Klaipeda, Lithuania

Horizontal Sundial at Parnidis Dune





Witches Snare (Fulfills Innermost Wishes)

            Monday, 20 May 2013 – Today, we had a seven-hour tour of the Curonian Spit Peninsula.  We began with a ferry ride and a one-hour bus ride to the small resort town of Neringa, situated in the forests of the Curonian Spit National Park, a unique narrow peninsula with sand dunes and pine forests, separating the Baltic Sea from the Cauronian Lagoon.  We first visited the 52-meter-high Great [sand] Dune, where we also saw a giant sundial.  Next, we stopped at the Thoman Mann Memorial Museum which depicted the life of Klaipeda’s most famous author.  Then we proceeded to Nira, where we saw old fishermen’s cottages, traditional fishing boats, and weathervanes that depict the old times of Neringa life.  About 1:30 PM, we enjoyed a traditional Lithuanian lunch in a restaurant with beer.  (Some of the best beer in Europe comes from Lithuania.)  After lunch, we climbed 42 meters up the “Hill of Witches,” which contains many large wood carvings of characters and events from Lithuanian fairy tales.  Many are of witches, devils, and fairy tale monsters with grotesque expressions.  Our guide, Ingrida, explained the fairy tales or legends being depicted.


Witches Hill

            For the last few minutes of our excursion, Ingrida showed us the main sights of Klaipeda, which has only 200,000 inhabitants but is an important seaport.  Lithuania was under the USSR for many years, just becoming a free country in 1990.

Since tonight was a formal night, we dressed for dinner, enjoyed champagne, and danced in the Grand Bar Rhapsody in style!