Trakai is a top tourist location for Lithuanians, and I could see why. And of course, you know what that means. There was a long gauntlet of vendors selling every sort of item, and the noise and throngs were distracting as well. All over the world they communicate in English to get your money. It took awhile to enter the Island castle.
I generally get over scheduled and always have somewhere to be when traveling. Then of course the consequent sleep deprivation, but today there were no other goals than a return to Trakai. I just enjoyed the leisure of strolling through the historic locations and the town itself. What a relief. 
Some photographs of the Castle, the majority of which has been reconstructed.
And of course, I have been buying more books with appealing histories of the locations, the kind of stuff that fills you with enthusiasm, but  which you end up not reading when you get home. Yet, you always hope to.

One of the things I noticed about Lithuania is everybody is approximately 8 feet 10. No wonder they love basketball. Many of the people are attractive, and it appears they have not been generations removed from work like Americans because strength seems to be a feature of many.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trakai_Island_Castle

Peninsular castle.

Peninsular Castle. 

The lake was overcrowded with every sort of recreational water vehicle from paddle boards and row boats to bicycle boats, and then of course fishing boats of a sort. Everyone glided along relaxing in the leisurely late afternoon
Here I am trying to mimic at least in part the posture of this armor display. And since I am supposedly part Lithuanian, is there a similarity in appearance? I need more weapons after what I saw regarding the Socialist and Nazi Histories of bloodbaths in this country.

I also liked this traveler’s chest, but considering my experiences with Monopolized corporate airlines, I doubt this would be a go. 

And speaking of the imposition of piles of rules and regulations, this museum blurb described the justice system back in the day.

The castle display was enjoyable, but there was nothing tremendously noteworthy.
Nevertheless, I favored and looked closely at the work of old silversmith guilds producing religious art.


Families with baby carriages were everywhere, and I always attempt to see who is being carried because it creates a pleasant surprise. There is a precious little infant and peering into carriages is similar to receiving a gift box with a precious gem.

And speaking of something precious, I actually bought one of these little silver sacred hearts at a church after seeing the work of the silversmiths at the museum. I will show you later.

I ended up on what I thought was the last bus back, a large motor coach which was incredibly stuffy. The prior transport involving standing at the windshield was actually more pleasant. 

 Although I live in a very hot climate, I noticed that many of the hotels and transport vehicles of this trip were extremely humid. I think most of these are set up for cold weather, not the dog days of summer.

So, I have said previously that seeing is an art, but I think it is also a skill that can be honed and developed. This is a challenging element of travel. What am I missing, and what have I effectively observed? 

 https://www.britannica.com/place/Lithuania