Actually, you don't notice any difference at all here compared to the neighboring country:
the houses crumble as you watch, Nevertheless, there are still curtains hanging on the windows and chickens running around in front of the house.
Poverty is evident here too, we see a lot of isolated cows, Horses and goats, which stand pegged on the meadow. Otherwise, agriculture predominates here, Huge fields and fields line the road.
Ten kilometers north of Šiauliai lies the Hill of Crosses “Kryziu kalnas”: Pilgrims have been putting crosses in the ground here since Tsarist times, leave small Jesus figures or paper messages – no one can count, how many Christian symbols were placed here. 1993 Even Pope John Paul II visited this place and celebrated mass in the open air for over 100.000 believers. We drive into the huge parking lot, Anyone can get a cross at the stalls (it's easy to have everything, simple, size, small, made of wood or metal, with or without engraving, expensive, inexpensive, etc.) buy and expand the mountain yourself. We also take a simple wooden cross with us.
The closer we get to the strange mountain, the more mystical it seems to us. You almost feel a little intimidated – a sea of crosses, little picture, rosaries – totally bizarre. We fluctuate between awe and goosebumps.
The Hill of Crosses is scary, strange and fascinating at the same time !!
At our parking space at a small swimming lake we receive a visit from the local police late at night: the officer kindly points this out to us, that we are not in the right parking lot and asks us to do so, 100 m further back to park. We can't fully understand this, especially since we are standing here all alone and there will certainly be no bathers coming the next day. But whatever, We stand in the front seat and otherwise spend a quiet night.
Supplies are due on the way to the coast today: Gas, water, Diesel and food are purchased, then we board the ferry in Klaipeda. After a short crossing and €25 poorer, we arrive at the Curonian Spit. This is a 98 km into the Baltic Sea on the north coast of Samland. The northern ones 52 Kilometers belong to Lithuania, the rest 46 to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. Before around 500 For years, the people living on the spit cut down large areas of pine forests. Nature took revenge: the dunes began to migrate and buried altogether 14 villages among themselves. Only when in 19. In the 19th century, pine trees were planted again and a strip of forest was formed, the dunes calmed down.
Today there is one of the largest dunes in Europe here, the whole island was in the year 2000 declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Immediately after the first few meters I see a large cow elk in the forest – I can't believe it at all ! Unfortunately we can't stop there, to take a photo. Later I read on the Internet, that here on this peninsula actually 40 – 60 Moose are alive. There's nothing going on at this time of year, we can easily find a parking space. Our dogs really let off steam on the kilometer-long sandy beach, A small sunset over the Baltic Sea ends the day.
Saturday morning appears with (fast) cloudless, bright blue sky. Immediately after breakfast we set off, almost running 10 Kilometers along the deserted beach. The dogs can run, rage, fight and play, how they like it. Quappo even does a spa treatment: Scrub your skin in the sand and then take a refreshing swim in the salt water !!
The area is also colloquially called the Baltic Sahara – we find, the name fits very well !
It's Sunday morning and it's pouring rain – but my Norwegian weather app (still the best app ☺) says, that it's about 14.00 Clock stops. So we pass the time a bit by reading and lo and behold, the rain actually stops. Finally we can make our way to the Parnidis dune in Nida – one of the largest shifting dunes in Europe. On the way there we come directly to the Russian border – nothing works here anymore, There are bollards on the street and there is no way forward.
The dune is huge, From here you can see the two coasts of the spit and of course the Russian province of Kaliningrad. This is an absolute nature reserve, you are only allowed to walk on very few paths – but that's completely fine.
Quappo somehow misunderstood how to sit ☺
Back to our first place, let's walk to the beach: Today you can hear the noise from far away, the Baltic Sea is no longer a good body of water, Waves crash over each other, are coming further and further to the beach and the storm is whistling around our ears, not a single person far and wide – really impressive.
