Baltic Sea beaches are a summer holiday haven and the UNESCO Heritage Curonian Spit in Lithuania is a wide sandy spot just waiting for a beach towel - and a sweater!
Look carefully at a map of Eastern Europe and you'll find a skinny slice of land starting in the Russian territory of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, with a tiny piece of Lithuania at its end: the Curonian Spit. Beach, forest and desert-like sand dunes crowd onto a two-and-a-half mile wide peninsula that ends in a fence at the Russian border.
The Curonian Spit was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2000. The main Lithuanian town, Nida, is a favourite spot in Lithuania's brief summer, and a short walk gets you on top of sand dunes overlooking the so-called Lithuanian Sahara. The easiest way to reach the Curonian Spit is by ferry from Klaipeda, Lithuania's large coastal city, itself easily accessible from the capital, Vilnius. Ferries depart from Klaipeda every half hour and buses then run from the port to Nida at the southern end of the Lithuanian half of the Spit.
My own journey followed exactly this route, on a half-sunny August day. Whether in lily-laden thermal baths in Hungary or voluminous lakes and waterfalls in Croatia, being in or near the water is a favorite travel pastime for me. This made the Baltic Sea a natural spot to call on, and the World Heritage recognised natural beauty of the Curonian Spit an obvious choice. Unfortunately, despite arriving in high summer, the swimsuit and but the swimsuit and towel I'd enthusiastically packed stayed in my backpack as a chilly wind kept me out of the water.
Just the same, reaching the beach through the thick heavily-scented pine forest was an adventure in itself, and I found the wide sandy coast almost deserted. A wrinkly Lithuanian woman was taking a refreshing nude dip at the far end, in the direction of some kind of refinery which seemed to remind me of Lithuania's USSR days. At regular intervals along the beach were brightly painted wooden half-shelters, used on warmer days by swimmers as changerooms - this time they sheltered me from the stiff breeze.
Treat the Curonian Spit as a hiking day with the slim chance of a swim: and you could be pleasantly surprised. No matter the season, a walk through the forest, along a windy beach, or a climb up the steep sand dunes to peak into Russia - it's not a destination which can disappoint.
