The Baltic States, St. Petersburg, and Moscow
September 26- October 14, 2013
Part One - Lithuania
Page Two - Trakai and KBG Museum
We took a short ride to the town of Trakai,
considered the medieval capital of Lithuania.
Trakai Castle is in the background. Duke Vytautas the
Great preferred the dreamy landscape, lakes and islands
over Vilnius.
The island castle was built by Vytautas and his father
in the 15th century to fend off German knights.
Here's the inner yard of the Castle.
The inner courtyard of Trakai Castle with Ducal Palace
on the right.
A child enjoying a ride on a very small, cute pony.
Trakai Castle after the early morning mist and fog
went away.
Here is Pat using her famous cooking skills to
demonstrate how to make a meat pie at a restaurant
in Trakai.
Here's the tour group after preparing meat pies for
cooking for lunch. Left to right: Ralph, Elisabeth, Lora Lee,
Fran and Kathy behind her, Gertrud, Tom, tour guide Miina,
Marie, Lloyd, Sherry, Nancy, Martine, Joan behind Martine,
and culinary expert Pat
The restaurant was run by some local Karaims, who belong
to the oldest Turkish tribe who were brought from Crimea
to Trakai in the 14th century as bodyguards for Trakai Castle.
Street in the small town of Trakai
We took a local train back to Vilnius. Here a cat peers
out the doorway of the Trakai train station.
Monument in Vilnius to the victims of genocide of Lithuanians by
the Soviet Union,
just outside the Museum of Genocide Victims.
The Museum of Genocide Victims, known as the KGB Museum.
The museum is the
former KGB headquarters during the Soviet occupation
of Lithuania. After the 1940 Soviet invasion, mass arrests and
deportations followed, and the building's basement became a
prison. 1000s were executed there by the Soviets from 1944 to the early 60s.
From 1941-44, Nazi Gestapo had their headquarters there,
before the KGB took over again in 1944. The Soviet Union deported
about 250,000
Lithuanians to Siberia, a task they had started in 1940
before the Nazis
arrived. The Nazis and their Lithuanian henchmen
organized mass murder
of over 200,000 Jews between 1941-44.
St Anne Church to the left, beautiful Gothic style church in Vilnius
and Bernardine Church to the right. St Anne's has survived
without changing for over 500 years.
St. Bernardine Church behind St. Anne's
St Anne's Church at night
When people marry in the Baltics, it is tradition to put padlocks on
bridges with their names on it,
to symbolize that they will stay together forever.
Link to Page Three - Rumsiskes Open-Air Museum and Kaunas
Pat's Home Page