Liebe Reiselustige.
Ernst schrieb, daß er in Ostpreussen herumgereist sei.
Wir möchten das im kommenden Jahr tun, weiß nur nicht wie das geht.
Kann man im eigenen Auto dorthin und überall herumfahren? Sicher braucht man ein Visa. Aber wie geht man über die Grenzen und wo? Ich dachte von Nordpolen.
Bin auch daran interessiert Listen über Vermisste, Verschollenen irgendwo (wo?) zu finden, da mein Großvater irgendwie in Neuhausen bei Koenigsberg - oder? - gestorben ist. Soweit habe ich drei verschieden Informationen vom Hoeren-Sagen. Sigrid, New York Staat
Hi Sigrid!
I hate bus-tours, I hate guided tours ..... Thus I went on one, and in
addition hired a rented car (through the Hotel/Travel-agent) to really see,
what I wanted to see. He drove an old comfortable Mercedes and asked 15 DM
per hour or 8 US-Dollars. (No limit on import of foreign currency)
Well, I have seen German cars over there, and it should be possible to take
your own car (in), Out should be possible as well, provided you still have
more of it, than just the keys. Even our bus, went into guarded custody
every night (near the big hotels).
To get a Visum from the Russian Embassy, you will either need an invitation
by a Russian or an official travel voucher (with confirmed bookings of the
hotels) which will have to include a travel-plan.... Well the price depends
on your URGENCY of the request of the Visum, and be assured that you will
know more about the travel regulations, than the official at the consulate.
Simply stay friendly and patient, very patient!
There are at least four entry points (Heiligenbeil, Pr Eylau to Poland) and
Nidden and Tilsit to Lithunia). No, it wasn´t difficult at all (a
Heiligenbeil or Nidden). Bring lots of time, the proper paper-work, money to
change (if the bank is closed......No problem, there is a shop, which will
change) What do you mean by exchange rate ? (It´s illegal to import or
Export Rubel, but no restriction on foreign money - No change IN foreign
currencies available). Yes, officially you have to declare the amount of
foreign money, but there was an apparent lack of declaration forms, when we
crossed. Did I mention that you should bring patience?. I have to commend
the border officials for there friendliness and their command of the Russian
language! Oh back to the proper paper-work, regulations have a tendency to
change and you will not have the proper paper-work, but people are friendly
and eventually you will have passed the border. (you will notice the
border by a long flight of "parked cars" and you will notice that you have
passed by a long flight of "parked cars" going into the other direction. But
patience is a VIRTUE. (You need permission to enter the restricted control
zone and to leave it)
Well the main streets in the area (all six of them ) are in a reasonable
good state. (well there are speed limits, and who likes headaches ?).
Secondary roads will remind you of the old German times, and the perfect
command of the German language by old cobblestones, the real secondary roads
are perfectly suited for horse drawn carriages (not concrete, no cobble
stones but very soft gravel or sand surface) and who cares about those
little ponds which you can easily navigate around. ("This ain´t the
interstate highway, there isn´t supposed to be opposing traffic, well at
least there wasn´t!")
There are still about four official (Military) "Restricted Areas for
foreigners" (The city of Pillau, for which there is an exception on the "Day
of the Fleet" and the possibility of applying "somewhere" for a waiver.
("Hey, my name is not Jesus, how should I know !" "You have to use form XYZ,
which presently is under construction"). The area south of the
Kurian-Nehrung (NOT the Nehrung, for which you have to pay an entrance fee,
and which is a natural reservation), The area East of Gumbinnen, and the
southeastern edge of the district. Apparently those areas are clearly marked
in three languages as "restricted". I have however seen several
"restricted" signs outside those areas which were clearly marked in the
three official languages of the area (Russian, Russian and Russian). See
what that driver is good for (and listen to him, if he recommends another
road!). I have , inadvertently, also been close to "Russian installations"
which were not marked at all. But this is to be an adventure break and you
are supposed to bring patience, lots of patience....
The language should not really pose a problem. Once we stopped there were
lots of kids, which asked: Ein Bonbon, bitte.... Eine Mark bitte, ein
Kugelschreiber, bitte. (They were not aggressive at all, simply normal
lovely kids. Once you talked to them, they did everything to help you, even
went back into town to get a certain picture-postcard). See, the Hotels are
proud to have somebody speak English or German, (some speak both languages
simultaneously) the car-drivers can speak and the local POPULATION is very
fluent in Russian. There is one exception, the Police (Militia) is simply to
busy to learn everything about some of the new regulations. But who on this
planet can speak to a policeman ?
Food! No problem, the hotels are offering a good breakfast, dinner and
supper, and I have also bought bred and fruit (Within the villages the old
women sell mushrooms and all kinds of berries right on the street), But be
careful you and your stomach may have a minor disagreement of the
suitability of certain sorts of fat, as used in cakes.
after reading all that, it ain´t pessemistic, it just describes something
different, but something very nice but still different. Something you simply
have to see and which you will have no other choice than enjoy. And don´t
forget all those bug cemetries (they carry a sign "Amber shop") and believe
me the car driver will know one in the outskirts of Kaliningrad which offer
a third of the price, which you will pay in the tourist-fly-outs, oh I am
sure that once back in the car, he will realise that he forgot his
glasses.... inside the shop.
