This summer I have been to St. Petersburg, Nizny Novgorog and Perm and spent a whole lot of money on accommodation and food experience. I mean, when I have a chance to try some food that doesn’ t exist in my hometown, I’m up for it!
Consequently, I was planning to save up and live quietly in Kirov waiting for better days to come. What could go wrong, right? But this happened (and it wasn’t wrong at all!) — I bought flight tickets to Kaliningrad! Since then, I couldn’t rest until I booked my accommodation and planned my movements.
The plan was as following:
- from Kirov to Moscow by train
- from Moscow to Kaliningrad by plane
The plan looks simple but behind it, there’s a plenty of time trying to figure out how to get to the airport, if I should spend money on Aeroexpress or choose a cheaper option and how to check in!
A friendly reminder: I have been to airports twice when I was on my Italy trip but it was in 2019, so I don’t remember anything.
I decided not to take too much efforts on the route planning and walked around as I desired refferring to some other tourists’ guides. So, I bought a suitcase (as luggage was included, wow), a woolen headband and a hoodie. My parents came to see me off. I was alone in my compartment for 9 hours of my way to Moscow, so I used this time sitting on the lower seat (which was a mistake, I had better sleep rather than reading and listening to music).
Morning Moscow was cold and dark. The Metro hadn’t been opened yet as I arrived at 5 a.m., so I was standing in the crowd waiting. Obviously, I made the budget choice and took the metro first and then a bus. Fortunately, I got to the aiport very soon. Seems like the history repeats itself: I was like in the fog walking like a robot but fast, at the right place and at the right time to get on the bus right after I left the metro.
I checked in, got my boarding pass and took a free seat to have breakfast. I had to wait till 9 a.m. to go through passport control and gates. Here goes the second mistake. I didn’t know that I could have my passport checked any time even earlier. However, when I reached the line, I grew nervous as I realised that It wasn’t the final check, but the line was moving fast and I rushed to find my gates as it was 20 minutes left before the landing was over.
According to my boarding pass, my gates were 103 but like I often do, I overheard that my gates were changed to 105 (which were in a completely different place!), so I made my way back to 105 to see another (huge!) line heading to Kaliningrad. At least I was in the right place and I wasn’t the last in the line, so I let myself breathe out.
I boarded the plane, took my headphones and e-book out and prepared to take off. As it turned out, my row was completely empty, nearby seats were empty although the rest of the plane was full. In addition, my seat was located at the exit slide, so there was enough place for the legs! Just wow, I thought.
2 hours later we landed in Kaliningrad and it was the time to realise that the local time zone was different (UTC +2) whereas I thought it was UTC +3. Well, every day is a lesson.
Again, like a ghost I came to the lavatory and right when I left it, I took my suitcase from the luggage belt. As I left the airport building and took some photos, I took the bus which was about to leave. I was standing at the wind-shield and watched the landscapes and then the town itself. Afterwards I took a marshrootka to get to my hostel.
***
The hostel I booked was just amazing. My granny found it for me and told me to take pictures of it. She was right as every corner there deserved to be seen. I was early to check in, but the host Katya (An Abundance of Katherines) let me in and I managed to take the last lower bed. Here comes the third and the last mistake: I should have slept for at least two hours before going anywhere to let myself rest after almost 2 sleepless nights. In addition, I felt I was going down with dizziness and headache. But who am I if I won’t use every single opportunity to explore Kaliningrad!?
Above all, I had to eat something to keep moving. I had some difficulty trying to find some asian restaurant. Instead, I found another place and ate hot soup and pasta (which was too much for me, so I took takeaway and had to walk with a huge craft bag with pasta in it). As I walked towards my first destination, I noticed that it was something wrong with the streets. They seemed to be the same but still, there was something unusual, something non-Russian.
The place I was heading to was Amber Museum housed in a fortress tower dating from the mid-nineteenth century. The whole museum is dedicated to one mineral and is considered to be the first and only museum of amber in Russia. The composition takes 3 floors and presents the exhibits in somewhat time order.
I spent there 1.5 hours watching, reading and photograhing. Honestly saying, I would have had a greater experience if I had had proper sleep. Instead, I was yawning every now and then regretting not having listened to my inner self.
The ground floor contained metal art exhibition, which didn’t impress me like amber did.
***
Afterwards I bought some souvenirs and postcards and took some time walking near Verchneye Lake. It was early in the evening and I was thinking if I should go somewhere else. The choice was Amalienau, a suburban district of Königsberg (Germany). I made my mind to go there was because of the architecture and the atmosphere itself. I took many photos of different villas, streets and garden squares and couldn’t stop admiring the vibe, the fact that real people live in such houses. Everything looked so different from my familiar sight and at the same time some houses were exactly like in my hometown of Kirovo-Chepetsk.
At 8 p.m. I headed towards my hostel as it was getting mush colder. Plus, I felt my ears were aching, so i had to buy boracic acid and pills for headache. That is when I discovered that I tend to bring home remedies as souvenirs rather that postcards and something like that. I mean, it was the third time I bought something at the chemist’s shop.
I fell asleep early as the next day was the time I would see Curonian Spit and Baltic Sea for the first time in my life.
Despite all my physical and mental pain, the first day in Kaliningrad was nice.
Hello, Kaliningrad.
