Cruise port Klaipeda

One of the downsides of traveling by cruise ship is that the ports of call are not necessarily places you would have chosen to visit.

And thus I found myself in Klaipeda, the third-largest city in Lithuania, asking myself, "Why am I here?"

Palanga Amber Museum

The tour guide would have answered, "Why, to see the Palanga Amber Museum, of course."

Of course.

rose garden outside Palanga Amber Museum

And indeed the amber museum is very well-organized, and answers any question one may have about amber, as well as offering thousands of amber items for sale in the gift shop.

The drive from the port to the museum offered glimpses of heavily wooded forests, and the excursion did give me a sense of what life might be like in Lithuania.

giant chessboard on street

young boy and mother observing chess game

woman with shopping bag

I had a chance to consider the rooflines of various buildings,

and to appreciate the textures offered by their surfaces.

In these instances, it is probably best to just surrender to the moment.