OANDA 164 currencies converter instead.

Vaistine means drugstore/chemist's in Lithuanian language. I found a few in Kaunas centre/downtown of which most looked quite new.

This Euro Vaistine on my picture was open:
Mon - Fri 8.00 am - 8.00 pm
Sat - Sun 10.00 - 4.00 pm.

The drugstore open non-stop 7 days a week was called Teatro Vaistine and was located at Laisves aleja (Ave.) 89.

What to buy: They offered a wide assortment of Western European medicines. Medicines prescribed by doctors in 25 countries of European Union should be realized there.



What to pay: Prices were mostly only a little bit lower than in Poland or Western Europe, as I noticed. Well, there were discounts (akcija) for quite many medicines.

Just about everything you ever needed can be found on Laisves avenue. You can find souvenirs scattered along the pavement on Vilniaus, and during the summer a large collection of stall traders on Laisvës, selling everything from sunglasses to second-hand books.