Baltic States 4 - Hill of Crosses

Leaving the capital, we move to the most important pilgrimage site in Lithuania, the so-called Hill of Crosses (Kryžių kalnas) , located near Šiauliai. However, we will not stay here and in the early evening we will continue to Klaipeda, where we will stay for two nights.

Hill of Crosses

We don't have to rush to get up today. The train doesn't leave until 11:00. We bought tickets for the mandatory-seat train last night and there wasn't much choice. At 10:30 before the station we call Mark to see where he is, but he was still sleeping because he thought it was only 10. Luckily, he made it. Long-distance trains in Lithuania are quite funny. They are converted three-car Pesa Link regional units (known here as RegioShark) that are modified for long-distance service. The conductors here also operate something of a mini-bar.

Vilnius - Central Station, Pesa Link unit to Šiauliai

Vilnius - Main Station, arriving unit DR1A 300

Vilnius - Main Station, arriving unit Pesa 620 M

The journey without a single stop took two hours and fourteen minutes. Unfortunately, we were also ten minutes late, so we had to move quickly to the bus station about a kilometer away, from which a shuttle bus took us to the mountain of crosses (Domantai stop) in a few minutes. Fortunately we made the shuttle. The driver doesn't take cards you need to pay cash and it takes about 15 minutes to get to Domantai. The fact that we are in a more civilized part of the ex-Soviet Union is evidenced by the fact that there are timetables at the stops. This way we know what time our return journey is and can safely walk the one and a half kilometres or so to our destination.

In Marshrutka

Domantai bus station

Timetables for Marshrutkas

The Hill of Crosses is an artificial hill dotted with crosses that is both a Christian pilgrimage site and a symbol of the resistance of Lithuanians to the occupying Soviet regime. In 1993, the Hill of Crosses was visited by Pope John Paul II. There is also a visitor centre with a car park attached to the site.

Hill of Crosses - Visitor Centre

The place is truly epic, there are even more crosses than one can imagine. We spent about an hour there taking pictures and exploring.

Hill of Crosses (Kryžių kalnas)

Then we headed back to the bus. It was slightly late, but it arrived. There is also a Rimi hypermarket near the bus station, where we bought a late lunch and slowly moved to the train station, where we took the train to Klaipeda. Unfortunately the rainy weather no longer allowed us to see the city better. We took a passenger train to Klaipeda, which was cheaper and slower, but worked out best in terms of time. The journey took him 2:49. The more expensive express train can do the route an hour faster. The alternative bus takes 3 hours and comes out the most expensive. We arrive in Klaipeda at 9 pm. However, due to being further north, it's only light as if it's only seven, so arriving this late doesn't matter at all.

Klaipeda - A unit RA2

Klaipeda - Station building

Klaipeda

Our accommodation is more by the sea, so we still have to take the bus. Tickets here are handled by their special app, where you buy tickets for about 0,7 EUR in the form of a QR code, which you then activate on the bus at the marker. Your apartment is in an apartment building, where the corridor looks as scary as in the apartment blocks in Minsk and Ukraine. The interior is thankfully modern, and includes a TV with Netflix.