BTW: Hearsay has it, that you can use Rubel to pay......That´s different
from Lithunia were you MUST pay in Litas
Have a wonderful trip
Ernst
Hallo Sigrid Peterson,
war schon recht oft mit dem PKW privat im n�rdlichen Ostpreussen. Visaantrag
beim Konsulat oder einem Reiseb�ro. Bearbeitungszeit unterschiedlich. Je
schneller man es braucht desto teurer. Wenn man �ber die Nehrung Richtung Memel
weiterfahren m�chte ist ein Visum zur zweimaligen Einreise oft sinnvoll, denn
sonst mu� man bei der R�ckreise um Ostpreussen rumfahren. Einreise ist �ber
Heiligenbeil und Pr. Eylau von Polen aus m�glich. Bei der Einreise oft l�ngere
Wartezeiten. Stra�enzustand oft sehr schlecht, besonders in K�nigsberg.
Schlagl�cher gibt es �berall. Zur Zeit werden aber viele Stra�en in einen
ordentlichen Zustand versetzt. Ich selbst fahre nie mit einem ganz neuen Auto
hin. Zulassungsnummer ins Visum eintragen lassen, besonders wichtig wenn der
Wagen auf eine nicht mitfahrende Person zugelassen ist!!! Die eingetragene
Autonummer gilt als Erlaubnis des Eigent�mers zur Fahrt. In Hotels lasse ich mir
nach Bezahlung immer eine Quittung geben. Letztes Jahr habe ich in Rauschen,
Hotel Rauschen II, die �bernachtungskosten bezahlt und den Schl�ssel ausgeh�ndig
bekommen. Am Abend wollte man dann nochmals Geld. Der ausgeh�ndigte Schl�ssel
und der ausgepackte Koffer auf dem Zimmer nutzt nicht als Beweis, da� das Zimmer
bereits bezahlt war. �ber geforderten �bernachtungspreis sollte man immer reden.
Da sind oft erstaunliche Rabatte drin. Niemals sollte man auch auf das emsige
Suchen im Belegungsplan hereinfallen ob doch noch ein Zimmer frei ist. Auch die
aussage, da� eine gro�e Reisegruppe erwartet wird stimmt nie. Hier will man nur
die geforderten (�berh�hten) Zimmerpreise rechtfertigen.
Kreditkarten werden nicht �berall genommen. Bargeld lacht!
Bei der Ausreise auf der Nehrung nach Litauen gibt es keine Probleme. Bei der
Ausreise nach Polen kommt es immer wieder zu leicht chaotischen Zust�nden. Eine
gro�e Anzahl von Autos blockieren den Grenz�bergang, 'Platzhalter' f�rFreunde
und 'wichtige Personen'. Um an der 'wartenden Kolonne' (einige warten
tats�chlich!) vorbeifahren zu d�rfen werden von paramilit�risch gekleideten
Wegelagerern die f�r die Grenzkontrolle ben�tigten 'Laufzettel' verkauft. Wenn
man allein f�hrt sollte man sich diese Zeitersparnis nicht mehr als $ 20,-
kosten lassen. Wenn mehr mitfahren kann ein Mitreisender diesen Zettel auch f�r
$ 5,- am Vorkontrollposten bekommen. Beim weiteren Geschiebe gilt immer das
Recht des Schnelleren, Frecheren, Dreisteren und R�cksichtsloseren. H�flichkeit
bringt hier keinen einen Millimeter weiter. Wer da nicht mitmacht hat verloren.
Viel Spa� und eine gute Reise
w�nscht aus M�nchen
Claus Samlowsky
Sigrid Peterson schrieb:
Hi Sigrid,
want to give one little addition to Ernst's answer
which covered the subject quite nicely.
If you really want to go by car, I recommend
Heiligenbeil for crossing to the Russian side, as it
is (or at least was) somewhat less crowded.
Nonetheless you should calculate about six hours for
passing the border, if you decide to do it the usual
way. A much quicker way would be to offer $20 to the
driver of the third or fourth car in the queue for
letting you in before his car. This usually works fine
and causes mutual satisfaction.
If custom officials try to make trouble, be sure to
have an expensive looking bottle of whiskey or
something equally attractive handy, which is to be
passed to them by depositing it in a neutral spot such
as a wastebin or so, and will lead to a general change
of attitude towards your person (to the better, of
course). Russian officials usually accept bribes, but
make sure never to offer any such thing openly or in
a situation where others could see it. If possible,
avoid to be caught violating traffic violations,
because in this case bakshish will not work and the
process of getting back your driver's license is quite
tedious.
If I had to go to Kaliningrad I would prefer to go by
train which saves you much time and trouble. Just be
sure to book a whole compartment and to never leave
your things unattended, if you like to keep them.
Concerning visas, I remember that there existed a way
of obtaining a visa in Kaliningrad and having it
deposited at the border. If you wish I could inquire
into the matter through a Russian friend of mine. I
have to tell you, though, that I never heard of
anybody who used this way.
Best regards
Uwe Pilz
Rehfelde, Brandenburg