Lithuania. Nida
Already traditionally, for the celebration of the pagan holiday Joninės, we went to Nida, the administrative center of Neringa, located on the Curonian Spit... In Nida, we spent four nights, not only celebrating the nature-worship holiday but also blending a bit with it, as this location is situated in the heart of the national park...
Leaving the car in Klaipėda near the Akropolis hypermarket, we rode our bikes through the city center to the ferry (3.5 km), as this is the only way to reach the Spit... The ferry took us to the Spit in 10 minutes, from where it was 55 kilometers to Nida along a picturesque bike path that runs along the coast and through a pine forest... After riding 40 kilometers, we stopped for breakfast at a birdwatching hut...
Upon reaching the Nida campsite, we set up our tent, left our things, and went to the beach, to our favorite spot where there are the least people... This means a place far from parking lots and the main path to the sea...
Since we planned to join the Joninės celebration in the evening, my wife gathered plants to weave a traditional wreath...
Back at the campsite, she made an original wreath, and we tasted a cake, symbolically celebrating my birthday, which coincides with the day of nature worship and the summer solstice - the longest daylight day of the year...
After a two-hour concert of live folk music, and once it got completely dark, the ritual part began...
People gathered around a bonfire organized near the stage, and the main participants of the event in traditional costumes performed the fire-lighting ritual...
After which, an elder in white clothes, circling around the fire and muttering something, threw sand into it, which was carried by two women behind him... Then, we held hands and formed a circle around the bonfire...
After finishing the dances around the fire, everyone headed to the pier to float their wreaths on the water... After floating our wreath, we returned to the campsite...
One of the days, early in the morning, we drove 8 kilometers from Nida to collect amber, which has become our small hobby... I roughly knew the place where we found the most last time...
It's cool that near the equipped beach exit there is always a place for bike parking...
Flowers of the Baltic coast...
Searching for amber...
In Nida, there is an interesting bookcrossing spot where you can take something to read for free, which we took advantage of...
One of my favorite parts of a good day is a morning run... In Nida, you can choose very cool routes through dune paths, pine forests, the seashore, and along the settlement's bay promenade...
When you get tired of the sea, you can head towards the town, stroll through its cozy streets, and taste something delicious...
Asian tuk-tuks have become very popular here, adding color to the Baltic resort...
Usually, after breakfast, we would go to the sea, swim, sunbathe, read, and play frisbee for about four to five hours, then head to the town for a walk, visit the supermarket, and then have lunch and rest from the scorching sun at the campsite until around 7 p.m.... Then we would go to the beach in the evening and stay there until sunset...
Once, we left the beach earlier to catch the golden sunset colors in the dune area...
On the fifth day, early in the morning, we left the Nida campsite, as we planned to visit the maritime museum, which is located near the ferry where our route on the Curonian Spit began... Since it was the last Sunday of the month, the museum was free to visit, while on other days the price is 10 euros...
The museum's territory is very large, with a lot to see, but personally, it was very painful for me to see penguins and seals circling in confined spaces just so people could see a sea animal live... In my opinion, the justification that they are fed and cared for is quite limited because what is life worth without freedom...
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