Everyday practical information for Lithuania

Power

• 230 V, 50 Hz, sockets type F (Schuko). The same round two-pin plugs as Germany and most of continental Europe.
• UK, US, Irish and Australian plugs need an adapter.

Language

• Lithuanian is one of the most archaic living Indo-European languages and is related only to Latvian. It is not Slavic.
• English is widely spoken by younger people and throughout Vilnius.
• Russian is understood by older people, Polish in the southeast, but English is the neutral choice.
• "Labas" is hello, "aciu" is thank you - pronounced roughly "ah-choo", which is easy to remember.

Religion and history

• Lithuania is strongly Catholic and the church is a living institution. Dress respectfully in churches, which are working buildings rather than exhibits.
• The Hill of Crosses near Siauliai is a genuine pilgrimage site, not a tourist curiosity.
• The Soviet occupation is living memory. The Museum of Occupations in Vilnius is the KGB's own former building. Treat the subject seriously.

Practicalities

• Shops open late and on Sundays in the cities.
• Basketball is the national obsession and mentioning it is an instant conversation.
• Restaurants serve early by southern European standards; kitchens close around 22:00.

Manners

• Lithuanians are reserved at first and warm once you are past that.
• Take your shoes off indoors in someone's home.
• Shake hands on meeting, and do not do it across a threshold - it is a genuine superstition here.