Overnight in Klaipeda and then on the car ferry to the Curonian Spit.
The picturesque drive to Juodkrante and Nida
Thanks to Robin Michaelson of London for suggesting I visit this area.
Essential are a smartphone i.e. iPhone, GPS and Google Maps.
My Google Map
Curonian Spit
| Curonian Spit | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
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| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | v |
| Reference | 994 |
| UNESCO region | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2000 (24th Session) |
The Curonian Spit (Lithuanian: Kuršių nerija, Russian: Куршская коса, German: Kurische Nehrung, Latvian: Kuršu kāpas) 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 and its northern within southwestern Lithuania. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared by the two countries.
The Lutheran Church in Nida. Axel’s Hebrew is better than mine!
The Thomas Mann House in Nida
Thomas Mann
| Thomas Mann | |
|---|---|
Mann in 1937
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| Born | Paul Thomas Mann 6 June 1875 Free City of Lübeck, German Empire |
| Died | 12 August 1955 (aged 80) Zürich, Switzerland |
| Occupation | Novelist, short story writer, essayist |
| Period | 1896–1954 |
| Genres | Novel, novella |
| Notable work(s) | Buddenbrooks, The Magic Mountain, Death in Venice,Joseph and his Brothers |
| Notable award(s) | Nobel Prize in Literature (1929) Goethe Prize (1949) |
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| Signature |  |
Paul Thomas Mann ([paʊ̯l toːmas man]; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist and 1929 Nobel laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas are noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. Mann was a member of the Hanseatic Mann family and portrayed his family and class in the novel Buddenbrooks. His older brother was the radical writer Heinrich Mann and three of his six children, Erika Mann, Klaus Mann and Golo Mann, also became important German writers. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Mann fled to Switzerland. When World War II broke out in 1939, he emigrated to the United States, returning to Switzerland in 1952. Thomas Mann is one of the best-known exponents of the so-called Exilliteratur.
Nagliu Gamtos Sand Dunes
One can see the mainland and the Baltic sea from same spot
With Trisha
Hill of Witches
One of the wooden sculptures in the park
The Hill of Witches (Lithuanian: Raganų Kalnas) is an outdoor sculpture gallery near Juodkrantė, Lithuania.
It is located on a forested sand dune about 0.5 kilometer west of the Curonian Lagoon, on the Lithuanian Seaside Cycle Route. Begun in 1979, it has been expanded several times, and now contains about 80 wooden sculptures along a series of trails. The artists drew on a long tradition of woodcarving in Samogitia, and on the equally long tradition of Midsummer Night’s Eve (Joninės) celebrations on the hill. The pieces depict characters from Lithuanian folklore and pagan traditions.
Woodcarving symposia are held at the park on a regular basis, and new works are added. Admission is free.
The Car Ferry back to the mainland.
Visit to the Jewish Centre and Cemetery in Klaipeda
Feliks Puzemskis, Chairman of the Klaipeda Jewish community and visiting chairman of the Kaliningrad Jewish community, Daniil Kofner were very helpful
Kaliningrad (Russian: Калининград, IPA: [kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈgrat]), formerly called Königsberg (German: Königsberg; Russian:Кёнигсберг; Old Prussian: Twangste, Kunnegsgarbs, Knigsberg; Lithuanian: Karaliaučius; Polish: Królewiec), is a seaportcity and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. The territory borders on NATO and European Union members Poland and Lithuania, and is geographically separated from the rest of Russia.
Kretinga
pronunciation (help·info), German: Krottingen) is a city in Klaipėda County, Lithuania. It is the capital of theKretinga district municipality. It is located 12 km (7.5 mi) east of the popular Baltic Sea resort town of Palanga, and about 25 km (16 mi) north of Lithuania’s 3rd largest city and principal seaport, Klaipėda.The population was listed as 21,421 in the 2006 census. It is the 6th largest city in the ethnographic region of Samogitia and the 18th largest city in Lithuania.
I found the address of Lesley Abelsohn’s granny using my iPhone, Google Maps and Lesley’s email:
“My granny Toby Rostovsky Grupel
Rostovsky family lived at: 3 Birutes g (taken off the postcard that I have!!) Kretingen!!”
I also found the cemetery using GPS and some detective work.
Please note that these are only a selection of my photos and videos.
Comment if you would like to see more on any topic.
Palanga Holocaust Memorial – difficult to find in a massive park. Make sure of the right entrance.
Palanga
Palanga ( pronunciation (help·info), German: Polangen; Polish: Połąga) is a seaside resort town in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. It is the busiest summer resort in Lithuania and has beaches of sand (18 km long and up to 300 m wide) and sand dunes.[1] Officially Palanga has the status of a city municipality and includes Šventoji, Nemirseta,Būtingė and other settlements, which are considered as part of the city of Palanga.
The Palanga Mall down to the beach
Some old images from Palanga
On the road to Liepaja, Latvia
And that was the end of a long day!
Great stuff Eli!
Great stuff Eli
Another great page – well done Eli