17 Jun - Riga to Palanga

 Today we drove further south leaving Latvia and entering Lithuania. We had 3 stops on our way and ended the day at the beach town of Palanga.

First stop was at the opulent Rundale Palace in Latvia, the residence of the Duke of Courland. It was designed in Italian baroque style by the same architect who designed the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. It was completed in 1736.

and it included gardens inspired by the Palace of Versailles 

We next headed for the Hill of Crosses, entering Lithuania en route. This is the old border check point

Lithuania’s fabled Hill of Crosses is a symbol of defiance and a modern pilgrimage site. The tradition began during the 1831 uprising but reached its height in the 1960s in the Soviet era in defiance of the anti- religious Soviet rule. The Soviets bulldozed the hill several times but despite harsh punishment if caught. It is now claimed to hold over 100,000 crosses, many of late commemorating fallen Ukrainian soldiers. 

The pope visited and had a large cross installed, the inscription reads “Thank you Ukrainians for the Hill of Crosses which testifies to the nations of Europe and the whole world the faith of the people of this land”

Of course, crosses of all types could be bought near the entry

Next was an amazing visit to the Cold War Museum. It is on the site of a former Soviet nuclear missile base deep in the woods of a now National Park. It was built in the 1960s in secret from the Lithuanian people and contains 4 underground launch silos and a network of tunnels which supported the ballistic missile firing. It was possible to view underground one of the silos

The whole site from above

One of the four now capped silos

Entering the underground complex

Background information room

Propaganda room

Nuclear safety information

Cutaway image of a silo

Heading to the viewing silo

It was difficult to photograph but this is looking into one of the silos capping on top, missile cavity covered by netting

Missiles

We arrived quite late in Palanga. Just enough time to drop our bags at Astoma guest house..

… the head across the road for dinner at Grannies Restaurant. Huge servings of traditional Lithuanian fare, stuffed cabbages, stuffed potatoes, potato pancakes and pork snitzel 

… plus homemade kvass

Just a brief walk to the nearby supermarket for some wine only to find alcohol can’t be sold before 10 am or after 8 pm. Oh well!