Weekend Experiences: Town Nida, Where Dunes Whisper In Silence

The army of winter has not yet been defeated, but the wind is increasingly blowing the scent of spring. And every time it seems so strange, almost unbelievable: will winter end again? Once again. Winter, which is not really winter at all, but just some kind of slumber in a corner of life under the gray blanket of the sky, watching January like a TV series and waiting for it to end. But - yes, January is ending, and February will end in a good month - it will be calendar spring.

And even though there is no snow, I still hope to see it at least once before spring comes. Because it's so good when the cold, searching eyes of winter look at you through the snow-covered trees, white eyelashes, tiny pupils like poppy seeds. As if winter had sniffed cocaine. But winter itself is a drug...

You hear the snow crunching under the soles of your shoes... Life covered in snow is good: laughter is quieter, pain is softer, sleep is deeper, steps are slower. And the sky is closer to the ground. Yes, sometimes gray, but still...

And when the snow falls from the branches and covers your hat. It feels like someone is quietly saying: everything that was good is not just memories. This is the light that shines till now.

I hope so, but winter has really gotten warmer, and the snow has forgotten us. I knew I should go to Nida in the summer, because it's so beautiful to be there in the warm season, but still, we decided to visit it now, as we were never there in the winter time. Go for a walk in the dunes...

A ferry, an hour's drive along the dunes and lagoon, and we are in Nida. A little earlier than we had to. So, we decided to have a short look at the town. Is it possible to feel like a resident of an unfamiliar city in a couple of hours? As if you were a local even though you are not, but in a couple of hours you will become one? It is possible. If the city is empathetic. And if you are empathetic.

Unfortunately, we had very little time to walk around this lovely town, but still, for the short two hours we were there, we enjoyed every minute of the time spent.

The wind was carrying the shells to the shore, then returning them back, drawing patterns on the sand, lifting the birds into the sky and scattering the clouds. It even got stuck in the reeds - combing their hair, cheerfully, restlessly, as if it was always doing this. Only the stones lay motionless. It couldn't move them. The western sea wind...

As always here, from the very first minute, I am overwhelmed by a feeling of delight. And here it seems that there is nothing particularly delightful. But at the same time, everything around evokes a feeling of some envy - cleanliness, space, there are benches everywhere, calm parents walk with their children... they just enjoy life, rest, the opportunity to be together as a family... and the children are not nervous, not screaming, not whining, not shouting.

And what amazing views - the surface of the water, endless dunes in the distance... Here I am, really, like a child, enjoying life. Enjoying the wind, the beauty that surrounded me!

First, we decided to take a walk along the embankment. There is a very nice promenade here, leading almost to the dunes. The promenade strip is not wide, but there is definitely enough space for everyone: for those who ride bicycles, and mothers with strollers, and babies, and adults.

Here you walk along the embankment of the city of Nida, and it becomes so easy... Either the water is so calming, or it is just a joy for the eye and the soul to rest. Well, everything is done in a humane way. And the cafés, even if modern, fit so well into the overall appearance of the city. And majestic pines...

Well, here the embankment ended... and a small pine forest and a narrow strip of sandy beach began. And behind it - the dunes.

And what a unique coloring: houses were painted dark brown or blue, doors, frames and decorative elements in white and bright blue. There is an opinion that such a choice is not accidental. Despite the background of vegetation, such houses stand out perfectly and the fisherman could see his house well from afar and correctly determine the course to the shore by it. Well, the color means - land, sea and sky!

And what an interesting decor, concentrated on the pediment - amazing wood carving, decorative ornaments on the cornice, on the ridge of the roof - various symbols of lily flowers, fern leaves, roof decorations made of cross boards in the form of paired silhouettes of horses or elk antlers.

And these are not just the fantasies of the masters, they reflect the worldview of the ancient Balts, it was believed that the ornaments are endowed with magical and protective properties, protect the house from lightning, diseases, and evil spirits sit on the elements of the roof decor to rest, but cannot penetrate the house.

Now, in many former fishermen's houses, it is possible to rent apartments. There are small ethnographic museums.

I really didn't want to leave the city... I dragged out the time as best I could... After all, Nida is a fairy-tale, small, toy town. So cute, so cozy. I liked absolutely everything here: the quiet, friendly people, the spacious embankment, the ship pines, the dunes, and the neat, clean houses with equally neat and clean garden plots.

I know we will be back soon so that we can just walk, resting our soul and heart, forgetting all the worries and troubles. We will be back in the summer.