We docked in the harbour town on the Baltic, only 160k population from a country of 2.8m. Along with Latvia & Estonia, known collectively as White Russia.

We took a Walking Tour to find the Lost city of Memel, the original name of Klaipeda. Our guide explained the turbulent history of Lithuania, in summary:

– 1009: Lithuania is first mentioned in written records, one of the oldest countries
– 1323: Grand Duke Gediminas founds Vilnius as the capital city.
– 14th–15th Centuries: Lithuania becomes the largest state in Europe, stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
– 1410: Lithuanian and Polish forces defeat the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald
– 1569: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth is created.
– 1795: The Commonwealth collapses, and most of Lithuania is annexed by the Russian Empire.
– 1915: Germany occupies Lithuania during World War I.
– 16 Feb 1918: Lithuania declares its independence and re-establishes a democratic state.
– 1940: The Soviet Union occupies and annexes Lithuania during World War II, followed by Nazi occupation (Hitler visited the town and spoke from the Theatre balcony) and later re-occupation by the USSR. Between them they destroyed 90% of the city, most of which has been rebuilt.
– 1989: 2m people form a human chain across the Baltics (“The Baltic Way”) to protest Soviet rule.
– 11 Mar 1990: Lithuania declares the restoration of its independence.
– 2004: Lithuania joins both the European Union and NATO.