This morning my friend had arrived and we were taking a day trip to the former capital Kaunas. Before that I wanted to visit the Synagogue which was close to my hotel. There is a rich religious diversity, not only in the number of Churches, but also other faiths such as the Synagogue and a Tatar Mosque we were going to visit in Kaunas.

It was quite warm again and the Synagogue didnt open till 10am. We went to the market hall down the street to kill some time.

It was an interesting market with many different types of meats as well as other types of goods. Hearing stories about how imports were a luxury during Soviet times it was interesting reading the names of origin to see the diversity of origin of goods ranging from Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan, India, and other far off places.

We decided to get some breakfast and had language problems. At one place I had wanted to get the small pancakes and fish cakes. She asked if I wanted them microwaved so I said no and she became quite cross. Then she insisted I had to have a potatoe (which turned out was stuffed with meat). We thought she was going to heat the other items and bring them over but she didnt. It was still cheap at 2.30 Eu ($3)

We then went back to the Synagogue and had to be buzzed to let in. There was a lady who spoke English and asked where we were from and if we had any questions. She explained how they interacted with some local Polish families for many years and how they also attend their mass service.

She also explained how Jewish homes had raised steps to remind them of the Temple in Jerusalem so you can tell by the steps if the home was Jewish or Polish. We told her we were also visiting the Synagogue in Kaunas so she was kind enough to call them and let them know we were coming as I'm not sure if that one is open to the public.

She also told us how to get to the old Jewish Ghetto but I'm not sure if we found it as the streets all looked the same. They also showed us the upstairs classroom.