Trakai, Lithuania

After we left Vilnius we decided not to rush home. We had been to Lithuania many times before but every time just "passing by": barely stopped at a roadside café on the way farther to Europe. We never really stopped to discover this country so as we were already there we decided to look around.
One thing we knew about Lithuanian points of interest was Trakai castle. Erkki has been there while still at school when the castle was not completely restored.
On the road we saw a sign pointing at Senieji Trakai. Our knowledge of Latin suggested that Senieji (compare to senate, senile etc) means Old. Old Trakai. That's what we need, we thought! The older the better! And we turned.
Well, there was no castle. To say better there used to be castle. It was destroyed by Teutonic Order, was subsequently abandoned and never rebuilt since the new castle was erected in Trakai. There was a church that apparently contained the remains of that old castle.
So if you are driving Old Trakai is not Trakai you are looking for.
Bur Old Trakai amazed us by wooden sculptures that were erected here and there alongside the road.

An example of Lithuanian woodcarving. Look closer: this is Pieta!

Eventually we found the right Trakai. Of course, in order to park next to the entrance to the island the coins are needed.
The castle is located on an islet. There are in fact 2 castles: Peninsula Castle and Island Castle (Trakų salos pilis). Of course superb location of the Island Castle makes it a superb tourist attraction.

Trakai Island Castle (Trakų salos pilis)

The gate opens to a spacious inner yard with donjon.

Inner yard of castle. On the right - the Ducal Palace and its donjon

Inner yard of Ducal palace

When we left the  castle and were about to look for lunch sun came out from behind the dramatic clouds and gave absolutely stunning views.

 

After having enjoyed nice views we decided to grab a bite. Being in Trakai and not tasting kibinai is a crime so do not miss this opportunity, the more so because there is an abundance of restaurants offering all kinds of kibinai. Traditionally kibinai is pastry with mutton and onions, but now one can find varieties with different kinds of meat and even vegetarian options. Originally kibinai is a Karaite dish. 

Karaims (or Karaites) are a small Turkic-speaking religious and ethnic group resettled to Trakai by Grand Duke Vytautas in 1397 and 1398 from Crimea, after one of his successful military campaigns against the Golden Horde. <...> Despite ever-increasing Polonisation, Trakai remained a notable center of Karaim cultural and religious life <...>During the survey, for the beginning of 1997, there were 257 Karaim nationality people in Lithuania .©Wikipedia

Kibinai are a unique example of how cusine of such a small national minority gain popularity throughout the country. Despite karaim traditions, including not accepting neophytes and their relatively small number on caen enjoy kibinai ven in Vilnius. For example restaurant Kibin Inn offered a large variety of kibinai and the place of consistently popular among the tourists and locals alike.


Driving away from Trakai by nice hilly countryside we all of sudden saw something that reminded us of Stonehenge fragment.
We still do not know whether it is a result of architectural activity of prehistoric Baltic tribes or a tourist trap built by a nearby hotel :)

Lithuanian "Stonehenge"

Lithuanian "Stonehenge"

 Either way the stunning contrast of autumn sky looked impressive.



But after have taken a couple of pictures we were moving towards the new adventures.