Wonderful Curonian Spit!

Monday, Sept. 28, 2008--Copenhagen to Palanga to Klaipeda

I few to Lithuania today on a small regional jet operated by Cimber Air. It was a good flight with a nice salad plate with lots of shrimp. But my arrival gave me a surprise. It is a VERY small airport. There is NO ATM. There is a bank, but there is NO exchange there. And there is no way to make a withdrawal from the bank using a credit card. So...I was out at the airport with no local currency. I remembered that the town was only 6 km away and was glad to know it was so close. I headed out walking. Guess the other people on the flight were returnees who fly into and out of here often and had local currency on them.

Palanga is a nice town. It is so clean. And it is nice to see here that essentially everything is restored. It helps to be a member of the EU! I got there easily other than the fact that there was no sidewalk along the highway. When a local road went straight, I took it rather than veering off on the highway. It took me right into the center of town where I found an ATM and then came to the bus station where a mini-van was leaving immediately for Klaipeda.

Klaipeda is also nice. It is a bigger city than Palanga. In fact, it is the thrid largest city in Lithuania and is the main port for the country. My guidebook had a map, so I had no problem seeing where I was as the bus came into town and getting off at the closest place to where I had already reserved a room. It took only a few more minutes to walk to there.

I have reserved rooms for all my nights here in Lithuania with Litinterp, a company that operates its own bed and breakfast operations in the bigger towns. They are about half the price of the less expensive hotels in the country. Here in Klaipeda, I have a single room with a shared bath for about $36 per night. It includes breakfast which is brought in a picnic basket and left outside the room at an assigned time. Inside the room there is a pot for boiling water, instant coffee, chocolate powder, and tea bags. It's a clean and nice place.

Lithuania seems prosperous compared to Georgia. There are nice shops. Everything is essentially restored or in good condition. There is a brightness to the place. Also, I can read the alphabet here! It makes such a difference to be able to read signs, menus, etc., even if they are in another language. Whew!

I wandered through the old town in the late afternoon, because I knew my time here would be tight. It's a nice place with cobblestone streets, restored old buildings, a nice theater area, etc. But it is quiet. Most of the action in the city is across the river in the New Town where I am staying. By 19:00, it was starting to sprinkle, so I decided to head back to my room. Rather than find a restaurant, I stopped in a food store and bought some snacks to eat at the room.

It is nice to be in a new country and exploring again. I was a little tired of traveling, but I am back in the mood again now.

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008--Curonian Spit

I took the ferry across to the Curonian Spit this morning. It is a thin stretch of sand like Padre Island is. But it has wonderful forests (mostly pine with many birch trees also) on it and quaint old villages. It is a fantastic place that has been added to the World Heritage Site list.

I took the bus down to Nida, the main village on the spit and also the furtherest place south that one can go without crossing into the Russian part of the spit. It is such a pretty and nice village. There are many open green spaces. There are old homes. There is a pleasant waterfront with a nice walkway. They also have these special windvanes at many of the houses--raised on poles in the lawns and with shapes of figures in the town on them.

I walked out of Nida to the Parnidis Dune. I climbed the 176 steps to its height of 52 meters where I could see across the entire spit from one body of water to the other and down the spit into Russia. I sat there and enjoyed the nice sunshine for a while and made an entry in my blog.

Walking back into town, I heard 3 ladies speaking English with a North American accent. I told them they sounded as if they were from Canada or the U.S. They responded that they were all from Florida. One was originally from here in Lithuania, and they had all come here on a trip with her.

It is late afternoon now, and I have just returned to Klaipeda. I will go explore the New Town which has some old buildings. I will also try to find a place to try Lithuanian food tonight.