Thursday, June 30, 2011

Klaipeda (part 1): German city in Lithuania

Klaipeda is the 3rd largest city and my 2nd favorite city  (1st is Vilnius) in Lithuania! It is situated near the Baltic Sea, in the western part of Lithuania. Port of Klaipeda is the only port in Lithuania! Klaipeda is a nice modern city with very interesting old town. The old town is very different from other Lithuanian towns and is more similar to German towns. About 180,000 residents live in Klaipeda now.

Don’t forget to visit the Curonian Spit if you come to Klaipeda! Just take a ferry and in a few minutes you are in the wonderful land of sand and dunes!

History of Klaipeda

Klaipeda was founded in 1252. At the time the Livonian Order built a castle there called Memelburg and the town Memel began to grow around it. In 1323 Lithuanians led by the duke Gediminas conquered the town and forced the Livonian Order to sue for a truce. Knights from the Livonian Order were replaced with knights from the Prussian branch of Teutonic Order. The town was attacked by Lithuanians again later in 14th century.

In 1422 border between the Teutonic Order and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was stabilized and remained unchanged until 1919. At first Memel was part of Prussia and since 1871 it became most northern city of Germany.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Lithuanian girl in London

Last week I visited my friend who lives in London. It was my first trip to such a huge city. London was interesting, I had a great time there. So today I will tell you about my feelings and impressions after this trip. Of course, I am not going to describe London. It is not the purpose of my blog! But I can tell you how London is different from Vilnius and how British people seem different from Lithuanians. I would be really grateful to all British for comments about this blog post!

I took a flight to London from Vilnius with Wizzair. It really surprised me that only a few passengers were not Lithuanians. I guess cheap flights do not attract many tourists to Lithuania… Passengers mostly were young Lithuanians living in London and travelling back home to UK after visiting their relatives in Lithuania.

When I got off the plane in London I experienced something I can call… cultural shock. I had been told Luton is a small airport. Well, it was not very big, but the crowds of people were huge! I had to wait in line for about half an hour to have my passport checked at the boarder!

When I got in to my bus to London I was also very surprised. This time by the behavior of the driver. He was nice and helpful! He was joking and laughing. It was something you don’t usually see in Lithuania. British people seem really relaxed and happy. Lithuanians mostly are sad and worried…

At first I was really confused by the system of public transportation in London. But it took me only one day to get used to it. Metro is really a great way to travel in such a big city. In Lithuania we also have discussions if we need metro in Vilnius. After visiting London I can say that metro in Vilnius is a bad idea. Vilnius is small, the amount of passengers is quite small too, so building metro would be waste of money.

Another thing that surprised me in London was prices. They were not as high as I expected. The prices of food in supermarkets are almost the same as in Lithuania. And some products are really cheaper (like cheesecakes and cheddar cheese). My friend lives near the market and I was absolutely amazed by the low prices of fruits and berries there! 2 pineapples for 1 pound! A bowl of cherries for 1 pound! Unbelievable!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Are Lithuanian girls most beautiful in the world?

Yes, they are!

I believe Lithuanian women really are the most beautiful in the world. I am sure most men who live in Lithuania or have visited Lithuania agree with me.

Lithuanian girls

Why are Lithuanian girls so beautiful? Because they want to be beautiful! In many countries where feminism and fast food are popular women just don’t care how they look, what they wear, how fat they are. It is not like that in Lithuania! We want to be beautiful and we try!

Also Lithuanian girls have good genes. Blue eyes, blond hair and pale skin are considered beautiful in many countries and these features are common among Lithuanian women.

Lithuanian girls