We joined our guide Emelia for a walking tour of the Old Town. We saw the Jesuit University, the Gates of Dawn, the last of nine gates from medieval times, and the old market square with sellers hawking ‘suvenrais’ (souvenirs) and handmade crafts.
Jerry and Ron
We toured the Museum of Genocide Victims, a former Soviet KGB headquarters now a collection of historical memorabilia of grim and painful events during the Cold War. The holding cells for prisoners, interrogation and eavesdropping rooms, solitary confinement, soundproof padded cell with straitjacket, small exercise yard, torture chambers, execution chamber and the site of a mass grave in the basement. Chilling.
Holding cells
In the afternoon, we took a short drive out to the reconstructed 14th century Trakai Castle situated on an island on Lake Galve. A wonderfully restored fortress complete with a drawbridge in a picturesque setting on a beautiful lake. Not far from the castle was a treasure trough of market stalls for shopping for amber and handmade gifts.
Trakai Castle
Jerry on the drawbridge
Arthur and Lancelot
In the evening, we enjoyed an authentic Lithuanian dinner of local specialities at a restaurant in a cellar of Old Town. Musicians and singers in traditional costumes entertained us and drink flowed freely.
Linda and Skaudvilas on the Squeezebox
Linda and Diane on percussion