Lithuania and the Russian border

We awoke yesterday morning, had a leisurely breakfast overlooking the lake and watching two Russian men in a little boat fishing. We were surprised to see families arriving and setting up to cook their lunch at just after 11am (we later discovered that Lithuania is another hour on from Poland, so it was actually gone 12 o'clock.)

We drove round the Kaliningrad border, close enough to see the border markers at the side of the road in places. This part of Lithuania is very rural and peaceful but clearly not very affluent, indeed it is quite reminiscent of Belarus in many ways. 

 Lunch stop at a roadside picnic area


 We made our way out to the coast at Vente, another site we stayed on in 2007, which doesn't appear to have changed very much in the last 10 years, except that it isn't raining this time! (Although it is quite windy.)  It does have showers and electricity, although some of the services are a bit primitive. There is a hotel and restaurant/bar as well and they also have chalets for hire.

The hotel, and campsite reception
 Parked next to a Dutch couple with  an Oz tent!

We are on the inside of the Curonian Lagoon, (formed by the Curonian Spit . . Google it, I did to check the spelling! ) so you would expect it to be dead calm, or at least I did, so it was quite surprising how choppy the waters are this morning with a blustery westerly wind blowing.
 
There is a private ferry which goes across from the campsite to the spit, which we might try this evening.
 
 The ferry at mooring, last night.

We had a bracing walk along the shore this morning and looked at shells and seabirds, and even watched the antics of some local holidaymakers who went swimming in the choppy waters, but not for long!
 a beachcomber!
and another one!
gazing at our site's harbour / marina
 
Looking across the lagoon towards the Russian end of the spit.
Later afternoon addition:

According to a Lithuanian motorcyclist with very good English that we met this afternoon, those are "dead dunes" which sounds a bit anomalous as they are apparently growing vegetation. I assume it means they have ceased being active moving sand dunes.

We cycled out to the end of the little peninsular we are on and visited a centre where they trap and 'ring' migrating birds. very interesting but it made us too late for the ferry across to the spit (Ah well, it just means we will have to return again sometime!)

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