Day 9: the Nemunas River Delta Regional Park

Today we take a morning boat across the Curonian Lagoon back to the mainland.

As we leave Nida, there are good views back to the Curonian Spit sand dunes.

The trip lasts 1.5 hours so there is plenty of time to relax. Chatting to the French cyclist I mentioned yesterday, he and his wife are cycling the Baltic States independently - on ebikes, and carrying the most stupendous amount of gear. He speaks excellent English.

On the other side, the first stop was Ventė Horn/Cape which has a bird observatory and a 19th century lighthouse which was used for more than 100 years. There are lovely views out across the lagoon from the 250 m long pier which was built as an icebreaker in winter. Hard to think of ice today, it is so hot - 32 deg C! Just as well we are not here any later in the month or in July!


Scarecrows!


Lots of storks today - one nest had four in it and the children were almost indistinguishable in size from their parents. We ride through the Nemunas River Delta Regional Park with the Aukštumala swamps on both sides. We stop by what is called a Cognitive Walk into the park which was too bumpy for our bikes so we pushed them along the paths and boardwalks through peat bog area and birch forest and ate lunch near one of the tall bird hides. The bog provides a home for 78 species of insects, 6 amphibians, 5 reptiles, 88 species of nesting birds.

In the 18th century, the local marsh dwellers (about 2000 people) used this walkway (it was made of boulders back then) to connect the villages that now are non-existing. They grew potatoes and other vegetables and transported them to Eastern Prussia for sale; the others worked in peat turbaries.


We arrived somewhat hot into Šilutė after working hard for 16 kms into a head wind.


It was too hot to look around and anyway there seemed to be the pressure of time although Alius DID stop for us to see the Panemunė border crossing to Kaliningrad (Russia) at the Nemunas River.

Wedged between Lithuania to its north and east, and Poland to its south, Kaliningrad is about 1,300 kms from Moscow. Interestingly, in an article dated 2017, it was reported that another crossing, at Ramoniškiai, had become a worry for the government in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, only a swift tank ride away.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/24/russia-lithuania-border-fence-kaliningrad-estonia-eston-kohver

There is another stop nearby at Rambynas National Park - again views across the river to Russia. Alius our driver seemed to really like that young people come here together and borders ars no obstacle. He can be quite likeable (even accounting for his driving speed ...). This national park is located in the lower stream valley of the Nemunas River and is an historic manor site from the German Imperial era.

We cross the Jūra River (a tributary of the Nemunas) and drive, drive, drive to the castle at Panemunė. It was built for the owner Eperias by the Dutch architect Peter Nonhaardt, who served at the royal palace in Vilnius. Construction was completed in 1609-1610. It is very pretty but we don’t get there until close to 6 pm. We get a (very) quick peek; looks like you can stay here and there are a few people enjoying a drink on the terrace. Wish that was me!

Not sure why the itinerary seems so tight at this point in the trip. Alius keeps asking if we want to see things that are listed on the trip notes and comments that these will be closed, etc. etc. Given that he’s driving like a bat out of hell, and we all have been coming in on time for the cycle sections, it’s all a bit of a mystery. Mind you, it is a long transfer yet again today: 185 kms; and we had the 1.5 hour boat trip across from Nida to Ventė in the morning. It’s a lot to fit in.

To give him his due though, half an hour later, Alius does stop at another castle, Raudonė. Remarkably, it is still open so it is a quick dash up the 35 m tower for some pikkies. Until the 16th century, Raudonė was a royal manor. At the end of 16th century, Crispin Kirsenstein, who was a son of a Prussian immigrant, built a Renaissance style castle here. The castle is surrounded by an old park, in which rare trees grow: silver fir, Swiss pine, grey walnut.

It is still a long way to our final destination of Kaunas (54 kms). We continue to follow the Nemunas River Delta. It is quite rural. Many people are living in very simple dwellings and men are brown from working outside, shirts wide open as it is so hot. There are some beautiful black and white cows. The fields are green, green, green.

We finally reach Kaunus by 7:30 p.m. It has been a long day. There are bike tracks both sides of freeway starting some distance out as we enter the outskirts; in fact, there have been many along the way in the rural areas too - very impressive; often good quality sealed track. It is still hot: 27 deg C.

Kaunas is the second largest city in Lithuania and located in the south-central part of the country. Kaunus is an interesting city. Strategically wedged at the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris Rivers, it gained a taste for the limelight during a brief spell as Lithuania's capital in the interwar period; the town owes some of its most attractive architecture to this era.

Prior to WWII, Jews made up much of the city's commercial, artisan, and professional sectors. Kaunas was a centre of Jewish learning, and the yeshiva in Slobodka (Vilijampolė) was one of Europe's most prestigious institutes of higher Jewish learning.

It was occupied by the Soviets in 1940 when the Red Army flooded Lithuania through the Belarus–Lithuania border. It was then occupied by the Nazis in 1941, Soviet forces fled and over 30,000 Jews were murdered with unprecedented brutality. The Soviets returned in 1944 until Lithuanian independence in 1990.

It is a shame not to spend more time here.

After a quick shower, we walked into the Old Town. Even though we have been talking about how long the daylight lasts here 1) we have arrived in late and 2) we are a bit further south (we are in fact in Central Lithuania now) - it is getting dark a bit earlier.


We walk our feet off searching for somewhere to eat, taking in the main drag and main square of the Old Town in the process. Maccas is looking like an option but I am not keen on that (!!) and then we happened upon Folkas, tucked away in a back street in the grounds of the Lithuanian Folk Music History Museum.

Wow, what a meal. We thought it was just a bar, but being late, most people had eaten. It DID in fact serve food and it was Lithuanian and excellent.

We shared the most wonderful cold beet soup (šaltibarščiai) with delicious roasted potatoes, MF had tongue (hmmmm, but I had a taste and it was very good) - keptas jaučio liežuvis; I had fish tartare (silkės tartaras) which was wonderful. Everything was beautifully presented. We had the Lithuanian equivalent of an Aperol spritz: raudonos devynerios, putojanis vynas, gazuotas vanduo. Great! Finished off sharing a bowl of the most delicious donuts with a sauce (varškės sūrio spurgytės su aviečiu karamele).

Home to bed!

Cycle: 29 kms

Steps: 12200