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Leisure in Preila, Kursiu Nerija

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Placed on: 2009-08-19 18:02   Updated on: 2010-10-25 16:33   Comments: 0   Views from 2009-08-25: 0

Leisure in Preila, Kursiu Nerija
2009-08-19 18:01

I never believed that Neringa is only for the pensioners.

I feel grateful to my mother, who brought me, still a child, several summers consecutively through entire Lithuania to that wonderful recess of nature. I remember one holiday, which was cold and rainy - my mother was complaining, but I did not care. Just then, I found a friend, who was much naughtier than I was. Everyday we waded in the sea to test the depth of its waters (in some areas man can wade to half a kilometer or more). What a fun we had to scour the bushy "hairstyle" of the dunes. In the evenings, we usually went to the cinema. The movies were brought to all the villages and exchanged, so it happened sometimes to get the same movie. 

Sometimes my mother let my friend to inflate the plastic boat, if only the lagoon was not very wavy. Then we tested the depth of the waters much further from the coast (I did not know how to swim). We rowed so far, that we could hardly see our coast. Once our boat leaked - it was the challenge.  We rowed intensively till the area, we waded, but we didn't have any chances to reach the proper depth. The water was already pouring to our waists when we found a hole in our boat, I will never forget this feeling. I was stopping the pouring water from the hole while my friend rowed the boat. Only the edges of the boat were seen from the water. When we already tumbled from the boat, fortunately we could reach the bottom.  

I told about this adventure to my mother, she told about it to my friends mother. We both were flayed. Our friendship was forbidden. Two days after I felt boring. 

It is only the memories. I started from them, because childhood influences all the life. It happened, that I used to found myself to be in Preila, despite the fact that my wife and I were looking for a place to live in Juodkrante, Pervalka (where we have never lived). We did not like either the living conditions, a price, or a period. People were talking that Preila was the least popular. Somehow. 

As I already said before, I do not agree, that Neringa is only for the pensioners. I used to come here in any age - when I was a child, a teenager, just married, also senior (not a pensioner yet).

I never felt a lack of a city noise - I always found there different nature, different sunsets-sunrises, the different smell.  Only now I understand (because I do more photos), why a view becomes unusual, when you enter Neringa.

1. Paliekam tokДЇ VilniЕі (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
We are leaving such Vilnius/Photographer Hermis Preikštas
2. Lekiam autostrada (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
Flying in a highway/Photographer Hermis Preikštas
3. KeliamД-s keltu (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
Taking a ferryboat/Photographer Hermis Preikštas

When you travel from Juodkrante to Pervalka, it seems, that the forest is similar to for ex. Labanoro forest, the trees also look the same. I understood - everything is half smaller! It seems like you are in a dwarves kingdom. In addition, it is very important, that there are various trees - from very high, to lilliputian in the entire Curonian Spit. I admire the feeling, that there is a Great Pool, with its big waves and salty water on one side and a Different Pool, full of various fish, on the other side, where the sun not sets, but rises.

4. LeidЕѕiamД-s link mariЕі (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
Going down to the lagoon/ Photographer Hermis Preikštas
5. TipiЕЎkos kopЕі puЕЎelД-s (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
The typical pines of the dunes/Photographer Hermis Preikštas
10. Takas ДЇ jЕ«rД... (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
A pathway to the sea/Photographer Hermis Preikštas
6. Pasitinka nerami jЕ«ra (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
Broken water meets us/Photographer Hermis Preikštas
7. Tokios bangos (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
The waves/Photographer Hermis Preikštas

This year we were lucky. Almighty internet helped us to find our dream cottage on the coast of a lagoon. The cottage was artistically renovated, had not much space, but with all an accommodation. The price?

Money is a very changeable thing, so I would only say that the cottage was not cheap, but not so expensive for us to refuse from such an IDYLL. We lived differently before, but it was also good.

13. Gyvenau ДЌia (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
I used to live here/Photographer Hermis Preikštas

When you know people, who live here, you understand that they have income only on summer. One fisherman's family, who lives in the same yard told us, that it gets harder to survive here. Fish in the lagoon extremely decreases, from time to time the lagoon gets empty by the trail-nets (under a cover of some men in a government). There are also the cormorants - each of them needs 1 kilo of fish daily, having on mind that their population is about 15 thousands!

Fishermen in Preila work only for the taxes in winter, that is why the fish here is expensive. Smoked bream costs 15-20 Lt., in Vilnius - 8 Lt.  (I saw it myself). But how can you compare fish, not fresh, brought from somewhere with just caught and smoked "deliciousness"? By the way, we were smelling a delicious smoke in one cottage or another all seven days ...

