Lithuania

The plan was that I would join my son after his semester in Russia and we would travel south into Kiev, then onward. Visa problems prevented that so we agreed to meet in Lithuania. This is the point where I began to think it would be fun to see how many countries I could get a magnet in. My project became official.

I flew into Kaunus where I experienced my first Ryanair landing and was startled when the whole plane broke into applause when the plane came to a screeching, shuddering stop. Now Ryanair has adopted a bugle call...gotta give these Brits credit for humor! I stayed overnight and left a magnet there.

In old town I found attractive little ceramic figures, like shaped tiles with characters stamped on them, and went into the shop to buy. The owner explained that they were given as gifts to the guests at weddings. I gave her a tile and told her that people had been giving them as hostess gifts. She gave me a little tiny canvas bag and said, "Now you have some Baltic amber."


What really drew me to Lithuania was the woodcarving tradition. On my agenda was the Hill of Crosses which began as a simple shrine that the communist government tried to remove. First one cross, then a few more added, then it was destroyed but more crosses showed up. Then it was walled off and even more crosses appeared despite severe penalties for those who might get caught. I understand the communits government was even planning to channel the Baltic in order to flood it...but then came Glasnost and control of personal expression was lessened. Whew! Let me tell you, there must be a million crosses on that little rise of ground. They come in every possible style, cover the ground, crawl up trees...it is amazing to behold. No wonder it has become a Mecca of sorts.







The cross I made to plant in memory of my family

My next destination was Devil's Hill on the Curonian Spit, a little sandy strip in the Baltic where Lithuanians go for vacation, or so I was told. Devil's Hill proved to be a very pleasant hike through the woods with whimsical carvings around every bend. These looked like they could have come straight out of Aesop's Fables.