Curonian Spit. A narrow strip of land 98 km long and 400 m wide at its narrowest point to 4 km wide at its widest. This is the largest sandy mound in the world, and the second highest dunes in the world (higher only in the Gulf of Gascony in France), their age is more than 6 thousand years. I happened to be there more than once, due to the fact that my brother lives very close, in the resort town of Zelenogradsk (formerly Kranz, East Prussia). This is how fate happened that we both live in cities that not so long ago were Russian and Russian, my city was Finnish, and his was Prussian. When I noted this feature to the guide and at the same time to the director of the local history museum of Zelenogradsk, and even used the word "squeezed out", he read me a long rebuke about who had previously squeezed out, remembering the Teutons and summing up the logical chain to our fair stay in this western earth. We know how to do it, whatever you say)))
So, the Curonian Spit. You can get to it from Zelenogradsk by your car, then at the entrance you will be charged a fee of 300 rubles per car, or by bus from Zelenogradsk, the ticket is about 50 rubles. The bus rarely runs, it seems to be 3 times a day, however, most tourists travel for the whole day, you have to walk a lot, everything is incredibly interesting to watch. The road through the spit is narrow, everywhere there is one lane in each direction, but there are few cars. Our people go through the spit to Lithuania for food and clothes, and the Lithuanians come to us for gasoline and just sit in a restaurant and even get their hair cut. The euro exchange rate promotes such tourism.
There is a museum on the spit, which contains the whole history, from the beginning of the formation of this unique natural phenomenon to the present day. It turns out that the activity of people almost killed the scythe. During the years of the seven-year war of 1756-1763, the pine forest on the spit was almost completely cut down, and quicksand began to move.
Many villages were buried under sandy mountains 40 meters high. This event is called the sand disaster. A tour of the museum with a competent and sociable guide costs only 150 rubles per group.
Most tourists walk along the so-called. "dancing forest" This is a pine forest, in which there is not a single upright tree, all of them are somehow curved, and even twisted into a ring. There are several versions of this phenomenon. The most plausible is that the butterflies, of which there are a great many on the spit, bite the top, most delicious bud of a young pine shoot, after which the trunk grows from the lateral bud at a right angle. there are other versions, for example, the effect of mustard gas, which the Germans experienced on the spit during the First World War. I hardly believe it, a lot of time has passed, and mustard gas quickly decomposes. Butterflies are flying. By the way, the museum has a large collection of butterflies.
Some pines, coiled close to the ground, are protected by a fence. The fact is that a few years ago the belief passed - supposedly, if you climb into such a ring, then life will become longer by one year. Tireless idiots climbed over this ring from the trunk day and night, and even the bark was erased to the point that the tree could die. No restrictions helped. The exit was brilliant. It was announced that, yes, life will really increase, but if you climb from the wrong side, then - on the contrary, it will decrease by a year, and from which side to climb - this secret is lost. Everything, they stopped climbing right there, the bark is slowly overgrowing, the tree is still fenced, just in case. This was told to us by a guide from the spit museum. In the same place, on the territory of the spit museum, there is a museum of Russian superstitions with all sorts of wooden goblin and brownies. The kids love it.
Of the modern superstitions, I liked the following phrases written on the wall: "If you leave your husband correctly, he will return like a boomerang" and "If your subordinates are satisfied with their salary, then they steal. "
A little further from the museum towards Lithuania is the famous ornithological station where migratory birds ring. The spit is called the "bird bridge" because a huge number of birds fly through it (up to 20 million per year). It is tiring to fly across the sea, but you can also relax on the spit. Just at the beginning of April, when we were on the spit, the station was just opening, and starting from May, you can look at the huge bird traps with your children, how they are ringed and released. The stories are told by real world-famous ornithologists.
Let's move on. Efa height = 62 meters. Observation deck, the views are breathtaking. I have something to compare with, the height of our Vyborg castle is 64 meters.
Climbing wooden decks is not fast, but many people go, even with strollers and with children. It is impossible to leave the decks so as not to disturb the grass cover, which can be small and weak on the sands. Everyone knows about the sand disaster and is afraid of it. Another trick to scare away those who like to walk through the forests of the spit: signs with a scary tick are often installed and it is indicated that the paths are treated with an anti-tick agent. Tracks only.
What else to see on the spit? Remains of the famous German glider school. After the First World War, it was impossible for Germany to have motor aviation, and the development of a glider school began, and the spit was an ideal place for glider flights. It was there that the longest glider flight was made, more than 50 hours. However, now there are only ruins on the site of the school, and an exact copy of the famous glider is in the spit museum.
Amber is sold at bus stops, prices from 100 rudders for simple jewelry to 30 thousand for polished round milky amber in beads and necklaces. The Kaliningrad region produces 90 percent of all mined amber in the world. Not in the country, but in the world!
