It is not the carefully planned route, the luxury hotel, or the final destination of the trip that matters. Much more important is simply being together. For at least a few weeks, five people become one team again: deciding together where to stop, where to turn, what to see, and when to just pause and enjoy the moment.
The Perednia family has been traveling by car for many years. Their routes have stretched through Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Slovakia, Croatia, and other European countries. However, Aurimas notices that what sticks in memory most often are not the most famous sights, but what happens along the way – an unexpected stop, a funny incident, a long conversation, or just a few hours when all five sit in one space and are in no rush.
“All five family members fit in the car, and it is one of the cheapest means of travel,” Aurimas smiles.
When the journey becomes time for each other
But in reality, much more than five people and their belongings fit into the family car. It holds long conversations for which there is never enough time in everyday life, laughter born unexpectedly, children’s stories, shared songs, and those spontaneous stops that later become the family’s most beautiful memories. In everyday life, each family member lives at their own pace – work, studies, clubs, friends, and screens often break time into small pieces. But on a long trip, the car becomes a space where everyone is together again.
“On trips, you get to know people well. You even start to understand your family members better. You have time to really listen to them,” says Aurimas.
That is why he is convinced that the value of trips is not measured by the number of visited sites or kilometers traveled. Their greatest gift is time – time to hear children’s thoughts, share your worries, laugh at little things, and remember that family is strengthened not only by shared homes but also by shared experiences.
What sticks in memory most often are not the most famous sights, but what happens along the way.
The car provides what a plane cannot
Although today Europe can be comfortably reached by plane, Aurimas still usually chooses the car. The main reason is simple – freedom.
The Perednias are not the kind of travelers who plan their route down to the last minute. Usually, they decide only the direction, and everything else becomes clear while on the road.
“We decide which country we are going to, and that’s it,” he smiles.
If an impressive lake opens up along the way, a cozy town catches their attention, or a scenic mountain road appears, the family simply stops. If they want to stay longer in one place, nothing prevents them from changing plans. Such spontaneity, according to Aurimas, is one of the biggest advantages of traveling by car.
“The whole family decides and stops.”
The Perednias try not to rush. Every few hundred kilometers, the family stops to rest, walk, have coffee, or eat ice cream. Such breaks not only help avoid fatigue but also turn the journey itself into a pleasant experience.
“I like driving. I don’t get tired from driving; on the contrary – I relax,” says Aurimas.
Five people, one car, and their own rules
On a long trip, the car quickly becomes more than just a means of transport. It is a small family space on wheels where everyone has their role.
“Someone eats, someone sings, someone plays, someone drives,” Aurimas laughs.
A long trip together also becomes a kind of family test.
At one moment, the children look out the window at the changing landscape, the next moment everyone listens to music together, and soon they decide where to stop for lunch or whether it’s worth turning off the planned route. And when patience starts to run out after a few hours of sitting, the Perednia family has a simple recipe: stop.
“We stop, buy something tasty, move around, jump a bit, and then drive again.”
A long trip together also becomes a kind of family test: you have to listen to each other, seek compromises, and accept that not every plan will remain as it was drawn when leaving.
“It was harder when the children were younger. Now we quickly find compromises,” says Aurimas.
A reliable car – the foundation of a calm trip
On a long trip, the car becomes not only a means to reach the destination. The family spends hundreds of kilometers in it, so for Aurimas, the most important thing is not the car’s luxury or power, but whether he can trust it.
“I know my car. I feel when something is wrong with it. Besides, I take care of it,” says Aurimas.
Even the best-maintained car can sometimes surprise you.
Before longer trips, he used to have the car checked preventively at a service. However, in his opinion, technical inspection alone is not enough – the driver must know their car, notice unusual sounds, changed behavior, or other signals that something is wrong.
Still, even the best-maintained car can sometimes surprise you. One such surprise caught the Aurimas family in Austria. They had to visit a local service, but the worries that such a breakdown in a foreign country could significantly thin the wallet did not come true.
