Amazing Trakai

Léa and Alice have a car and I join them on a day trip to see something of Lithuania beyond Vilnius. And Trakai is something worth seeing. About half an hour’s drive from the capital it is a small town beautifully situated between lakes that used to be the political, military and economic center in the 15^th and 16^th century, as the Grand Dukes spend more time there than in the official capital Vilnius. Their fully reconstructed castle is the main sight now and while it must be bustling with tourists in summer it has its own charm on this foggy autumn day.

Trakai from the terace at Uzutrakai

 

The shore is lined with cafés most of them offering Karaite cuisine. Members of this small Turkic people still live here and have an active kanessa (temple of the Old Testament based Karaite religion) both in Trakai and in Vilnius. We have to try some Kabinai, too, of course, it’s pastry filled traditionally with lamb, but you can also get chicken or cabbage. It’s really delicious and gives us strength for more walking and exploring as there is a more recent place called Uzutrakai (“beyond Trakai”) on the other side of the lake. A small winding road bumping up and down across the hills eventually takes us there to explore a mansion with a baroque style garden with a lot of statues (we discover to at least partly be only one year old) and a great view over the lake.

The house is probably used for concerts sometimes. A group of men is working in the park, cutting the grass and climbing the high trees to cut down some branches. We stay on the ground and take a walk around the park with its bridges and autumn colors and just enjoy the fresh air.