With my wife Dace we continue to travel to the other side of the map to share it with you and we are in Lithuania, the largest of the Baltic countries.
While the international news about Lithuania is almost always scarce unless the NATO summit takes place here like a few days ago, Lithuanians spend the summer disconnected from reality, as if nothing happened far beyond their noses.
And it is not for less, it is a mandate, an obligation, to enjoy a few hot days in a place like this Elektrenai beach, at an equidistant point between the two main cities that are Kaunas and Vilnius.
Between natural landscapes, charming cities and striking traditions, it has become one of the most desired tourist references in the Baltic. Tourism is more numerous here than in Latvia or Estonia, perhaps because of its closer proximity to Poland and the rest of Europe.
A beautiful coastline, a hectic capital, Vilnius, and some spectacular natural parks, not to mention its thermal establishments and water sports such as rafting, make our neighbor Lithuania a place to always want to return to.
But today we are in a place practically unknown by international tourism, in the Elektrenai dam spa, where, as we can see, only Lithuanians know how to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.
Each country is full of unpromoted but attractive places, pearls to be discovered when you travel without haste, and one deviates from the recommended paths.
Finding without looking is a bit of the reason that guides us, we know that traveling is hyperliving and there is nothing we enjoy more than walking half lost in the countries we visit, that is a good way of allowing surprise.
Elektrėnai is a city in Lithuania, capital of the homonymous municipality in Vilnius Oblast. As of 2021, the city had a population of 10,782, of whom ethnically 83% were Lithuanian, 8% Russian, and 3% Polish.
The city was founded in 1961 to house the workers of the Elektrėnai Power Station, a natural gas and fuel oil power plant that was built between 1960 and 1972 along with the reservoir.
The Lithuanian SSR declared it a city in 1962, the year after its foundation. It has been the municipal capital since 2000 and is located on the A1 motorway in the vicinity of the Elektrėnai reservoir built on the Strėva river.
In this admittedly rather hidden corner of Lithuania, families find a place to relax and recreate, do some water sports and let the kids run free to enjoy a day outdoors.
The fine golden sand beach is also the perfect setting for sunbathing, a rare commodity in the land of rains, not by chance Lithuania in the local language is called Lietuva, which means land of rains.
Among some unmistakable Sovietstyle constructions and buildings and lots and lots of green, we wanted to share with you this little charm of Lithuania.
The afternoon became deep and we fell inside appreciating the horizon of the reservoir. They make you want to stay a few more days, on this side of the map.
#DelOtroLadoDelMapa #ViajarEsHipervivir
Subtitles in Portuguese, Italian, German, French, Russian, Polish and English.

I am Gustavo Llusá, Argentine, after traveling for several years in more than 65 countries, I settled in Latvia where I married Dace and learned to know another way of life, on the other side of the map.

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