Moscow Hotel Kaliningrad

... around before hauling out and acting as if they are not at all cold. Some Poles sunbathe as it will not be long before the weather is too cold to sit outside in your swimsuit.

After walking off the pier, we go for a walk on the beach. The beach extends for miles in either direction. I would imagine it might be possible to walk to Gdansk down the beach and Gdynia up the beach. People stop and ...

I am not a hot chocolate drinker. Maybe one or two Swiss Miss packets in a 2 or 3 year period is about enough for me and then I need enough marshmallows to totally take over the chocolate. So a couple of years ago (already!), traveling in Croatia, one of the other tourists (Thank you Heather!), got a cup of hot chocolate at a roadside restaurant. I was intrigued to see that ...

... A glass of wine is $20 so you would think you would like to sell some. Beers are $15 each. One evening here, no one comes. Next evening here, we are asked within 5 minutes but we don’t want anything tonight. Next evening, it takes 10 minutes before we are asked if we want a drink. Hubby gets a beer. 10 minutes later his beer comes. I say I would like a drink but she ...

... gave us information that we had not had yesterday and showed us some new areas that we had missed. It was a good little tour.

She had told us a good place to eat baked potatoes too. We headed for that. On the way though we passed the Uphagen House which has furniture from the period when it was a viable house. It was open so we ducked into it and got a free ride with our tourist ...

... Amis sind ja so furchtbar! Offensichtlichere Floskeln gibs ja wohl GAR NICHT! Aber ich bin ja nicht unhöflich: "Where are you from?" - "US. Nice Shirt." - "Thanks."
Gut, dachte ich mir. Was für eine bekloppte Unterhaltung. Er musste möglichst cool wirken, als erfahrener Backpacker, Martina hatte Mühe ihre Augen wieder zuzukriegen, ich glaub er hats gemerkt, aber ich habe an seinen Lippen förmlich gehangen. War ja nun aber auch interessant was der Gute so zu erzählen hatte ...

... 1084;у еще и хрома 03; нога...

**********

Driving directions from Kaliningrad to Moscow more difficult than to ride through Europe!
For three days we waited for a visa to travel through Lithuania, which initially was framed wrong... And in addition to everything I had a lame leg...

... and just saw them from the bus or stopped just long enough to get off, snap a shot and get back on. We sat in the front of the bus and the window kept leaking on me so I was soaked before we even started. We stopped at the Oliwa Cathedral, built in the 13th century and on the grounds of an old monastery. It has a huge organ and two smaller ones, consisting of 7,876 tin and wood pipes which can imitate the sounds of different musical ...

... 10 quid fine for a 50p journey. Already canceled the night out with Madzik, but I phoned her up to see if she knew and hotels - no answer. Started wandering round Sopot station and as luck would have it found a map with hotel listed so found excellent pension with 100 year old door with viewing hatch, 20 quid a night but I was desperate. After that epic wanted a little drink so found I was nearby Justavs where Id been with Madzik. They closed in 30m so got 2 pints down me and to bed.

... different route to 1st time and found water tower. Brought some food and drink and went back to Svetlogorsk 2 where train turned up so I got on and ate and drank. This only went to Kaliningrad North so walked back to hotel by Kaliningrad South. Lots of confusion at hotel where security got involved - they are not used to English people at all. Checked emails, showered and took different route to brew pub where I got smashed. Ran back to hotel through rough area.

... old weapons the local archaeological group had dug up. Lots of guns from WW1 and 2 which had been restored to fully working order so I could play with cocking them. I asked English speaking, lovely female guide if shed like to join me for a drink in the brewery, her favourite pub, but she said she was married. Walked past house of the soviets (never used as there was a 4 storey tunnel linking cathedral on other side of river which flooded), built on site of ...