After a sunny, For the last walk on the beach we leave the spit again by ferry. We continue towards Kaunas, We drive comfortably on the country road along the Memel. The roads here are in a pretty catastrophic condition, it's like off-road driving. Along the route we look at Raudone Castle, take a walk in the castle park and shortly afterwards find a place to park on the banks of the Memel. The day ends with a beautiful sunset, In the morning the sun slowly fights its way back through the fog.
After breakfast we continue along the riverbed, There are always small castles and churches to be seen along the hills. Here too, time seems to have stood still, the villages appear deserted and impoverished, we have to keep shaking our heads, that people in these small houses or. live in huts.
We just drive through the big city of Kaunas, The city is currently considered a Corona hotspot, We don't feel like that. Shortly after Kaunas we reach Rumsiskes, There is the Lithuanian Open Air Museum here. Apparently we are the only guests in the museum, everything is as if extinct. Luckily the park is still open, Buildings from different regions of Lithuania are shown. Everything is very lovingly designed and very well maintained, we see a lot of farmhouses, a small village with a church, School, Shops and village square, Windmills, Pull fountain – everything was very spacious and beautifully laid out.
We reach Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania – Unfortunately the sun is not visible today, but at least it's dry. We park our Henriette very centrally and yet quietly in a large parking lot below the castle. First we climb the 140 m high castle hill, to get an overview of the city. The many church towers immediately stand out, we have read, that it is round 50 Churches in Vilnius. The city has always been a melting pot of cultures, Vilne was a spiritual center for Eastern European Jews for centuries, Next to it you can see the onion domes of the Russian Orthodox churches and of course the symbols of the Catholic Church can be found everywhere. Arrived back downstairs, we stroll through the beautiful old town. Quappo and Frodo are immediately irritated: There are a few dog buddies here, who are very good “stand ” do and don't want to play with them ?
Unfortunately, there is a yawning emptiness everywhere here too: many restaurants and shops are completely closed, certainly partly due to the time of year, but certainly also largely due to corona. For the first time we are wearing face masks for a long period of time – like many others. The huge cathedral square is very impressive, the Cathedral of St. Stanislaus is more reminiscent of a Greek temple than a church. Next to them are magnificently restored citizens- like merchant houses, the university (oldest in the Baltics), the Grand Duke's Palace and some museums. When you stroll through the pretty streets, you discover winding ones, picturesque courtyards, with lovingly designed shops, Cafes and restaurants. But a few meters outside the pedestrian zone we see many dilapidated and desolate corners, There is still a lot to do here too.
After a very quiet night in the middle of the city, we are woken up by the gardeners in the morning, who are currently cutting the last of the grass on the castle hill. But that's a good thing, because the sun is shining and so we take a tour through the park to the beautiful St. Anne's Church, on off 33 Brick Gothic work created using different types of bricks.
We continue to Uzupis. This is the smallest, just barely 0,6 km2 large district of Vilnius. The residents (artist, Intellectuals, Students, businessmen) this “Res Publika Uzupis” consciously and satirically live an alternative to the spirit of the times and consumerism. There are interesting art objects everywhere, there is a lot to discover here.
Am 01. April 1997 the residents of this district have (actually for fun, but also seriously) declared their independence and drew up their own constitution.
This constitution has been adopted in more than 50 Languages translated and hangs on a wall on Paupio Street. The individual points are clear and easy to understand, partly funny, but also profound. If everyone lived like that, Our world would certainly be a better place !! In Article 16 for example it says: “man has the right, to be happy”, in the article 20 stands: “no one has the right, to exercise violence”.
In the afternoon we visit the town of Trakei, around 25 km south of the capital, a visit. Picturesque location, surrounded by four interconnected lakes, The big one rises in the middle , Gothic island castle. Unfortunately, dogs are again not allowed to enter the castle, So we look at everything calmly from the outside. I then simply invest the entry fee saved in a few nice souvenirs.
From there we drive around 80 Kilometers further towards the Polish border – Once again we are deeply impressed by the catastrophically bad roads and the run-down villages.
Our summary of Lithuania: with so much poverty, We hadn't expected deserted villages and catastrophic roads. It was hard to believe, that we are in Europe and that the Euro criteria are even adhered to here ?
