But where to go? We were initially thinking Edinburgh, but it was turning out to be tricky to plan with the dates we were all available/lack of flights/long train journeys etc. And so, after a quick look on Skyscanner, the idea to visit Lithuania was born...
Liverpool to Kaunas
We paid just over £70 each to fly from Liverpool to Kaunas with Ryanair (and back), hand luggage only but with extra leg room seats. Our flight out was 7.35am on Saturday, with our return flight at 9.30pm on Sunday - we drove to the airport and paid around £32 for parking which I booked via Holiday Extras. As with any Ryanair flight, it was nothing spectacular but got us there safely and on time!
Saturday in Kaunas
We jumped in an Uber from the airport to the city, which cost £14. It dropped us off at Laisves Aleja, the main pedestrian avenue of the city, and we headed straight for lunch at Casa Della Pasta - a gorgeous Italian restaurant. We all went for pizza, and it was proper woodfired pizza which was utterly delicious!
After lunch we checked into our hotel (more on that later...) and freshened up before heading out to explore properly. Our first stop was the Aleksotas Funicular, one of two funiculars in the city; the other one was closed which is why we opted for this one, which is around a 20-25 min walk from Laisves Aleja and across a bridge. It's cash only, so do bring some euros if you want to ride it - it's 1 euro per person each way. The funicular goes every 10 minutes, and it's only a short ride; at the top there is a nice view of the city, and it was snowing when we got up there which made it that little bit more magical.
We then headed back to the city via Rebels, an Irish bar, for a drink and a warm up. Then we headed to Town Hall Square which had a *huge* Christmas tree and little igloos selling mulled wine, hot chocolate, waffles and more. It was spectacularly pretty! We also popped into the beautiful Archcathedral Basilica of Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul of Kaunas, although we did walk right into mass... it's a stunning building though, so I definitely recommend having a look.
A lot of our day on Saturday was spent around Laisves Aleja, and I just wanted to say how absolutely gorgeous it looks at Christmas - all of the shops and restaurants and businesses go really all-in when it comes to decorating. Everything from trees to gonks to reindeer, bows and baubles and twinkly lights galore. It was so special!
Most of the restaurants in the city seemed to be completely booked up at dinner time, which is definitely something to note. We ended up back in Rebels with some bar snacks, before a mooch around a supermarket (a must during city breaks, don't you think?) for snacks. Then it was time for a few games of cards in the hotel bar before an early night after being up since 3.30am...
Moxy Hotel, Kaunas
We stayed at the Moxy Kaunas Center, and we paid £70 per couple for a room for the night. It was absolutely spot on - the perfect location, just off Laisves Aleja and within walking distance of everything we wanted to see. The rooms were spacious, warm and clean with a comfortable bed, en suite bathroom with sink, toilet, shower & good toiletries, a TV, free WiFi, space to hang a couple of clothing items, USB ports on one side of the bed and plenty of plug sockets, a small seating area, a full length mirror and a fold down table. Downstairs there was free water, lockers to store luggage, and a large bar area with board games. The bright pink Christmas decorations were a hit, too! I was really happy with our choice of hotel in Kaunas city centre.
Sunday in Kaunas
If you're looking for breakfast in Kaunas on a Sunday, you're most likely going to be eating a pastry of some sort - we ended up at a branch of Caffeine, a chain of coffee shops which started in Vilnius and has now expanded throughout the Baltics. It was warm and bright, and there was plenty of choice. We all opted for ham and cheese croissants, and I also treated myself to a Lotus cinnamon bun because when on holiday...
After breakfast we explored a bit more, including King Mindaugas Bridge and some more Christmassy spaces as well as the obligatory trip to Flying Tiger. Then it was time for our chosen museum of the trip: the Devil Museum, which is home to 3,000+ depictions of the devil - from statues to paintings to pipes and everything in between. It was really interesting and we all enjoyed it!
From here we started walking towards Kaunas Castle; along the way we admired the architecture and took a detour through a 'yard gallery' which was really cool. We stopped for a drink at Hop Doc, a craft beer bar, and then we got to the castle itself. It's closed on Sundays but we really only wanted to see the outside, which was interesting, and the big #KAUNAS city sign is there for a nice photo opp.
We'd been recommended Berneliu Uzeiga for dinner, which was really close to the castle, so we headed there at around 3pm. It's a really cute, cosy and traditional-looking restaurant; we had to wait around 20 minutes for a table as it's so popular, but we got seated in the lovely upstairs area away from the queue itself which was a bonus. The menu has a lot of traditional Lithuanian foods as well as standard meat options; I had fried bread with cheese for my starter (which could definitely be shared...) and for my main I went for a traditional potato dish with beetroot cream and fried chicken bites. I enjoyed my dishes, but the consensus throughout the group was a mixed bag - for example, my wife ordered the pork chop but it was actually a pork schnitzel, and our friend had to send his starter back as it was still frozen inside. They had a couple of mocktails on the menu, but I went for the orange and passionfruit lemonade!
From here we mooched back through the city centre, stopping to buy souvenirs and also to grab a donut (not that we needed more food but again, when on holiday...) from Holy Donut - this was one of the best donuts I've ever eaten, so I'd highly recommend.
And this brought us to the end of our trip, as we headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags and book an Uber to the airport!
Total spend for a weekend in Kaunas, Lithuania
Flights - £73.22 per person
Reserved plane seats - £23 per person
Hotel - £35 per person
Airport parking - £8 per person
Petrol/tunnel money - £5 per person
After paying for actually getting to Kaunas, we were left with £346 in the pot - around £172 per couple. But would this be enough for 36 hours in this Baltic city? Here's approximately what me and my wife spent while we were there...
Saturday spends
Uber from the airport - 15 euros
City tax - 4 euros
Lunch @ Casa Della Pasta - 35 euros
Coffee from Vero - 4 euros
Two soft drinks @ Rebels - 5 euros
Funicular - 4 euros
Soft drinks and bar snacks @ Rebels - 15 euros
Supermarket - 16 euros
Coffee and a soft drink in the hotel bar - 7 euros
Sunday spends
Breakfast @ Caffeine - 18 euros
Devil Museum - 16 euros
Two soft drinks @ Hop Doc - 7 euros
Dinner @ Berneliu - 44 euros
Souvenir magnet - 3 euros
Two donuts @ Holy Donut - 10 euros
Soft drink in the hotel bar - 3 euros
Coffee and a soft drink in the aiport - 9 euros
So in total we spent 215 euros or around £190, so just over what we had saved in our little Monzo pot. I haven't included the bits I bought at Flying Tiger or the tablets/cream I had to buy in the pharmacy after having an allergic reaction to my eyeshadow (perks of travelling with a skin condition...) and as you might have noticed, we didn't drink. I'm alcohol-free anyway and my wife doesn't drink within 24 hours of flying, so this definitely kept the cost down for us!
If we break that down for the two of us, for getting there, the hotel and our spends, the total cost for a weekend in Kaunas was £239 per person - which I don't think is bad at all...
I absolutely love a weekend city break, especially when you don't have to use ANY annual leave, and we all really enjoyed our time in Kaunas, Lithuania. Let me know what you think of what we got up to and what we spent...
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