Saint Petersburg

Some cities, they say, are beautiful at any time of the year.
Well... This time we were to check out the beauty of Saint Petersburg in the month of November. Of course we would not recommend this time of the year for St. Petersburg visits but if you happen to be there do not hide in the warm vicinity of your hotel but still explore the city.
Of course you can still visit suburban palaces (Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, Oranienbaum (Lomonosov), Pavlovsk, Gatchina) and admire their interiors, for example, beautifully restored Amber Room (or Amber Chamber). But we believe that the surrounding parks constitute a huge part of their charm. As most sculptures are boarded up for the winter do not ruin your first impression, come back when it is warmer.
Do not get disappointed though. The city still has a lot to offer, even in November. Let us invite for a walk!

Winter Palace seen from Palace Embankment

Neva river offers a lot of views, too.

Masts of a sailboat

Spit of Vasilyevsky Island is a popular spot for picture-taking among the newlyweds. They will be here any time of the year.

Newlyweds are taking pictures at a distance. In the background - tower of The Peter and Paul Cathedral  Zayachy Island with the world's tallest Orthodox bell tower

The Peter and Paul Cathedral

Newlyweds. Looks like white wedding gowns are no longer popular.

View to the Winter Palace across Neva from Vasilyevsky Island

Another group of people that will be here rain or shine are fishermen. Or is it a fisherwoman?

Winter Palace with fisherman in the foreground

Horses from The Blagoveshchensky (Annunciation) Bridge with golden dome of Saint Isaac's Cathedral (or Isaakievskiy Sobor) in the background. At the time (mid 19th century) , it was the longest bridge in Europe.

Palace Embankment with a view to one of the canals

Bridges of Saint-Petersburg:

Some sculptures were still open:

Hercules in Alexandrovsky Gardens

Panoramas of Saint-Petersburg:

Repin Art Academy

The purpose of our visit to St. Petersburg was to visit Erkki's son Kaspar, student of Faculty of Painting in  Ilya Repin St. Petersburg State Academic Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. It is informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, or Repin Institute of Arts.
Kaspar is a talented young artist who made sort of unusual choice. In the times when young men of young European democracies flee to the Western countries Kaspar decided to pursue his art education in the East - in Russia.
Studying at art schools of Tallinn and attending international workshops he came to conclusion that painting taught in Western countries tends to be more and more abstract. Splashes and drops, blots and stain become the main techniques used while traditional education is more often then not being neglected.
He decided to get "classic" education mastering among others perspective, plastic anatomy, art history and philosophy and then use it as a foundation for building his own unique style.
He is right. According to Wikipedia

After the advancement of 20th century modernism, European and American art schools embraced thinkers who rebelled against nineteenth century academic and historicist traditions. They believed the "traditional" forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, social organization and daily life were becoming outdated. While art education in the West was changing, traditional academic teachings were nourished in the Soviet academy.  ©Wikipedia

As a school, Soviet Socialist Realism surpassed the best naturalist and realist genre painting in the West during the third quarter of the twentieth century! It was a 'renaissance of realism' behind the Iron Curtain. — Vern Grosvenor Swanson. 

His hopes and aspirations came true and his level of realistic art jumps every time we see him. Here you can see some examples of his work.


Repin State Art Academy occupies huge 18th century building alongside Neva river.

The edifice for the academy was built in 1764-89 to a design by Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe and Alexander F. Kokorinov.

However our acquaintance did not start from the facade.
As we lived around the corner we approached the building from its backyard and were surprised to see... horses and ponies there. 

Academy boasts huge ceilings, long corridors and a series of 5 interconnected courtyards.
To our surprise the central, most beautiful courtyard was beautifully restored and well-kept but... locked. As to the other 3 instead of an outdoor summer cafe or an open-air  modern sculpture exhibition there was... junkyard.
All high-ceiling corridors and wooden stairwells were ragged and overall building made impression of really missing a thrifty administrator, not an artist as its head. We were told though that most money paid by foreign students does not stay at the Academy but goes to its headquarters in Moscow and this is the reason why the building is so neglected.
The reason is sure valid. However we felt if the Academy authorities mobilized all students for a big cleaning day some of the problems could have been solved...

