The best place to visit while in Lithuania

If I had to make a choice for the country as a whole, I would recommend The Curonian spit. Provided of course that the intention of the visit is to relax, which indeed was the original purpose of holidays. I am aware that some people claim that drinking and partying is their way of relaxing while on holiday and for them I would rather recommend some noisy beach resort like Palanga. Or indeed the airport hotel. Drinking can be done anywhere, and the Lithuanian beverages being of the potency they are, you are not likely to remember much anyway.

 

If this is your idea of a good day at the beach, you are better off in Palanga

Those looking to relax in calm and beautiful surrounding should head to the Curonian spit. This near 100 km long strip of sand is shared by Lithuania and Russia, after originally being a part of East Prussia. The area changed hands after WWII, when what remained of the original German population was forcefully expelled. Many of the old German building did however survive, and this helps the villages on the spit to maintain their image as traditional fishing villages.





Juodkrante beach on the Curonian spit

The people who populate the area today are consequently not indigenous to the place. They are mostly Lithuanians or Russians whose families were resettled there after the war, or who have moved there since. They do on the other hand make an effort to keep the old traditions alive, and you can see examples of this in every village on the spit. One of the more tasty examples is the traditionally smoked eel, which is on sale in at least the two bigger villages. It might seem indecently overpriced, but keep in mind that eel is already something of an endangered species and consequently hard to come by.  




Smoked eel from the Curonian lagoon

The Lithuanian half of The Curonian spit has in all four main villages: Nida, Juodkrante, Preila and Pervalka. Since they all were originally German, they also have German names, respectively Nidden, Schwarzort, Preil and Perwelk. They are all worth a visit, and one of the best ways of doing just that is by bicycle. If you have luxurious amounts of time on your hands, I would recommend spending at least one day in each village. That would give you a rather short stretch to travel each day, and leave you with plenty of time to spend on the beach.

 

Traditional houses in Nida

The Curonian spit is generally great for bicycling, with its long stretches of bicycle roads and complete lack of steep hills. Bicycling on the main road is also possible, but not recommended because speeds outside the villages can be rather high and the roads are generally quite narrow. Bicycles are available for rent in most of the villages, and it is possible to rent the bike in one village and leave it in another.

 

The beach promenade in Juodkrante

The Curonian spit is even a good place to go in winter, if all you are looking for is tranquillity and beautiful surroundings. The Baltic Sea looks good in winter, and the spit provides you with 50 kilometres of undisturbed beach to stroll on while you watch the waves in winter. The place is largely deserted during the off-season, but since tourism is the main industry in this place it is no problem finding a place to stay.

The "Hill of witches" sculpture park in winter