Sport For My Neighbors: Trakai Castle

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Today's journey was to a castle in Trakai. Of course we also had to choose the rainiest and coldest day we've had so far. But what kind of adventure would it be if there were no obstacles.

We went with the Kendalls and decided to arrive earlier at the station than we needed to to make sure we knew how to buy tickets and get to the right platform. Fortunately, there was a small museum at the station, so we enjoyed time with the exhibits before needing to board.

Enjoying the 30 minute train ride north. Playing "Mafia" helped pass the time.

Trakai, the town, is all on an island in the middle of lake Galve. The castle is built on an even smaller island just north of the town. That's a pretty good strategic location.

I found this image online, but it shows the castle on the island.

The lake was the first thing we saw when we hopped off the train. Because there was a little dock, it was an immediate point of interest made even better when the kids realized the lake was frozen.

Walking on water - frozen water...

There are only 2 taxis in Trakai, so we put on our "walking legs" and headed off. The train drops you off on the south end of town and you then have to walk through the little town to the castle. And that's when it decided to downpour. And because we were near water, the wind picked up. It. Was. Cold. Being that it was lunchtime, we squeezed into a tiny kabob shop and ordered sandwiches. Thankfully, it took them about 10 minutes to make our 7 sandwiches. We were able to warm up and let the storm pass.

We stood against a wall to block the wind while we ate

kabob sandwiches and warm soda.

It drizzled on and off as we walked through this cute little town.

The only picture I thought to take as we waked.

We were not disappointed when our mile walk brought us to this picturesque castle.

Trakai Castle

Getting ready to cross the final bridge to Trakai castle.

This castle was falling down when restoration began in the early 1900s. You can see where the old and new brick meet, but you could really feel how the castle existed in ages past. The kids were disappointed when they weren't able to look in every single nook and cranny of the castle, but it was still pretty amazing.

The main courtyard inside the castle walls. The royal quarters

and main part of the castle are just behind us.

Probably the quarters for the servants and guard of the castle.

We only learned things about the castle when there

were English translations. The rest we had to guess.

Looking back at the courtyard from the steps of the main castle area.

The drawbridge in to the main castle area.

Example of an interior room. This was the main hall where the

royalty met other dignitaries and entertained their guests.

Bowing before royalty - imaginations ran wild when real thrones were found.

We chose to take the more scenic route along the river to walk back to the train, and imagined just how amazing this town would be in warmer weather. There were boats sitting along side, but covered, all along the lake - probably even ones that would have taken us to the castle from the train station. The next time the guys film a movie here, we insist it be in the summer! Without motorized transportation, we had to walk/jog back to the train station to catch our train on time. Being in true European fashion, we had seen 2 different train schedules with 2 different departure times for the same train. We didn't want to guess which one was right, so we aimed for the early time and were relieved when it left at the later time. No one complained that we had to wait on the train for 15 minutes before it pulled out when the alternative was sitting on the platform in the drizzle and wind waiting for the next train 45 minutes later.

I have been trying to make dinner every night so that when Adam gets home at the end of a long work day, he doesn't have to go back out and can get to bed early. I figure it's a small thing I can do to keep him from getting even more worn out when he needs to build up his strength for the shoot coming up in 1 1/2 weeks. However, I was way too tired tonight. Thank goodness take out pizza exists on this side of the globe!