Warning signs: "Do not enter. Naked models" can be found throughout the Academy. Due to large quantities of Chinese students some are translated into Chinese...

All sorts of "Do not enter" signs on the atelier doors

We also visited one of the ateliers shared between the 4th and 5th year students :

 

Curonian Spit, Lithuania

As we left Trakai we again asked ourselves whether we wanted to return home or stay in Lithuania for another while.

As this trip was quite an improvisation we did not know much about other places of interest. Looking at the map we saw the name Curonian Spit and recalled this place was popular for some reason. We could not remember what was special about this place but decided to give it a shot. We saw that the route to Curonian Spit led through the biggest Lithuanian port of Klaipeda. We set Klaipeda on our navigator and kept driving. Approaching Klaipeda we had to set the new destination point somewhere on Curonian Spit. Right in the middle we saw the name Neringa and liked the way it sounded so we decided to land there. But when we tried to set it is as our target navigator said a weird thing "you can choose your route either by land through Russian Federation or by ferry boat". We could not figure it out but as we could not go through Russia anyway we set our trip by ferry.

So imagine: it is 7pm. Pitch dark. Very windy. We are at the ferry port deciding what to do. All situation is a bit scary as we have no clue on what is on the Curonian Spit: whether there is any place we could have dinner or stay overnight. We had some Lithuanian cheese and dried sausages that we bought as a souvenir and also a couple of bottles of traditional Lithuanian drink "999". So we figured as we already drove that far we should carry  on and worst case scenario we will eat cheese and sausage, drink "999" to keep ourselves warm and sleep in the car.

We approached the cashier. The tickets are 2.90 LTL (approx. $1.16 or €0.90) for a pedestrian or 40 LTL (approx. $16 or  €12.5) for a car. Obviously the authorities try to reduce the number of cars coming to the National Reserve using such price difference. The ticket is valid both ways (better say nobody check tickets on the way back).

The ferry ride is very short and ferries circulate pretty regularly, you won't have to wait more than an hour. However if you want to be prepared you can check prices, timetables and even live camera feed here.

Keep in mind, there are 2 terminals: 1st or Old ferry terminal for pedestrians only and the 2nd or New ferry carries cars, buses etc.

In the car terminal pay attention to the signs: the 2 leftmost lanes are marked as "Entry with permit" and only the rightmost lane says "Entry without permit". The lanes with permit are for Curonian Spit citizens only and are loaded to the ferry first. After the cars with permit have been loaded the 3rd lane is let on the ferry.

The ferry ride is very short and in a few minutes the ramp is lowered and the cars start leaving the ferry following the personnel directions.

According to the map there is only one road traversing the Spit so it was impossible to get lost. But as we did not know where to go and it was pitch dark we were driving rather slowly and soon all the cars left us behind and we could not even see their red tale lights.


Soon we were stopped at checkpoint and since we were in the close proximity of Russian border we thought they were going to check our passports. As we did not have passports with us we imagined they were going to turn us around and we would again end up in the windy Klaipeda port. Luckily, it was only ecological fee. During the low season it is 10 LTL ( approx €3) per car, but during the hight season it will supposedly go up to 20 LTL (approx. €6).


According to our navigator the destination point was 23 km away so we kept driving. The atmosphere was becoming more and more eerie: not a light, not a road sign, no other cars, not even a clearing in the dense forest on both sides. We are driving in total darkness.  We seriously started to consider sleeping in the car and eating dried sausages, but kept driving
After a while we reached the first village on the Spit - Juodkrantė and saw a few lights there and even a hotel that seemed open. This gave us hope that we would sleep in bed not in a car even if we don't find anything farther. But as we liked the word Neringa we kept driving. As soon as we left the town we found ourselves again in complete darkness.
Navigator made it even more sinister when in the middle of the dense forest it pronounced: "you are at the destination point". We kept staring at the dark but could see no sign of human settlement.

