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Who are we?

This travel blog is created by me, Lars Aldman, a Swedish journalist and traveller, always in the company of my wonderful wife V. who is also a journalist and a fantastic photographer.

I worked for many years for the Swedish National Radio and Television, as a reporter/producer/studio host and a bunch of other roles.but now I’m retired and do whatever I like.

We love to visit foreign countries and cultures and meet people all over the globe. So far we have been to Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean and of course Europe. And we’d like to share with You, dear reader, what we have experienced and seen. We hope You want to join us and possibly find ideas for Your own adventures.

PS. To see more of my photos from journeys far and near, head over to aldmangallery.com

To contact us via mail: info@resormedv.se

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Travels with V

Estonia & Lithuania

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Memories of tyranny and resistance

Lithuania part 2

After the Baltic independence 1990-91 almost everything that reminded of the ockupation was removed, statues of communist leaders were torn down and sold as scrap. One Lithuanian bought a heap of statues and put them in a parklike forest in the south, near the city of Druskininkai close to the Belarus border. Here you can approach the once impressive and colossal figures, but heroism in a forest can be a bit comical.

SOVJETHJÄLTE I HJÄLTEMODIG POSE — SOVIET HERO IN HEROIC POSE

OCH HÄR ÄR JU LILLEFAR SJÄLV, BORTA I SKOGEN — AND HERE'S THE BATIUSHKA HIMSELF, LOST IN THE WOODS

ÄREMINNE ÖVER DE SK PARTISANERNA, BALTER OM HJÄLPTE SOVJETRYSSARNA. — MEMORIAL FOR THE "PARTISANS", BALTICS WHO HELPED THE RUSSIANS

GRUTAS PARK ÄR FULLT AV KORPAR. OLYCKSKORPAR KANSKE? — IN GRUTAS PARK WE SEE LOTS OF RAVENS, SHOUTING OMINOUSLY

HÄR FINNS OCKSÅ PROPAGANDAMÅLNINGAR SOM DENNA, FRÅN EN IDYLLISK KOLCHOS — A PROPAGANDA PAINTING DEPICTING THE IDYLLIC KOLKHOS LIFE

One memorial that is quite small but has a huge symbolic value is a square stone near Vilnius cathedral. Its inscription ”Stebuklas” means ”miracle”, and it marks the exact spot where the last person was standing in 1989 in a human chain of two million people holding hands all the way from Tallinn in the north, through Riga in Latvia and ending in Vilnius. The massive demonstration called “The Baltic Way” was a plea for independence.

From Vilnius we drive the main road to the port of Klaipeda, but make a detour on the way to see something remarkable, not far from the city of Siaulai. It’s a low hill with crosses all over it, hundreds of thousands of crosses, big and small, some huge with exquisite woodcarvings and others just as simple as two sticks tied together with yarn.

The hill, ”Kryziu Kalnas” is a symbol for both spirituality and resistance working together for independence. The tradition started in the 1830’s during an uprising against the Russians and accelerated in the 1960’s. The Soviet authority tried to stop it and bulldozed the hill. But new crosses were raised in the nights under the cover of darkness. And it didn’t stop with the independence, people still come here in groups or pairs or solo, many buy small crosses at the entrance and plant them here or hang them on the larger crosses. Even the star of David can be seen here. It looks like nothing else, sometimes like a garbage dump, sometimes like Golgata. But it’s a touching spot for compassion and solidarity.

STARK SYMBOLIK, RELIGIOSITET OCH MOTSTÅNDSKAMP — HIGHLY SYMBOLIC, RELIGION AND RESISTANCE

NÅGON HAR PLACERAT EN DAVIDSSTJÄRNA BLAND KORSEN

Walking around on the Hill f Crosses is a bit of a surreal experience, see for yourself:

Next we finish our Baltic journey in an old port city where soldiers from our our own country came to burn and destroy three hundred years ago. And we find ourselves in the middle of a city festival!

Asia

Africa

America

Europe

Cities

themes

experiences

islands

Who are we?

Travels with V

Estonia & Lithuania

Travels with V

Estonia & Lithuania

Memories of tyranny and resistance

Lithuania part 2

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