Lithuania, the Land of Crosses

On a sunny day, we drive into Lithuania. Suddenly, the road becomes better. Really? A glimmer of hope arises (but it doesn't last long). Surprisingly, the first village we pass through is full of colorful and nice wooden houses. We had heard before that Lithuania was more backward than Latvia and Estonia... but here, in the first village, you don't feel that at all. The first gas station shows a price of 1.12 Euros for diesel... hello amazing Lithuania :).

In Mosedis, another small town, we see a beautiful white church in the distance and decide to go in (to the town). The Catholic service has just ended and hundreds of Lithuanians are streaming out of the church. Our Knut is parked right in front and everyone smiles when they see him. Even the old women dressed in black have to look twice and smile. This really lifts our spirits. We admire the beautiful church and also find a great stone park in the town. Here, all the stones of the Baltics are displayed. They are beautifully polished, so you can see the inside of the stone. There is everything, from all types of granite... to all types of basalt... sandstone and much more. Unfortunately, it starts raining and we hurry back to the bus.

We continue inland. Our destination is the mystical Garden of Orvydas in Vilnius. This garden was created in the 60s. The then Russian President Khrushchev ordered all gravestones in Lithuania to be removed from the cemeteries (what an asshole). And they were all thrown into the garden of the stonemason Orvydas (he made most of them). The garden grew and eventually became an eyesore for the Russian authorities (they always have something to complain about). They had it destroyed, but it was always rebuilt, and each time a little bigger (pretty cool, isn't it?). In the meantime, the stonemason passed away, and his son rearranged the garden and gave it its current shape. You walk through a large garden with many winding paths leading through stone tunnels. There are old Christian relics everywhere. You see crosses, altars, tombstones, old church windows... and in between, there are hundreds of moss-covered boulders and old gigantic tree trunks. It's simply incredible to see all of it!! We explore all the paths and peek into all the huts. You find something interesting in every little corner. We are completely amazed. There is also a large ancient bell.. of course, I couldn't resist ringing it. At the entrance, there is a retired Soviet tank aimed at the entrance. The message is clear!! We are deeply impressed. A great place as a symbol of resistance against the Russians!

We search for a place to spend the night and continue deeper into the countryside. The potholes here are so big, you could put small children in them. And due to the rain, they are all filled with water... they always say... close your eyes and hope that it's not too deep (the pothole). Finally, we find a nice parking spot with a view of a lake in the Zemaitija National Park. We stay here, take a walk along the lake, and then go to bed early because it's raining again. The next morning (for the first time in 15 weeks, we set an alarm clock, grinning) we get up at six o'clock. The thermometer shows 14 degrees Celsius and it's drizzling. Our fur baby has a long face and is not at all excited. It hides under the blanket. But no, we want to go. To the HILL OF CROSSES! On our way there, we pass through many small villages and towns. It feels like time has stood still here for 300 years. Old houses... quite dilapidated. BUT: in every village, there is a magnificent and well-preserved Catholic church. It just shows where the money is!! Besides, you can see crosses standing on every corner and in every village. The Lithuanians are definitely very devout people. We see large flocks of starlings. They are already gathering to migrate south. I open the window and shout: Stay here - summer is not over yet!! Whether they care... nobody knows for sure. But it can't be denied. Most of the summer is gone. The fields have been harvested, the apples are ripe and falling down... hhhmmmpppffff - sniff sniff - I could go on like this forever. We arrive at Kryzio Kalnas.

THE HILL OF CROSSES We quickly park Knut and head towards the hill. You can already see it from afar. And the countless crosses on it and around it. By now, the hill is overcrowded and people continue on the fields below. This is also a place of resistance (this time quite Christian). What a sight. It is said that there are now more than 250,000 crosses and thousands of rosaries that people have left here over the years. We see old crosses, crosses from abroad, new crosses (you can buy them cheaply at the entrance)... crosses and Christian figures everywhere you look. Even the only fir tree on the hill is covered with crosses and rosaries. Nobody knows anymore when and how the first cross arrived on the hill. But it is certain that this place has been a sacred site since pre-Christian times. In any case, in the 19th century, the Lithuanians began to erect crosses for deceased relatives. The Russians didn't like that (of course!). After Stalin's death in 1953, many prisoners returned from the gulags and camps and erected even more crosses for their deceased comrades. The Russians first came in April 1969 with bulldozers and leveled everything. But the next day, the first crosses were already back on the hill (isn't that amazing?). The whole thing started over again and repeated in 1973, 1974, and 1975. The hill became more and more a symbol of resistance and more and more people came and left crosses. Eventually, the Russian nonsense was over and since then, it has been a place that is well-known all over Lithuania. Thousands of people come here every year. They leave crosses or rosaries, they pray for deceased relatives, for children's wishes, for anything that is on their hearts. We also don't miss the opportunity and add two small crosses and send some wishes to the universe (you never know!). A thunderstorm is approaching, and it starts raining - probably because we no longer pay church tax :)