We started to joke that we might accidentally end up in Russia but eventually about 45 km after we left the ferry we saw signs pointing at Nida. We followed the directions to Nida center and soon saw another sign pointing at Nida camping. Hallelujah! - we thought. We will sleep in normal beds tonight. To our disappointment the reception building was dark and next to engraved "Open 24/7" there was hanging a sheet of paper with printing "Operating times 10-20". We looked at our watch, it was 20.03 but we did not see anybody leaving the building and did not meet any cars on our way. Apparently they did not expect to have any walk-ins at the end of October and left a bit earlier.
We returned to the main road and soon saw a huge parking lot with one tourist coach parked. This made us hopeful that there were some accommodations open at this time of the year as the people from the coach were most probably sleeping somewhere.
We parked there and started walking. Miraculously behind the bus there was a brightly lit restaurant. We walked in inquiring about any open hotels and were happy to find out they also had rooms available. The room was nice and pretty spacious and the owner charged 150 LTL (approximately $60 or  €47) and we were happy to have found both hotel and food so we decided to stay. The place was called Don Vito. We were not able to find their web site (I am not sure they even have one) but you can find them on Facebook, they speak Russian and English.
We would like to highly compliment on their restaurant.
Very creative cuisine based on locally grown and caught produce, all artfully presented. We definitely recommend "Don Vito" herring appetizer...
While waiting for the dinner over a glass of wine we opened up the laptop trying to figure out where we were. At that time we found out why we could not find Neringa: this is not a town.

Until the Lithuanian municipality reform, it was known as Neringa city, although there was never a true city there. It was made a city only because within the Soviet administrative system it was not possible to carve such small districts, but it was possible to grant rights to a city that it would only be responsible to the state itself rather than districts. <...> he villages in Neringa municipality are Nida, Preila, Pervalka and Juodkrantė  ©Wikipedia

This gave us a good laugh as we remembered our navigator saying "this is your destination points" in the middle of the dark forest. The name Neringa comes from Baltic mythology:

According to the legend, the spit was formed a long time ago by Neringa, a girl giant who poured the sandy peninsula into the Baltic Sea to protect the peaceful bay from the stormy sea and create an embankment for fishermen to live.

We also read about the park on Kursiu Nerija National Park official site and Official website on tourism information of Neringa and determined the points of interest to visit on the next day.


Nida. The biggest town on the spit with slightly over 1,500 inhabitants 
According to the site there was a lighthouse, ethnographic cemetery and a big sandy dune with Solar clock. We woke up early in the morning and started with the lighthouse located on Urbas hill.

Lighthouse on Urbas hill. The tower is 29.3 m high. It sends flashlight signals, which are seen 41 km to the sea (22 sea miles

We followed the arrow to Parnidis Dune and ended up on the sea side. We could see the dune but figured it was a couple of kilometers away. 

View to Parnidis Dune from Nida boardwalk

Most probably on a nice summer day it would have been a great hike but on a windy day at the end of October we decided it would be better to drive on the top of the dune.
We kept walking along the boardwalk watching fishermen's boats. 

Nida boardwalk

...and cute little wooden houses in the town center.

The town of Nida

The next point of interest was Nida ethnographic cemetery. We wanted to see krikstai (crosses)  - pagan burial markers, one of the oldest tomb monument forms in Lithuania, originated in the XVII century. Horse heads, plants and birds were carved in male krikstai, while female krikstai also portrayed heart motives next to birds and plants.

Nida ethnographic cemetery, general view

We were a bit disappointed that krikstai were not authentic but recent replicas. Of course the wood cannot survive through centuries, but still...

Female krikstai with heart motives and birds.

