
Well my last blog about my time in Lithuania will be about Kaunas, which I saw on the road trip with my friend from Romania. First we saw Kaunas Castle…
Harassed by the viking communities in Middle Ages, by the mid 12th century the Grand Duchy of Lithuania formed and was an economic and military force in the area. By the end of the 14th century Lithuania was one of the largest countries in Europe. Beginning in 1385 the country started to Christianize and was one of the last in Europe to do so. In 1569 Lithuania officially entered a union with Poland to form a commonwealth. Lithuania was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until the Polish Partitions in the later half of the 18th century when it became part of the Russian Empire.
Modern Lithuania gained its independence from Russia in 1918 following World War I. However, in 1940 Lithuania was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union then occupied by the Nazis before the Soviet Union recaptured it and brutally persecuted and killed many Lithuanians. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but this proclamation was not generally recognized until September 1991.
AIn August 2019 I spent a month traveling around the Baltic states. I started in Kaliningrad, Russia and traveled up the Curonian Spit and into Lithuania. From there I rented a car in Klaipėda and took three days as I drove along the northern region down to Kaunas and finally into Vilnius where I spent several days before flying to Estonia.
I absolutely loved the Curonian Spit and the seaside town of Palanga, but did not care too much for Klaipėda. In the north the Hill of Crosses was amazing and Kernavė Archaeological Site was a let down. I liked the town of Kaunas and loved Trakai Island Castle. Once in Vilnius, the capital, there was lots to see and do in this medieval town.
Check out my Lithuanian blog post below to get recommendations at each location.
Well my last blog about my time in Lithuania will be about Kaunas, which I saw on the road trip with my friend from Romania. First we saw Kaunas Castle…
I was told to eat at Lokys down in the Old Town of Vilnius if I wanted to try ancient traditional Lithuanian meals that are spectacular. This had my attention…
In mid August I wrapped up my time in Lithuania by spending a few days in its captial, Vilnius. This small town (half a million people) is the largest in…
Trakai Island Castle is an island castle located in Lithuania on an island in Lake Galvė. The construction of the stone castle was begun in the 14th century by Kęstutis,…
The area of Kernavė has been inhabited for the last 10,000 years, with the number of settlements significantly increasing in the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras. The town was first mentioned…
In order to see a couple of important pilgrimage sites in northern Lithuania, I rented a car with a Romanian guy I met in Klaipeda. The first place we visited…
Palanga is a small beach town only 30 minutes north of Klaipeda with buses back and forth every half an hour, which makes it very easy to get to. The…
I don’t ever stay in hostels since I prefer to spend a little bit more money and have my own room, but when I arrived in Klaipeda on August 7th…
The Curonian Spit is a 98 km long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast. Its southern portion lies within Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia…
I am writing about my time in Nida, Lithuania which I visited for several days at the beginning of August. After making it through the Russian-Lithuanian border and exploring Nida,…
Yesterday I wrote about the adventure I had in crossing the Russian-Lithuanian boarder on the Curonian Spit, which is 100 km long and only 1/2 – 4 km wide at…