In summer, on the spit, you can go down to equipped long beaches with white quartz sand. Solar activity on the spit is twice as high as in Zelenogradsk, which is very close by, and therefore it is necessary to sunbathe there carefully, and swimming is a pleasure. There are no stones by definition, and the sand is very clean and very fine. On my next visit, I will go to the Lithuanian part of the spit, compare, stare, maybe even envy.
So, the Curonian Spit. You can get to it from Zelenogradsk by your car, then at the entrance you will be charged a fee of 300 rubles per car, or by bus from Zelenogradsk, the ticket is about 50 rubles. The bus rarely runs, it seems to be 3 times a day, however, most tourists travel for the whole day, you have to walk a lot, everything is incredibly interesting to watch. The road through the spit is narrow, everywhere there is one lane in each direction, but there are few cars. Our people go through the spit to Lithuania for food and clothes, and the Lithuanians come to us for gasoline and just sit in a restaurant and even get their hair cut. The euro exchange rate promotes such tourism.
There is a museum on the spit, which contains the whole history, from the beginning of the formation of this unique natural phenomenon to the present day. It turns out that the activity of people almost killed the scythe. During the years of the seven-year war of 1756-1763, the pine forest on the spit was almost completely cut down, and quicksand began to move.
Many villages were buried under sandy mountains 40 meters high. This event is called the sand disaster. A tour of the museum with a competent and sociable guide costs only 150 rubles per group.
Most tourists walk along the so-called. "dancing forest" This is a pine forest, in which there is not a single upright tree, all of them are somehow curved, and even twisted into a ring. There are several versions of this phenomenon. The most plausible is that the butterflies, of which there are a great many on the spit, bite the top, most delicious bud of a young pine shoot, after which the trunk grows from the lateral bud at a right angle. there are other versions, for example, the effect of mustard gas, which the Germans experienced on the spit during the First World War. I hardly believe it, a lot of time has passed, and mustard gas quickly decomposes. Butterflies are flying. By the way, the museum has a large collection of butterflies.
Some pines, coiled close to the ground, are protected by a fence. The fact is that a few years ago the belief passed - supposedly, if you climb into such a ring, then life will become longer by one year. Tireless idiots climbed over this ring from the trunk day and night, and even the bark was erased to the point that the tree could die. No restrictions helped. The exit was brilliant. It was announced that, yes, life will really increase, but if you climb from the wrong side, then - on the contrary, it will decrease by a year, and from which side to climb - this secret is lost. Everything, they stopped climbing right there, the bark is slowly overgrowing, the tree is still fenced, just in case. This was told to us by a guide from the spit museum. In the same place, on the territory of the spit museum, there is a museum of Russian superstitions with all sorts of wooden goblin and brownies. The kids love it.
Of the modern superstitions, I liked the following phrases written on the wall: "If you leave your husband correctly, he will return like a boomerang" and "If your subordinates are satisfied with their salary, then they steal. "
A little further from the museum towards Lithuania is the famous ornithological station where migratory birds ring. The spit is called the "bird bridge" because a huge number of birds fly through it (up to 20 million per year). It is tiring to fly across the sea, but you can also relax on the spit. Just at the beginning of April, when we were on the spit, the station was just opening, and starting from May, you can look at the huge bird traps with your children, how they are ringed and released. The stories are told by real world-famous ornithologists.
Let's move on. Efa height = 62 meters. Observation deck, the views are breathtaking. I have something to compare with, the height of our Vyborg castle is 64 meters.
Climbing wooden decks is not fast, but many people go, even with strollers and with children. It is impossible to leave the decks so as not to disturb the grass cover, which can be small and weak on the sands. Everyone knows about the sand disaster and is afraid of it. Another trick to scare away those who like to walk through the forests of the spit: signs with a scary tick are often installed and it is indicated that the paths are treated with an anti-tick agent. Tracks only.
What else to see on the spit? Remains of the famous German glider school. After the First World War, it was impossible for Germany to have motor aviation, and the development of a glider school began, and the spit was an ideal place for glider flights. It was there that the longest glider flight was made, more than 50 hours. However, now there are only ruins on the site of the school, and an exact copy of the famous glider is in the spit museum.
Amber is sold at bus stops, prices from 100 rudders for simple jewelry to 30 thousand for polished round milky amber in beads and necklaces. The Kaliningrad region produces 90 percent of all mined amber in the world. Not in the country, but in the world!
In summer, on the spit, you can go down to equipped long beaches with white quartz sand. Solar activity on the spit is twice as high as in Zelenogradsk, which is very close by, and therefore it is necessary to sunbathe there carefully, and swimming is a pleasure. There are no stones by definition, and the sand is very clean and very fine. On my next visit, I will go to the Lithuanian part of the spit, compare, stare, maybe even envy.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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