After spending two nights in Kaunas I took the bus to Klaipeda (public transport works great in Lithuania, plus it’s cheap and safe), which is a ride of about 2:40 hours. Another 15 minutes of walking brought me from the main bus station to the center, where my hotel was. Klaipeda is a port on the Baltic Sea and also the gateway to the Curonian Spit, which divides the Baltic Sea in a lagoon and the sea in this area. The Curonian spit is also a World Heritage Site.
That Klaipeda lies next to the sea is obvious. Not only from the sea breeze and slight salty smell in the air, but also from the large sail boat I passed on the way to the hotel. It’s really not to miss. Due to the river Klaipeda has a usually ice-free port, which helped made the city important historically.
a sailboat on the Dane river @Klaipeda
The Teutonic knights arrived in the middle of the 13th century in Klaipeda and left their mark on the city. The Germans basically never left, later it was part of the Prussian Duchy and the German Empire. So what can be more Teutonic or German than a timber framing house?
timber frames houses @Klaipeda
But also the other houses in the old town looked beautiful. Different sizes and colors make for an interesting appearance of the street. And let’s also appreciate the cobbled streets.
typical houses in the old town @Klaipeda
The quaint town of Klaipeda has a theater with a fountain in front and a statue of a barefoot girl. The monument has no deeper meaning but goes back to a Prussian poet. It looks pretty though.
the theater with the barefoot girl in front @Klaipeda
The local concert house is another architectural gem, at least for the ignorant who just enjoy the looks. I liked the huge brick stone building a lot.
concert hall @Klaipeda
Klaipeda also has a castle. Apparently almost every city in Lithuania has one, but the one here is almost none-existent and the museum was closed. So no visit for me. I don’t even have a picture because it was so inconspicuous. Basically the people you see walking behind the boats are walking on the castle structure or what’s left of it. Not really sure why the channel is so green, I am not a botanist and didn’t bother to ask.
boat harbor and ‘castle’ in the back @Klaipeda
The bridge you see on the next picture opens for pedestrians after a schedule. The rest of the times the channel is clear for the boats to pass. The bridge master pushes a wheel by hand to turn the bridge so that the pedestrians can pass and do not need to make a long detour. I saw the bridge first while walking the perimeter of the castle.
a pedestrian bridge in the harbor @Klaipeda
Only when I was standing in front of the bridge, or non-bridge at that moment, did I realize how interesting that structure was. Klaipeda was really full of surprises. Yours, Pollybert
the bridge while open for boats to pass @Klaipeda
