@daliazygas @ajsadauskas It really is!

You can literally walk from one end of town to the other along fully pedestrian streets.

You read in old books about people "promenading". Of people seeing and being seen.

Of people sitting to just watch people passing by. Of people walking down the boulevard in their best designer gear.

And especially in that tree-lined centre corridor, with the park benches, there's a lot of folks doing that today.

Something that really stood out to me was the diversity of different kinds of people who were cycling, rollerskating, and scootering down Laisvės Alėja.

It wasn't just the usual middle aged men in lycra.

There were young kids, right through to elderly grandmas and grandpas.

Even whole families cycling together!

I saw a number of young families, with mum, dad, and two kids around six or eight, all cycling together!

And something else you don't often see elsewhere: Parents cycling with their teenaged sons or daughters.

The skateboarders are treated as just another mode of active transport, instead of as something to be banned.

Which leads to skaters getting to where they need to go, respectful of other people.

There's also a lot of people who either live or work within a block or two of the street. Many of the rest head there in their spare time to have a coffee, or a drink, or a meal with friends. Or go to a show at one of the theatres, or a concert.

People don't want to sit in their apartments when it's sunny and 24 degrees (celsius) in Summer, and the days are long. They want to sit outside and catch up with friends and colleagues at a café/bar after work.

So the street basically functions as the city's communal living room.

As a result, there's constantly people spontaneously bumping into a friend, or a neighbour, or a colleague, and saying "labas".

Pictures can only tell half the story. It really is a great vibe in Kaunas during the Summertime.

#Urbanism #City #Cities #Planning #UrbanPlanning #Kaunas #Lietuva #Lithuania #bike #bicycle #cycle #cycling #walking #Europe