Vilnius was very impressive with all its church towers. But the cross hill almost makes you fall silent. Even the Pope paid homage to him with a mass.
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Siauliai and the Cross Hill
From the Ninth Fort we are then almost 2 hours up to after Siauliai drove to us here Cross hill which is a place of pilgrimage and a symbol of national resistance. He was put down several times by the communist party, but unsuccessfully. A place where thousands of crosses are set up, laid down and hung. It is Sunday and accordingly a lot going on. Impressive when you walk towards this mountain with all the crosses. There should be more than 200,000 crosses.
Pope John Paul II held Holy Mass here in 1993. The Vatican had a large cross figure erected directly on the stairs that go over the hill. If you walk around the mountain to the right, you walk the way of the cross, which is signposted with 2m high, carved cross figures. There are so many crosses that the older and weathered crosses are already tilting backwards. But you can see that new ones are being put up again and again, all of which can be bought at the information desk. In two places they even lit incense, which you can smell over half the mountain depending on the wind. You can find more information here on the page about the Hill of Crosses.
Then we drove to a lake below Siauliai and stood there for the night. The area here seems to be relatively new, as the asphalt still looks very unused. Here is a meeting point for athletes such as kite surfers. There were also some of them on the lake. You also have containers with toilets and showers, but they were locked. In the evenings it seems to be a meeting place for young people and young couples. The whole late afternoon and evening were only driving cars back and forth or motorbikes with young people who then watched the sunset.
We hope for a quiet night. Of course, I didn't sleep so well at first because I always kept one ear to all the cars, but after that it was a really quiet night. In the morning we woke up, the sun was shining and nobody was there anymore. The previous evening it was so windy and cold that we fogged up the windshield for the first time in the morning.
Klaipeda on the Curonian approach
We are now heading towards Klaipeda and the Curonian Spit. Driving in the city struck us both a bit. We didn't feel that bad in the other cities. In Klaipeda we went to the Akropolis shopping center because we still have to go shopping in the supermarket. When we stood there in the parking lot, which was relatively narrow and narrow, and just ate a slice of bread, it made “pock”. Then a woman who had parked backwards rolled us onto the bike rack at the back. But nothing happened and we were all able to go our own way. Basti then went shopping and was overwhelmed by the supermarket.
We actually wanted to go to the Curonian Spit, but after researching the prices, we decided against it. A bus crossing costs € 12.70 + € 1 per person. That would be almost € 30 there and back, plus another € 30 fee to even be allowed to drive on the Curonian Spit. If we can't find a free parking space, we would also pay parking space fees again and that would be more than € 80 for one night in total. That's a bit too much for a bit of beach. So we drive along the coast of the Baltic Sea up towards Latvia.
The Memel North Bunker
A little further on the Baltic Sea there is another sight that we want to see. It is a German one Bunker system Memel north right on the beach with six battery guns, most of which fell into the sand or broke apart. It was supposed to protect Klaipeda. A small part of the bunker system can be viewed. It's amazing how nature gets everything back.
The weather is super nice, but it's also really windy. The waves in the sea have almost all whitecaps and there is a lot of noise. We walk a bit along the beach, where there are hardly any shells. But the beach is littered with stones, all of which are strongly rounded due to the very strong undercurrent. At sea we even see a very courageous kite surfer or a very talented one. We walk back through the pine forest directly behind the dunes.
We only drive a few hundred meters further for a place to sleep, where we can spend the night cheaply in a public parking lot directly in front of a campsite. You only pay parking fees from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the night is free. However, you should be there before 8 p.m. and take a ticket if you don't want to get up the next morning at 8 a.m., because the ticket station will be locked punctually at 8 p.m. We haven't seen it like this before.
The Palanga Pier
After we had a super good night and did service at the neighboring campsite, we moved on Palanga hazards. We want that there pier watch and have a bite to eat. The path to the pier is fully geared towards tourism. There is one ride after the other, one restaurant after the other and souvenir shops next to ice cream parlors one after the other. When we arrive at the pier, we find out that the dog is not allowed to be taken onto the pier. So Sebastian had to go to the pier alone and take photos.
Then we had a bite to eat and went back to the car. On the way back we have another Carriage taxi sign seen where a phone number was given underneath. So you call the number and order the taxi. Very funny!
On the further way towards Latvia we wanted to see another destination, Fishermans Daughters. However, no dogs allowed here either. After a short thought, we drove on, crossed the Latvian border and looked for somewhere to stay overnight.
You can find more pictures in the Lithuania photo gallery.
Our conclusion on Lithuania:
We were deeply impressed by nature and the large number of storks. The road network is also very well developed and your vehicles are definitely spared. 🙂 During our trip through the country we saw many beautiful corners and made some very nice acquaintances. We left the country with more travel destinations that we couldn't manage in that time or visit with a dog. You have to leave a few destinations for a new trip.
General travel tips:
- Top places in Estonia: Capital Vilnius, place Druskininkai, Curonian Spit Island, Dzukija National Park, Kaunas
- Currency: Euro
- Capital: Vilnius
- Language: Lithuanian. You can get on very well here with English.
- Internet: Excellent network. Usually 4G is available everywhere at a good speed.
Tips for traveling with a motorhome or car:
- Drive: There is a 24 hour light requirement in Lithuania. Don't forget, otherwise it will be expensive! The alcohol limit is 0.0%. There are some fixed speed cameras, but not very many of them so far. The locals drive quite defensively, except in the capital.
- Refueling: Diesel or gasoline is generally a little cheaper than in Germany. On the ADAC homepage you can find out an approximate value per liter, country and currency.
- Pitches / campsites: In the apps Park4Night for parking spaces and Camping.Info There are many places to stay for campsites.
- Traveling with a dog: An EU pet passport with a valid rabies vaccination and a chip are required. If you are traveling from Lithuania to Latvia, you do not need any further vaccinations.
- Shop: The big supermarkets are open Monday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Smaller shops in the country are also generally open every day, but the opening times can vary greatly.
