Top 5 Towns to Visit in Kaliningrad region

1. Yantarny (Ger. Palmnicken). It is a town of inspiration, surrounded by ‘Sunny’ Amber things, rich in history and beautiful nature - Baltic Sea, lake, sand beaches, forests! The opening of summer season is at the end of May/beginning of June. Yantarny is a well-developing town with such attractions as ‘The open site of the Amber Factory’, The Museum of Wood, Anna mine. It’s a good place for scuba-diving and surfing!

2. Svetlogorsk (Ger. Rauschen): It’s a modern town with cosy streets, attractive buildings, fancy hotels, luxury resorts and rich history, ‘pearl’ of the Baltic coast. You will feel the pleasure  of walking along pure streets, breathing fresh sea air!

3. Baltiysk (Ger. Pillau): It’s a military town, used to be closed for foreigners, opened in 2010. It’s a town by the Baltic Sea, important port with rich history, full of attractions and mysteries!

4. Chernyakhovsk (Ger. Insterburg): it’s a town with old buildings, streets; history is in everything here… Take a look at Prussian castles: Insterburg, Georgenburg and you will be plunged in the life of those times …

5. Curonian or Baltic Spit: not towns, but good locations to spend time in! They are different! If you like ‘civilized rest’ in a hotel or small B&B, with good food to eat, special signed routes to take - then go to the Curonian Spit - You will like its beauty! If you prefer ‘wild rest’, with only two small grocery stores, ruined German things to see and be close to nature with almost the same beauty as on the Curonian Spit - choose the Baltic Spit for your one-day destination and you won’t regret!

Hope this blog will help you to make your mind and choose destination outside of Kaliningrad!

Enjoy Your Staying in Kaliningrad Region!

Written by Olga
Short URL to this article: http://bit.ly/cNZelu
2010@all rights reserved

Top 5 Things to See on the Baltic Spit

1. Ruins of gigantic plane aviation complex built by Germans in 30-s years of the XIX cent.: hangars of German aviation with underground aircraft repair plants flooded by now, runway, tower clock that was used to show the time of planes taking off to bomb USSR, hydroharbour of German aviation
2. Bunkers inside the dunes! Only locals know their location -)
3. Ruins of the ancient knight castle Lochstedt (13th cent.) used as a fortress. Amber room can be possibly hidden in its cellars!
4. Ruins of the Western Fort (1869) - the one of Pillau fortifications. The stone with the date of fort foundation can still be seen on the fort vaults.
5. Common graves to Soviet soldiers who perished on April 26th, 1945 during the storm of Frishe-Nerung, just a few days before the victory. Probably it’s the most western memorial in Russia. The evidences of military actions can be noticed around: rusty shells, remains of German fortifications by the shore…

And of course beautiful nature all around with pine woods, dunes, sea and wide sand beaches …

Enjoy your stay on the Baltic Spit that is full of mysteries and secrets! Trip to this land can be a real adventure for you!

Share your own travel experience of visiting the Baltic Spit in Kaliningrad region, add your comments below!

Written by Olga
Short URL to this article: http://bit.ly/cILw2j
2010@all rights reserved

Top 5 Tips for Backpackers going on a trip to the Baltic Spit

1. Check the ferry schedule - especially plan the time of your way back. F.Y.I.: ferries go 6 times a day. Return tickets are 70 rubles per person. It’s 380 rubles if you’re travelling by car.
2. Take care of the sleeping places beforehand just in case you may be late for the last ferry to Baltiysk. There are three options to spend night in: camping “Baltiyskaya kosa”, guest room in the old German house or a tent close to the sea and pines that is very popular here!
3. Take good provision of food and water as No restaurants are available. You can buy some food at the grocery shop. There are two of them on the spit close to the place where the ferry comes. Don’t risk to stay on the Spit starving!
4. Use the help of a local guide, only guide knows where the German bunkers are hidden! Don’t just visit the Baltic Spit, experience it! And please, take a torch if you’re going to see the bunkers.
5. And the last but not least - the tip from one experienced foreign tourist that is very useful for all summer travellers: Take mosquito repellent! Be aware of mosquitoes as they are especially in love with non-native blood and flesh-)

Good luck on the Baltic Spit!  Have a good time there!

