Lithuania

So, we were strolling along a lovely path in the park:  winding walks, flowers- even in Fall here ( they say Fall start 9-1 here...I think  the real Fall starts today, doesn't it?)..anyway, we crossed a cute bridge over water and saw dozens of locks/padlocks , with names inscribed on them, through the bridge metal-work...we asked the tour guide and were told:  bride and groom on their wedding day lock a padlock on the bridge and throw the key into the river...it seals their love forever..ahh, how sweet is that? 

Okay- back to amber. We went to amber museum today...amber is formed from resin of trees, then about a zillion years later, it forms a soft amber stone...it gets processed and sometimes mixed with other material to form different colors..the ones with the bugs in them are very rare ( our friend Carmen told us about this in Prague)....and some of the amber gets into the soil and washed to the shore- then it washes ashore in places like Estonia on the Baltic Sea and is collected in nets --processed and sold throughout the world. The stone is very light-weight ( feels as light as plastic) so you have to be sure to buy amber from a reputable store, rather than the outdoor vendors; the "test is to light it with a match and see if it burns ...plastic will melt....bit hard to do the "test" in the stores:) Since this is another World Heritage Site, I felt I had to make a contribution, so I just bought a white ( more rare) amber stone set in silver..quite striking  and white amber earrings ( Santa may be done Christmas shopping:) 

We're also trying very hard to learn all the cheers and toasts for each contry...bit of a challenge with 5 countries...the ones I remember are: traveseck and keepus ( Latvian and Finnish).  So, for all of my Sept birthday friends and anniversary celebrants, we had a "toast" for each of you- really!!

An optional tour today was Trakai castle..quite a pretty setting on 5 lakes....this restored red brick castle complete with moats and drawbridges and knights in armour...toured this with a local guide and got the "skinny" on what was happening in the 15th century..the original castle just plain wore out...and it remained vacant for 200 years..new one was started late 20th century...it sure wasn't a warm and fuzzy kind of home...drafty and big and very high ceilings...fun to see the castle and the gorgeous setting ( Megan- there was a marina on one of the lakes..all sailboats..funny to see the old style castle and modern sailboats).  Artisans set up booths along walkway, but we didn't have much extra time to shop- alas!
Today's walking tour was throughout the Old Town...3 hours walking and part bus tour..sure getting our walks in!
Off to Poland early tomorrow...so, bye for now.