Today, Kaunas is cloudy and rainy.  This is the Lithuania I am used to.  All that sunshine had me tricked for awhile, though.  In weather like this, we are struggling to keep ourselves entertained.  There is the mall, but after two months in this city, I am pretty sure I can map it out by memory.  On the bright side, this kind of Lithuanian weather has really benefited my previously (almost) non-existent bowling game.  I bowled two strikes in a row about a week ago, and earned myself a beer for two litas (less than $1).  See, I am SAVING money, mom and dad.

However, for the week of truly great weather, we tried to get out and enjoy our surroundings.  V’s brother, K, researched some elementary school lesson plans and mapped out some field trips for us.  I enjoy history, architecture, and design, so we decided to hit up some Lithuanian castles, the first being Trakai.  

The town of Trakai is really very charming.  It is touristy, but in Lithuania, that seems to mean that it is cleaner and kept up better than other comparable towns.  I have been there on previous trips, but the scenery doesn’t get old.  Vytautas the Great  (my fiance’s namesake) died in this castle, and on the particular day we were visiting, I was seriously considering reenacting history. 

The next day, the three of us took a drive along the Nemunas River (toward the Baltic Sea) and visited many historical landmarks along the way.  According to K, the castles were set up along the river to protect the old border of Lithuania.  Most of these castles date back to the 17th century, but many were bought and restored in the 1800’s.  

We first stopped at a hill and decided to climb to the top to get a scenic overview of the area.  K and I about died on the climb up, while V showed his superior stamina by running and jumping up and down the hill.  Proof:

Once at the top:

Next, we drove onward to the town of Raudone.  Here, we visited a castle that is now, partially, a school.  Part of the castle, the mill, was even for sale (and very rundown).  Finally, a castle I can buy.

Also, in front of this castle, there is an oak tree (Gediminas oak) that is supposedly one of the oldest in Europe.  (It appears to be very dead and cemented together, so I am unsure about how it keeps getting older.  By that logic, my dead great-great-great grandmother is now 200 and some years old and aging.)  Here, it is said, Grand Duke Gediminas met his demise, or ate his lunch, depending on the source.  See, to me, lunch and death seem completely different, but I have eaten the food here, so I guess I can understand the confusion (joking, joking. The food here is mostly good).

Next, we hit up yet another castle.  This one was pretty much in disrepair, and I am not sure about its significance.  However, it was huge, and the surroundings were beautiful.  It was built around the same time as the others, bought, and then restored.  After it was abandoned in the 1800’s, it appears that nothing else was done to it.  I could be wrong.

By this point, we were all starving, and it was getting dark, so we decided to head back to Kaunas. 

Next up:  A tour of Lithuania’s soviet-era buildings!  Just joking, those are seriously terrible.