Kryžkalnis Station’s Secret of Popularity: 30 Years of Unchanging Employees, Legendary Meatballs, and a Hit in the Baths

If you have ever taken a bus to the seaside from the capital Kaunas, Alytus, Marijampolė, Druskininkai or many other cities, you have definitely stopped at Kryžkalnis station. All buses stop here, drop some passengers, accept others. Most importantly, after a long journey, it allows those who travel to the max to exercise. Crowds of people get off the buses and for five, for a maximum of ten minutes, go through the facilities of the Kryžkalnis station. Each traveler chooses according to their needs. Some rush to the bathroom in a row, others in the cafeteria order a cottage cheese donut or a hundred grams, and a third want ice cream. It turns out that there are also the kind of people who expect this stop as a miracle, because they have known since ancient times that only here they sell special dumplings, very, very small.

I must admit that, until I became familiar with the history of Kryžkalnis station, I was bothered by the rather sad image that the Germans, Japanese, Spanish or Americans who were traveling from Vilnius to Nida saw. The building is old, tired, a true Soviet legacy. Baths have long been intimidating – you had to do “big” and “little” things in those terrible old holes. I still remember them as one of the scariest things about my school.

Buffet, shop is not quite in the style of these times either. Everything is like forty years ago.

Although there are foreigners who like Soviet things a lot. That’s exactly what they come to at this kind of party, and then they marvel and photograph what we find embarrassing. For example, my friend, a photojournalist from Israel, or the boy of a friend from Austria, the Kryžkalnis station for them as a museum, where you want to take a selfie on every corner.

In fact, I have repeatedly heard Lithuanians outraged by this place on the bus. Some people don’t understand why we stop at Kryžkalnis station and not at any modern gas station, where there are plenty of food and drink options and most importantly free toilets. And I am very angry, I will not hide. However, my opinion changed when I went to prepare this report, when I met the women who worked there and heard their stories. What is hidden here has fascinated me.

Well, imagine: the toilet attendant walks into the field every morning, stretching his legs, arms and everything to prepare a new bouquet of flowers in the open air. Not for you, but for the passengers who get off the bus and run to the bathroom that is left for your care. Many may not even notice those bouquets, but she still decorates her workplace every morning while fighting for people.

First of all, I want to explain why such an important station was built in the village of Kryžkalnis, where so many buses stop and not just buses. It turns out that there are also people who travel by car. This village is strategically very convenient in the Raseiniai district: at the intersection of two roads of national importance, the “A1” Vilnius-Kaunas-Klaipėda highway runs to one side, the “A12” Riga-Šiauliai-Tauragė-Kaliningrad highway to the other side. In other words, it is not only the most visited station, but also the most walkable town in Lithuania.

Let’s go back to the old days when there were no cafes or restaurants on the road, when we didn’t have such modern gas stations with a huge selection of fast food, and finally when the cars weren’t Tesla, Mercedes or Toyota.

At that time, Moskvčiai, Žigulis and Pobedos had to take breaks so as not to overheat, so as not to “buckle” on the journey. Rests were also needed for its drivers, whose hands were tired from the steering wheel without an amplifier, dizzy from the heat, because there were no air conditioners, or other modern devices to guarantee comfort. And what about bus travelers? The Icaros traveled long-distance journeys at the time, but not the yellows that roamed the city streets, and the reds were a luxury apart. I had to ride like this when I was a kid. I remember: crowded, short of breath, hot … People even prayed that there would just be a quick stop and rest from the trip.

A megaproject has been devised for all travelers. It was here in Kryžkalnis that the Soviet authorities decided to build our country’s main station, where both buses and their own cars could stop. At that time, the project was very serious: the station had to be equipped with many toilets, a large restaurant and a store not only with groceries, but also with a “home” section. A true travelers complex.

In 1979, this idea was implemented. A new three-story station with a style never seen before has been presented to Lithuania. The station was designed by the architect Konstantinas Zubovas, in 1971. He died on a mountaineering trip to the mountain, so his friends completed and implemented this project as a kind of monument to the architect. Since that day, the buses have stopped in Kryžkalnis, and the station has not changed from the outside, everything was like 41 years ago.

I’m sure many of those who traveled at that time should still remember what everything looked like here, what a huge influx of people there was, and how delicious it was in the restaurant at Kryžkalnis station. At least that’s what the legendary waitress who has worked here for 30 years and at the same time the chef Eugenia says. Many catering establishments appeared on the roads, everything changed and worked as it does to this day. “There were huge queues, people from all over Lithuania came to eat us. The restaurant was on the second floor at the time and the end of the queue was outside, starting from the parking lot,” he says.

Eugenija remembers that every summer sales records were broken in Kryžkalnis, as travelers ate more and more. “We made very tasty, everyone went crazy for the Kryžkalnis brand dumplings, even the most famous people in the country wanted them. One time, actor Sigutis Jačėnas came to movie television with delicious dumplings, I can’t say what happened then Everybody needed dumplings, we didn’t have time to turn in the kitchen, ”says a long-term employee of the station’s prosperity.

Over the years, more and more restaurant places were opened on the roadsides, so the number of visitors at the Kryžkalnis station decreased. Finally, the large restaurant had to be closed and replaced by a small cafe-buffet on the ground floor. Many workers were fired by the government and here Eugenia kept her position. “I am the only one left here for many years, the only one who remembers exactly the past and knows our secret recipe for dumplings. I make them myself, I stick four kilograms in a couple of hours ”, says the chef and the waitress.

