The Baltic, Hot Sea

The beach is extremely crowded today because of the unbearably hot temperature of 32 Celsius degrees. The local inhabitants must be really happy to have such an opportunity to go to the near-at-hand sea every time they need to escape from the boiling-hot conditions and refresh in the chilly water. I believe that, finally, I have found the place in Russia, where I would like to anchor when I retire.

Well, I am leaving this fantastic place this afternoon. Summing up, I would strongly recommend visiting Zelenogradsk to everyone, and personally I would like to return to the Baltic region again and very soon. Nevertheless, it might be a better idea to come here in August, when the sea's temperature is about 21-22 Celsius degrees.

Even at this blistering weather I allowed myself walking along the seashore once more, enjoying the last hours of my staying in the comfortable resort, the city of warm amber, pure mineral water and friendly cat lovers.

The duration of the flight from Kaliningrad to Moscow is only 1 hour and 40 minutes. Meanwhile, we were flying over Vilnius, Vitebsk and Smolensk at the height of 11300 metres and with the speed of 830 kilometres per an hour.

On arrival, the city of Moscow greeted me with the cool weather. But I am not sad at all, because I have been charged by the strong north sun for many days ahead.

The Baltic, The Remarkable Date

I woke up late in the morning. Miraculously, the weather was absolutely perfect in spite of the yesterday's storm.

Traditionally, I went to the beach to enjoy the magnificent sea view and the hot sand.

Actually, I have no special plans for today. I simply decided to be lazy and to spend this wonderful time strolling around the city and walking up and down the promenade digesting all the impressions I have received for the last two days.

Meanwhile, today is a special date in my calendar. In fact, it is my birthday. Honestly, I feel absolutely fine being alone even on this unusual day.

Nevertheless, my pleasure was to have met the amazing girls, who became a good company for my little celebration. We have talked a lot and we have drunken wine, not less. It was a real fun. 

After all, the Baltic sea presented to me the grains of amber, which I gratefully took home. I hope, it will bring some happiness and good luck for the next year of my life.

The Baltic, Sand Reservation

The hotel, where I am staying, is quite small and very cozy. In general, they name such place as a family-run hotel. Usually it is not crowded by the numerous tourists and the service is exceptionally warm.

The breakfast, served at my hotel, is diverse and very delicious. And, what is more important, they offer the freshly grounded coffee. It is a very good start of the day, indeed.

Looking out of the window I detected the dark clouds hovering over the sea. And the forecast was not comforting neither. So, I was tempted to spend some hours in the bed. However, I found some strength to go to the beach for taking sunbath, because after all I am at the beach resort. I also tried to calm myself with the fact that the tan is much healthier in the cloudy weather.

There is almost nobody on the beach, but I am happy to place myself in this solitude and to get some relaxation.

Eventually, I got up some courage and tried to step into the water of the Baltic sea. Still, it was extremely cold, and my braveness was not enough to take even a single dip.

The weather is very changeable on the seashore. So, very soon the sky was cleared of the heavy clouds and I continued my strolling along the picturesque promenade.

For today I have planned an excursion to the unique national park called The Curonian Spit, which is located nearby. Usually the excursion from Zelenogradsk takes about 5 hours with a big group, but I did not want to spend so much time, because I thought it would be quite boring and tiresome for me. So, I decided to hire a taxi driver, who would deliver me from one place to another.

In general, this reservation is the longest sand spit in the world, and with the length of 98 kilometers it has the width from 350 meters to 3.8 kilometers. In fact, the spit body is coated with a thin topsoil, which is extremely essential for strengthening the sands. Without the forests this place would disappear, and this could happen if in the middle of the 19th century people had not started planting the pine trees.

So, the charm of the peninsula lies in its unique and varied landscape, which still inspires many poets and artists. In this way the remarkable sights here are natural. However, due to the limit of time I have visited only a few of them, which were recommended to me by the inhabitants.

We have started with the Mueller Height, which is the highest point of the Bolotnaya dune located near Rybachi village. To the height leads a pictorial 2 kilometers route, which is surrounded by the old fir trees. At the end of the path I found a viewing platform located at an altitude of 44.4 meters above sea level. From that viewing point a beautiful panorama and the views of the Baltic Sea and Curonian Lagoon opened before my eyes.

The next point of destination was the Epha's Height, which is located in the 42 kilometer of the spit. The route of 2.8 kilometers goes along the border of two types of dunes. The first type of dune is open, and it continues to move in the direction of the Curonian Lagoon, but the second one is green, and it fixed by the forest plantings. This route is the real jewel of the peninsula, and its majestic sandy mountains can amaze even a sophisticated tourist.

While standing on one of the wooden platforms you have a feeling of standing in the middle of the real desert. And this is inimitable experience.

Unfortunately, it is not allowed to go off the path, because you may trigger the sands movement, and all this beauty may vanish very quickly.

However, on the opposite side of the peninsula, where the view to the Baltic sea is opening, you are able to walk freely in the same white sand. Never before had I seen such a beautiful beach.

Regrettably, my time was running out and I had to go further.

Now we are in the "Dancing Forest". The famous place is supposed to surprise the visitors by the bizarrely twisted, inclined and curved in zigzags pine trees. Still, it has not surprised me that much, because I have already seen this type of "anomalous" phenomenon even in my home city of Novosibirsk. However, another inexperienced visitor would be amazed by this nature's wonder.

I should admit, that my idea of hiring a taxi driver was not the best option, because it turned out to be the costly venture. The trip should last minimum 3 hours because of the long distances, but for more or less comfortable experience you may need up to 6 hours. So, I paid 2800 rubles for my "quick" private trip, but at the same time the regular group excursion with more experienced guide would cost me only 1200 rubles. Nevertheless, I was absolutely satisfied with that aesthetic pleasure, which I took while observing the outstanding sights.

