Lithuania again

Leigh at Šiauliai Hill of Crosses, Lithuania 

We crossed easily from Latvia into Lithuania in our motorhome Vanni, and our first stop was the Hill of Crosses near the town of Šiauliai. This amazing place consists of a small hill absolutely covered in 100,000+ large and small crosses.

Why the crosses were left here is uncertain, but the practice dates back to 1831. It is now the site of an annual pilgrimage which takes place tomorrow!

Driving on, we headed to the city of Klaipėda on the Baltic Coast, and found a campsite there for the night. 

It seemed lovely, until we heard the trains passing nearby. Bother! Ear plugs helped but there did seem to be quite a lot of trains that night.

Danê boats on Klaipėda River, Lithuania

The next day, we cycled into Klaipėda city to discover that their annual Festival of the Sea was in full swing. We happily wandered around the old city and into the harbour area enjoying the stalls, food, music and dance, along with a Viking ship race and a parade of ancient sailing boats. The place was absolutely buzzing.

After a few days in Klaipėda, we caught a car ferry to the Curonian Spit, a 50 km long strip of land separating the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon, and stretching between Lithuania and Kaliningrad (Russia). It is a UNESCO world heritage site and home to huge sand dunes, old fishing villages and a variety of birdlife. 

Marg and historic boat, Smiltynė, C. Spit (UNESCO), Lithuania

Our first stop on the Spit was Smiltynė, where we stopped for lunch and had a wander around looking at some historic sailing boats. 

Then we visited the gun battery and old fortress there. It’s now a Sea Museum, and has pelicans and seals, frolicking in the fortress moat.

While there, we were approached by a man who said he had seen our NZ flag on Vanni, and that he was originally from Christchurch but now lived in Lithuania. We had a nice chat with him.

Driving on to Alksnynė, we paid a toll fee to use the Curonian Spit National Park.

Leigh with Hill of Witches carving, Juodkrantė, C. Spit, Lithuania

Then we drove down the only main road on the Spit, stopping at Juodkrantė to see the Hill of Witches. This is a forested hill that is covered in amazing wooden sculptures based on witches, demons, and characters from Lithuanian fairy tales.

Juodkrantė is the second biggest settlement on the Spit (about 700 people). It is a very attractive, clean and tidy seaside town, with lovely old wooden houses and a very traditional look. 

Apparently, the town name means “black coast” because it once looked dark near this part of the Curonian Lagoon.

Half an hour later, notwithstanding the very hot and humid weather, we stopped to climb up the Dead Dunes. 

Marg on the Dead Dunes (UNESCO), Curonian Spit, Lithuania 

This very large, prehistoric, mass of shifting sand dunes is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Between 1675 and 1854 the sand was drifting up to 15 meters per year, and eventually covered four villages and two cemeteries. 

The dunes can get up to 60 metres high. Climbing to the top of one, we could see back over the Curonian Lagoon to the Klaipėda coast – great views. 

Leaving the dunes, we drove to a campsite in Nida, which is very close to the Russian border at Kaliningrad. That night we had a most spectacular thunder and lightning storm which really lit up the sky all night and was very noisy!

Marg and houses in Nida, Curonian Spit (UNESCO), Lithuania

Cycling is the thing to do on the Spit, so we cycled into the town of Nida and explored. A greater part of it is full of traditional-style Lithuanian wooden houses, with colourful flower gardens. 

At the camp later, we bumped into a lovely German couple who had been at Klaipėda when we were there, and we discovered they had also been in Rīga at the same time as us. Small world!

One night, we went to the camp café for dinner and the food was great! They had the TV on and it was covering the World Swimming Championships being held in Barcelona.

Typical house on the Curonian Spit (UNESCO), Lithuania

There was great excitement in the café when a young Lithuanian girl won the 100 metres breaststroke and set a world record. One of the proud local watchers told us she was only 16 years of age! 

