Jurate Nida

... die Wahrnehmung durch abenteuerliches Adrenalin verschärft, der Nebel des Alltags aufgeklart?
Oder ist die alltägliche Vernunft, durch Abenteuer eingeschränkt und hindert das euphorisierte Ich an realistischer Einschätzung?
Abenteuer beschränken die Vernunft auf scheinbar engeren, in meinen Augen jedoch wesentlicheren Teil des Lebens. Nämlich das Leben als solches. nicht das in 10 Jahren. Es mildert Vergangenheit und Gegenwart und gibt dem Jetzt eine schillernde Schärfe.

... Amis sind ja so furchtbar! Offensichtlichere Floskeln gibs ja wohl GAR NICHT! Aber ich bin ja nicht unhöflich: "Where are you from?" - "US. Nice Shirt." - "Thanks."
Gut, dachte ich mir. Was für eine bekloppte Unterhaltung. Er musste möglichst cool wirken, als erfahrener Backpacker, Martina hatte Mühe ihre Augen wieder zuzukriegen, ich glaub er hats gemerkt, aber ich habe an seinen Lippen förmlich gehangen. War ja nun aber auch interessant was der Gute so zu erzählen hatte ...

... town there were no tourists, no people as it was off season. We felt like we had whole town only for us...and the beaches!
There are also interesting places to see nearby, including some of the highest sand dunes in Europe, fisherman's ethnographic museum, gallery-museum of amber, neo-Gothic church (built in 1888).

... dark at night when walking back, but didnt feel unsafe to me. From the hotel to old town takes around 15 minutes on foot. Most of the way is a shopping street. The old town it self is small and not very exciting, but has some nice restaurants and bars. I had dinner somewhere outside in the city centre, which was very cheap. This being a Sunday evening, it was pretty quiet.

... thick for use on the body. I am directed to a pharmacy. The least expensive is $30 for a decent sized tube. Oh well.

I am off to Nida, a beach resort town on the Curonian Spit. Pretty place with a nice beach. It is a 15 minute walk to the beach. The beaches have a much larger crowd than yesterday. This seems more of a vacation place whereas yesterday was the local beach.

Back is still ...

... I find a table (few available) and grab a Lithuanian beer which is pretty much like the Polish beer. Great spot for people watching by 8:00 or so (it is still light and I am in my beach attire) people start showing up in evening wear (it is a Friday). I take my cue and go back to the hostel for a shower.

I have consistently found that people in the service industry on this trip have been at best indifferent and generally rude. Not sure if it is being an American ...

... park, with forests full of wild boar, elk, and deer, and photogenic sand dunes which stretch as far as the eye can see. Brad became mildly obsessive about spotting elks (and was probably the only foreigner around who hadn't yet seen one on the spit, and STILL left without seeing one). We couldn't leave the spit without having tried its local specialties, which were its smoked fish which was fantastic, and another odd Lithuanian ...

... Finally we arrived in Nida in the evening of June 23rd. It is a fantastic tourist destination that I would highly recommend to anyone traveling in the region. It is not cheap, but I can't say it is overly expensive either. A room at the guest house that we were staying at cost 75 euro, and that is relatively high, but this was a special occasion with a festival in town and major Lithuanian holidays underway... Nida is located ...

... to Nida to catch the bus. Once we were back in Smilthynes we decided to venture into the pub for a pint. We also gave the famous Lithuanian beer snack a try, strips of fried dark garlic bread with cheese. Pretty tasty with a beer! Caught the ferry back and grabbed a cup a noodles and a beer and headed back to the hostel. Ended up staying up quite late with the girl working at the hostel and another Lithuanian guy. I had to try the local cider :)

... dinner (more yummy fish) and had a few beers. It was cold and windy out, so we retreated to our rooms. The next day we met up early to get some bikes and ride the Curonian Spit. We biked along the bike pathway for almost 30km through awesome forest and beach. It was a beautiful bike ride with damn good weather (apparently it rains all the time out here, we haven't had a drop yet). We made it to our destination and were wiped out. We rewarded ourselves with an ...