We continue south (on the highway!!... we've had enough of the roads in the countryside). We take a break by the Nemunas River (which is already close to the Russian border), right by the river. Kilian does a bit of fishing (in the rain), but unfortunately, the fish don't want to bite. We drive a bit further and find a sleeping spot at Raudone Castle, which is now a school. But since it's vacation time, we are allowed to spend the night here. We are in front of a beautiful red castle with a huge park that we naturally take a walk in. After a peaceful night (Kilian was a bit nervous because a car stood there all night and watched us... I slept like a baby... I feel very safe here), we continue along the Nemunas River.

In a suburb of Kaunas, we check out the city camp. According to the travel guide, it is not very impressive, but you can park in the forest and they have washing machines and dryers (yes, I'm talking in plural... because one machine is not enough...). We check in and get started. Everything is being washed: duvets, dog blankets, carpets, clothes, and of course, ourselves. It was all very necessary... we had a bit of a stench on board. In the evening, we sit in front of Knut and enjoy the fresh laundry on the clotheslines and in the dryer. Suddenly, the horizon turns black very quickly. What a mess! A thunderstorm!! Not right now. Okay, quickly remove all the clothes from the clothesline and put them in Knut. Everything is full. In the bathroom, we hang clothes on lines, even there, we cover everything with laundry, in the kitchen, we hang up T-shirts... it looks like a second-hand shop. Outside, there is lightning and thunder without end, and it pours down buckets. Today, nothing will happen!! Okay, we give up, make the bed, and tonight it's sleeping in a second-hand shop. (Or maybe not sleeping, because next door, some young Lithuanians are partying until five in the morning!!). In the morning, the sun is shining again. We quickly hang everything out again and continue.

Our last destination in Lithuania is Rumsiskes. An ethnographic museum where over 150 buildings have been faithfully reconstructed. It's like 'Little Lithuania' :) Some buildings are over 300 years old and each region of Lithuania has its own 'corner' in this extensive village. We see beautiful old wooden houses, barns, a bakery, butcher shop, a church... everything a complete village needs. In the church, there is a service and people stand outside onto the village square. We had already been amazed by the number of cars parked in the parking lot. At first, we thought they were all tourists. - But no, we were wrong. - They are all Lithuanians!! Google tells us that today is the Assumption of Mary, one of the highest holidays in Christian Lithuania!! Well, great!! Someone could have told us as travelers, we don't even know what day it is anymore. But luckily, the rest of the huge village museum is very spacious, and that's where the crowds get lost (most of them are in the church anyway). Hours and kilometers later, we have had enough culture and enough people for today.

We look for a place to spend the night and find one by a lake near Jenanai. Tomorrow we're off to Poland. Conclusion on the Baltic States: The Baltic States are GREAT!! We really liked them and they are definitely worth another visit. Contrary to what people we talked to said, our favorite is actually Latvia rather than Estonia. Estonia is great with its colorful houses. But the Estonians seemed a bit arrogant to us and there was a lack of great beaches. Tallinn is, of course, amazing and a must-see. The island Saaremaa also gave us a great island feeling. But even there, we struggled to find beaches suitable for swimming. In contrast, in Latvia, there are beaches that leave you in awe. Huge - clean - deserted - !! The Latvians are super-friendly people and you feel welcome. The campsites in Latvia are also very cheap and mostly run by young people, which we found very pleasant. The houses have seen better days, and you can see the poverty of the people, especially in the inland areas. In Lithuania, we also had only positive experiences. Granted, the roads are a challenge - and most of the houses are rather poor dwellings. But the Lithuanians are also super-friendly people and shopping in Lithuania is really fun. Here, food and fuel are very cheap (which of course makes our travel budget very happy). Nowhere else have I seen so many crosses as in Lithuania, and the spirit of resistance against the Russians is very tangible in Lithuania. Latvia and Lithuania should definitely be more than transit countries to Estonia (which unfortunately is the case for many people). Each of the three countries has its own charm... so I reserve the right to highlight one of them as our favorite country in the Baltics. - We say goodbye to the Baltic States - it was a blast - hello Poland... we are very excited.