"We were welcomed ashore by this local band - a nice touch which I have seen in many places in the Far East but never in Europe."
"This the start of an EU sponsored reconstruction programme to build a new bridge together with bicycle and pedestrian paths along the Danė river. The project is dedicated to Lithuania's 100 years independance (Feb 1918). Someone said that this project has been held up as they discovered ancient stone pathways from years when this area was marshy and that these have to be identified and preserved before the project can begin. I couldn't find anything online about this although you can see what appear to be stone slabs in the mud."
"Bronze statue of a chimneysweep (left), sitting on the roof of the Fisherman's bar. The mouse (right) is one of 72 such bronze sculptures in Klaipeda; depending on where you read it, you either have to rub its nose, whisper in its ear, or both, and as per the inscription around the base 'Convert your ideas into words - words will become magic.' As Tommy Cooper would say 'just like that'."
"19th century theatre (left) restored after being damaged in WW11; it was from the balcony that Hitler made one of his speeches after Klaipeda was re-absorbed into Germany in 1939. The Simon Dach Fountain stands in front of the theatre; this is a replica, the original having disappeared during WWII. According to legend the Germans removed the statue for standing with her back to Hitler while he ranted from the balcony. The bronze sculpture (right) is one of many in and around Klaipeda, in fact they seem to have quite an obsession for portraying the history and folklore of the city in bronze." 
"Klaipeda has a history of flooding which is understandable when you see its location on the tip of the Curonian Spit and the rather obscene looking object (left) is an an indicator of flood levels." 
Unique swingbridge or 'chain bridge' still operated by hand was built in 1855, and is still working today. The Bridge is opened each hour to allow boats to pass, and is closed the remainder of the day for visitors to cross. To open this bridge, two workers must turn a wheel, which swings the bridge opened and closed; it is the only swing bridge in the whole Lithuania. "
" Cast iron bell monument in the public park (left); I have absolutely no idea where this originated from or why. Is it another monument or sculpture or is it from an old vessel? The 3 metre long dragon (right) that hangs on the wall is not just for decoration, but fulfills the function of a rain pipe. During rain, one can see water splashing out of the jaws of the dragon. Legend has it that two brothers looked for a site to found a city, one perished in the swamp and the other decided to immortalise this by siting the city where his brother died. What has this got to do with a dragon you might ask - the artist encourages you to see the connection between earth and sky, fire and water (I'm still none the wiser)."
"The educational vessel Meridian was built in 1948 in Finland after the second world war; Meridian as an educational vessel closed its doors in 1967 and opened up as a restaurant on the Dane river quay but in Autumn 2012, the ship changed hands, and the new owners had it repaired, restored and returned in 2013. Parts of the original ship were removed and put on display alongside the vessel (right)."
"These pictures show before and after restoration. At the time the ship was in the condition shown in the first photo the owners had requested permission to sink the vessel in territorial waters of Lithuania, the reason being a lack of cash required to repair the vessel. A change of ownership followed and in 2014, the sails are hoisted and the vessel is given back to the city; the photo right shows the inside of the vessel after restoration."
"This is a row of houses in the Old Town and it is very old although it has clearly been refurbished; there has been a town and castle on this site since the 13th century. For 300 years it was known as Memel and after Germany lost it under the Treaty of Versailles it was annexed by Lithuania and renamed Klaipeda. Hitler grabbed it back in 1939 and in 1945 much of the town was flattened in fighting between the German and Russian armies. In spite of this a small and attractive Old Town remains, however, the destruction by Germany and Russia has not left much intact from old Klaipeda."
"Both these photos taken in the Old Town area illustrate the fachwerk (timber frame) style of buildings that are common in old Klaipeda. The oldest and tallest Fachwerk house in the city (left) and a nice little cafe where we had a lunchtime drink (right) in what is known as the Artists' Yard."
"Quayside where the Aurora docked (left). Klaipėda plan to rebuild St John's Church on this spot (right); the origtinal church dated back to the 13th century, but was completely demolished by the Russians after the war. Under the Soviet rule, all the imposing Old Town churches were torn down."
"This is where the Danė river flows into the harbour of Klaipeda and the location of the cruise terminal. The photo shows the Aurora waiting patiently for us to go back on board and sail out to the Baltic Sea to our next destination. "
"The Lithuanian navy frigate sails past our ship early evening; note the navy seamen standing respectfully on the aft of the ship."
Klaipeda, Lithuania
(31st May 2018)We were welcomed by a local group of young musicians when we docked at Klaipeda which was a nice touch; we saw this quite often on our Asian cruise a few years ago but this was the first time in Europe. Klaipeda is located at the top end of the Curonian Lagoon and is sheltered from the Baltic by the Curonian Spit which you sail past as you arrive and depart Klaipeda. The ship docks very close to the Old Town as you can see from some of the photos which show the bow of the ship right near to the entrance to the Danė river; the old harbour was in fact accessed from the river via a metal drawbridge, designed by a local architect Meyer in 1879, which is still operated manually once every hour to allow ships (mostly yachts and small fishing boats) to leave the harbour.
We walked from the ship into the town which was minutes away although we had to wait for the swingbridge to be closed so we could cross into the town. The swingbridge has been there since 1879 and is still operated manually by a couple of harbour workers, once every hour to allow ships in and out of the Castle Port, and then left closed for visitors to cross for the rest of the time.
Once in the town we used a tourist map that took us on a quest to locate the sights of Klaipeda which was both an interesting and enjoyable way of finding and appreciating the town. We started our tour in Theatre Square which has the balcony where Hitler ranted after they took control in
Sailing Vessel Meridianas
This sailing ship, built originally in 1948 as an educational ship as reparation by Finland to Russia, is permanently moored by the quayside on the Danė river and was saved from a watery grave in 2012 by two residents of Klaipeda who had it repaired and refurbished before handing it back to the city in 2013. Informative bulletins posted alongside the ship show how the refurbishment progressed and many of the old components, such as rotten masts, old anchors and propellers are on display on the quay. Also alongside the ship is a strange pillar that I think is a marker to show the water levels during flooding which has been a serious issue in the past.
The Little Mouse, the Chimney Sweep and Slibinus the Dragon
There are apparently 72 bronze characters dotted around the town and these were just a few that we saw and are worth commenting on. The mouse has magical properties and can grant wishes if you whisper in his ear and rub his nose for luck. The inscription around the base says 'Convert your ideas into words - words will become magic.'
It is common folklore that seeing a chimney sweep and touching one of his buttons would bring you good luck, and so this statue was built on the top of a building to pay tribute to this superstition. By all accounts there is one of these buttons embedded in an internal wall that can be pressed instead of getting a ladder.
Slibinus the Dragon can be found on the wall of a building in an unobtrusive part of the city. As with all unusual sights it seems there is a story for the tourists about Slibinus which I have explained in more detail in the photo carousel; personally I take all this with a pinch of salt but I suppose it does make for a bit of human interest when exploring these places.
The Old Town
Unfortunately a good deal of the Old Town was destroyed in WW11 and also after the war the Soviets who took control destroyed all the churches of any significance. However, there are a few old buildings left including the oldest and tallest Fachwerk (timber frame) building in Klaipeda
We walkied back to the ship after a very enjoyable day in Klaipeda and as with many of these short stop-overs, especially after reading up on it, we've realised that you cannot see everything of interest before running out of time. As we waited on board to leave Klaipeda a naval vessel sailed past with the sailors lined up in respectful fashion on the aft deck.
