Blogs from Lithuania, Europe

‘Trucdrivers?’, I ask, while I make some moves with a imaginary steer, to make clear what I mean. In front of me sit two shaggy, massive men with big heads and enormous bellies. I am sure they are trucdrivers and that they speak Russian, like all shaggy, massive men with big heads and enormous bellies here on the Victoria Seaways. We sit on deck in the warm sun. The Baltic Sea is everywhere around us. I guess we are near the coast of Poland. The two trucdrivers stare down at me, like boxers do. ‘Trucdrivers? Nein, wir sind Bauern. Wir kommen aus Deutschland.’ I ask what they are going to do in Lithuania as German farmers. ‘Hunt. We are going to hunt. On deer and moose.’ They are laughing friendly. Farmers? Hunt? Deer and moose? Terrible, ... read more

petite erreur dans le blog précédent si cela n'a pas été corrigé car déjà publié : Trakai et Vilnius se trouvent bien en Lituanie et pas en Pologne !!! Nous voici donc à Kaunas... J'arrive à situer le camping à JJ les yeux fermés !!! il ne s'en souvient plus mais pas grave car je le mènerai bien à l'arrêt du trolley bus qui nous mènera en ville... Là grande surprise car nous nous trouvons directement dans le bain d'une fête que j'appellerais folklorique... la fête de la tradition. C'est ainsi que les gens chantent, dansent, etc... dans leurs plus beaux habits nationaux... de petits stands vous offrent les produits du pays. Je vous laisse revivre avec nous cette fête car les visages souriants (enfin !) de ces gens faisaient plaisir à voir...... read more

V januari na narodeniny som dostal od svojej drahej krasny darcek, priepustku na jednu noc. Tak som zacal hladat letenky kam sa da letiet na vikend. Ostali mi tri moznosti, londyn, litva alebo malorka. Londyn som zavrhol kedze tam som uz bol, i ked ma lakal navstivit oxford, no po kuknuti ubytiek tato moznost zanikla, rovnako ako malorka, tam mimo ubytiek boli dost drahe aj letenky. I ked mna by jeden smer vysiel nula euro, vdaka cachrom so studentuniverse. Keby vim, ze sa tato nulova akcia este raz zopakuje, tak by som zobral malorku, no nakonec som zobral litvu. Letenku za 0€ som mal z vilniusu do brem, cul mi ostalo cihat na let tam. Crtali sa mi dve moznosti. Skoro rano v sobotu s ryanairom do kaunas resp poobede z dortmundu do vilniusu s nespolahlivym ... read more

There’s a very distinct German flavor to this port city, Lithuania’s third largest (formerly known as Memel), which was part of the old Prussian Kingdom until it achieved autonomy in 1923. Located in the northwestern part of the country and 193 miles from the capital Vilnius, Klaipeda has a population of around 150,000. It is Lithuania’s only port on the Baltic, and its heart is beating steadily together with the sea. The locals proudly proclaim this affinity with annual summer Sea festivals, biennial Tall Ships regattas, a Sea Museum, a Sea Faculty in the local university, numerous beaches, and major stevedoring companies. What was your first clue these locals worship water? A Little Bit of History: a settlement of Baltic tribes (ancestors of modern Lithuanians) along the estuary of the Dane River, is believed to have ... read more

Thursday started with a 4 hr train ride to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. The temperature on mid afternoon arrival was a barmy 30 deg. After a quick check-in to the Corner Hotel for a 2 night stay we headed straight out for an orientation walk around the picturesque old town. Like the whole Baltic region, Vilnius has been occupied over the last 800 years variously by Sweden, Poland, France, Germany and Russia with each occupier leaving its mark on the city. The walk mainly centered around Cathedral Square in the Old Town and its beautiful Cathedral and free standing belfry. The Cathedral has had many versions over the centuries due to fire & foreign occupation. The classic current version was completed in the early 1800’s & this time has remarkably survived a conversion into a ... read more