The small hill in Europe where courage and hope refuse to die
This quiet hillside is an emotional symbol of a nation's defiance.
It's a drizzly afternoon, midway through an 11-day UTracks Treasures of the Baltic cycle tour, when we reach Lithuania's Hill of Crosses and the weather seems apt for this moving pilgrimage site.
Scattered haphazardly across the low hillside, 10 kilometres north of Siauliai, are tens of thousands of crosses and statues of Christ, made from everything from wood to lego to bicycle chains and lent colour by rosary beads and yellow, green and red Lithuanian flags.
The first crosses appeared here in medieval times, proliferating after rebellions against the Russian tzars in the 19th century. During Soviet rule, between 1945 and independence in 1990, this site became a symbol of Lithuanian resilience and hope, with anti-religious authorities regularly removing crosses here, only for them to rapidly reappear.
With blue and yellow ribbons tied to some crosses, commemorating Ukrainians lost in the war with Putin, and inscriptions everywhere, this is a place where you can't help meditating on freedom, faith and courage.
100,000
Number of people who attended a 1993 mass held here by Pope John Paul II
My all-time favourite destination is … Iceland. I’ve done two trips there so far and never been somewhere so otherworldly and wildly eruptive. Diving there in the two-metre-deep Nesgja fissure, between the North American and Eurasian continental plates, in crystal-clear turquoise water, was unforgettable. At home, northern WA and the NT are my go-tos for serious adventures.
Next on my bucket list is … South America. The Atacama desert, the Amazon river, the Chilean fjords, the Andes mountains, the Galapagos islands, Patagonia. What a continent, can’t wait to see more of it.
My top travel tip is … Whatever your age, when you travel, challenge yourself to do something that you have never done before. It might be scary but you’ll remember it forever.
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