Baltics - 14 June 2012 (4)

Dinner in Klaipėda

Hotel Amberton (not from right angle!)

Our hotel, the Hotel Amberton, comprised two blocks which went up to the 21^st floor.  They didn’t go straight up: one had a bulge in the middle of one side and the other had a dent.  Seen from the right angle, they seemed to fit into each other.

The room was OK, if a bit too warm and with very little room to put a suitcase.  The shower was good, but the doors were very loose and noisy when they were moved.  The biggest frustration was the security system, especially for two people who weren’t joined at the hip.  To go up in the lift, you enter the floor number, swipe your card and press the “go” button.  No good if you had both gone out and your room mate had got back before you and had the card.  It was even more frustrating when we were waiting to leave the next morning.  To use the loos near the foyer, you also had to swipe your card.  Considering that you would only need to use the loos while waiting for the bus after checking out, this was quite impractical.

We only had thirty minutes in our room and then met in the lobby to go and eat.  I used the Swedbank ATM inside the lobby and hoped that I wouldn’t incur huge charges.  It threw out a LTL200 note, so I had to dash around to get change from reception and the café before I could repay my debts to May and Bob, who I had borrowed from earlier.

Klaipėda Port

The young guy at reception took us to the next building and activated the lift to take us to the restaurant on the 20^th floor.  From the restaurant, we had a wonderful view of the port and the nearby Curonian Spit.  I really kicked myself for not bringing my camera.

Klaipėda Port

May and I sat with Ian and Charlie.  We were slightly apart from the rest of the group, on a raised platform.  We stretched the meal out until after 2300, having three courses and coffee.  My meal cost LTL68.50 and we all paid by credit card.  Time flew because, as well as laughing at Ian and Charlie’s comedy double act, we had a deep discussion about politicians and whether they were the right people to run countries.  I guess that is a bit of a circular problem because running a country makes you a politician – or a bureaucrat.  We talked about work, attitudes to colleagues and how to vent your anger – which took us back to Gordon Brown and politicians, via Gordon Ramsey.