If you’re a backpacker who has already visited the Baltic Spit, share with us your impressions by adding your comments below!

Written by Olga
Short URL to this article: http://bit.ly/doYxED
2010@all rights reserved

Top 5 Tips for Backpackers going on a trip to Baltiysk

1. Go to Baltiysk by bus, it’s the most fastest and shortest way. The public buses leave from the Central Bus Station (next to the South Train Station).
2. Take a torch if you want to see the underground tunnel that connected Pillau and Frishe Nerung and was flooded by the Germans in 1945. Have a look at where it was and what’s left from it. Don’t miss it - only locals know where it is.
3. Take a Russian-English dictionary or a phrase-book. You will be disappointed to find out that the inscriptions written on the exhibits in the Museum of the Baltic Fleet are in Russian only.
4. Or you’d better use the English-speaking guide if bothered with translations. Take care about it beforehand because there are no guides speaking English in the Museum.
5. If you’re by the Gates to Pillau fortress and hear some words muttered by the Russian guard,  just know he says: ‘’stay before the red line”. And remember if you see a military man, run away as fast as you can…        kidding of course : )

Good luck in Baltiysk!  Have a good time there!

If you’re a backpacker who has already visited Baltiysk, share with us your impressions by adding your comments below!

Written by Olga
Short URL to this article: http://bit.ly/cNZX1U
2010@all rights reserved

Top 10 Things to See in Baltiysk

1. Fortress of 1626 (citadel) in the form of a star, started by Swedes, finished by Prussians, modernized by Germans (check google map and see the star)
2. Lighthouse of 1816 with observation ground
3. St. George Naval Cathedral - the Gothic style building (1866)
4. Museum of the Baltic Fleet (1903)
5. Water and observation towers (beg. of the 20th cent.)
6. Monument to Peter I (1998)
7. Complex Elizaveta’s fort with equestrian statue of Elizaveta (2004)
8. The Baltic Square of Honour to those who perished in Pillau during World War II
9. Underwater flooded tunnel that lead from Pillau to Frishe Nerung /from Baltiysk to the Baltic Spit
10. Maybe you will have a chance to see some ships leaving the military harbour!

Enjoy your stay in Baltiysk (Pillau) that is full of unsolved mysteries and secrets! Trip to this land can be a real adventure for you!

Share your own travel experience of visiting Baltiysk in Kaliningrad region, add your comments below!

Written by Olga
Short URL to this article: http://bit.ly/9HDrgU
2010@all rights reserved

Winter is not a pleasant time for visiting Russia, especially its middle part. You know most travelers avoid winter trips to Russia if it’s just for touristic purposes; it’s obvious that summer is more adorable season for sightseeing. But yet it can happen to you to be in Russia in a winter season whether on a business trip or just by occasion. What does winter in the isolated part of Russia - Kaliningrad region look like?

Usually it’s mild, plus 1-3 or just a few degrees below zero, can be rainy or snowy. By the facts taken from the book “Konigsberg, Kaliningrad. Information for consideration” written by Georgy Zaytsev, historically cold winters return to the Region every 8 years. This trend was confirmed by the severe (by Baltic standards) winter of 2005-2006, the previous one being in 1996-1997. This year winter in Kaliningrad was unpredictable: frosty, cold from its very beginning - so severe winter came in 2009-2010 to Kaliningrad which was not expected at all, the trend was not repeated. Is the climate change the one to blame?

Let’s back to the point, if you don’t have any other time of the year for visiting Kaliningrad but winter or you have some business issues to be solved during winter and you’re on your way to Kaliningrad and definitely coming to the city, you can be curious to know what spots, attractions can be available for you to see and visit at this time. There are plenty of them if you look around. So, don’t think you may get bored in Kaliningrad. Your trip here even in winter time will not be disappointing. You’ll be startled by some spots. And I have no doubt You will get back home with only cherished impressions by seeing attractions and doing things beyond your wildest dreams.

