Trakai

The island castle at Trakai is probably Lithuania's best-known monument.  We loved the lake location, the old steam boat, the castle museum.  Fascinatingly, the Lithuanian ruler Vytautas brought people from the Crimea, the Karaim, to guard the castle.  The Karaim, who are still in Trakai today, follow a Judic religion based on the Old Testament and speak a Turkic language.  We saw their low, colourful wooden houses.  Another group in Trakai were the Tatars.  Minvydas suggested we try kibinai - a Tatar delicacy - which we did in a restaurant by the lake.  The kibinai turned out to be not unlike Cornish pasties.
There are lots of amber shops around Trakai.  Minvydas told us the legend is that a maiden who lived in an amber palace under the sea one day rose to the surface and met the god of thunder, Perkunas.  When they kissed, the amber palace broke into fragments, providing the Baltic's rich source of amber.