When the Lithuanian National Anthem was played, everyone was glued to the TV but they did not sing along like we tend to do in NZ. These folks are reserved but the patriotism was really evident. It felt lovely to be in Lithuania, especially at that moment, sensing the pride.

The next day we decided to attempt quite a long ride along the Curonian Lagoon cycling path, to the villages of Preila and Pervalka.

Lunch at Preila, Curonian Spit (UNESCO), Lithuania

Just on the edge of the pretty coastal village of Preila we spotted a lovely restaurant right on the waterfront. We stopped there and had a delicious meal of cold local marinated fish, potatoes, and salad. 

It is such a pretty area. 

After lunch, we moved on along the cycle path and up to the next coastal village of Pervalka which was pretty, but perhaps not quite as charming as Preila. 

On our return to camp, we stopped off at a smoked fish shop and bought a lovely big fresh smoked mackerel for dinner.

Marg at Pervalka beach, Curonian Spit (UNESCO)

Then we deviated a couple of kilometres to visit the ocean beach. It was covered in lovely white sand, and lots of holiday makers enjoying the high temperatures. 

We cycled back to camp and were relaxing when the skies suddenly opened and it poured with rain. We congratulated ourselves on our timing as we watched a lot of very wet campers trickling back to camp as the rain set in.

After a lovely relaxing time in Nida, we caught the ferry back to Klaipėda then drove to towns on the Nemunas Delta. Our main destination was Mingė, touted as the “Venice of Lithuania”

Main street of Mingė, Nemunas Delta, Lithuania

After driving down a very corrugated dirt road to get there, we found a settlement surrounded by canals. In Mingė the river Minija is the main street. It is lined with buildings, and there is no bridge, so a 13 km detour is needed to go from one bank of the village to another if not using a boat. 

Not surprisingly, most homes had a large modern launch or yacht moored at the end of the garden.

After that, we bumped back out on the corrugated road again, and drove through a lot of small villages to reach Kaunas. 

Arriving quite late in the day, our first stop was a camping ground.

Relaxing at our camp in Kaunas, Lithuania

Our camp was at the side of a man-made lake with a lovely beach. The sun was shining, so we relaxed outside with a glass of wine before enjoying another Curonian smoked fish for dinner. 

Kaunas is the second largest city in Lithuania (after the capital Vilnius) with a population of around 300,000, and is apparently, one of the top Eastern European cities to visit. It sits on the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers.

The next day, we rode along a riverside cycle track into Kaunas city. After parking the bikes, we walked and walked, seeing as much as we could. 

Marg and old red phone booths, Kaunas, Lithuania

We entered into the Old Town and particularly liked the beautiful white town hall, Town Hall Square which is lined with 15 & 16 century merchant houses, and the old-fashioned red phone booths.

We also saw some interesting and unique architecture there, including some large churches. Then we stopped at a cosy looking café and had a fabulous pizza for lunch.

Leaving the Old Town area, we walked down Vilnius Street into the New Town area to find that it is also quite compact and walkable. Throughout both the old and new towns, we saw lots of street art, further adding to the vibrant feel of the place.

Marg at the Kaunas Castle ruins, Kaunas, Lithuania 

Then we moved on to the ruins of impressive Kaunas Castle, but by that time we were really hot and weary. So we found a nice café on the town square and enjoyed a delicious meal, before cycling home.

Overall, we found Kaunas to be very attractive, with lots of people wandering about exploring, and plenty to do and see.

We have now been through both the hinterlands and coastal areas of Lithuania, and think that there is a lot of diversity in the development of the villages, towns and cities. 

The coastal towns and cities seem more modern, possibly because there is more tourism there. Whereas in rural towns and villages it seemed more traditional - on several occasions, we passed farmers hand-milking their cows in the middle of the paddock - no machinery. 

But it was now time to move on, leaving both the vibrant Kaunas and Lithuania. So we used up our last bit of Lithuanian cash, then drove toward Poland.

This blog describes part of our 6-month motorhome trip around northern and eastern Europe, which began in Prague.