Bike trip and weekend in Salakas

Finally some nice weather! We went from cold and snow to warm and sunny in very few days, and it feels like late spring now... After some other few days of wait for the ice on the roads to melt, I could finally start to go out by bike.
Gražutės Regional Park hosts other two volunteers from our project, Olesya from Russia and Marion from France, and it's very near Aukštaitija, at only 30 km, so it was the best opportunity for my first trip! I and Blagovesta joined them for a weekend, and attended to a celebration of spring and a workshop about making slippers at their place, in Salakas.
The first half of the trip was on a large asphalt road... Very comfy, I could ride quite fast, but then I had to turn to a gravel road and got lost in Lithuanian countryside! Dirt, mud, stones, all in a series of small uphills and downhills, my beloved XC bike is not afraid of them! I was pleased by some very neat sights and peaceful landscapes. I passed by some tiny isolated villages and sometimes I felt like beeing in the middle of nowhere, immersed in total silence. That was amazing and relaxing! I took it easy and stopped few times, but two hours were still enough...

Once in Salakas I met our friends and they had a surprise: Marta, a Spanish girl volunteer in Anykščių Regional Park, was there too! Blagovesta arrived a little later by bus and train, and we visited the park's tourist centre with its very nice exhibition and museum.
Later we went to the spring celebration in the cultural center. We enjoyed typical dances and songs, as well as shows of different cultures.

I and Marta were even taken on stage for a Chinese scene! Marion and Olesya took part to some modern dances and it was very nice to see them so involved with the local people. Olesya told she made lots of mistakes, but we didn't notice them! :) Then we went by the quiet lake nearby, passing by the beautiful church too.

In the evening we hanged out in a local bar where we enjoyed playing pool and some club music. It was very cozy, and we met some local guys (and beated them at pool!).
Next morning we attended to the slippers making workshop. It was very interesting... we didn't know it took so much time and effort, but now we have new wool slippers! Blagovesta made very pretty ones, but mine were so so... I'm not that good at crafting.
I was a bit tired in the afternoon, but the return trip was waiting for me... This time it took less, just 1'40"... probably because of the dog who chased me!