Nida and Kretinga

One of the trips we took during orientation weekend was to Nida. We took a ferry over to what is called the Curonian Spit, which separates a lagoon from the Baltic sea. The town is a German style resort with lots of shops, restaurants, cafes, hotels, and activities. The area was very scenic whether we were walking along the lagoon shore, or the coast of the Baltic sea (we did both). There are dunes that separate the two that you can climb to the top of. This picture above is at the top, overlooking the lagoon. It was a pleasant day despite the overcast sky.

The next day we drove to Kretinga to go to a contemporary Catholic church service. It was a massive cathedral full of people. We had to stand because there were no more seats. The service was in Lithuanian, so we just observed and absorbed what was going on as best we could. After the service we got a tour and history of the church, being a part of Franciscan monastery. For lunch we went out for a traditional Lithuanian meal. We all had the kepta duona appetizer, a black bread fried in oil and garlic smothered in cheese. For my entree I ordered the salmon. It was very salty, and came with little fish eggs on top. It was tasty. After lunch we wandered around outside where they had lots of wooden toys and playground equipment. Our favorite one is pictured above. It had 4 ropes with handles and spun around when you ran. If you got going fast enough you would all lift off the ground as you rotated so you had to hold on tight!

It was frightening at times, especially since you weren't always facing forward as the rope twisted and turned. All in all it was a good way to finish our weekend before classes started up.