Hello everybody
I wrote this article after almost 2 months living in Lithuania. There are some curiosities and details I discovered as a foreigner. Have fun 🙂
1
Lithuania is a completely flat land, so Lithuanians started to build artificial hills for telecommunications.
2
In Lithuania there is a joke about the salary of Lithuanians: Presidents of Italy, Germany and Lithuania are eating together in a restaurant, the president of Germany said: “I don’t know how people can survive in my country because people earn 1500€ per month, they spend 700€ for taxes and how they can live with only 700€?”. The Italian president said: “In my country, people earn 1000€ per month, they spend 600€ on taxes, how they can survive with only 400€?”. The Lithuanian president said: “In my country, people earn 500€ per month and they spend 600€ on taxes, where they earn other 100€?”
And believe me, it is not so far from reality, the salary in Lithuania is astonishingly low. The strange thing is that nobody complains about it, and I don’t know how positive it is.
3
Competing supermarkets are usually next to each other.
4
The roads are not always asphalted.
5
After 15.00 on Sunday forget to buy alcohol….. Whaaaat? Alcoholism is a problem in this country. So starting since 1-01-2018 young people under 21 years old can’t buy alcohol at all and on Sunday after 15.00 is prohibited sell alcohol everywhere to everyone. Curious about this new law I asked around to very different people at every age what they think about it. How many think it will resolve the problem? Nobody. This is why. How many alcoholists you see under 21? They usually drink during the weekend with friends, they are not alcoholics. And how can resolve the problem forbid to buy alcohol for some hours in the Sunday afternoon? C’mon, there are other strategies.
6
The national soup has a fluorescent pink color, called Saltibarsciai.
7
Usually, Lithuanians don’t smile, probably because of the number 2. But this is a generalization, I know a few Lithuanians who smile a lot.
8
Lithuanian language is one of the most ancient languages in the world, and the astonishing thing is that it is spoken nowadays! It is more ancient than ancient Greek, I bet you didn’t know it. No problems, I found some Lithuanians who didn’t know, too!
9
Lithuanian nature and its thousands of lakes will leave you speechless.
10
It is the second country in the world with the fastest internet connection (but I didn’t find any difference)
11
The airports are very tiny, even that of the capital.
12
It is better not to speak of Russian influence with a Lithuanian. The opinions are very different about it.
13
In the capital, Vilnius, it is said that wherever you are, you can see at least 2 churches, and I have no difficulty believing it, there are many!
14
Basketball is a religion here.
15
In the schools, there isn’t a bell but an imposing music (that makes me laugh every time).
16
Lithuanians drink tea and juice also for lunch and dinner … and even while they drink wine, SERIOUSLY?
17
Lithuanians don’t know how to design the stairs. It often happens (always) to have steps of different heights. It gives on the nerves, especially if you are a nit-picking as the undersigned.
18
Usually, at 25 people are already married and start to have children.
19
Lithuanians love to make small gardens, almost all the individual houses have a small private greenhouse. They do this also for economic reasons, they save on the purchase of vegetables and some sell the excess in the markets.
20
Lithuanian national dish is called Cepelinai. The name derives from the Zeppelin airship that has the same oval shape of the dish.
21
In Lithuania people celebrate two independence days, one on February 16, Act of Reinstating Independence of Lithuania, and another one on March 11, Day of the Restoration of Independence.
22
In the capital, there is a little republic. It is a made by artists who declare a neighborhood an independent republic. It happened on April 1, 1997, and the day may not be coincidental, it is the April fools’ day.
23
The flag of the Republic of Užupis contains a hand with a hole in the palm. The meaning is about the conditions of the poor people who do charity and who thus have the “holed hands”. The color of the flag change in each season: for the spring is green, for the summer is yellow, for the autumn is red and for the winter is blue.
24
In Užupis, only for the day of Easter, they will give you a special stamp on your passport (f**k, I left mine at home).
25
Lithuanians give flowers as a gift on every occasion.
26
If you are newly licensed, you have to hold the symbol of the beginners for 2 years in your car, I mean… 2 years!
Always curious, keep exploring, Wo/a\nder
Francesco
An Italian Wanderer 
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