Wooden sculpture at the cemetery

In the downtown there was supermarket, post office, ATM machines of most bank so one should not be worried about being away from civilization. We also found tourist information center and grabbed free maps and brochures. Now we were well-equipped for the trip.
After the walking tour in Nida center we returned to Don Vito for breakfast. We had eggs with country-smoked bacon and it was a delight. Erkki even wanted to stay for another day just to sample more dishes. Yet we decided to check out of the hotel and start driving home on the way checking all tourist attractions of Curonian Spit.
We started from Parnidis dune located next to Nida, short drive from city center. Follow the sign to Nida camping and then to the left.
There is a parking lot and after a short stroll we ended up at the observation point on top of the dune. Top of Parnidis Dune is the only spot in Lithuania where the sun rises and sets in the water.

On top of Parnidis Dune

On top of Parnidis Dune. At the distance - Russian part of Curonian Spit

On top of Parnidis Dune

On the southern part of the reserve lies the Valley of the Death. In 1870-1872 there was a camp for war prisoners. French solders captured by Germans lived there. Mostly they served to plant forests on dunes. Living conditions in the camp were very poor and many prisoners died.

On top of Parnidis Dune. View to the Valley of Death.

Erkki on Parnidis Dune 

On top of Parnidis Dune overlooking the town of Nida



This dune has been erected over several centuries. People started to work on it in 1805 and they still continue. A scientist from Dantzing, S.Bjorn, proposed the method. Rows of pickets should be nailed along the coast at first. The moving sand stops around them and forms the ridge. Then new rows of pickets should be pierced on the top. Thus the ridge is growing until the foredune is formed. Latter it is strengthened with willow twigs and planted with grass.

This is how the dune is formed

All the towns on the Curonian Spit are located on the shores of Curonian lagoon. All Baltic Sea shore is one long sandy beach. There are a few parking lots but still one needs to walk to reach the beach. The walkway to the beach one can see the trees that have been for years withholding sand storms.

Wooden walkway to the beach

Dwarf trees

And now we are approaching the beach

And in front of our eyes opened up the beautiful beach stretching as far as one can see.

The beaches are wheelchair accessible

Well... not everywhere



The beach - 54 km pure sand strech. I believe even during high season there is enough room so it does not get crowded.




 Nagliai strict nature reserve.
Due to extensive forest clearcuttings, especially after the Seven-Year War (1756-1763), wind erosion appeared. Wind reshaped old parabolic dunes, forming new relief. The Great Dune Ridge started to grow. It buried 14 villages under the thick layer of sand. The inhabitants of Nagliai village relocated several times trying t escape the approaching sand. But as the sand was advancing with the speed of between 0.5m and 15m a year. They abandoned Nagliai and moved to nearby Nida, Preila and Prevalka. The location of former Nagliai village is now strict natural reserve.

Entrance to Nagliai strict nature reserve

When visiting  Nagliai strict reserve on must walk only on signed foot-paths. 





Nagliai strict reserve. End of wooden walkway.

When we parked by the entrance to Nagliai reserve we saw an elderly couple with buckets full of mushrooms they have just picked in the nearby forest. After we returned the couple was still there waiting for something so we offered to give them a lift. The couple told us the season here was during the three summer months so if swimming is not your main priority coming in May or September will be advantageous because of lower prices and overall quieter atmosphere.


On the way back we shortly stopped at Juodkrantė (literally: Black Shore). This town is famous for its park of wooden sculptures "Hill of Witches".
Legend says this was indeed hill of witches. Ancient tribes used the hill as a sacred place. After the arrival of Teutonic knights in 13th century pagan cults were banned. However the hill remained scared and as inquisition in Prussia was not quite strong the hill attracted witches from all over Europe who gathered here to perform their magic rites without fear. Moreover at that times the mountain was located on a tiny island. The sea was to shallow so it was not easy to control the worshipers of nature.
After 1933 this territory fell under the nazi rule. As German authorities were trying to revive ancient German and Aryan cults they paid attention to one local legend depicting a sphere of fire that came from heaven. Tall people came out of the sphere and taught wild local people everything. German propaganda was sure this was arrival of ancient Aryans and tried to revive cults on the mountain. After World War II the territory fell under Soviet rule and the sacred place was abandoned for decades. In 1979 Lithuanian wood carvers gather at an artistic camp on the hill and created first 25 sculptures. The park now has more than 70 wooden objects. Most of the figures are based on Lithuanian legends or folk tales.

