Kaunas

The quiet crackle of fire in a warm room, a train rolling by, fall leaves underfoot, the silence of a snowy midnight, wolf pack howls, the tapping of long nails on good wood, rain on window panel, old leather creaking, the quiet strum of a guitar, quietly whispered poetry, a paintbrush on fresh canvas… If I would have to describe the sounds of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania, I could go on for ages.

“The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back.”

― Wendy Wunder, The Probability of Miracles

I wouldn’t say that I particularly miss my hometown. Memories of it simply don’t cross my mind often. To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to my holiday here at all, but after few days of exploring different parts of Kaunas I have to admit – I was wrong, there’s something about my hometown that makes it special and it feels good to be back. A lot of people told me that Kaunas improved a lot since last time I’ve been here and from what I saw, I can only agree. No wonder why it’s going to be European Capital of Culture 2022 (yay!).

Let me tell you how walking down the main street made me feel. Melted snow, mixed up with cold wind following you everywhere you go… More or less every house is broken in some way and even streets look like they’ve been glued – random piece with another random piece. It’s impressive how contrasting those bits and pieces may be – for example, in the photos below (I took them the same day), you can see both snow and blossoms. Feels like wandering in a dream. Nothing seems to make sense, but at the same time, there’s some sort of hidden meaning in every little detail.  The wonderful thing is that somehow all this mess turns out into an inspiring and weirdly satisfying final picture.

This is my second properly edited gallery entry. Again, all photos were taken with iPhone7 and edited using premium VSCO filters. I highly suggest you pay attention to each part of every photo – you’ll be amazed on what you may spot (I challenge you to find a paper airplane and… an outside bathtub!).

Enjoy!

P.S. Please note that everything is only my opinion and this is how I see Kaunas. My aim was to show how perfectly imperfect a place can be and I used Kaunas as an example. Some photos may seem dark, but don’t let this fool you. Especially in the summertime, Kaunas look completely different. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make a contrasting future post to show you the difference.

P.P.S. Have you seen my Instagram?

*