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.