July 3, 2000
While once the capital of Lithuania, this old town is quiet with a brick castle in the middle of the large lake covered area. A bunch of us from the friendly Vilnius hostel made this a day trip to walk through the woods and a castle visit for some of us.
During the first half of the day, it was raining on and off, but it was a good group who’s spirits remained high and didn’t let the rain turn them into complainers.
I met a guy who travelled around Eastern Europe in the Winter. “Yeah, it was cold,” he said, but it gave the appropriate setting when visiting the concentration camps in Poland. “In the Spring, there’s butterflies and flowers all over… doesn’t give the right mood.” I suppose he’s right. Today it’s raining, but not cold, and the flowers and butterflies are appropriate to the scene of blue water, an animated sky and wooden bridges framed with greenery emphasizing the central red brick castle.