It’s been a very busy summer. No time for sewing at all. I truly miss my studio and a new quilt on a design wall that has been waiting for me patiently.
For the entire last week I was traveling in Lithuania with my friend from New Zealand. I thought I knew my country well but in the last 15 years there have been many changes. I tried to look at Lithuania through the eyes of my friend and I discovered it being beautiful and well taken care off. I think I fell in love with Lithuania again. So much history, so beautiful sites, so friendly people.
If you, who are reading this story, ever decide to come to Lithuania, just let me know and you are going to be my guest!
I live in the 4th biggest city of Lithuania, Siauliai it’s name. Not much to see here so we took off for the West of Lithuania and the first stop was Rambynas, the last remaining sacred place of Balts. There we found a monument of three pagan Lithuanian gods. To your knowledge Lithuania was the last pagan country in Europe and I find nothing wrong with it. My ancestors worshiped nature and took a good care of it.
From Rambynas hill on the right bank of the Nemunas river we could see Russia, Kaliningrad Region:
The next day we took a two hour boat trip across Curonian Lagoon to the pearl of Lithuania- Curonian Spit. It is a 98 km long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The weather was nice and the surroundings were beautiful:
The must see site there is Parnidis Dune, one of the most amazing places in Lithuania that was included in Patricia Schultz’s book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. It rises 52 meters above sea level and is the highest sand dune in Europe. Sometimes we call it Lithuanian Sahara:
There was one more place must to see, but it was 17 km away from Nida. We didn’t have much time to take a bus so we hired a Tuk Tuk Taxi:
It was fun riding it but 34 km trip that lasted about 2.5 hours did cost us the same as round trip Riga-Frankfurt-Riga by plane. It was worth though to see Dead Dunes. They are one of the most fascinating sights in Neringa National Park.
Why Dead? Because it is an eerie place. The grey or “dead” dunes cover the land, and your footsteps bring you across the restless sand that has buried fishing settlements through the centuries. Here, in the solitude of the dunes, surrounded by the silent sands, is an opportunity to be at one with nature. The legend says that you can even hear a bell ringing at the church that was buried under the sand centuries ago…
And finally, on a way back, Tuk Tuk Taxi took us to the Baltic and we had a chance to see the different in colors of the Curonian Lagoon and The Baltic Sea.
This was only the first part of our travel in Lithuania. More to come…
Nice Maryte! I enjoyed your blog very much.
Interesting reading about your tour of Lithuania. Where were the stones to the pagan gods. I think I will need to include Neringa next year when we come.
Beautifully written…so many talents you have, Maryte!