CLAY•ped•ə - /kleɪpɛdə/
Etymology🔍 - According to folk etymology it refers to the boggy, difficult to navigate terrain
[klaidyti = obstruct + pėda=foot] More likely of Curonian origin (a.k.a Kurs, a medieval Baltic tribe)
meaning the opposite with klais / klait = flat, open, free; i/e. even ground. Possibly a reference to the relatively
flat terrain of the original settlement. Initially mentioned in 15c records as Caloypede and later Klawppeda
KLAIPEDA | Lithuania
Highlights:
📍 Old Town - cobblestone, half-timbered buildings + Memel-Nord WWII museum & Klaipėda Maritime Museum
in historic 19c Nerija Fort, Smiltynė Beach & Klaipeda Lighthouse - oldest in Lithuania
.
📍 Sweet Treats & ☕ Cuppa's 🔍 - Kavos Architektai Coffee Shop | Cremia Cafeteria Gelateria Bakery
Valentino Ledai (Gelateria) | Lalene (Dessert Café w/ handcrafted pastries & sweets)
LOCAL FESTIVAL 🎉: Sea🔍 Festival (summer) - celebration of maritime culture; parades, concerts & markets
Just Outside Town:
📍Curonian Spit a.k.a. Kuršių nerija - Europe's highest shifting dunes, [reaching 196 ft (60m) moving 9mls (15km)
a year] on a narrow peninsula separating a lagoon from the Baltic🔍 Sea: w/ Parnidis Dune for panoramic views
& a giant sundial plus surreal Dead Dunes (or Grey Dunes) in Nagliai Nature Reserve, with nearby spa town,
Nida's Ethnographic Cemetery containing some of the oldest graves in Lithuania w/ 16c “krikštaia” sticks at
the foot of graves reaching down into the bed; believed to help the dead to stand at the resurrection† and the
Dancing Forest of twisted pine trees shaped by winds (on the Russian side)
📍 Hill of Witches | Raganų Kalnas - forested trail with dozens of wooden sculptures of Lithuanian folklore
.
📍 Palanga Beach Resort + Amber Museum in manor house / Tiskeviciai Palace where visitors hunt for amber
📍 Žemaitija National Park (aka Samogitia National Park)- site of Dvina Rocket Base, the cold war Soviet nuclear
missile launching site close enough to hit the UK with only 4min notice.