Willie & Greta Hartmann may still be drinking tea on the hotel terrace … Published: 27 June 2021 ~ The Hartman Hotel Svetlogorsk reviewed by Mick Hart I often wondered what was going on behind the plastic sheets and scaffolding, which, it seemed to me, had been there for years, and then, in the winter […]
On route to originality 14 October 2024 ~ Telegraph in Svetlogorsk Good Coffee Unique Art Contrary to received wisdom, it is not always necessary or indeed advisable for travellers to stick to the beaten track. Verily, by doing so the chances of missing out on some hidden cultural gem or other, or hitherto unencountered esoteric […]
Appraising the restoration of an architectural delight Published: 1 July 2021 Back in February 2020, I felt compelled to flag one of my favourite historical buildings in the Baltic resort of Svetlogorsk, the former German town of Rauschen. At the time of writing, this superb example of neo-Gothic architecture was exhibiting signs of year-on-year neglect, […]
Mick & Olga Hart celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary in Svetlogorsk, Russia. Published: 5 September 2020 ~ Englishman Married Twice in Russia in One Day 31 August 2020 was our wedding anniversary. Nineteen years together and never a cross word. At least, I used to think so until I learnt more Russian and discovered that […]
Summer, almost but a memory 30 September 2024 ~ Summer in Kaliningrad and UK as it happened in 2024 Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak andweary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten loreEdgar Allan Poe (1845) As summer draws to a close, I made the mistake of accidently retorting, […]