“I only paid 70 euros,” he recalls.
But Aurimas does not limit himself to just the car’s technical condition. Before every longer trip, the family also takes care of insurance – they insure not only the car but the whole family. “You never know…” says Aurimas. After all, you cannot predict everything on the road, and having a plan for unforeseen cases is another way to travel more peacefully.
Trips are different, and the feeling of driving is even more so
Germany and Switzerland impressed Aurimas the most. According to him, driving in these countries is a pleasure – good roads, clear signs, order, and drivers behave politely and carefully.
He had a very different driving experience in Greece, on the island of Corfu. The family then traveled by rented car, and the narrow mountain roads and hairpin bends required much more concentration.
“The hairpin bends were a challenge, but I managed,” Aurimas smiles.
And when talking about places that left the biggest impression on the family, he singles out Italy. The surroundings of Lakes Como, Garda, and Maggiore impressed with their landscape, and they would also like to include the Dolomites in their travel plan.
Traveling without navigation – a challenge from another era
On one of the trips, Aurimas was struck by an unexpected meeting with a group of Lithuanians from Alytus. He met travelers who had decided to set themselves a special challenge – to travel without navigation. No “Google Maps,” no voice calmly announcing every few minutes where to turn. Only a paper map and intuition.
“Well, I wouldn’t bother like that anymore,” Aurimas laughs.
Today, when a travel route can be planned on a phone in a few minutes, such a way of traveling sounds almost like an adventure from another era. And for children, Aurimas believes, it would be a hardly comprehensible challenge.
“The children probably wouldn’t understand it at all…” he smiles.
Fines that last longer than the traveler
After trips, Aurimas looks at the mailbox a bit more cautiously. Foreign roads sometimes have a way of reminding you about themselves even after a few months – when the trip itself is long forgotten.
While traveling around Europe, Aurimas tries to drive so as not to meet the local police. Seeing an unknown road sign, he prefers to stop, find out what it means, and only then continue the trip. However, as he admits, anything can happen on trips – even when it seems you have done nothing wrong.
One such adventure happened in Austria. The family stopped for lunch and parked the car in an empty shopping center parking lot. The shopping center was closed that day, Sunday, so the lot looked completely empty and raised no suspicions. But when Aurimas returned, he found not an extension of lunch but an unpleasant surprise – a 100 euro fine.
“I didn’t see the sign, but I admit I didn’t know something,” he does not argue.
However, Austria was not the only country where he had to part with money during the trip.
In Slovakia, Aurimas was “caught” for speeding.
“The police officer hiding in the bushes shot me,” Aurimas laughs.
When children grow up, there is more silence in the car cabin
Over many years, not only the Perednia family’s routes have changed but the family itself. The eldest son will soon celebrate his nineteenth birthday and did not go on the last family trip.
“He was missed,” Aurimas admits briefly.
It’s fun to travel with everyone, but children grow up. They have their own plans.
Perhaps this is one of the strangest moments of parenthood – it seems for a long time that children will always be nearby, that the car cabin will never lack their voices, laughter, and questions. And then one day, a seat in the back row becomes free.
“It’s fun to travel with everyone, but children grow up. They have their own plans,” says Aurimas.
Still, he looks at the emerging silence with a smile.
“Well, now there is more space in the car,” he laughs.
And when all the children go their own ways, a new stage of travel awaits the Perednias.
“When the children grow up, we will travel quietly as a couple with my wife.”
The road that never ends
Perhaps that is why Aurimas’s story about trips is really not about cars, countries, or kilometers traveled. It is about time that cannot be stopped. About children who one day stop sitting in the back seat of the car, and parents who only then fully understand how many precious moments fit into those shared trips.
For now, the Perednias can still close the car doors, sit together, and drive off. Not always knowing where they will stop, what they will see, or what will happen along the way.
And maybe that is the most beautiful thing.
Because trips end. Children grow up. Routes change. One day there is more space in the car.
But memories of the time when all five sat in one car and were simply together never leave.
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