If it’s rather cold ‘outside’ and you want to make yourself comfortable with the weather, spend your time indoors. Here’s for you:

Top 6 Places to See and Visit ‘Indoors’ in Kaliningrad in Winter Time

1. Submarine + Museum Vityaz

2. Art and History Museum

3. Museum - King’s or Friedland Gates

4. Bunker Museum - Blindazh Lasch

5. Kant’s Cathedral

And 6. Of course, Cozy cafes and Restaurants!
Gashtet Rossgarten (Chernyakhovskogo str. 78a), Reduit (Litovskiy Vall str. 27) with a tasty beer brewed inside are recommended.

If the weather allows you to be outside without feeling uncomfortable because of the rain, snow, hail, strong wind, frost etc. there are some places that can be perfect points of your destination in Kaliningrad in winter.

Top 6 Places to See and Visit ‘Outdoors’ in Kaliningrad in Winter Time

1. Open-air war memorial Fort #5

2. Royal Castle - excavation site

3. Defensive fortifications - Brandenburg Gates, Lithuanian Wall, Dohna Tower, Wrangel Tower.

4. Old German houses, buildings in Amalienau district - Pobedy av., Schilera str., Komsomolskaya str., Chapaeva str., Ogareva str.

5. Pyramid from 1921

6. Monument to 1200 Soviet soldiers, eternal flame

Don’t forget to bundle up and Enjoy Your Stay in Kaliningrad in Winter Time!

Share your own travel experience of visiting Kaliningrad in winter, add your comments below!

Written by Olga
Short URL to this article: http://bit.ly/a17Ykm
2010@all rights reserved

Newsletter - April 2010
Arts and crafts + calendar of events in Kaliningrad region for summer 2010!

Newsletter - March 2010
In this issue: the Baltic Spit and Amalienau district and some news!

Newsletter - Feb 2010
Baltiysk is welcoming its tourists: No entry permissions any more,
no checkpoints!

Newsletter - Jan 2010
Kaliningrad news in 2010
Town to visit: Ozersk

Newsletter - Dec 2009
In this year’s last issue read about New Year celebration in Kaliningrad,
find out how to cook Russian ‘kholodec‘!

Newsletter - Nov 2009
Fort 3, Mystic things in Kaliningrad (Mysterious forest)
and some useful info for foreign visitors - list of free things in ‘Koenig’ !

Newsletter - Oct 2009
Gusev - town in Kaliningrad region
a short essay about Kaliningrad and of course some news!

Newsletter - Sept 2009
Polessk and Castle Labiau
Monuments to World War I

Program of
Kaliningrad City Day 2009 Celebration

Newsletter - August 2009
Places to visit: Pionerskiy
City Day celebrations info (12-13th of Sept. 2009)
plus tips and some news!

Newsletter - July 2009
Yantarny - a nice town by the Baltic sea
Amber factory and museum
and Baltic Navy Day!

Newsletter - June 2009, issue 2
Amber Room: still a mystery, search continues
Stud-farm Georgenburg
Some events in Kaliningrad region (summer - autumn 2009)

Newsletter - June 2009, issue 1
Holidays: Day of Russia and City Day in Svetlogorsk
(Kaliningrad City Day will be celebrated on 12-13th of Sept 2009 by the way)
Places to visit: Chernyakhovsk, castle Georgenburg
and as usual my tips!

Newsletter - May 2009
Victory Day celebrations in Kaliningrad
Chernyakhovsk history and sights
Tourists’ impressions of Kaliningrad
and some news in brief !

Newsletter -April 2009, issue 2
Culture News and some news in brief
Herring Day in Kaliningrad

Newsletter - April 2009, issue 1
Hurry up with buying tickets for Museum Night (15-16th of May)!
Museums info and a must-see list of Kaliningrad sights and places
Mystic Koenigsberg. Part II.

Newsletter - March 2009
The following topics are highlighted:
History: Mystic Koenigsberg. Part I.
Holidays: International Women’s Day - 8th of March
Food: Koenigsberg klopses

Newsletter - Feb 2009
Facts from the history of the Royal Castle
Celebrations of Feb 23rd and Maslenitsa
Ski resort in Kaliningrad region

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you may sign up - just send me e-mail to ola@inkaliningrad.com with Newsletter request.

If you’d like to share your impressions of Kaliningrad, send me e-mail
and your ‘opinions’ will be published!