Kaunas
We stopped at the old fortress, which is beautiful restored. Next to it two convents to be find. The buildings, like everywhere, had several purposes through the centuries, depending on who had sayings over all: convent, residence, school, and seminar…
The city hall is an interesting building. Mostly baroque. The backside has some similarities with harbour storages. The tower and the front is quite different. The tower has some treads of a telescope: got the impression you just could slide one part in the other. Some other feature: you can merry at the front of the city hall. Your divorce papers you can get at the back end…. just walk through. Next to the city hall is a memorial to one of the poet-priests, build in soviet times, keeping people singing their own songs, which finally led to the singing revolution (short version of the story)
Later on, we saw the first Christian church, build in Kauna by a rich man for the German traders, whom came there regularly in the 14th century. Just to be kind. Almost a half-century before Lithuania became Christian itself, because of interrelations of the duke with Polish aristocrats.
Gallery, concert
Second stop for us in Kauna was at the Gallery. We saw and listened to art from Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. The gallery where closed on Mondays, but just for our group, they opened up and showed us around. Later a pianist came to led us experience earlier and later works of Chii.. The change-point laid at the moment that he started to paint. His musical style changed from more classical to expressive. Special in his paintings is, that you can recognize musical sequences and structure is them. Its impressive!
We went on towards the sea. In Kleipeda we didn’t really stop, except for the ferry to the Curonian Spit. Love that piece of land between lagoon and the sea! Based on the legend, the giantess Neringa came with sand in her apron to put a wall between the Baltic Sea and the coast line to protect the fisher men.
Nida
From the 5 villages on that slide of land we had our stay in Nida, a picturesque village at the lagoon-side of the spit.
“Wenn Dir ein wundersames Bild in der Seele fehlt, must Du zur Kurischen Nehrung gehen.” Hunboldt