To Kaliningrad from Hamburg on your own
In the last days of October, we received an invitation from our old friends from Russia to visit them in Kaliningrad. I must say right away: they are not local guys, they have been living there for only the third year, they themselves come from Omsk, like us, so it was interesting to see how people settled down in the westernmost point of Russia, and what it is in general - the Kaliningrad region. . .
We started our journey on Thursday, October 31, from Hamburg, in a Toyota RAV-4 car, at 4 o'clock in the morning. I must say right away that the nights were already cold, down to -3 degrees, and we were on summer tires, so we drove calmly, without too much fanaticism. We drove through Germany calmly like this, along the autobahn for 350 kilometers without any special impressions, on autopilot, one might say, everything is familiar and understandable... After Stetin, Poland began, of course, there was no border and inspection, after all, EU, but the road signs changed , it was very funny and incomprehensible to see such a discrepancy in the signs. Question: Why is this necessary? Why is it impossible all over the world, or at least in Europe, to make the same road signs? It's a mess, and in Europe it's a mess. . .
In Poland, I must say, it’s just a disaster with autobahns, there is one PAID one - Frankfurt - Warsaw, but it was not convenient for us to drive along it, the mileage is extra, and as a resident of Germany I do not agree with such a formulation of the question, why the autobahn is paid, the neighbors are completely snickering, we want money ? ! In general, we drove along a simple road, first number 10, then 22 in the direction of Elblag. In kilometer terms, it turned out to be about 500 kilometers to the border, but in time it took about 7 hours, because, you know, either a town on the way or a village, and a limit of 50-60, then roadworks or some other hemorrhoids. Romance, in a word.
But in general, I must say that the roads in Poland are very good, people follow the rules of DD, look while you go there is something, refueling at the same prices as in Germany, but if you decide to stop for a meal, so to speak, have a bite, to relax, it is much cheaper, lunch for two is 20-30 euros maximum.
Ok, let's move on, to the border. . . Two borders and, accordingly, two customs offices slipped through there surprisingly quickly - in 2.5 hours. They filled out all the necessary paperwork, they didn’t inspect the car at all, it was possible to at least take the car... to see it, and here it is - the Kaliningrad region, Russia, let's go...
We drove to Kaliningrad already in the evening, it was raining, potholes in some places on the roads immediately caught our eye, but it didn’t matter, we HAVE REACHED!! ! 13 hours with customs and we are in RUSSIA!! ! Hurray!!!
On arrival, you understand, there was no time for sights, everyone left the next day, and today shower, dinner and heartfelt conversations. . .
Friday we were entirely devoted to sightseeing in Kaliningrad and Svetlogorsk, I won’t describe anything special, I really liked the city and its environs, see the pictures, well, on Saturday closer to dinner we moved back home to Germany. . .
We refueled at Lukoil with a full tank, plus a canister of 10 liters (the price is two times cheaper than at home in Germany or Poland). To begin with, we stood for 4 hours at two borders, and I must say that in Russia, in Poland, gouging is still the same, they don’t care how many cars are in line, they pass at one set speed, they don’t move AT ALL. Shit... ki, I understand that cursing is not good, but there are NO other WORDS...
And then the way back, in the dark, rain, fatigue, but we mastered everything and were very pleased... By the way, who doesn’t know: I have German citizenship, so I received a visa by e-mail in 3-4 days , in Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg it works!! ! Good luck to everyone again, go visit and RUSSIA RULES!!!
