TOUR TO EAST PRUSSIA

There is one fragment on the entertaining historical mosaic of the Eastern Europe map which attracts special attention. Kaliningrad region – is a small Russian island on the territory of Europe located between Poland and Lithuania. This is a fragment of a vanished East Prussia where Russian and German cultures have organically merged. The most western region of Russia will appear before you in all its diversity in this tour: capital Kaliningrad, cozy resort Svetlogorsk and Curonian Spit - land of fishermen, pristine nature and sand dunes.

DAY 1. ST. PETERSBURG – KALININGRAD

• Flight to Kaliningrad (tickets are NOT included)
• Transfer to the hotel
• Check-in in the hotel ****
• Evening at leisure

DAY 2. KALININGRAD

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Sightseeing city tour around Kaliningrad
• Cathedral Church and Kant’s grave visit
• Excursion to the World Ocean Museum
• Boat excursion along the Pregolya river

DAY 3. KALININGRAD

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Free day / Excursion at your choice (Stroll along the Prussian quarter Amalienau with Altes Haus museum visit)

DAY 4. KALININGRAD – SVETLOGORSK

• Departure to Svetlogorsk (1 hour)
• Check-in at the hotel ****
• Free time

DAY 5. SVETLOGORSK – CURONIAN SPIT (RYBATSKY VILLAGE)

• Travel from Svetlogorsk to Rybatsky village (1 hour)
• Check-in at the hotel***
• Free time

DAY 6. CURONIAN SPIT

• Full day at Curonian Spit:
  – dune Efa
  – Dancing Forest
  – Lake Chaika
  – Muller height

DAY 7. CURONIAN SPIT – AIRPORT KHRABROVO – ST. PETERSBURG

• Transfer to the airport Khrabrovo
• Flight to St. Petersburg (tickets are NOT included)

DURING THE TOUR YOU WILL SEE:

• Kaliningrad is a large seaport spread out on the shores of the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Pregolya River. Convenient position and access to Amber, the sun stone, have always made these places attractive. The official date of birth of the city is 1255 when the Teutonic Order founded a castle on a rocky shore called “Royal Mountain” (Königsberg). During the sightseeing city tour you will get acquainted with the seven hundred year history of the city which has changed its citizenship several times and become a large trade, science and cultural center bizarrely combining two cultures – Russian and German. The symbol of Kaliningrad is a Cathedral Church, a grandiose building, built in the 14th century in the brick Gothic style. This temple saw Catholic masses and heard the first evangelical sermons, survived countless wars and resisted the bombing of 1945, was a family tomb and a military prison. All rich history of the city is concentrated in these walls that gave the shelter for his most famous citizen - Immanuel Kant, forefather of classic German philosophy.
• You will learn about his life and work during the excursion. Kaliningrad is a sea city and your acquaintance would not be complete without World Ocean Museum visit. There are a huge number of aquariums here with representatives of underwater fauna, amazing collection of sea shells, corals and shellfish. The first excursion day you will finish by the boat trip along the river Pregolya. You will sail past the old building of the Stock Exchange, the stylized quarter of the Fish Village, a picturesque house where Baron Munchausen himself spent the night. Bypassing the island of Kneiphof, you will sail under the famous Koenigsberg bridges and get in touch with the mysterious legends of the old Prussian city. Next day you can devote to independent explore of the city or go with us to Amalienau - a prestigious suburban area famous for its famous for its luxurious Art Nouveau villas which already at the beginning of the 20th century had gas, electricity, water and sewage. During your excursion you will make a little time travel and visit Gustav Grossmann, the Konigsberg merchant, whose apartment interior was recreated with precision to the smallest detail. There is Altes House (Old House) now where you can immerse yourself into the way of life at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. All museum exhibits are authentic things of a bygone era found in old attics, bought at flea markets and European auctions. You can see the see clothes and costumes of that era, get acquainted with cutlery and toiletries, learn about the rules of etiquette and play the old piano there.
• Svetlogorsk is a former Prussian city Raushen (founded in the 13th century) which is often called the resort capital of the amber region. The status of a resort was entrenched in the city in the 19th century when numerous parks were founded, a convenient descent to the sea was built, and the city was filled with hotels and sanatoriums. We suggest you to take a break from excursions and just enjoy the seaside promenade, admire the picturesque buildings in the old half-timbered technique and take a photo at a picturesque water tower under a hipped tile roof! You can go to the sea down the central staircase, the serpentine descent or the old funicular whose double wagons have survived two world wars. The secret of acquaintance with Svetlogorsk is no rush and enjoyment of every minute of your stay in this Little Switzerland!
• Curonian Spit is a long strip of land (98 km), national park that extends from Zelenogradsk to Klaipeda connecting the territories of the two countries - Russia and Lithuania. Its shape resembles a saber which beautifully protrudes from the water surface of the sea forming the Curonian Lagoon on one side. Since2000 Curonian Spit is included into UNESCO World Heritage list. A feature of this natural formation is the possibility to find a wide variety of landscapes, reliefs, biological species on such a small piece of land. Travelling along Curonian Spit you can't miss two iconic places of this park - Muller and Efa heights. Efa is the highest point of the dune Orekhovaya and, in comparison with other similar sandy mountains, it is the largest in Europe. A peculiarity of the dunes is their mobility: under the influence of the wind, they gradually shift from the Baltic Sea to the Curonian Lagoon endangering the existence of small coastal villages. So Franz Efa and Peter Erazm Muller, after whom the heights are named, carried out works to strengthen the dunes. But Curonian Spit is not only sand dunes! You will take a walk in the Dancing Forest. The scientists are still arguing about the causes of this anomaly on the dune where the pines seem to be frozen in a mysterious dance.

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