RaRa's travels: Day trip at Palanga, Latin Dancing in Klaipeda and visit to The Hill of Crosses.

I've had another big couple of days so I haven't had a chance to write till now. I think it is important to treat a journal, not as though it is a chore. You need time to really think about what you are writing; as a meaningful reflection of an event; not just 'what happened' in a sequential order.

I had more lessons planned with Jurate for Friday the 30/01/2015 but I was feeling very under the weather with some sort of cold type virus, so I emailed her to reschedule. Jurate was very kind, in saying that she would run through some learning material that evening with me and some tea and honey at our apartment, as she already was going to visit Clara to help Clara book a bus to Vilnius. I also asked Jurate if she could please email me the details of a Doctor nearby in case if I got more sick. Jurate then emailed me, announcing that my other teachers;Vitalija and Daiva would visit me and midday to assess if I needed to go to the doctor. Daiva and Vitalija came to our apartment with plenty of fruit, lots of healing Lithuanian tea and they even bought a thermometer to make sure that I didn't have a fever. Daiva and Vitalija have decided that I am not too sick; my eyes are not red and my face is not green, but needed to rest and drink lots of tea. They felt that I should still go site seeing on the weekend. I am really treated with so much love here, I feel like a part of the family.

Lithuanian herbal remedies, delivered to me by some very good people.

I haven't gone running for close to a week now which is a bit annoying, but I think I have to try and get better. I'm taking Prednisolone too, as my Doctor at home feels that with my asthma, it is best for me to just take a 'lil bit a steroids' when I'm starting to get sick while traveling, so that I don't end up with a chest infection each time as has been in the past for me. I haven't told my Lithuanian friends that I am also taking Prednisolone, as I think herbal tea is the medicine of choice here. Lithuanians are tough, and I think unless if you are dying, you are not considered sick. I do love the Lithuanian approach to healing, and I am guzzling down lots of yummy tea. I got reminded by another two people today; you must drink lots of Lithuanian tea with honey!

It's interesting, I thought that after 15 years of me last visiting Lithuanian, things would feel so different, but they feel the same as they did so long ago. This time around, I was shell shocked when I had first arrived (like I was in 2000). To add to it all though, this time around, I had some personal stressors to deal with at home just before I left. When I hopped off the plane, I came was back in the post soviet looking area with a cold climate where people didn't smile a lot, which is how I remember it all in 2000. But the warmth that the Lithuanian people show to you as soon when you speak to them, and their pride in their country, their history, their traditions, their language, their hard work and endless consideration and love for friends and family, is also exactly what I remember from my first trip here. It is what makes me proud to be half Lithuanian and so happy to be here. It is like my second home.

Yesterday we went to Palanga, another seaside town in Klaipeda; a beautiful place. Some of my friends were not as keen to go, due to gale force winds etc, but I convinced them in the end.

Mary Poppins! Our dear Nicole, always as cute as can be.

On the way to the Amber Museum in Palanga.

The Amber Museum and resort in Palanga. The ongoing joke from Andrea's, was that this was her newly refurbished house, and she was giving us a tour. (Andrea has had many conversations with us about how little wages are in Czech).

Statue of the beautiful priestess Birute and The Tiškevičiai Palace is a Neo-Renaissance style building in Palanga, Lithuania. It was built for the Tisceviciai family The construction was started in 1893 and finished in 1897. The palace is surrounded by a park with ponds, fountains, and collections of rare plants. Since 1963 the palace has housed the Palanga Amber Museum and is surrounded by the Palanga Botanical Garden.

The largest rock in Lietuva!

Now there's a Lithuanian nose; I am right at home.

Such an interesting contrast with the sand, the snow and the Baltic sea.

Looking warm enough to jump in! Just crop out that snow.

Time to defrost with some lunch and a warm restaraunt.


Tomas' pizza was a little bigger than what he thought it would be.

That evening we all cooked dinner together and headed out to a latin dancing night in Klaipeda, where there was an hour lesson or Rueda followed by social dancing. Tomas was a bit reluctant to go, he started off telling me that he couldn't dance and then told me that he had the wrong kind of shoes to dance in (when they were perfect shoes for dancing). However after the lesson, Tomas said 'it was really good!' I think we were lucky with tat night of dancing, as I think those social dancing nights are only on once a term, or even just once a season. Otherwise you need to commit to a series of lessons. I had one man think that I was Lithuanian until I told him otherwise who seemed too shy to dance but not that shy as he would let go of me well after the dance. There was another man who looked terrified when I told him that English was my first language. And I met American man who told me that he moved to Lithuania for a girl many years ago, but it didn't work out, so now he has lived in Klaipeda for 10 years but works in London. As always, a mixed crowd found at latin dancing.

Today we headed to Šiauliai to visit the Hill of Crosses (this was and always will be be one of my favourite places in Lithuania, and the world). Our other friend Tomas (Lithuanian Tomas, not Slovakian Tomas) , his family live in Siauliai, so we had dinner with his family. As always, they were so hospitable and kind. They gave me more fruit to eat as I am sick and gave me some more tea (I have so much fruit in my apartment now, it's not funny). Tomas's mother was very impressed that I did not go to some sort of Lithuanian school at home and instead managed to learn Lithuanian through my family speaking it with me in Australia. So that was a big compliment and very encouraging for me.

The Hill of Crosses has about 100 000 crosses. It is said that first crosses were erected here by the next-of-kin of the rebels that fell in the 1831 rebellion. The Hill of Crosses is an historical architectural monument, it is a unique composition of folk art. The Hill of crosses attract's people with it's peace, spirituality, authenticity and sacred nature. The hill of crosses was visited by Pope John Paul II. Even more crosses appeared after the rebellion in 1863. At that time the traditions of visiting and erecting crosses on the hill of crosses were being formed. The Hill of crosses became a place of vows in Lithuania. In the beginning of the 20th century, the hill was already quite well known. It was being visited by a lot of people, and services and feasts were taking place here.

Waiting at the train station at Klaipeda to head to Siauliai.

Train station at Klaipeda.

The town of Siauliai.

Walking back from The Hill of Crosses.

This is the cross that I chose to add to the hill.

The Hill of Crosses; Siauliai.

Tomas says; there are a lot of Polish of Polish messages here (even Polish songs heard through radios that people have deliberately left through the hill). although you cannot find the actual radios. I asked Tomas why so many Polish people visited, and he said: 'I think they like God a lot'.

This is where I placed my cross.

View of The Hill of Crosses through a nearby church.

The town of Siaulia; 'Golden Boy' statue who protects the town.

The town of Siauliai. Nicole and I are a bit naughty walking on the frozen lake. Nicole walked a bit further out and heard some crcaks in the ice and we turned around again.