Curonian Spit National Park

Greetings, friends.
Well, friends, shall we continue our journey through the Kaliningrad region? I've been distracted from this adventure and haven't told you about it for a long time.
Today we will go to the Curonian Spit.

The Curonian Spit is a narrow, curved 98—kilometer-long sand spit separating the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The spit is known for its unique nature, including sand dunes, forests, and diverse flora and fauna. It is also an important migration site for birds.
The story of this spit is interesting.
The Curonian Spit in ancient times had different names used by the Balts, such as Kopos, Kalnai, and Randavos. The modern name of the Curonian Spit and the bay was officially received only in 1985.
Currently, the Curonian Spit is a National Protected Park. Entry to its territory costs approximately $5 per person.
One of the main tasks of protecting the Curonian Spit is to protect the dunes, which play an important role in shaping the landscape and protecting the territory from the elements of the sea. The main measures include the preservation and strengthening of the avandune (coastal sand wall), as well as the prevention of walking on the dunes and a ban on the movement of vehicles outside specially equipped areas.

So, our first stop after entering the Park through the barrier was the Old Kursh roadside cafe.
Please note that parking on the side of the road is prohibited and cars can only be parked at specially equipped sites.
Of course, my children immediately wanted to eat local fast food, after which we went to the beach, but the weather was not for swimming, it was very windy and cool. There were a lot of children on the beach, probably there was some kind of sports event on the beach.









Already at this first sightseeing point, it became clear that there are many people on the spit. The parking lot was fully occupied, and there are even large tour buses. After the beach, we headed to the other side of the spit to the old Viking village.



The Old Viking Village is an open-air museum in the Curonian Spit National Park. This is a reconstruction of a settlement of the 9th–11th centuries, based on archaeological finds in the Zelenogradsk area. It is a very interesting place, especially for tourists with children. We only looked at the accessible museum grounds because the museum's territory is fenced with a wooden palisade, and visits are made as part of organized groups by appointment. The museum includes:
an apartment building with a workshop and a bread oven;

• the blacksmith shop;
• arsenal;
• a warehouse for firewood;
• smokehouse for fish and meat.

The Curonian Lagoon. Unlike the seaside, there are no big waves here.



The herons. The real kingdom of herons. It was here that I first learned that herons build nests in trees. It was a discovery for me.



The grandson fell asleep while walking through the village. Of course, he had many impressions.


I will not overload this post much with events on Kos. I'll just say that the next stop was at the "Muller Height" point. This is a tower observation deck where you can look at the Baltic Sea, the Bay, and the green forest. At the same stop across the street, you can visit the lake where the herons live, although it is called Swan Lake.



The next stop is the village of Rybatskoye. There is a large parking lot that accommodates approximately 10 large buses and around 50 cars. Here, the children decided to visit the cafe again, but there were no empty seats, so they decided to try the local national Prussian fast food.
There is a Dancing Forest in this place, a section of pine forest where tree trunks curiously twist and twist into rings and spirals. To get into the forest, you need to go through many stalls selling amber jewelry, but we weren't interested in that.



The footpaths are fenced off and it is forbidden to go beyond them. This is one of the environmental protection measures of the Curonian Spit.






I read on an excursion banner that scientists have several hypotheses about the shape of pine trees. This can be influenced by the coastal wind, the presence of some harmful insects, and even the climate.



The final point of our trip along the spit is the observation deck at Lake Chaika. The westernmost cape of Russia, called Vostochny, is visible from it, followed by the border with Lithuania. The border is located approximately in the middle of the Curonian Spit - 49 km.



There is a colony of Cormorants in this place. Here they nest in the trees. I don't really understand how these large waterfowl birds can build nests in trees. But it's a fact.






A step to the left or right from a wooden sidewalk is considered a violation. I must admit, I was walking on the sand, and my granddaughter scolded me for it.



I wasn't the only one stepping off the sidewalks onto the sand. People used pine cones to post their names and the cities they came from.


It takes about one and a half kilometers to walk from this observation deck to our car. It is clear that the smallest tourist was riding in the arms of his father, grandfather, and uncle.