The Baltic States, St. Petersburg, and Moscow
September 26- October 14, 2013
Part One - Lithuania
Page Four - Klaipeda and Hill of Crosses
Photo taken from a ferry boat on the Curonian Lagoon
on the way to the Curonian Spit on the Baltic Sea
from the town of Klaipeda. The Spit is a long, narrow strip
of land that separates the Lagoon from the Baltic Sea.
Pat at the Baltic Sea coastline. The Curonian Spit
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a sand dune
peninsula part of which is in Lithuania and part of which is in Russia.
Searching for pieces of amber that may have been
washed from the sea. We found a few very small
pieces.
Our local Klaipeda guide at the entranceway to the Hill of
Witches, a forested path through the dunes filled with more
than 80 unique wooden sculptures based on Lithuanian folk
legends.
Hunting for mushrooms is a favorite pastime in Lithuania.
We were told not to touch any of the mushrooms we saw,
as some were poisonous.
One of the folk statues.
Pat hugging the folk statue.
Statue of Lucifer
We had lunch at the tavern owned by a local family. The restaurant owner,
shown here, also entertained us by singing to us.
Some of our group joined in.
Beautiful swan in the water.
Swan in Curonian Lagoon
Our Klaipeda local guide said we could see Russia from here on the Curonian Spit.
Sounded rather familiar, but that is really Russia in the distance, looking south.
There is a small area called Kaliningrad south of Lithuania,
between Lithuania and Poland, that is part of Russia.
Pat at nearby sundial built on a dune on the Curonian Spit
Thomas Mann, the famous German writer,
had a home on the Curonian Spit, shown here.
Curious swan in the Curonian Lagoon near the Thomas Mann home
Don't know what this bird is called
Unusual weather vane
Woman at an Amber Workshop talking to us about how
to identify real amber. For example, mix about 1 part salt to 2 parts water and dissolve the salt completely.
Drop your piece into the mixture. Plastic will drop out, while amber floats.
An old Soviet tank that we saw after leaving the Curonian Spit and Klaipeda area, on our
way to northern Lithuania.
The Hill of Crosses in northern Lithuania near the town
of Stauliai. Over time it has come to symbolize the peaceful
endurance of Lithuanian Catholicism despited repeated threats.
It is thought the first crosses were placed here in the 1830s.
Between 1944–1990, when Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union,
Lithuanians used it to demonstrate their allegiance to their original
identity, religion and heritage.
It was a place of peaceful resistance, although the Soviets
worked hard to remove new crosses, and bulldozed
the site at least three times.
On September 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the Hill of Crosses,
declaring it a place for hope, peace, love and sacrifice.
It is unknown how many crosses there are, but certainly well over 100,000.
It would be impossible to actually count them.
THE END OF PART ONE - LITHUANIA
Link back to Page One of Lithuania
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