Hello everyone. During our Baltic trip we arrived at Klaipeda, a city by the sea. We wanted to visit the sea museum here. Klaipeda boasts a beautiful coastline with boats and people strolling around. It was windy when we visited. We got our tickets to board the river transport.
Throughout the journey, seagulls accompanied us in incredible numbers. It seems people are accustomed to feeding them. They showed no fear and would come almost into the boat. Observing the seagulls up close was quite exciting.
The city clearly identifies itself as a port city. The museum is located at the northern tip of the Curonian Spit peninsula, where Klaipeda Harbor opens its gates, spanning 98 kilometers. In the second half of the 19th century a defense sea fortress named Neringa was built here, but unfortunately, it was almost completely destroyed during World War II. In 1979 Neringa Fortress was rebuilt to suit the museum's needs.
The museum houses collections reflecting the diversity of maritime history and marine nature. Various exhibitions are displayed, using the latest technology methods to convey information, which I found very appealing. Next to the Sea Museum there is the only dolphin aquarium on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. Here you can find Black Sea dolphins, members of the toothed whale family. At the dolphin aquarium we encountered fun educational activities that introduced us to these intelligent marine mammals. We were also impressed by their use of dolphin therapy to work with children facing various health issues.
As soon as we disembarked we headed towards the aquarium. We enjoyed the cool sea breeze. Along the way, we saw various ships and even encountered a submarine.
Here's what the Ocean Aquarium building looks like. Its modern and captivating design caught our attention. Surrounding it are various anchors and marine items. The warm and bright creatures greeting us at the entrance further heightened our curiosity.
We entered the museum section. It included maritime-related objects such as ship models and sailor uniforms. This section typically features historical ship models, as well as maritime-related clothing from past eras, items used by ship crews and other objects from maritime history. Learning about maritime history and marine life was a wonderful experience.
Then we entered the Ocean aquarium. Here we encountered many beauties of coral and marine life. Various colors and species of starfish and lobsters caught our attention. And we saw sea shells of various sizes and shapes. These are the homes of marine creatures collected from various sea habitats.
When we exited, it was dusk. We walked along the coastline and enjoyed the scenery.
