#uzutrakis

[afotoeu]

#Uzutrakis Manor | #SummerSunrise | #Trakai, #Lithuania | #mavicpro #Lietuva #dronas #beautifullithuania #mavic #djimavic #djieurope #djicreator #LithuaniaAerial #airvuz #droneheroes #uzutrakiodvaras #eyeemoninstagram #VisitTrakai #skypixel #djimavicpro #exploreeurope #eyeemoninstagram #Galve #ezeras #realisbeautiful #natgeotravel #VisitLithuania #fromwhereidrone @skypixelofficial @visit_trakai (at Trakai, Lithuania)

[tunainthejungle]

[queen-ma]

Crazy sky ☁️ #martinablog #lithuania #trakai #sky #clouds #crazy #nature #lake #royal #palace #fblogger #styleblogger #blogger #travel #traveling #travelgram #uzutrakis #visitlithuania #chic #spring #summer #instagood #instadaily #potd #photooftheday (at Užutrakio Dvaras)

[travels-with-chris]

Trakai Having explored the main sights of Vilnius, we set off for the bus station and bought a ticket to Trakai, some thirty minutes away. This is a historic city and lake resort and as it is only 18 miles out of the capital, we thought why not! It was a packed minibus with someone having to stand, luckily it was not us! With our guidebook in hand, obtained from the tourist office in the capital, we headed off following the crowds. We initially inadvertently passed the Trakai Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, though doubled back at the end to see it, as it is under renovation. Next stop was the Trakaio Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where a wedding was taking place. I guess the Virgin Mary is a popular name for a church in these parts. As we approached the small town, the Chapel Column of St John could be seen. One thing we couldn't see though was the former Russian Imperial Post Office, or perhaps we did, just a lack of signs made us unsure. We were ticking things off the list walking down Karimu Street, named after hundreds if families brought back from Crimea in 1397, who still have families living here retaining their language and customs, including the Karim House of Worship, which saw us photograph three different buildings to ensure we got the right one. A medieval festival was taking place and after we parted with €10 we entered the former Dominican Monastery. There was traditional singing and dancing, jousting, as well as various stalls selling goods and food and drink. We sampled the local cider, beer and bread in oil as local custom demanded. Although Richard was mesmerised by a puppet show, all spoken in Lithuanian, I managed to drag him away and carry on walking along the river to the ancient freighter Vitina. It was closed, but when open, serves as an exhibition and educational centre. After crossing two bridges we were in front of the Island Castle, having the fact that it is the only castle in Eastern Europe built on an island. Having looked at it from the courtyard, we walked the path around the island looking at the Uzutrakis Manor, situated a little further away off of the island. As it had scaffolding around it we decided not to visit but to admire from afar. We slowly meandered out back off of the island, back to the medieval festival, as out wristbands allowed us in again. We had one final mooch around before continuing the walk back to the bus. Somehow the return journey was cheaper as we all crammed on board in the heat, before long safely back at Vilnius bus station and a very short walk home.

[lifetimesaway-lithuania-blog]

day 11

today was rainy and gloomy, but that didn’t stop us from visiting some of the coolest sites we have seen since getting to Vilnius. Biruté and her husband took the day off from work to drive us to Trakai, the town where the Karaim people settled when they first emigrated from Crimea. we walked across a few bridges over a lake that took us to a magnificent Medieval castle that used to be the home of King Kęstutis and the legendary Biruté, whom our tour guide Biruté is named after. the castle was disappointing in the sense that its originality wasn’t preserved and it was essentially a museum, but the structure itself was still really interesting and fun to explore. the rain really picked up when we were leaving, but we trekked on down the road to see the Karaim Museum. it was very small, just three rooms, but still had a significant amount of information about the Karaim people and their heritage. the Museum’s construction was actually coordinated by Helina, the ambassador to Lithuania that we met with a few days ago. it is inspiring how important her culture and religion is to her, and it was very evident through the Karaim Museum that most Karaim people share that same pride for their culture. 

next, we got back in the car and out of the rain (thank god) and made an impromptu trip to an old estate called Uzutrakio. Uzutrakis manor was built in 1897 by count Jozef Tyszkiewicz and his wife, duchess Jadwiga. the manor was a private summer home for them and their four children, but was nationalized by the Soviets when they occupied Lithuania. the estate was forgotten for quite a while, but in 1995 became a national historical site and was given the funding for intense renovations. today, after years and years of hard work, the site is breathtakingly gorgeous, and the estate is massive. the grounds are kept in perfect condition, and all of the busts and sculptures that lined the gardens were replaced since the originals were in too poor condition to be restored. from the back of the manor, you can actually see the castle on the island that we visited earlier in the day; the view is picturesque. the interior of the manor is practically brand new, which is wonderful, but compared to the photos of what the estate looked like back in the early 20th century, it is much different. of course, it is fantastic that the estate has been restored, but much like the castle, it’s disappointing that it doesn’t look more authentic to its original purpose and design. still, it was so fun to see a gorgeous place like this one and wander around for a while. 

after our tour at Uzutrakis, we drove back to the Old City and got something warm to eat- we were all freezing from walking around in the pouring rain all day. it was really nice to have a night off from our intense and busy schedule, but things will pick right back up tomorrow when we visit the KGB Museum, Genocide Museum, Lithuanian Theatre Museum, and a handful of other sites. no time to waste here in Vilnius! Labos naktie!

[tunainthejungle]

[scatteredembers]

The Moss.

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[scatteredembers]

The Rock.