As this was going to be late night affair on a Saturday, we planned to make it an overnighter. We had spotted the Europa Royale hotel in the old city area on our previous trip to Klaipeda, so Tom made reservations for their "spa weekend" special.
In researching the upcoming musical event, we found that this was part of a concert series that took place on a ferryboat that crossed between Klaipeda and Juodkrante. Details were sparse and confusing except for the fact that it would feature a Russian pianist, Sergej Glavatskih. Being female, I fussed of course about what to wear. Would this be on the ferry? Was it enclosed or open to the elements? Dressy or informal? What if it rained? Unfortunately no hints were available that i could find and Tom was not particularly sympathetic to my concerns.
We got to the hotel on Saturday afternoon with just enough time to check in and then hurry off to the spa which was not part of the hotel, but actually several blocks away.
( the picture is from our hotel room window) The promised spa weekend was really only an hour in the the pool and saunas. If you wanted any of the other services you had to book them separately. Regardless of this we still had a very nice and relaxing time as you basically had this all to yourself for the hour.Walking back through the streets of Klaipeda we mused on the number of parties of young women that we came across that featured at least one gal in a veil or flowers in her hair. Tom alertly called the situation...these were stagettes. Since Megan (my own pride and joy) had hosted one of these herself for her friend Brigetta just a week ago in Calgary, I thought this was interesting. There were several different groups that we came across they were very evident in a smaller uncrowded place like Klaipeda .
We decided to dine in the hotel restaurant as the menu appeared good and the location quiet. The front desk had assured us that there was no need for reservations, so upon entering we were not surprised to find the place virtually empty and the servers standing idle. Oops.... spoke too soon......we should have picked up on the hint that things would not remain that way when the waiter asked if we were part of the German group. Within 15 minutes, in they came ...and they were very loud. And with them came all sorts of other folks and the place was full. As this was very obviously a tourist hotel, it sounded like the the united nations , with multiple languages. It was a great meal as always in Lithuania.....except my advice would be.. don't ask for Caesar salad ......they do not grow romaine lettuce in Lithuania and it is not the same with iceburg.
Ok...I know everyone is dying to know about the main event...The Musical Ferry. The docks were only 2 blocks away so Tom carefully navigated me in my heels over the cobble stones to the docks. The brochure had said something about 8:30 so we assumed that the loading was to start then and the actual concert would be later. However right in the middle of the pathway, I spotted a fairly new grand piano and joked to Tom that this was probably the piano for the concert and they hadn't loaded it yet. Turns out I was right! Upon checking at the ferry, we were met by one of the crew members...a very cute young lady in extremely short shorts, high heels and a sailor's cap, who told us that the ferry did not load until 10 for this particular event. Going back we came across a group of men standing around the piano getting ready to carry it aboard. I offered to help and the leader suggested I hop on! Lucky for him and the movers, I declined!
Ok...having seen the gal in the outfit, I recognized that this was going to be another evening of Lithuanian contrasts..or as Tom would say...from the ridiculous to the sublime!
Having to kill an hour or so, we headed back to the cobblestones and old city.
In our wandering we came across a delightful little area that we had somehow missed previously. From the main street it looked like a doorway, but it opened up into a whole street of outdoor kavas and baras. We sat down for some tea and dessert and were pleasantly surprised to hear Dianna Krall playing on the sounds system. You must understand that in Lithuania, most of the time you hear the heavy thump of techno pop everywhere you go...driving down the street, in the bars, and especially in the supermarkets. I have always thought of myself as fairly eclectic in my musical tastes, but I had always disliked techno pop. But here you are inundated with it. Hence our extreme relief to hear some light jazz (and Canadian at that!)We wandered back to the ferry at the appropriate time and took our seats ...front row and centre directly in front of the grand piano. Unfortunately these particular seats, though the most expensive at 70 Litas each ( about $28), were hard plastic and made for people not as short as I. Oh well..
The ferry left harbour right on time and the announcer proceeded to give some history of the Curonian spit area. As it was in Lithuanian, we did not understand any of it of course so spent some time people watching. Lots of interesting folks as always..... the crowd was made up of single women of all ages, many families with very young children,and couples, young and old.
