We started the morning taking a quick drive to the old part of Klaipeda. I was instantly happy with my choice to stay clear of this part of town yesterday, as it didn't take more than an hour to explore with my guide who told me all about the history of this town. It has had a long one, being ruled at some point in its history by just about every major European power in the region. France, Russia, Poland, Prussia, Germany... Over 60% of the town was destroyed last century, whether in WWI or WWII. Such a shame, because the old buildings that survived were really impressive.
After completing the walking tour of the Old Town, we piled in the van and our driver took us across the river by ferry to Neringa, which is a spit of sand that creates a lagoon on the land side of the Baltic Sea. It truly was something and easy to see why it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not only was it biologically significant, but it was also historically and culturally significant. The little fishing villages all along the spit were so quaint. We came to a point that was about 2KM from the border with Russia and at one point, could see the lagoon, Lithuania, the Baltic Sea, and Russia all at the same time. Incredible!
We then did a walking tour of the little fishing village, which was super quaint. Little wooden houses, with blue painted window frames and doors. There were also some fishing boats that were made of oak. They looked like something off a movie set! After walking around for a bit (it didn't take long to see everything), we had a nice traditional Lithuanian lunch. It was so delicious, and I have found a love for the food here. Who knew Lithuanian food was so good?!?
After lunch we drove along the road and stopped at a church and cemetery, and walked all around. Then we went to Thomas Moore's summer home and enjoyed the great views from on top of the hill where his house was. After that, we packed back up in the van, took the ferry back to the main land, and then drove to Palanga, which is a beach town and active nightlife center in the area. In contrast to that, we visited the large park in the middle of town (really, really large -- we walked for like 30 minutes and didn't come close to seeing even half of it!). On a gorgeous day like today, the flowers and fountains, ponds and trees, were so refreshing and peaceful. Absolutely gorgeous. We visited an amber museum (amber is found in abundance here), which was nice. I had no idea you could do so many things with the stuff! I kept having Jurassic Park flashbacks the whole time, though...
After the museum, we headed back to the hotel. I got dropped off just after 5, then did some emailing and facebooking and then walked around town to get my next fix of Lithuanian food. Since there were so many things on the menu I wanted to try at lunch, I decided to try one of the dishes I didn't eat at lunch for dinner. Based on the recommendation of the girl at the front desk (I told her what I wanted to try ad she immediately told me where to go), I walked halfway across town to a little restaurant on a pedestrian street, got seated at (another) ideal table for people watching, and had a delicious meal, all while being serenaded by a saxophone player playing smooth jazz. For dinner I had zeppelins, which are meat stuffed potato pastas, smothered in a mushroom cream sauce. When they brought me my plate, there were only two dumpling looking things on my plate, and I was disappointed because I've eaten more for appetizers than that before, but looks we're deceiving. About halfway through the second delicious potato dumpling, I was hurting, but managed to polish it off. The second glass of wine helped wash it down. Three glasses of wine, a filling meal, and jazz music and all for less than $10. I love this country!
The people watching was so much fun, as we dined al fresco on such a gorgeous evening! Eventually it was time to make the trek across town back to the hotel. I was thankful for the walk after eating such a heavy, filling meal, and got all packed up since I'm leaving in the morning for Latvia! A long but very fulfilling day!
No comments:
Post a Comment