Beers ahoy!

Not many people are aware of it, but Lithuania is somewhat of a beer kingdom. Many beers can be found in the country, especially the "gyvas Alus" (Living beer) type, which is unpasturized.

Some of the brewers are really cool looking (see photo of Snekutis brewer).

Lithuania has literally hundreds of microbrewies who are usually operating out of their own homes. A lot of them add a bit of their own sweat to each beers for taste (involuntarily) as they put all their love and attention into their brew. The effect is evident - some of the tastiest beers in Europe. Real Lithuanian beer will also not give you a bad headache, even if you are like me and like to indulge.

Most beers come from the area surrounding the northern town of Birzai. This town is interesting in itself and not just for beers either! It is close to the Latvian border and is almost smack-bang on the road from Riga to Vilnius, so there are no excuses for not stopping there.

People drink so much of the beer that they come out with quotes like this about it: "According to historians, the local beer has been talking to people for more than 1 100 years. Only here you will find that local malt liquor is hard as oak, sweet as honey and strong as dynamite."

I won't go into the many many excellent breweries because it would be unfair if I didn't name all of them, but I do warn you to avoid the major beer labels as they do not put the same care into their beers as all the rest.

Those coming to Vilnius are urged to go to Alaus Namai - the bar where all the good local beers can be tried - without the commercial rubbish.

Something you need to know when going to a Lithuanian bar is how to say "cheers." Locals get really impressed if you can pronounce, or try to pronouce, "I Sviekata" (eeh - svee - kah - tah), which literally means "to health"

Tikras Alus (Real Beer) is a good blog with information on Lithuanian beers - check it out. Some articles are in English, but others can be translated fairly successfully with Google Translate.

I Sviekata!

Brits get best air deals

As documented in my previous post, it isn't easy to get in and out of the capital Vilnius, but you can get to the country somehow and the cheapest flights on offer are to the U.K. and back (at the time of writing).

If you are willing to fly to Kaunas airport, Lithuania's second biggest city situated 90km from Vilnius, you can book a Ryanair flight from London Stanstead for 6.58 litas (1.91 euros). Not bad really. Other cheap flights also to Kaunas are from Luton, Birmingham and Liverpool all for under 100 litas (29 euros).

The Germans have the next best rates from Frankfurt Hahn (10.08 euros) and the new route from Dresden (41.80 euros), also with Ryanair.

The Irish, Norweigians and the Swedes also have fair deals (considering the earning power of these countries) to the country, but nothing particularly competitive against rival Riga.

For those who do not want to/can't fly directly to Lithuania could fly to Riga (350 km from Vilnius and 11 euros for the bus) or Warsaw (450km and 22 euros for the bus).

KAUNAS CONNECTION

When flying to Kaunas, be very aware thet the airport is not in the centre of the city and most flights come in late at night. This can leave you stranded or having to take a taxi into the centre, which can be expensive for foreigners.

To take the bus to the city, you can use Bus 29 or the Shuttle bus 120. Check the price before getting on board and make sure you validate your ticket.

Taxis in Lithuania are always cheaper if you call them to you - do not hail them on the street or it could cost you double or triple the regular amount. This still goes even if you call the taxi waiting at the airport that is standing directly in front of you. Look at the number on the taxi and call it.

Buses to Vilnius run according to the schedule of the planes. The cost is 39 litas (11.30 euros), but tickets should be prebooked on www.kaunasair.lt