Neringa, Curonian Spit

Another day of memories. This time at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Curonian Spit in the Lithuanian Municipality of Neringa. Jutting out into the Baltic Sea, the landscape is highlighted by the Parnidis Dune (1) near Nida. Near the dune is a large concrete sun dial (2) that invokes the obelisk in 2001: A Space Odyssey in addition to spectacular views (3,4) of the beaches on the western side.
The area was favored by author Thomas Mann and that view of the water through trees (5) is from the home he occupied in the early 1930s and is now a museum. His home is typical of those in the area (6). The slender trees, like those near Mann's, were the highlight for me. The way they are bunched together so closely created brilliant light displays bouncing off the verdant forest floor (7)
There is also a "Hill of Witches" dotted with dozens of wooden creations meant to keep the gods' favor. (8) They were a little creepy, but hey, as long as they made the gods happy.
And last, that is a statue of the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (the sculpture memorializes his visit in 1965) whispering in the ear of moi (9) Perhaps he was offering advice about my backhand (10).Les mer