The Flixbus breezed right across the Lithuania border, passing an extremely long queue of vehicles waiting to enter Poland. The crossing loses an hour, so it's gonna get light at 5:00 instead of 4:00 up here.

Marijampole could be a town in upstate New York or Indiana. The downtown has a 20:1 car to human ratio, more like America than Poland. Everything looks soullessly modern, though the three-point pedestrian overpasses above the busy traffic circles look cool. Outside the city center, dilapidation and neglect are noticeable, more so than in Poland. The new money hasn't trickled down to the villages yet.

Unlike Poland, LT is basically a cashless society. People are also more open, energized and willing to speak English here. Progress and development is a good thing. I expect the larger cities to be very gentrified, but hopefully they retain some unique Lithuanian character despite their newfound prosperity.