Nice to take a break and enjoy a little paddleboarding with the family. At one time the Nemūnas was a major route through the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It takes a lot of odd turns from its source in modern-day Belarus, flowing north through much of Lithuania before turning west at Kaunas toward the Baltic Sea. This threw off my bearings a bit as we glided along the gently flowing waterway from Druskininkai toward Liškiava, a monastery that dates back to the late 17th century. I expected the river to flow the other way.
It was the first time any one of us had tried to go down a river on a paddle board. Mercifully, it was a short stint of about 8 km, as we struggled to find our footing, but eventually we all made it to the standing position. It gives you a wonderful vantage point, able to scan the grassy shoreline and look down deep into the water. We pretty much had the river to ourselves except for a few fishermen on the side of the banks. The river level was shockingly low as I could often see the sandy bottom with stones scattered here and there. Hard to imagine anything with a large keel having once navigated this river. Not much in the way of wildlife except for the dragonflies and ducks. We did spot a white egret at one point, but no playful otters or any other mammals. Too hot I guess. They sought the cover of the heavily wooded tributaries. At our leisurely pace, it took us about two hours to reach the monastery. The central dome of the cathedral looking very pristine on its hilltop.
We had hoped to find a spot along the river to swim but none looked too inviting. Some homeowners had cut the grassy embankments all the way down to the shore. We felt like we would be intruding if we pulled up to one of their docks, even if the banks were public. So, we took a plunge when we got back to Druskininkai. The driver anxious to get his paddleboards to another destination. We had seen the monastery before so no big deal.
Druskininkai had become our home away from home ever since the peat fires had enveloped Vilnius in smoke back in the early 2000s. It's not like we go there too often but when we do we always feel a nice sense of peace. It's a cozy town known for its mineral baths that is becoming popular again as it has to compete with Birštonas and Alytus for tourists. On this particular weekend there was an international dog show at the former aerodrome. We went to check out the variety of dogs but turned out we didn't have to. In the evenings the proud dog owners would walk their dogs along the river walkway, where my wife and I sat eating our carrot and oatmeal sorbets. Everyone trying to be more healthy these days with all sorts of intriguing flavors at the ice cream stand.
We found ourselves missing our Corgi, who passed away in March. No trip was complete without little Chu-Chu in tow. She enjoyed Druskininkai more than any of us, never tiring on the long walks and camping out under the restaurant tables while we ate. A bowl of water was all she needed.
The funny thing is that the dogs seemed attracted to us, as if they could smell some residual canine odor on us, or maybe that we were just dog people. A Cocker Spaniel leaped up onto the bench beside my wife. The dog was a bit wet so she didn't want to touch it. One family had a pair of interesting dogs. We asked what type they were and they said Basenji. I looked up the breed on my cellphone and the African hunting dog seemed to tick all the right boxes. One thing my wife didn't like about Chu-Chu was all the hair. These dogs don't shed. Of course, they are much more fleet footed and no doubt could get into anything. The nice thing about our Corgi was that she was definitely earth bound. She couldn't leap more than a few inches off the ground. She would wait for whatever little scraps of food were tossed to her.
One of the nice things about these little getaways is that I have more patience to read. I had brought along a book of W.G. Sebald - A Place in the Country - and was enjoying his description of Rousseau, as he struggled with his notoriety on Ile Saint-Pierre with humorous anecdotes like Rousseau descending through a trap door in his room to avoid unwanted guests. Seemed everyone wanted a glimpse of this fugitive socialist in hiding. Sebald has a wonderful knack for finding these odd details.
I keep thinking how I will put my experiences of Lithuania into words. I have tried countless times but haven't really succeeded yet. It's been more than 20 years now so I have quite a collection of tales. Start with something simple, they say.
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