Crosses in Lithuania

Audrone and her husband Jonas met me at Siauliai station, took me to their nice house closeby where I met their children Lucija and Jonas, and after some coffee (!) and some time to relax, showed me around their town and the countryside.
I was lucky to have been invited by Audrone, a member of HC since only two months, but very active and enthusiastic about the idea of hospitality and traveling since the 70s. She works in the library of one of the many Siauliai museums, and Jonas is a photographer at a newspaper. They told me a lot about lithuanian history, and had been engaged in the freedom movements in the 90s.
The stories were moving, and the sights even more so. They showed me the cemeteries with memorial monuments for the many lithuanians having suffered under the occupation, and many more.
Of course we went to the Hill of the Crosses, as well. It's a holy place since thousands of years, and has been sacred and cherished by the catholics from all over Europe. During so many centuries, the lithuanian catholics had suffered a lot to keep this place as a memorial to their faith and their freedom. Now it still is a place of amazing energy.
Later, we went to see another astonishing place, a lot different, though. An old artist had changed his farm into a museum to liberty, Lithuania and faith with incredible ideas. A colourful boat, a train, and much more in the middle of nowhere... Now his daughter is keeping her horses here. Horses and religion - so important in Lithuania!
After a delicious lithuanian lunch and yet another nap, Audrone showed me Siauliai daily life, the shops with lithuanian specialities, and the center. I learned a lot from this great and enthusiastic woman! And in the evening we chatted merrily and enjoyed our time together. :-)