Lithuania

Cathedral in Vilnius

The flight to Vilnius was already interesting, the most passengers were the basketball national team of Lithuania. Man they are big who fit hardl in the aeroplane seats. Arrived in Vilnius we have fetched our car and checkin for the first time in the hotel. The Hotel Naujasis, on foot approximately 5 minutes beyond the city, was immediately the best hotel. Very beautiful rooms and an extensive breakfast buffet. The first city inspection led us to the cathedral. Vilnius is the city of the churches, in a place stand three churches. Almost all churches are restored beautifully and each has their quite own style. Vilnius was actually the most beautiful city. Very cleanly, everything well restored, hardly tourists and many young beautiful ladies in provocative dresses and high shoes stroll around, in addition beautiful weather, a successful start.

Three Saints in Villnius

A half day trip went to the west to the Castle of Trakai. A fortress from red stones on a small island lain, inside a museum. After 2 days we farther went to Kaunas, visited first an open-air museum shortly before Kaunas in Rumsiskes. Here you see not only the old houses, in the houses the ´attendants´ work in national costume on old engines, e.g. a loom. In Kaunas there was a city inspection, then a part went to the devil´s museum, the other in the museum of the post office, telecommunications and computers. Both worth seeing. Then to Kaunas it went along not about the highway, but country with 228 on the border to Kaliningrad to Klaipeda. The road over the country is very well, we had calculated more than 4 hours for approx. 250 kms and were less than 3 in Klaipeda. The distance is very beautiful regional. We have spent the night here in the Hotel Lugne, good quality with big rooms, several rooms, but nothing special.

3 Churches in Villnius

Klaipeda is not so intresting, a port just, but from here you could start to the kurische bay bar, the longest tongue of land of the world. Here were first small island before a bay, more and more sand was washed ashore and finally, appeared a tongue of land which closes the bay almost completely. Partial only 50 m wide, then again several hundred meters, to 80 m high, spectacle of nature. Then approximately 50 kms away you can go to south, up to border to Kaliningrad. Here is also a small village with restaurants and the Thomas Mann House. A hold on the trip with a walk about the dunes is definitely recommendable. In the afternoon we went to Palanga, a bathing resort on the Baltic Sea and farther about Siauliai on the way to Riga to the ´Hill of the Crosses´. A delightful sight, on a double hill are thousands of crosses which are brought by people here.

Hill of Crosses

On the foot of a lot of big crosses (several meters high) lie mountains with thousands from few centimeters of big crosses. The bigger ones are with labels to the installation date. One can buy on the spot crosses, but it is to be brought certainly the better idea. The legend says, which was leveled during the Soviet predominance the hill several times, but next day all crosses were again there. Anyhow, in the setting of red evening sun the sight was fantastic. One of the climaxes of the whole journey. Then it was farther about the border to our night's lodging in Riga/Latvia. This time on the border only a truck was before us, therefore it took already 20 minutes.

Castle in Trakai

Published 02/27/2004
Last update 02/27/2004

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