After the rough ferry crossing from Karlshamn, Sweden to Klaipeda, we drove to Jurgaičiai to check out the Hill of Crosses, a Catholic pilgrimage site where crosses, crucifixes, religious statues, effigies and rosaries where left by pilgrims since the 1800s. On the way, we stopped by Šiauliai to try the Lithuanian national dish, cepelinai. For the night, we stayed in one of the country’s bigger cities, Kaunas.

This was our entire route during the roadtrip last winter, c/o Google Maps:

As mentioned, the seas were rough the night before. I puked several times, while Carl slept like a log through it all. I was just glad that we survived. I got a bit worried about the sail back home, but I tried to forget about it by enjoying what Lithunia had to offer.

We enjoyed some cold breakfast from the cafe on the DFDS ship. Klaipeda shimmered with lights at dawn. The sight of land was a huge relief! Although the ship made it on time, there was traffic on the port, so we were not on the road out of Klaipeda before 10:30 am.

Lithuania was all white when we got off the ship. Like every other border in Europe, there’s the sign showing the major traffic rules. It was an absolute winter wonderland – and the snowfall was on and off during the day. But hey, it’s not so different from where we came from 🙂

We reached the city of Šiauliai at around 1:30 pm. It was the nearest city to the Hill of Crosses. Hungry for something authentically Lithuanian, we stopped by the Žemaitis Restoranas. It was also late lunch for us. We decided to try the cepelinai, which was considered as the national dish. It’s potato dumplings with ground meat, served with bacon bits and sour cream. Carl said that the dish is also being served in Scandinavian countries, but I guess, maybe, it’s not as popular as in Lithuania. It was actually good, but very oily. When you live in a cold place like the Baltics, it’s a no-brainer why. We also tried the regular dumplings, koldūnai.

Here are some shots from Šiauliai, and the cepelinai 🙂

After the delicious lunch, we found ourselved in the visitor center for the Hill of Crosses at around 2:30 pm. The attraction is about 12 kms from Šiauliai. The whole place was covered with about a meter of snow! I bought a pack of postcards, then, we walked towards the Crosses. It was a bit fun, but very freezing cold..

According to some online sources, pilgrims started leaving crosses and other religious artefacts in the area since the uprising in 1831, when Lithuanian (and Poland) tried to resist Russian occupation. It has become a representation of peaceful resistance for the Lithuanians, even after they’ve gotten their independence in 1918. Lithuania was once again occupied by the Soviet Union from 1944-1990, but the people didn’t stop placing crosses in the area. At present there are more or less 100,000 crosses on the hill. More info about the Hill of Crosses here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_of_Crosses.

The Hill of Crosses looked amazing in winter, as it would also, I guess, in summer. Being raised as a Catholic, it’s not a surprise to me how much strong faith and devotion can create and manifest change in both the physical world and the personal inner soul. For tourists, the place might just be an attraction. But for believers and for many Lithuanians, it is a sacred symbol of their identity and love for peace.

Going back on the road, we were headed towards Kaunas, where we decided to spend the night. It was a very “wintery” journey, lots of blizzard, with minimal visibility on some parts. On the clearer parts, we saw two bambi deer playing in the snow – what a fun sight! And soon enough, it was dark!

We reached Kaunas at 6pm. We stayed in Kaunas, a very nice, spacious hotel with free private parking. There was a balcony in our room, where we could watch the lighted streets. Couldn’t stay out for long though. We also check out the grocery store across the street.

This was Day 3 of our winter roadtrip last year. It was exciting to check out Kaunas the next day! Hopefully, I’ll find some time to write about it soon. I’ve got evening-day shifts and working all week. 🙂

#spreadloveandpositivevibes

ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ON THIS BLOG ENTRY ARE MINE. 🙂 Cheers!