8. Kai kas Еѕvejoja (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
Somebody is fishing /Photographer  Hermis Preikštas
9. ... ir pagauna (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
...and catching/Photographer Hermis Preikštas
19. PasiЕ«la (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
The supply/Photographer Hermis Preikštas

On this holiday, we wanted to explore a famous cycleway, which you can ride from Nida to Juodkrante (maybe even more) and back. For this we brought our bicycles. I will admit, I do not rely on technique fastened with belts to the car doors - I felt stress all the way. However, it was worth it - to rent a bicycle costs 25 Lt a day (after a negotiation). We had to rent a bicycle for a senior son, the smallest I rode in his seat. We saved the money for two bicycles.

When I was a child, nobody talked about any cycleways, there were maybe only some pathways trailed from the past. Now there is 1.5-meter lane of asphalt here, in some parts completely broken, in some - just new. Generally, it is quite comfortable to ride. There are no big hills or falls. You can reach Nida in 20 minutes (not in a hurry), and similarly Pervalka. The first impression, when you come to route is - what a city street I got into! We chose inappropriate time - an evening, when people come back from the sea, the sun is getting light a bit from a side, the wind is also calmer. Traffic is like in a street - just beware. Earlier there were no so many people, maybe today it just happened so...

15. DviraДЌiЕі takas (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
The cycleway/Photographer Hermis Preikštas
16. DviraДЌiЕі tako nuorodos (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
Signs to the cycleway/Photographer Hermis Preikštas

We did not make our great hike to Juodkrante - it would've been too difficult for our smallest child to see out for such a way, also it is not so usual to ride together for 50 km (last time I have ridden such a distance only when I was seventeen). Maybe not the pedaling is hard, but sitting in a saddle... you need to train your back-end.

18. Pakeliui ir pelkiЕі... (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
There are also swamps on our way.../Photographer Hermis Preikštas

In that time, we had enough hikes - several to Nida and one to Pervalka and its seaside. There is a wonderful Bulvikis bay in a mid-way from Preila to Nida. You can ride a bicycle to the shore and sit for a while romantically on a wooden bench, watching the lagoon. This place seems to be for the lovers or for a tired loner.

20. Miname puЕЎynais (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
Riding through the pinewoods/Photographer Hermis Preikštas

On the third of a road to Nida, you can see on the right a wonderful exposure to Vecekrugo dune - the highest one in Neringa.

17. Vecekrugo kopa (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
Vecekrugo dune/Photographer Hermis Preikštas

The most beautiful lighting of this dune must be early in the morning, when most of the visitors are still sleeping. I also succeeded to get up early only in the first morning - I wished to make a photo of a sunset in the lagoon. When you stay some days in such a hypnotizing, leisurely rhythm of the nature, you lose a sense of time, you can fall asleep anytime and have no wish to get up.  I can hear terns talking to you through an open window, when you nod early in the morning. They talk in such a human voices, that you start to encode the words they say. And they always speak the same: "sleep well, silly people, in a meanwhile we will poop on your boats, bridges, cars, we will pick some fish, you want so much..." How can you refuse to sleep.

 

12. Tik vienas saulД-tekis (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
Only one sunrise/Photographer Hermis Preikštas

Everyday divides into two parts. After a breakfast, we ride bicycles to the sea. It is also a challenge, because it is not so easy to clamber over the grand dune sitting on your bicycle. I saw many youths who could not make this barrier. It seems not worth to waste your energy, but I want to admit, I never gave up, though it was hard to breath clambering over like mad. It is a good exercise after THAT sleep.

The second part of a day is an afternoon, when we ride bicycles somewhere. When we come back in the evenings, we spend our time how we want, like everybody else, like everywhere in the world.

If you would ask me about the shops - there are two of them in Preila: one is "commercial" (newer) and the older one. There is maybe a wider choice in the "commercial" shop, but now it looks like Klaipeda region has only one exclusive product - coffee-cakes, which is so melting, even when already packed in a plastic...I don't like any sweets, but those cakes were delicious.

You can see one more notability - there is a little café "Trobele" going down to the sea. Once we ordered Bolognese pasties there. I was sure, that they will be only heated in a microwave and that is it. We needed to wait for quite a half an hour, but after it we waited again - Bolognese turnovers were so delicious. Later the owner of the café explained, that it is their famous meal. How could we pass it before? There are still a lot of things, which we did not try yet, did not taste. For example, we could use a boat near our "apartment", but we did not. We had no wish, because everything else was so wonderful, and maybe because of my childhood memories...

21. UЕѕburiantys vakarai (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
Charming evenings /photographer Hermis Preikštas

In this paper, I do not want to invite all "Palanga-holics" to Neringa. I am just trying to defend and exalt a good reputation of Neringa, where are more visitors, who like beauty and delicacy, but they also like to have fun - just maybe one point more quiet.   

22. ...ir naktys (Nuotr. Hermis PreikЕЎtas)
...also nights/ photographer Hermis Preikštas

For Neringa, for Preila!!! 

I will come back.

I hope.                                            

Hermis Preikštas


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Preila ryte (Nuotr. Hermis Preikštas)
Preila in the morning/Photographer Hermis Preikštas

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