The Island Castle

Trip Start Aug 31, 2007

Trip End Apr 19, 2008

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Where I stayed

VB Sleep Inn

(Trakai hotels)

Flag of Lithuania Trakai, Lithuania
Sunday, September 16, 2007

Today, I saved 30 cents. My father, who in 1995 insisted 30 cents was far too much to pay for the Budapest metro and instead made us walk all over that beautiful city, would be proud. The express bus from the island castle in Trakai back to Vilnius would have taken 30 minutes, but instead, I took the local bus, winding through every village between those towns - and saved 30 cents. Of course, maybe my father would have just told me to walk.

Trakai's island castle, at the end of a 2 km penninsula, probably dates from around 1400 and is now connected to the mainland by a foot bridge. It is absolutely gorgeous, and you should look up a picture on Google until I can get one up on here. Inside the double moat and walls is a large square and main tower, containing the Trakai History Museum. The town must really be lacking in history as the displays are the definition of ecclectic: old stamps and seals, various religious artifacts, dishes and fans from China, and a collection of smoking cigars with a brief history of tobacco in Europe

Inside the Castle

. Odd. I very much prefered watching the people travel on the walkways lining the inner walls of the keep. It probably won't make sense until I have a picture uploaded, but it looked rather like the Escher drawing, where the soldiers are going continually upstairs.

The village of Trakai itself is in a beautiful setting, surrounded by lakes, and quite laid back. Were I retired and bumming around the world for years on end, I'd probably spend at least a couple weeks there.

Back in Vilnius, a crew of folks from the hostel went out for dinner. It's been really good having people to hang out with these last few days in the capitals. After a week and a half of Solitude in Estonian and Sigulda, I was getting lonely. We chose a Lithuanian establishment - more for the price than the food. Lithuanian cuisine centers around the potato, and the many hearty dishes that can be made with it. The majority of these are potato pancakes, potato dumplings, and zeppelins. The pancakes are reminiscent of hash browns, and the dumplings, filled with various meats, are quite good - especially at 4 am after a night of clubbing in Riga (yes, the Latvians love the lowly spud, too). Zeppelins, on the other hand, are an acquired taste and require some explanation. Zeppelins are made of potato dough, wrapped around meat, and topped with mushroom sauce, sour cream, and bacon bits. When served, they look exactly like their namesake. A note on reading English menus in Lithuanian restaurants: boletus means mushroom. Bacon is often refered to as cracking or flank. The Lithuanians also have a habit of telling you which foods are canned and making meals sound less appetizing, e.g "with canned corn" when, "with corn" would suffice.

In Vilnius, I have been staying at the VB Sleep Inn. The hostel is perfectly acceptable, but nothing special, save for a well equiped kitchen. The free internet is also a plus.