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Again, I have two nights at the same place, but instead of taking this 42nd day as an overdue break day, I’m off for a day-trip to Trakai Historical NP.

The ride there, aboard a double decker train, is pretty short: we arrive only half an hour later. Trakai is located between two lakes, forming a thin pseudo-peninsula. The train station is located just at the Southern end of the West lake, slightly elevated, such as the city greets you with a great view over the water.

I walk along the pedestrian path bordering the lake, all the way to the North extremity of the peninsula. There are few people around. It’s a calm and relaxing walk, in a rural surrounding. Although today is the first day I don’t see any snow since I left the Danish Realm two weeks ago, the lake is still partially covered by a thin layer of ice, soon to be melted.

At the North end, I stand in front of the walk’s pinnacle, the Trakai Castle, lying boldly on a small island. It’s a fierce medieval structure, made of vivid orange brick. For once, I payed for the visit, giving access to the inner court and to a museum about the history of Trakai and the Duchy of Lithuania.

Back in Trakai proper, I treated myself to a cheap restaurant. When I left, the sun had finally pierced the clouds, illuminating the castle. I walked back to the station through the town, which doesn’t have much to report, and took the train back.

In Vilnius, I went for a random stroll around town. My first impression were not the best. The part of town around the train station definitely has a poverty/abandon feel to it. Most buildings need some facade work, there are graffitis everywhere… They even still have a few archaic soviet buses amongst their more modern bus fleet!

Of course, it gets much better around the embassies, in the old quarter, with a few beautiful churches (why is it mostly the religious buildings that have the benefit to be that gorgeous??). I kept walking through the never ending cobblestone streets, saw a guy running from a store with alarms ringing, saw a police-escorted convoy stopping in front of a fancy hotel, and reached the castle viewpoint over Northern Vilnius.

Back at the hostel, I got chatting with Roman, a very cultivated Latvian guy here for a holiday. We talked politics, history, Russia (I’m only 30 km from Belarus here!), and he gave me plenty of advices for a future trip back in the Baltics.