Finally the pianist, Sergej, was introduced. Out came this tuxedo ed young man we thought might be 19 or 20 at the most. He played very well technically ... a product of the Russian classical music factory, I thought. At various points he was visibly frustrated with various challenges ..... an appreciative, enthusiastic but uneducated audience who clapped at inappropriate times, a decidedly cool breeze as we headed up the channel, kids running around, the untuned piano that had been recently plopped on board. Still he played with some truly fine moments and obvious fervour. The program contained a variety of the romantics...Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, etc, with my favourite being his performance of a Debussy.During the intermission they played CDs ...first some Edith Piaf and then some polka type music that got everyone tapping their feet and the little kids bouncing...Suddenly the announcer said something and everyone clapped and ran excitedly to the sides of the boat. We watched amazed as the ferry then proceeded to spin donuts out in the middle of the channel to the beat of the polka! What a hoot!
We debarqued about 12:30 and headed back to the hotel and a night cap. All in all, a very delightful evening.
The next morning, we had a leisurely buffet breakfast and then went out to tour the old town a bit more. We walked through the Turgus and bought some fresh cinnamon rolls and fruit. then back to the amber market where we both made some jewellery purchases from the lady below.
Checkout was noon so we did that and then decided to head up past Palanga and try to find a beach as the weather was perfect. The coast line in this area is pretty much all uninterrupted beach but access is the issue and we did not want to join the huge crowds in the more popular spots and fight the parking mob scene. I think all of Lithuania is either at the sea or their parents' home for dinner on a nice sunny day in the summer and who can blame them.
We spotted one road that we thought must lead down to the beach and sure enough we soon came across a long row of parked cars so knew were in the right spot. Tom lucked out and found a great spot to park in the shade relatively close to the walking path. Being the observant folks we are, we noticed right way that this beach was bit different. First of all the path was a carefully constructed board walk leading down to the beach. Next there were numerous people of all ages and conditions in wheel chairs. On the way in we had passed a large complex and it was my belief that this was a some sort of facility/home for the disabled. Later research confirmed a large number of "sanatoriums" in the region. Obviously families came to visit their loved ones and brought them down to the beach here. All sorts of wheelchairs were seen, many which were easily propelled through the sand and, in some cases, the surf.
This beach was also more family oriented...lots of kids and older folks. Not the "see and be seen" type of bikini beach that you would find closer to Palanga. The sand was very fine but packed smooth and and the beach remarkably clean all along the long shoreline. Though lots of people, it was really not packed by any means, so it was a very enjoyable way to spend a few hours relaxing in the sun. Tom noticed that the folks up in the sand dunes were quite often nude bathers (what a good eye he has !!) A family casting from the shore reeled a flounder as we watched. A few sailboarders were out as well, but mostly it was just people playing in the surf and sand. You could see a big tanker and tug boat far out on the sea.
After realising that Tom probably had exposed his lily white skin too long, we decided to head back to Mazeikiai. By taking the back roads, we found ourselves in a little village called Mosedis that I had remembered reading something about in the guidebook I had inconveniently forgotten at home.
But what was it...we soon figured out it was something to do with rocks as we came across what looked to be glacial erratics. Actually they were part of a the Lithuanian Museum of Rocks that displayed boulders from all over eastern and northern Europe. We are not sure how they got them there. There was an exhibition set up in a converted mill house, but of course all of the information was in Lithuanian. The display continued outside in a beautifully landscaped park area.
Hungry after doing the tour, we sat down had one of the local favourite appetizers - fried bread and beer ... "snacks to beer" as they call it. Not healthy at all but very tasty tidbits of bread, deep fried and coated with garlic.
We had hoped for something more substantial but were told by our waitress (through the kind intervention of the neighboring table who translated for us) that we could not get a meal for over an hour and only light simple appetizers were available. We had run into long waits for meals before and I think it has to do with the careful marinating and slow cooking technique they must use to consistently produce such tender meat dishes. We didn't usually receive a warning in advance though and appreciated it in this instance.So home again to our little apartment, sunburned and tired but all in all a very nice weekend.
IKI!!
1 comment:
We can image ourselves being there walking on the cobble stones with you both and being on the ferry with the musical audience. Were you dancing on the tables? What's next??? Tour de France?
;)
Xena WP
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