Russia · Kaliningrad — Curonian Spit National Park 🏞️

🚗 Preparation: Wear comfortable shoes 👟! The whole trip involves a lot of walking 🦶. Bring some water 💦 (no need to carry too much—it’s not a mountain climb but still a workout). You can bring a swimsuit 👙, but the waves are strong 🌊—avoid going too deep. ⚠️ A warning: when we arrived, a rescuer said someone had just drowned. Stay safe! It’s windy and the waves are powerful! 🚗 Transportation: We booked a local guide through a licensed company. A clean black minivan (fits ~8 people) picked us up. Meeting point: the “Girl with a Suitcase” statue in Zelenogradsk (Cat Town). The guide stayed with us throughout and provided commentary 👍. Cost: 2300 RUB per person (best paid in cash 💰 or transfer; 1000 RUB deposit, the rest paid onboard). Includes the 300 RUB park entrance ticket. 🚗 Itinerary — 3 main stops: Curonian Spit National Park ⛲️ A UNESCO World Heritage site 🏅, 98 km long, separating the Baltic Sea from the Curonian Lagoon. Russia owns 50 km of it. At its narrowest: 400 m; widest: 4 km. Experience 3 landscapes at once: sea 🌊, desert 🏜️, and forest 🌳. Only 10 km from Lithuania—perfect for a cross-border geo-tag! 🇱🇹❤️ The Baltic Sea side is vast and powerfully beautiful. Dancing Forest 🌲 Legends say: 🎤 Shamans made the trees dance with their songs. ✝️ A Christian girl played music here; a duke fell in love with her. She said she’d only marry a Christian. When lightning struck ⚡️, the trees began to dance… Chayka Lake 🌊 A serene lake with a Christian cross in the center ⛪️—memorializing sailors who died at sea. 🐾 Wildlife spotting: with luck, you might see lizards 🦎, deer 🦌, wild boars 🐗, woodpeckers 🐦, owls 🦉… #Russia #Kaliningrad #TravelGuide #StudyInStPetersburg #StudyAbroad #HikingTheWorld #Travel #OffTheBeatenPath #OverseasTravel 🌍👣