April 4, 2009 We had our last day in Lithuania. During John’s final class, the students were most insistent on our seeing more of Lithuania. On Friday, we traveled to Trakai to see the Trakai Castle Island. It is exactly as the name decrees. It was built during the 13th century and has the requisite towers and moots. It is situated in the middle of a lake that is presently frozen much to the consternation of the many beautiful white swans who are walking on the ice. The castle has been invaded many times going back to the Crusaders. It met its demise during the Russian invasion in the 1600s. Oddly enough, the Russians helped to finance its rebuilding in the 20th century. It houses many museums displaying armor and weaponry of the crusader era, furniture,
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