Magnisima 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 ...

... Oder kennt ihr viele Ostamerikaner, Halbjude mit plonischem Einschlag, Halbitalienermix, abgeschlossenes Philosophiestudium, Autor, Schwerstinteressiert am 30 Jährigen Krieg, der einfach mal so sein Gespartes nimmt und damit durch Osteuropa trampt? Also ich nich. Und wenn ich mal einen treffe, wird er ausgequetscht! Sollte dann auch 3 Tage Zeit haben ;)
Der Typ is crazy! 
Naja, wir haben uns dann die Unterkunft geteilt und zusammen die kurische Nehrung unsicher gemacht.

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 ...

... 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.

... As I walk into the courtyard, I see the restaurant in the back. There are several restaurants which appear to merge. I am apparently sitting in the are of one restaurant but am able to order from the menu of the steak house. Steak was OK. Service was terrible. I think the steak had been sitting out for awhile. In the US, I would send it back but too difficult with the waiter’s limited English.

... with a chatty and interesting couple from Sacramento. While that made for good conversational companionship, I ended up spending the day a bit bleary-eyed from just over four hours of shut-eye. No matter - I'll sleep when I'm sixty. (right?) It turns out that Klaipeda isn't anything all that special. I'm sure at one time it was very pretty and historic, but - in line with many other urban centers in this region - there were certain events between 1939 and ...

... the spit's northern town of Smiltyne and to the Lithuanian sea museum where an aquarium and boat museum can be found within the old sea fort. Unfortunately the sea museum in nothing to write home about, however a visit to the neighbouring Dolphinarium is definitely worth a visit. And Yes, I was reluctant to go and spend my 14 Litas (~£3 GBP), thinking that ...

... service was in Lithuanian but we were given headphones to listen along. It was really good the preacher had a passion that a lot of the American churches are missing. The service was about 2 hours long and afterwards we ate at the school a meal of crab salad, soup, and beef tips(i'm giving them american names, not actually what we ate but merely a description). We then went on a tour of Klaipeda and the old town before coming back to the dorm and getting ready for ...

Today started bitterly cold. I don't think the hostel was heated :( Most of the hostels so far have been ace but with the heat in here I think I may have been better sleeping in the bus station next door (The location is fantastic though, almost in the parking lot of the bus station!). So it took me a bit to pull myself out of bed and brave outside. The town was actually quite pretty, I'd been warned that Klaipeda was a typical port town and ...