Aribe Klaipeda

... Abenteuer"
Meine Expedition ins mehr oder minder Unbekannte begann am Mittwoch. Nach einigen Kommunikationsproblemen (Was an dem, doch recht international angehauchten Wort "studente" und "Klaipeda" so schwer zu verstehen gewesen ist, versteh ich nicht) saß ich dann doch im Bus nach Klaipeda, der grüßten Hafenstadt Litauens.
Während ich dann im Kreis lief auf der Suche nach meiner Orientierung fiel mir auf, dass ich nicht der einzige Mensch bin, der so gar keinen Plan hat wo er denn ...

So, jetzt finde ich endlich mal wieder die Muße mich hier literarisch zu ergießen.
Ich habe meinen Rucksack gepackt, hab die Tür hinter mir abgeschlossen und bin zum Busbahnhof. Habe es irgendwie der dicken Dame hinter dem Schalter begreiflich gemacht, dass ich nach Klaipeda möchte. Ja ich bin Student, ja in Vilnius... WO IST DAS PROBLEM? Im allgemeinen lösen sich Sprachbarrieren aufgrund unterschiedlicher Verständigungsbasis nicht durch Erhöhen der Lautstärke, aber auch das ...

On our way to Nida we stopped to visited one of the most pilgrimage places I have ever been. It's a Hill of Crosses nearby Siauliai City. People come here, leave crosses, icons and pray - and the energy on the hill is simply amazing.

Nida is a resort town in Lithuania, located on the Curonian Spit. When we visited this ...

It took just over 3 hours to drive from Vilnius to Klaipeda with very light traffic. The drive is a little boring, but comfortable. The Magnisima Hotel is in the new (er) part of town within walking distance from the old town and with a secure parking lot in the rear. The room (#7) is very spacious and tastefully furnished. The street misses a couple of light poles, so gets a ...

... celebrations are being held. It is hard to find. I and many others go down some dead ends before finding the path. It is packed with thousands of people. A naval ship is decked out. Huge monitors show the performers who sing, dance and talk. The culmination is the national anthem, supposedly synced with spots all over the world. Very cool to participate in something so monumental for the Lithuanian people.

... but gets better (still a 6 on a pain scale) over the day.

Clouds come in around 3 and it gets cold. People head back to town. Most are staying in Nida but I start the 1.5 hour trip back.

For dinner, I look for a steak house that has an excellent reputation. I don't have enough info to pinpoint it exactly. After 30 minutes and starving, I give up. I go back to the café hot spot from ...

... showed off some of our souvenirs we picked up in Kathmandu, they liked the meditation bowl and the mask of mahakala. ..... The camera stopped working on a consistent basis so I only have a few photos ..... The past several days we explored the villages around Klaipeda, Ugne's hometown. One afternoon we went to Palanga where Ugne worked in the summers at an American Restaurant. Another afternoon was we explored a nearby peninsula ...

... dunes. From Klaipeda its a short Ferry trip across the lagoon mouth to Smiltyne and the end of the spit. This being our only motive for visiting I had intended and early start to leisurely cycle its 50km length and back. But with Mark still getting over the flu and Sean and I not feeling too sprightly after the night before we don't set out until 10. When we get to Smiltyne we decide to get the bus to Nida at the other end of the spit and maybe get ...

... in going to the missile base with us, so it wasn't affordable to do, as you payed a set amount for the car (more people, less price each one pays). After another sauna like sleep, we woke up the next day and had to flag the missile silo idea. We also had to find another bed to sleep in that night as our current hostel was apparently full that night. After much searching, we came across a nice sounding guesthouse that didn't cost much more than our hostel and ...

... of us drifted in and out of sleep. A few hours into the five hour bus journey some crazy driver in a lexus undertook the bus in the hard shoulder, we were doing about 70 mph at the time, and then swerved in and out of a truck and some cars up ahead. We all made comments about it and went back to whatever it was we were doing. About 2 minutes later the bus slams to a slow pace and navigates debris on the road. About 6 or 7 cars were parked on the ...