Eugenia says that in the good old days, the bus stop in Kryžkalnis lasted from half an hour to an hour. During that time, people guessed everything, and now everyone is in a constant rush. “It would take at least ten or fifteen minutes to eat dumplings, and for that long few stop. In five minutes you can do it unless you buy frozen and take it with you, there is a lot to do. People know our quality, we do not skimp. meat, and the taste is very good, I have not eaten so well anywhere ”, praises the long-term employee for her products.

Eugenija remembers many stories related to meatballs, one of the most striking is that of Kaunas basketball players “Žalgiris”, who rode here for many years after the game, sometimes before the game. “Basketball players loved us very much, the most famous players sat here. And their appetite was so great that one man ate four or even five servings. 200 grams of dumplings per serving, figure it out for yourself,” he says. Chef serves a portion of meatballs that cost 2.80 euros not with sour cream, as is usual in many in Lithuania, but with crackling sauce, like the one we pour on zeppelins.

To encourage people to eat more dumplings so that only this dish does not have to be removed from the menu, the station authorities advertise them everywhere. At the station entrance, there is a sign on the board to taste them and a message in the cafe window that bus passengers can buy them frozen.

In an hour, no one in the cafe asked for this heard dish. The women went to eat curd donuts and sandwiches, young people and children went to buy buns to take away, the men went to the buffet, asking to add a hundred grams. “It just came to our knowledge then. Traveling somewhere, apparently wanting to relax. They don’t need expensive drinks, cognac or whiskey, almost everyone asks for white. The public here is simple, although there are also foreigners who want to drink” reveals Eugenija behind the scenes of the buffet She says that everything she sells is made locally, of high quality and, most importantly, prepared with love.

It is also very interesting in the station shop, where the saleswoman Jurga serves customers at lightning speed, because everyone who enters is rushing. “Everyone is in such a hurry here that no one has time. Run fast, want goods in a second and run through the door, many do not say” hello “or” thank you “. But I can understand people when I travel, maybe not that in mind, “thinks the saleswoman. Jurga says that the station store, although small, has everything. From alcohol to household items: glue, scissors, toys, jewelry, cosmetics.” What you might know , what one person will need on the way, everyone here with their worries, someone broke for someone on the trip, someone hungry, wants to eat seriously, another just needs chips or cookies. He buys everything, we don’t have the most popular product, ”he says about the details of the job.

Still, the most important place in Kryžkalnis station is the baths. There are more visitors, the queues are the longest; After all, nature invites everyone, you can’t avoid it, especially when you drive from Vilnius to Palanga for more than four hours.

The station toilets are always supervised by someone, for which there is a special guard-controller post. Genovaitė from Raseiniai has been working here for two years. This retiree loves his job and is fully committed to it. You need to be very careful from morning to night and not miss anyone who has not paid for the use of the bathroom. Entry here costs 50 euro cents. For many, this amount seems too high, but the driver on duty cannot make any discounts for adults. The price is reduced only for children and the elderly, as well as for the disabled. “I have to write a check by hand to everyone who comes and pays, as proof that they have visited us. But most people do not accept it, they say” I do not collect “,” I do not collect “. At the end of the day, Many checks are cashed, I throw them away, ”he says.

Genovaitė knows the exact bus schedule and eagerly awaits flights from the big cities, so it is the one that gets the most customers. Sometimes it happens that the other lingers too long in the booth, then anxiety and anger start in the queue, but the guard-controller cannot rush to the customers who are doing business and ask them to hurry. “And if you didn’t get it, if you took laxatives, after all, everything happens on those trips,” he says.

After each bus, she goes to check the restrooms and clean them, in addition to perfuming the premises to minimize complaints. She is proud of the bus station authorities, who finally decided to remove the holes from the toilets and built normal toilets. “People are extremely happy, especially women, satisfied,” Genovaitė noted.

Your job is timely to help with new rolls of toilet paper, as well as to replenish soap. A woman who has worked in this job for two years has noticed that many types of toilet paper do not meet quality requirements, are badly torn, or the paper turns out to be too hard and irritating to customers. “There are complaints about everything, we cannot please everyone, but we try. We have now fixed the “breeze” so that people can dry their hands normally, and even posted a message that the “breeze” is working. Sitting at my booth, I heard you wear it all the time, a good thing. Old, but really good, ”he rejoices in the station’s always beautiful bathroom.

Genovaitė says that there are the funniest and even the nastiest stories with travelers. Some don’t get off the bus, they just plug in their pants or the station area. “Well, just don’t save and add below. And then I need to clean up. Some are arrogant and unwilling to pay for the bathroom, so they move around the station. We have even made warnings that this is prohibited, but there are still things to do, ”the senior opens.

To beautify your workplace, so that it is not only a pleasure to sit, but also to please all visiting customers, Genovaitė constantly decorates the bathroom hall.

“Every morning I go to the field and collect bouquets, hungry nettle feet, but I keep going because I want to be beautiful with us,” she says, showing the bouquet she picked a few hours ago. Genovaitė does not ask if customers notice this beauty, but there are some who say a cute word and sometimes even leave a tip for this lady?

“After all, I try for people too, I often stay after work hours. After all, sometimes the bus is late, I sit around waiting because I know there will definitely be a lot of people wanting to go to the bathroom. Everyone. come in, do what is needed, carry on. And I close the bathroom and only then do I travel home. Overtime, but I don’t survive. We need to love what you do, “concludes our conversation with the wonderful bathroom attendant.