Saturday 15th September
The drive from Kriukai to the Corronian Spit.
So we get up early to discover Rita had arrived in the night. We also discover that Mindaugas is not coming on the trip but Kazimiras, his father will be driving Rita and Mum while we would travel behind. ( reassurance for dad following- he was on strict instructions to not drive over 100 as we were following - and he stuck to that).
We drove to Siauliai - to the hill of crosses. An amazing commemoration of people power and faith. During the soviet era, all those crosses that are a part of the Lithuanian landscape were torn down. In Siauliai, the soviets took down crosses, and more appeared overnight. Each time the crosses were bulldozed , a greater number of them would reappear until the whole hill would be covered. As I walked an the hill, and was surrounded by millions of crosses, I had a great sense of the power of Christ crucified, and how his suffering and resurrection has changed the world.
I also saw that secession for Lithuania from the Soviet Union was always going to happen. These people endured much under the Soviets, but when they tried to take away their core beliefs and faith, well this hill is a symbol to show that the Soviets were bound to fail.
After Siauliai we went to Varnai to see where Dad grew up.
Then on to Klaipeda. We had a nice dinner - then at about 9 ish we drove onto the ferry that takes us across to the Coronian Spit. We drove through dark forests down to Preila and rented a two story cabin for the night.
After organizing beds and unpacking the car I went outside and looked up. The clouds had cleared, and out here there are no big cities, so there is no light pollution to fade the night sky. The stars were thick and blazing. As I stood there I realized how small I am. Back in Australia I love looking at the stars, like gazing into eternity - and I get my bearings there. Finding the Southern Cross, Orion's belt, Betelguese, not only fills me with a sense of wonder, but also of certainty. Looking at the stars I have always known is sort of like a sure thing. Then I look up in Lithuania, and the stars are totally different. Completely different constellations. Different points of light. None are the same. And it is like.... The universe I am aware of is immeasurably massive......., and it just got immeasurably bigger.
And I am very small.