Amber Bay on the entrance to Juodkrante.

Deepening a waterway in the vicinity of Juodkrante in 1855, workers found amber in sludge. Thousands of tons of amber have been dug out from 1860 till 1890. While digging the port of the bay, an amber collection of the middle Neolithic and Bronze ages was found; it was later called the Amber Treasure. 

Amber Bay is now used as fishermen's harbour

Creative decorations of someone's yard

Trakai, Lithuania

After we left Vilnius we decided not to rush home. We had been to Lithuania many times before but every time just "passing by": barely stopped at a roadside café on the way farther to Europe. We never really stopped to discover this country so as we were already there we decided to look around.
One thing we knew about Lithuanian points of interest was Trakai castle. Erkki has been there while still at school when the castle was not completely restored.
On the road we saw a sign pointing at Senieji Trakai. Our knowledge of Latin suggested that Senieji (compare to senate, senile etc) means Old. Old Trakai. That's what we need, we thought! The older the better! And we turned.
Well, there was no castle. To say better there used to be castle. It was destroyed by Teutonic Order, was subsequently abandoned and never rebuilt since the new castle was erected in Trakai. There was a church that apparently contained the remains of that old castle.
So if you are driving Old Trakai is not Trakai you are looking for.
Bur Old Trakai amazed us by wooden sculptures that were erected here and there alongside the road.

An example of Lithuanian woodcarving. Look closer: this is Pieta!

Eventually we found the right Trakai. Of course, in order to park next to the entrance to the island the coins are needed.
The castle is located on an islet. There are in fact 2 castles: Peninsula Castle and Island Castle (Trakų salos pilis). Of course superb location of the Island Castle makes it a superb tourist attraction.

Trakai Island Castle (Trakų salos pilis)

The gate opens to a spacious inner yard with donjon.

Inner yard of castle. On the right - the Ducal Palace and its donjon

Inner yard of Ducal palace

When we left the  castle and were about to look for lunch sun came out from behind the dramatic clouds and gave absolutely stunning views.

 

After having enjoyed nice views we decided to grab a bite. Being in Trakai and not tasting kibinai is a crime so do not miss this opportunity, the more so because there is an abundance of restaurants offering all kinds of kibinai. Traditionally kibinai is pastry with mutton and onions, but now one can find varieties with different kinds of meat and even vegetarian options. Originally kibinai is a Karaite dish. 

Karaims (or Karaites) are a small Turkic-speaking religious and ethnic group resettled to Trakai by Grand Duke Vytautas in 1397 and 1398 from Crimea, after one of his successful military campaigns against the Golden Horde. <...> Despite ever-increasing Polonisation, Trakai remained a notable center of Karaim cultural and religious life <...>During the survey, for the beginning of 1997, there were 257 Karaim nationality people in Lithuania .©Wikipedia

Kibinai are a unique example of how cusine of such a small national minority gain popularity throughout the country. Despite karaim traditions, including not accepting neophytes and their relatively small number on caen enjoy kibinai ven in Vilnius. For example restaurant Kibin Inn offered a large variety of kibinai and the place of consistently popular among the tourists and locals alike.


Driving away from Trakai by nice hilly countryside we all of sudden saw something that reminded us of Stonehenge fragment.
We still do not know whether it is a result of architectural activity of prehistoric Baltic tribes or a tourist trap built by a nearby hotel :)

Lithuanian "Stonehenge"

Lithuanian "Stonehenge"

 Either way the stunning contrast of autumn sky looked impressive.



But after have taken a couple of pictures we were moving towards the new adventures.