What started out as a small gathering of like-minded aficionados trading miscellaneous antiquities in exchange for a bit of pocket money has slowly evolved into a serious weekly event. Stretched out round two full sides of the Trade Union Palace, items up for grabs include everything from Czechoslovakian clarinets to furniture to WWII-era Nazi propaganda posters in Lithuanian. Highlights at the last event included a man selling beautiful Lithuanian postcards from the 1960s and another chap selling Soviet cameras from the side of a van.
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Somewhat akin to the carnival in which Pinocchio finds himself, Gariūnai is both a bit scary and full of amusing jackasses. Luckily an on-site police station insures nothing gets too out-of-hand. The 120ha market located just 4km from Vilnius sells everything from cars to wigs to baby carriages. Definitely a good place should you need a disguise. In fact, the former gravel pit was the spot where the Dzeržinskio Market (now Kalvarijų Market) was re-located too during the late 1980s. This was an attempt to have the newfangled kooperatyvai (literally, 'cooperatives', or to be more exact, small private companies) ousted out of town in the hope that their smelly entrepreneurship would somehow dissipate quietly. The rows of kiosks are good for perusing, but only the truly strong should venture into prepared food purchasing. [...]

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Featuring everything from old ladies selling garlic bulbs and carrier bags to the occasional bargain goat (cash only), one of the city’s most endangered species is a must-see attraction for anyone who wants a taste of what the rest of the country’s really like. One of the best plac [...]

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