Southern Lithuania

What a trip! Short and sweet and absolutely wonderful! Regis and I went on a mini-road trip to the southern part of Lithuania to visit his cousins that began with an early start Saturday morning. We drove out of Klaipeda and along the Nemunas river for some time, stopped at two castles and a mansion and had lunch at his Auntie's in Marijampole. She had made a curd pie, which I got the recipe for because it was delish! I'll try to make it at home...Anyway, the weather was gorgeous and made for wonderful photographs and driving mood. The chestnut, birch and other trees were fully green and beautiful and there were fields and fields of dandelions in bloom. I have never seen so many of the 'weeds' my dad hates in his front yard, and I think of him every time I see one.

After lunch, we were back on the road and headed to Regis' Uncle's house in a town called Veisiejai. The area was gorgeous, surrounded by lakes and forest. The town was small, and their house was right on the lake - with a little cabin built literally 10 meters from the water. The cabin held an upstairs bedroom with a balcony and downstairs held a sauna and eating area. Regis' cousins heated up the sauna for us and started barbecuing šašlykai (Lithuanian shishkebabs) while Regis and I rowed around the lake in a canoe. There was a swan heading our way and I kind of freaked out cause he was so big and seemed like he was on a mission to 'get us' and Regis wasn't making it any better by saying 'I've heard they can flip boats over, we better get outta here!' After that little adventure, the sauna was ready and it was h.o.t. The ladels of water added to the hot stones only made it hotter and moving the air with your hand or blowing on your skin was almost painful because it was so hot. After a few minutes in the hot box, we all went outside to cool off and the boys jumped in the lake. My understanding from their reactions was that it was pretty cold, so I did not join them or intend to do so. After a few more sessions in and out of the sauna, the last time we went outside Regis convinced me to jump in with him, though he had to half pull me to the water. It certainly was cold, but not as bad as I thought - though with the prospect of leeches in the water, I was out of there quickly. Regis actually found a leech just for me, and was poking it in the water and it just kind of wiggled and then bit his finger! He flung it off and I was thoroughly done with being near the water. After eating, our friend the swan was coming over to the pier and Regis was feeding it bread like a trick dolphin - making it reach for it from the water. It was pretty funny, as it was as if it were a dog begging for a treat. Later he chased it around the lake in the canoe until the swan got tired of being followed without any bread as a reward and flew off a bit.

That night, we went on a walk around the town and saw the sights - a huge white church, the local school, lilac bushes everywhere, a wooden sculpture park, etc. Having woken up early that morning, I was fairly tired and so we headed back to the house and sat on the cabin's balcony for a while enjoying the night and then eventually went to bed. The next morning, Regis, Mantas (his cousin) and I went to Druskininkai, a resort town nearby known for mineral baths and sanatoriums. We headed to "Gruto Parkas," a park founded by a local millionaire who gathered all the Soviet statues from the towns as they took them down following independence and put them all in one spot. There were many many statues of Lenin, Marx and other heroes of the Soviet times, with Soviet songs blaring over the loudspeakers, a Soviet canteen, a library, old flags and art...pretty much all things Soviet could be found here. The park also had a mini-zoo, so we saw ostriches, boars and many kinds of birds. It was interesting to see and it was great to just walk in the woods. We saw two snakes and a deer! Earlier in the week, Regis and I had gone to a cafe out of town and were walking in the woods nearby and saw a snake - which I picked up after he poked it first. It was just a little grass snake, but as I had never done that before and he is scared of snakes, it was an achievement for both of us. Anyway, so after the park we walked around Druskininkai and had lunch. The town was very well kept, with flower beds everywhere and a beautiful church in the center. I have posted photos as always at Yahoo - so feel free to browse!

After lunch we went back to Veisiejai and I played with the family cat and her kittens while Regis helped Mantas translate something and then we packed up and drove back towards Klaipeda. It was originally planned to be a two night trip, but Regis was leaving earlier for England than he thought and so wanted to go back and pack up his stuff. It felt like it was a longer trip because of everything that was packed into two days and it was a lot of fun! Naturally, Regis' family was very accommodating and friendly as always and I'm grateful to him to let me tag along. It was also great to see a part of Lithuania outside of Klaipeda, especially when in such perfect weather!