Let the Lithuania landscape slide past your window as you travel 40 minutes to Trakai, located 18 miles (28 kilometers) west of Vilnius. Learn more about the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Battle of Grunwald, and Vytautas the Great (1392-1430). There are many beautiful lakes in the region. Visit Trakai Castle and Museum of the 15th century (in the middle of Lake Galve). It is the only insular castle throughout Eastern Europe - Island Castle is one of the most visited historical-architectural monuments in Lithuania. The visit is approximately 1 hour and you will have free time for shopping and relax. Trakai is also home to Karaites, a Turkish ethnic group practicing a religion akin to Judaism, who came to Lithuania from the Crimea in the 14th century as warriors for Grand Duke Vytautas. Today the country's smallest ethnic minority counts under 300 members.