Blogs from Trakai, Lithuania, Europe
June 2nd 2011
Before breakfast we went next door to the Gates of Dawn which houses the chapel of the Virgin Mary, very moving to watch the old ladies struggle up the stairs to pray. The alter was spectaclarWell we set off from Vilnius HK wishing we had a GPS, but after one slip up finding the old church in Trakai we did find the castle,, built of red brick it was amazing built around 1400 restoration started around 1920's... read more
May 30th 2011
Trakai, the Island Castle. The first time I saw pictures of Trakai I said to myself, "This is one place Nancy and I must visit!". It was so lovely it was hard to believe there was such a place on earth. Today my dream came true. Getting there. The best way to go to Trakai is by public bus. There are frequent buses that leave from the main station and arrive at the village about 40 minutes later. From the Trakai bus station to the island castle you have an enjoyable 2 kilometer walk through the village. There are tour buses to Trakai which would be much more expensive than the public buses. Also by tour bus you have to follow the schedule of the tour. We enjoyed the freedom to go when we wanted and ... read more
July 18th 2010
July 18 - Am getting tired of being so hot and sticky that my arm sticks to the plastic tablecloth as I type this blog. Apparently tomorrow will be cooler if I can make it to Gdansk. Today I got up early to have breakfast, finish packing and hit the day trip. Turns out I could do it without being crazy quiet because all the other seven people were already out of the room by 6:45. The four guys had a 3:30am bus to catch, and in the true spirit of being a young, idiotic boy, they first spread their belongings all over the room for several days and then proceeded to pack them up at 2:30am. Earplugs helped a lot. I don't know where the others went, except for a guy who sleeps in the ... read more
August 27th 2009
To Trakai (Polish: Troki) we travelled by bus from Vilnius. We paid two lits (less than one Euro) for ticket. The Trakai Island Castle is located at the lake island beyond a town. To get there you must to walk or drive along Gedimino gatvė than Vytauto gatvė and finally Karaimių gatvė street. You have to walk or drive just straight up, do not turn aside main road. Trakai has significant Karaites population - some colourful wooden houses were build at Karaimic style. There is a Karaimic restaurant as well - more information about Crimean Karaites The Trakai Island Castle is referred to Malbork Castle in Poland but this one is much smaller than that one. It means sovereigns of medieval Lithuania... read more
June 12th 2009
And we reached our last full day in Vilnius. We thoroughly enjoyed our Old Town Vilnius experiences. Lauren and I had never seen such a collection of churches within such close proximity. But it was time to see something different … away from Old Town. We had seen numerous postcards of this red-brick castle during our walking tour of Vilnius. We consulted our trusted guidebook and found a reference to Trakai Castle. So after breakfast, we walked up to the Front Desk and inquired about this castle. The gentleman at the Front Desk pointed us to a brochure, showing a daily schedule from Vilnius to Trakai. Best of all, the minibus could pick us up at our hotel at 11:00am. Great news - we signed up right away. With one hour to kill, Lauren and I ... read more
May 18th 2009
Today has been a bit of a lazy day for me. For some reason I am just absolutely shattered today. So tired that I can't quite seem to keep up with the rest of the group today. And we are talking about the fact that I can't keep up with a couple who are in their 70's and another couple that are in their 60's and here is me pootling along like an old granny at the age of 31. Anyway this morning MK and I rebelled against yet another breakfast of bread and cheese and decided to head out to a breakfast cafe to get a nice bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. So at 8am exactly we were stepping through the door of Double Coffee (which only opens at 8), stepping over the cleaner with ... read more
May 9th 2009
When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money. ~Susan Heller May 9, 2009, Saturday, The Lakeside Restaurant to Traki, Lithuania . It turned out to be a noisy night, everyone stops for the lake-view, but the price was right. We stopped the town of Trakai, a town located in Lithuania’s Lake District, and is the ancient capital. Trakai’s trophy is the fairytale Island Castle, which we toured, it is the only island fortress in Europe. After getting Litas, the currency in Lithuania—1 US$ = 2.50 lts. Then we did a bit of shopping and went to the Info Center. Things seem a bit more expensive here. Finally some rain as we visit the Island Castle…some interesting historic artifacts, furniture, weapons, clothing, ... read more
August 29th 2008
Woke up around 730am, took a shower and had breakfast. Finished the rest of the bread and cheese spread. Told the lady at the counter that we were checking out and left my bag under the staircase which is where people keep their backpacks at their own risk. The beauty of my backpack is I don't care if anyone steals because I don't have anything worthwhile apart from my clothes which I am not too bothered about. We took a bus to Trakai and we walked towards the Trakai palace. En-route we passed some really cute wooden houses. The Trakai palace looks absolutely beautiful. People come here to take their wedding photos too. After walking all over the Trakai palace we walked in the nearby area. Crossed this pretty dodgy bridge where the bridge is actually ... read more
October 13th 2007
June 2005 The excursions out of Vilnius didn’t get off to the most promising start, due to Miranda’s use of the Lithuanian language. After a difficult conversation with the lady in the ticket office who didn’t speak English about the whereabouts of a bus to Trakai, Miranda repeats one of her two words in Lithuanian - alus. The word she was looking for was actually - aciu - instead of saying “Thank you”, she had been repeating the word “Beer”. The Lithuanians probably have a very dim view of the English, demanding beer at 8 o’clock in the morning! However when used in correct context i.e. (du) alus prasau - aciu, it ensures a smile and prompt service of the required two beers please - thank you! Trakai is an easy 50 pence bus trip from ... read more
