Baltic Cruise 2012: Klaipeda, Lithuania

Well, today was the day we have all been waiting for...a visit to the past. Exciting, emotional and exhausting.

We were all up at 5 AM, watched the city appear as we ate breakfast and were almost the first off the ship. We had to dress in layers because the forecast was high 12 low 10. We walked through the old town with its bumpy cobbled pavement (Sig said it was like walking on Dyer's Bay beach!). We stopped at a cafe to find that our various currencies couldn't be used - only Lithuanian Litas. Pat had noted that the word for "Thank You" is "acio" so she kept thanking locals for their assistance with an "a-see-o". There were some strange looks and Elaine was sure that she was probably swearing at people. Finally we met a young waitress in the cafe who understood enough to explain that the words is pronounced "ah-choo". So Pat kind of sneezed at everyone from then on and actually got a "you are welcome" from one man!

We proceeded up a major street and finally arrived at Vilties Street. At the start is a park with a statue which we photographed and will research later. It is a beautiful street with thick trees down both sides, mostly oaks. We let the "boys" go ahead when we neared #7 and then we all gathered at the front. There was a man at the door who was to visit the law firm which now occupies the right side of the house. He wanted to be helpful but we could find no common language. He went to the lawyer who let us in but we really only had access to the hallways. We are posting just a few pics....more when we get home. You will see that the house is somewhat run-down as are most that we saw but streets, roads and the infrastructure are gradually being spruced up and we saw many lovely gardens, cafes etc. On we went to exchange our dollars for Litas and then headed for the museum of history. The curator was not there today but Al found a woman, perhaps his assistant who became very excited about our story. Meanwhile Sig found a display that included the Charter of Union of the Province and Lithuania (my terminology may be flawed) with Father's name at the bottom as a signatory. This was a very exciting moment for sure ! The assistant did speak German so she and the boys were able to converse quite well. Al showed her the pics of the medals and she was most interested in these. She has taken our email addresses so that the curator can contact us if he wishes. It is interesting and of course logical to note that although this was the German sector of Lithuania it is now largely Russian and Lithuanian which is spoken here.

We became disoriented looking for the market to do some shopping and we could not make ourselves understood when suddenly a young woman said "can I help you?". What a relief that was! She escorted us to the souvenir area and stayed with us until she was sure we required no further help. Aciu to Ida who it turns out learned English at a Canadian college in Lithuania.

Back on board we were able to eat lunch on the open aft deck which was warmed by the sun. Our fellow travelers are fascinated by our story and the fact that today Sig visited the home he was born in on his 71 st birthday. It was a very short visit home and we will always carry fond memories of this day. Latvia tomorrow!