Walking along those trails, you will not only see the most interesting natural objects, but also hear millions of sounds of the Lithuanian forest, dispel the mystery of the wetlands, and at a moment of repose refresh yourself with water from our streams or springs. Read more..
Hill of Crosses (Kryžių kalnas) is located 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai in northern Lithuania.
From Vilnius to Hill of Crosses – 221km (around 3h by car) Map.
From Riga to Hill of Crosses – 123km (around 2h by car) Map.
1. The Hill of Crosses currently has over 100,000 crosses from all over the world. There are actually too many to count.
2. The first cross was put there in the 1800’s.
3. There are two stories that go with the hill – a story of faith and healing & a story of nationalism and the fighting spirit of the Lithuanian people.
The first story is that a Lithuanian farmer had a very sick daughter who was going to die. He tried every kind of medicine and went to every doctor he could find. No matter what he did, her health just got worse. Every night, he sat by her bedside, holding her hand, wishing she would get better.
One night, while sitting by her bed, he fell asleep. That night he had a dream. In his dream, a woman dressed in all white came to him and told him that if he wanted his daughter to get better he had to follow her instructions. He was told to build a large wooden cross. He was then to take the wooden cross across the country and place it on a hill. It would be a sign of faith and love for God, and if he did this his daughter would be healed.
He had no other options at this point and decided to build the cross. He carried the cross 13 hours each way to Siauliai. Here, he put the wooden cross up on the hill. Tired and worn down, he started his long journey home.
When he finally reached his hometown, his wife and daughter were both waiting for him. They had amazing news – his daughter had somehow been cured of her illness! She was out of bed, awake, and joyfully awaiting his return!
The story of the miracle hill spread throughout Lithuania. People would pilgrimage to the site and place a cross on the hill hoping it would also cure their sick loved ones. It became the Hill of Crosses that performed miracles!
The second story: For those of you who do not know a lot about Lithuanian history, they have a long and sordid past with the Soviet Union dating back to the 1800’s. In the 1800’s, Lithuania had been occupied and were under Russian regime. The official religion was Russian Orthodox, and the official language was Russian. They were forbidden to practice any other religion, hang any crosses, or speak any other language other than Russian in public.
Author – Uldis Vanags, 2019
Photos – Google.com
When you stand ashore at still weather day and enjoy full 225 angle view at peaceful Baltic Sea, you never except how deadly dangerous this place is for those who are just dozen meters away in water. 
Cape Kolka by opinion of many specialists is one of biggest Ship Graveyards in the world. If we count the years of navigation trough those gates to Northeast Europe, it looks trustful.
Vessels of different sizes try to pass Irbe strait for more than 4000 years. For those familiar with ancient navigation place have another name – Domesnes (for cape) and Irbestraβe (for strait).
One of legends told us that this place once inspired Richard Wagner to wrote beautiful opera “Flying Dutchman” (Der fliegende Holländer).
To understand why you must stand in dunes of cape Kolka in storm together with local fisherman, and later listen to never-ending stories about storms, pirates, sunken ships and lost souls around the Cape.
To understand why you must stand in dunes of cape Kolka in storm together with local fisherman, and later listen to never-ending stories about storms, pirates, sunken ships and lost souls around the Cape.
Just one small note for everybody who visit the place. Please not to try to swim around cape, not in bad or even in good weather. There are beautiful strands just a mile away, but the cape itself despite of drowsy imagination (especially in sunny day) actually is giant maelstrom more than hundred feet deep.
RigaTours.lv offer tours to Cape Kolka book now- link here!
Many will argue that the Baltics (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) are great travel locations in summer, and they would not be wrong. What they might not know, is that the Baltics are as great for holidays in the winters too, especially for the beautiful scenery.
For one, the Baltics make use of what they have to create that amazing winter holiday experience. On the other hand, these are one collection of countries that come together to make your experience a totally unique one.
Here are some of the top things through which you get to enjoy winter in the Baltics… and reasons why you should consider going at all three countries.
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are all great locations for skiing. In the fact the outdoors always provides a great skiing experience.
You would think so too if you saw how well the snowy forests formed out delicately challenging paths for different levels of skiing experiences. Frozen lakes also bring all the fun and adrenaline rush into your skiing.
All of these resorts offer services that cater to different skill levels of skiers, so you are always covered.
One thing you get to experience when you travel to Estonia in the winter is the chance to drive through the longest road in Europe. This would not have been an interesting endeavor but for the fact that the entire road would be covered in ice. Imagine having to drive all through all that mass of ice throughout multiple islands which would not have been connected otherwise.
One thing we love most about taking a trip to the Baltics is the close proximity of the countries one to another. It is always a 3-in-1 experience, such that you don’t get anywhere else.
It’s even bettered in the fact that all of these countries share a similar climate, so you get to enjoy the same activities over all the regions. You could even split out your activities in such away that they can be spread over all of these regions.
There are a ton of them. There is no shortage of fun when you are enjoying winter in the Baltics. You get to enjoy everything from the bobsleigh in Sigulda, ice fishing, skiing, winter bag walk and horse sledge in snowy forests.
That is in addition to being treated to the ultimate husky dog sledding experience (Latvia, Lithiuania and Estonia), and having a snowmobile or ATV’s safari experience to remember.
One thing you should look at when planning a winter trip is the cost of setup. If you consider everything you get from a visit to the Baltic countries to other similar regions of the world, you would quickly see that it is a cost-effective holiday idea for you.
Scandinavian countries are the only ones that closely compare to what Baltics will offer you, but they come at a higher price margin. Couple that with the fact that distances are usually within fast reach in the Baltics, and you have a winner.
Spend your next winter holiday here in Baltic’s – Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania!
The Baltics are waiting to give you a warm welcome!
Last week finally was ready for snowmobile safari in Estonia. Snow was enough for snowmobile and perfect sunshine weather. Just 1h drive from Tallinn, or 3h drive from Riga in Estonia midland located Snowmobile safari, where you can enjoy winter fairytale is snowy forests, iced rivers.
