Curonian Spit and Lagoon

 Things I did not know when I moved to Klaipeda: 1) It is located at the mouth of a lagoon that is formed by the Curonian Spit.  This is a strip of land that I compare to the islands off the coast of North Carolina, a sandy  barrier keeping the worst of the Atlantic from the inland coast.  In the case of Lithuania, this barrier is a solid strip of land, also very sandy, and enclosing a large bay or lagoon.  Klaipeda is the port at the point at which this lagoon opens to the Baltic Sea. 2) If you look closely, you can see that the spit is two colors. This means it belongs to two different countries. The Russians really wanted a warm water port, so at the end of the second world war, they claimed a portion of this area, which is not attached to Russia proper, much like Alaska in the Unites States.  The last town in Lithuania is Nida.

So, one day this summer I and a friend took the ferry across to the spit.  The round trip fare is about $1.25.  We then took a bus to Nida, about 60 kilometers down the spit.  Nida is a small artist village.  Thomas Mann and Sartre have both spent time here.  During the Soviet occupation, it was a restricted resort for party officials.  As a result, it is still quite unspoiled.  It is known for its pictographic family flags that harken back to pagan designs.  The day we visited, a group of artists were sculpting birds and fish outside the local fishing museum.

The Soviets also preserved the many of the buildings.  I do not know what this one is used for, but was impressed with it being large, round and having a thatched roof.

We then made our way up the dunes.  They have a nice set of stairs going up, and the view is definitely worth the climb.  Here you can see  Russia and the Baltic Sea.

Another point of interest at the top of the dune is this large sundial. (The men in the front are repairing the walkway.)

On another recent visit to the spit, I walked across from the ferry to the Baltic and actually waded in the sea.  I thought you would enjoy seeing the children of one of my colleagues making angels in the sand.

Both trips left me happy and tired as I boarded the ferry for home.

Redemption of the trip of Palanga

When I arrived  in Klaipeda, I still did not feel like riding the bike, so I took loaded it onto the local bus and made my way to the rental shop.  I was returning the bike more than 12 hours earlier than I had planned and they refunded the difference.  A very nice surprise.  And then off to home and a night sleep in my own bed.

When I awoke the next day, I decided that I was still on vacation.  Ah - what to do?  Well first off, I rolled over and went back to sleep.  When I finally got up, I went down to my favorite bakery for a chocolate croissant and then  to the market to replenish my supply of fruits and vegetables.  Back to the apartment to study Lithuanian for a couple of hours, a very enjoyable time.  Then I decided to do the tourist thing and go see a museum or two.

Off to the castle museum. The main part of the exhibits are inside this mound, which I think is supposed to represent some of the battlements erected for protection.  I learned that Klaipeda has not had an easy history.  The Christian Teutonic Order gave permission for the building of the castle in 1252.  This was a wooden castle that was destroyed by fire.  Over the next several centuries the castle and Klaipeda came under the rule of the Teutons, the Prussians and the Swedes.  Not an easy atmosphere in which to develop a culture.



During one of the reigns of the Teutonic Order, the craftsmen of Klaipeda were allowed to organize trade guilds.  These guilds tended to congregate on particular streets. (So much for a varied shopping district)  In 1588 the Bakers Guild was given a charter and settled on their street.  I live with that history as the address of my apartment is Kapėju 11, or 11 Baker Street.

The rest of the museum consists of the excavation of the castle's stonework foundations.

This section is covered by an excellent, reasonably flat roof that seems to be just the place for this young man to practice his martial arts.








From here I went to the History Museum of Lithuania  Minor, so named because, in the back and forth of conquest, areas of what is now Lithuania were the rule of different people at different times.  So the museum covers the area around Klaipeda, a minor part of Lithuania.  Two things I learned: 1) Populated shortly after the last Ice Age receded, this area had a very sophisticated culture; I would say even more so than the Indians of North America, though that is hard to say since that culture has been so obliterated. 2) In the early 19th century, the furniture makers around Klaipeda were making distinctive pieces, including a very practical bed that could be pulled out to make room for one more sleeper.

After all that culture, and still being on vacation, I decided that I would rest at one of the many side walk cafes in Old Town.  I had the incongruous combination of ice cream with chocolate sauce or ledai su šokoladu, and alcoholic sparkling cider.  Very refreshing.  This is the view from my table.  The Lithuanians may have a short summer, but they have flowers every where.  Notice the hanging baskets.  The day was different than it would have been had I been able to stay in Palanga, but it was redeemed.

Two-wheeled Misadventure

I had two cultural goals for the summer.  I wanted to ride some of the city buses to the end of the line to get to know the city.  I decided that this was an unachievable goal, since the city city buses have no ventilation and it is VERY uncomfortable to ride a bus just to see where it would go.  The other was to ride a bicycle to Palanga, a resort city about 25 kilometers away, stay overnight and return the next day.

So, this week, I made my way to a local bicycle rental shop.  Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of me with bike that I rented for a couple of days.  I got a helmet, a lock , a map and I was off.  This is a photo of the  scene across the street from the rental office.

And I was off.  My method for getting through this type adventure is to just keep going.  As a result, I did not take any photos of the process.  But I did enjoy the ride.  All of the path was paved.  One of my adventures was missing a turn and taking a path down to the sea.  This turned into soft sand which I could not negotiate.  I fell off the bike.  But it was soft sand.  The rest of the trip was through woods and meadows with butterflies, wildflowers and views of the sea.  A very nice ride.  At about kilometer 20 or 21 I determined that I needed to stop for water and some of the lunch I had packed.  When I reached the next benches that were placed periodically on the path, I saw a van with a flat-bed.  I thought an entrepreneur was selling water and sandwiches to the cyclists.  But no, this was the sag wagon for a German cycling tour.  As I sat down to enjoy my apple and tomato, one of them of them greeted me with 'Laba diena' or good day in Lithuanian.  A Lithuanian would have known I wasn't a native.  They gave more water to make it the rest of the way.

And I made it.  I arrived at the tourist town of Palanga.  The main street was lined with attraction, souvenir shops, restaurants, and street musicians.









My friend Gerda, who met me, and I went for a small lunch of traditional Lithuanian potato dumplings at a restaurant where she had worked.  It was set next to a small stream, off the beaten path, very peaceful.






We then walked down to the pier or bridge as the Lithuanians call it.  The walk way at the base of the dune leading to the pier was mad of wooden blocks.  The only other place I've seen this type of paving is at Blenham Palace in Brtiain.





Out on the pier, I saw the sea.  It is indeed the Baltic Sea and not an ocean.  Being August, many were out to enjoy the relative warmth.  We watch a couple of children dig a hole in the sand, several others bounce on the trampoline, and one young boy enjoying the freedom of swimming in the nude before his mother could get him into clothes.

Back to the Information Center, I found out that the Information Center in Klaipeda did not really know Palanga.  I could not get inexpensive accommodations on the spur of the moment.  Not to worry.  Gerda said I could stay at her home, an additional hour bike ride away.  Off  we went.  But I had already ridden for three hours that day, had recently had problems with my ears, and I fell from the bike again, this time on a grassy incline. I was not injured but it was quite unnerving.  Gerda suggested that we could walk back to the bus station and see if I could get back to Klaipeda with my bike.  This was a very good idea.  For less than $2.00 I and my bike rode back in half an hour.

So I made half of my goal.  Tomorrow I will tell you of the redemption of this misadventure.