Self-Guided Tour of Klaipeda
On our cruise through the Baltic Sea, we stopped in Klaipeda, Lithuania. Unfortunately, throughout this trip, we were fighting a cold and had to be selective about our adventures. We were feeling well enough to get off the ship but decided to play it extra safe and not attend the excursion we had purchased to limit our exposure to other people.
It turned out to be a nice easy day, and probably a good thing we took it easy as we were exhausted after a short self-guided walking tour.
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As we approached the dock, we learned that Klaipeda has a unique natural design, with the 32-mile Curonian Spit peninsula protecting the harbor. There is a small entry point at the far north end, and then you sail a little bit further until you reach Klaipeda docks.
One of our fun memories of this port was the Star Wars droid cranes that we saw everywhere!
A few other ports had them, but being an industrial port, Klaipeda had tons of them, all various sizes.
Since we had to skip our excursion and didn’t have an advanced plan in mind, we started wandering from the docks.
Canals were running through the city, and we found the historic Swing (or Chain) Bridge. It is a hand-operated metal bridge that was built in 1855. In 2010 a sculpture was added based on the Memel legend. It had a haunting but beautiful atmosphere.
The city was extremely clean, and there was plenty of signage and stories to help provide you with information on the heritage sites you passed by. Plus, the cobblestone streets and building architecture gave a very old European or Russian feel to things.
We stumbled upon an outdoor museum going over some of the city’s history. Plus, we constantly found artwork throughout the city. From massive wall art to sculptures, there were hidden gems found all through downtown.
It always made us happy to see the support different cities were providing Ukraine. We were able to use the Google Translate camera feature to translate these signs as ‘Send money to fight’.
After walking all through downtown, we decided to stop for a bite to eat at Etno Dvaras (website here). To keep it light after a long warm walk, we got Rissole (meatballs, mashed potato, and beets), potato pancakes with bacon, and homemade doughnuts. While potato dumplings seemed to be their specialty, we were quite warm, and eating an unknown warm dish just didn’t sit right. We will have to try them whenever we come back though!
Our drinks were also a unique experience, as most dining is when we travel :). Nathan got a beer and Coke, and I got a flavored lemonade and mead. I was so excited to get to order mead at a restaurant since it is not very mainstream in the States.
I was a little surprised when they gave me a shot glass, but mead is served in smaller amounts, so I shrugged it off. That is until I was about to drink and smelled straight liquor, and I mean STRONG liquor.
Granted, I still have no idea what kind of liquor. It could have honey origins because it was unique. That didn’t change the fact that I basically ordered a shot! It took me about 5-6 sips to slowly get it down and chase it with my lemonade.
The funny thing is it was all that bad as far as taste goes. Not mead, but not bad. It was just so strong!
After our meal, we decided to head back to the ship and rest up. All in all, it was a good day, albeit a quiet one. We look forward to revisiting Lithuania when we are feeling better and can get out and explore more.
If you would like to read more about this cruise or the other stops we made along the way, here are some quick links for you!
Our Opinion of the NCL Bliss
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