The next excursion happened unintentionally and it was performed by my new acquaintance from Kaliningrad. After the quick supper I headed for the bus station and took a minibus to the region's capital, which is located only 35 kilometres away from Zelenogradsk.

Well, the former name of Kaliningrad is Königsberg. The city was severely damaged during the second world war. One thing, which could not be destroyed while bombing, is the cobbled streets. At present, the citizens are really proud of having this stones in the streets, and they start protesting each time when the local government tries to get rid of it.  

Not many buildings have survived from the time of the old city of Königsberg, but even those a few houses are considered to be the best ones. The local people love to say that nowadays we lost the art of building, so we should keep what was left.

The Kaliningrad Cathedral is the most significant preserved building of the former City of Königsberg. Another remarkable sight is also located next to the Cathedral, where you can find the tomb of the famous German philosopher Immanuel Kant.

In fact, it was a very quick introduction of the city. Still, I have the common idea of the city now, and I would like to come here again.

I returned home late at night. And I could not fell asleep for a long time, because it was the eventful day, and the emotions were overwhelming me. In the meantime, the storm started raving and the rain drops began tapping the roof melodically.

I was dropping off with the thought that tomorrow morning the lavish sea will spill amber, which I will be able to collect and bring home.

The Baltic, City of Cranz

This journey I planned to perform many years ago. However, there were some obstacles, which did not let me to accomplish my intention. Now I am living in Moscow, and I cannot but use this advantage of short distances to visit the popular touristy places. Additionally, I have my birthday very soon, so it is another reason to move out.

Today, I set off for the Baltic Coast, the part of which has been a part of Russia since 1945. In fact, my story is about Kaliningrad Oblast, and to be more precise, it is about the town of Zelenogradsk.

Speaking about the history of Zelenogradsk, prior to 1946 the town was known by the name Cranz. The first sea resort was opened here in 1816, and by 1844 it has become one of the primary seaside resort for the Kingdom of Prussia on the East Prussian coastline. I suppose, there was something special about this place if it became such a significant royal resort at that time. Very soon I will try to find out the secret of its popularity.

So, I took a ticket for aeroexpress, which delivered me to the Domodedovo airport from Paveltcky railway station. In fact, the aeroexpress is very comfortable, reliable and relatively cheap mode of transportation in Moscow, if you want to get to the airport. These days the return ticket costs only 850 rubles.

I fly with the S7 airlines. The whole journey takes about two hours. It is quite a short flight, and they provide you with a sandwich and non-alcoholic beverages on the board.

Now I am in the Hrabrovo airport, which is 29 kilometres away from Kaliningrad and 20 kilometres away from Zelenogradsk. Unfortunately, nowadays there is no direct connection between Hrabrovo and Zelenogradsk by the public transport. It means, that first I would need to go to Kaliningrad by bus and then take another bus or train to Zelenogradsk. At least two hours I would spend for this transfer. So, I decided to take a taxi from the airport, which cost me around 500 rubles.

In 22 minutes I was in front of my 3-star hotel Crystal, which offers very comfortable staying in the centre of the town for a very competitive price.

Only 30 metres divide me from the seashore. In spite of the exhaustion I could not resist the call of the sea. Very soon I went down the coast, and at once I was charmed by the clear water and fine golden sand. 

Unfortunately, the sea temperature of 17 Celsius degrees was quite cold for me, so I did not dare to dip into the water despite the burning sun. However, many people were more brave than me, and they really enjoyed their bathing in the chilly sea.

One of the reasons why I have chosen Zelenogradsk among other resort towns in the Kaliningrad district is its long and beautiful promenade with the duration of more than 2 kilometres. Remarkably, it also has a separate bicycle path, which is really cool.

The pier, which is located on the promenade, is particularly popular among local people and tourists. This construction goes far into the sea and its extreme point is located 150 metres from the seashore. You can discover a scenic view on the town from that point.

I finished my walking in the eastern part of the promenade, where a big chain of summer cafes and restaurants offer a stunning view on the sea.

Another jewel of the eastern part of Zelenogradsk is the leafy city park, which can be a real breath of fresh air in a hot day. The central part of the park is occupied by a lovely pond with numerous ducks and other water fowls.

Near my hotel I have detected a local supermarket and I found out that the prices were not high here at all. I even did not expect that in this resort the prices would be so moderate. Just for the example, I took the photos of the shelves from the shop with such basic food as bread, milk and beer.

Now I am on the main street of Zelenogradsk, called Kurortny prospect (or "Resort prospect"). Miraculously, during the Second World War the city was not damaged as severely as Kaliningrad. And today  we can admire the look of the well-preserved houses dated back from the end of the 19th and the beginning of 20th century.

Actually, there are not so many streets in the town, but it is always a pleasure to have a walk and to sight the remarkable old houses, which were inhabited by the nobles and were the witnesses of some significant events.

At the same time when you move away from the seashore, you could locate a typical landscape of the Russian residential area with its unattractive series-built blocks of flats. I understand that them all were built many years ago by the government to provide every citizen with housing. Accessibility and simplicity were on the first place at that time. However, I really hope that in near future they will change the approach to building the residential areas thinking about attractiveness as well, as it was a century ago.

Over again I am on the beach, in the eastern part of the town. The heat went down, and the air got a warmer shade created by the setting sun. Eventually, after a long way I was able to have some relax having occupied a place on the terrace of a restaurant.

This day was very rich in positive impressions, and on top of that I became a spectator of the grand sunset over the sea. I felt absolutely happy. At this moment nothing could disturb me.

Well, my journey has just started, but I already overwhelmed with the numerous impressions. Tomorrow there will be another day with more bright events, which might bring new good emotions.