Extremely educational day trip to Trakai

We did a day trip out to Trakai castle today, which was originally built in 1409 as a residence for the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. The castle as it stands today is a lot of reconstruction from the 1950s with some original sections. It sits entirely on an island in the middle of Lake Galve:

Here’s a better picture of the castle and island, because it was taken by someone who is not me:

Here’s me, standing in the castle courtyard:

In addition to a castle tour, OAT threw in a lot of other fun stops, the first being the dear-to-Ron’s-heart cooking activity. There are few things that make Ron sadder than cooking, but here he is smiling and game in his attractive hair net and apron.

Alan and I look like way more competent chefs and I think it’s obvious our product is going to be superior:

We were at the restaurant to make these savory pastries called kibinai – a Lithuanian meat pie. Here’s my own vegetarian kibinai handiwork, along with some soup that the restaurant gave me. It’s a little family-run place – they are members of the Karaim culture – and so as we cooked, we learned:

The Karaim culture is an ethnic group/religion that barely exists anymore – there are about 300 remaining members in Lithuania and only about 50,000 in the world. They are mostly in Israel but in Lithuania are concentrated in Trakai. The original Karaite community arrived in Lithuania in 1398 – when the Grand Duke brought them here from Crimea and ordered them to build the village of Trakai. This is their typical triple-window architecture, with one window for God, the second for the ruler, and the third for the homeowner:

What was so interesting about the Karaim is that they have their own religion – Karaite Judaism. They only believe in the Old Testament and none of the dictates that flow from oral tradition in the Talmud. The owner of the restaurant chatted with us as we ate – letting us ask questions in that excellent OAT way. I was able to understand that they celebrate Passover and Yom Kippur, but not Chanukah, as it’s too new. I think it might be way more complicated than that, but I’ll stop there and move on…

…to this! Ron and Alan, modeling their twin Lithuania caps, purchased at a Trakai gift shop for 4 Euros each!

For the bus ride and Trakai tour, we had a local guide named Vlad, who has a PhD in history. This is Vlad:

He gave us a ton of political and social information about Lithuania – the type of stuff I usually need to ask about. I was thrilled to just sit on the bus and learn:

– the average per month, after tax income is 1200 Euros vs. 100 euros as recently as 1993.

– the rent for a nice two bedroom apartment is about 600, and utilities are at least another 150.

– Vlad – and his 4000-volume book collection – lives in a nice studio that costs 500 euros, plus 150 for utilities.

– the tax rate is about 40%. Health care is free but wait times are long. Vlad’s ex-wife needed a non-urgent “small heart surgery” and the wait time was 15 months (glad it was non-urgent!).

– retirement age is 65 for men and 63 for women (note: we deserve this because, as women, we have to live with stressful situations like Ron, eating potato chips in the window of our hotel room, spreading chip crumbs all over my freshly “laundered” and drying socks and underwear).

– maternity leave is THREE years! The government has instituted this to try to encourage population growth. You get 100% of your salary the first year, 80% the second, and 30% the third.

After the lecture, the castle tour, and the cooking lesson, we also got to take a little boat ride with Yuri, who is Ukrainian. He has one son in Lithuania and one son who is fighting in Ukraine, and he showed us pictures of his hometown and his damaged family home. The best thing about Yuri is that he was an extremely laid-back boat captain. I have about 10 assorted pictures of Yuri that are just like this one below – the helm is unmanned and Yuri is chatting with us:)

Okay, here’s my last offering. The tiny village of Trakai offers this extensive mobile, solar-powered device charging station and WiFi hotspot that I just loved:

Time to pack up here and leave Vilnius. Tomorrow we head to the Baltic coast to Klaipeda