{"id":14320,"date":"2026-02-24T14:41:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=14320"},"modified":"2026-02-24T14:41:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:41:55","slug":"winter-in-kaliningrad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/winter-in-kaliningrad\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter in Kaliningrad can be both harsh and beautiful"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Snowbody knows if it\u2019s snowdrops next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

24 February 2026 – Winter in Kaliningrad can be both harsh and beautiful<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No sooner had I posted Snow in Kaliningrad<\/a> than the first signs of a thaw occurred. At 4.30am on the morning of the 22nd February 2026, my long-term insomnia allowed me to listen with immeasurable clarity to the roar of glaciers leaving our rooftop and the commensurable and sporadic sounds of smaller pieces of ice, mimicking handfuls of gravel, sliding and rattling stridently off terracotta and metal surfaces as they literally lost their grip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fate\u2019s forceful intervention, either betraying the promise of a snowbound world or working with Nature to release water from frozen petrification, are interpretations only to be mediated by your personal understanding of the benign and malignant forces that constitute our natural\/unnatural world. Are postulations of a beautiful Nature all that they are cracked up to be, or is Nature merely an aberration, a mistake, which, including us, is nothing more than a virus more invasive to planet Earth than a dinghy full of migrants powered by liberal-leftism on its way to England? In the stillness of 4:30, it all seems so peculiar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winter in Kaliningrad can be both harsh and beautiful<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Snow may have brought the Old West quick draw to Kaliningradians armed with shovels and across its frozen tundra made otherwise manly men mince, but the flip side to the challenge is, or has been, many a pretty and picturesque scene, with white landscapes, crystalline trees, a wonderland playground for children, including for those that have never grown up, and, once you\u2019ve contended with frozen toes and mastered the art of your balancing act, an all-pervading magical atmosphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herewith is a handful of images from the cards that winter has so far dealt us. The cards for March are yet to be played; thus, all bets for a no-snow spring are off for a few days more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It looks cold, and it is!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Back<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"K\u00f6nigsberg<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Olga<\/figure><\/div>
\"K\u00f6nigsberg<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you haven\u2019t the foggiest where the following photos were taken, then you evidently haven\u2019t read my post on K\u00f6nigsberg Cathedral<\/a>. The down-to-earth views are photographed on a very cold, snowy evening from the side of Honey Moon Bridge, which is the bridge that connects Kneiphof (K\u00f6nigsberg) with Kant Island (Kaliningrad) to the Fishing Village. The other snapshots offer a grandstand view out and over the sublime expanse of the cathedral\u2019s rooftop, with its distinctive decorative cupola-shaped knop and skyline-commanding mast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The streets of Kaliningrad<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Old<\/figure><\/div>
\"Winter<\/figure><\/div>
\"Winter<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Self-explanatory really: street scenes of snowbound Kaliningrad. If you\u2019ve never clapped eyes before on a photo-posing historic fire hydrant, you have now. If it could operate a smartphone, I\u2019m sure it would take a selfie \u2013 or perhaps it has too much pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youth Park snowed under<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Mick<\/figure><\/div>
\"Mick<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kaliningrad’s Youth Park is usually teeming with life, but a few days ago, when these photos were taken, it was a snow-inhabited ghost town. Apart from snow-shovelling men, nothing else was working. The indoor skating rink was open. A great place to be on a cold and icy day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Sledging (or should that be doughnutting) in Central Park, Kaliningrad<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Just before the big thaw set in, we set off to Kaliningrad\u2019s Central Park, which at first sight may appear flat, but at the furthermost end, that\u2019s the one where you don\u2019t come in through the main gate, is characterised by a pronounced declivity \u2013 let\u2019s say \u2018slope\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marilyn Monroe of curves, the landscape\u2019s flattering figure makes it the perfect place to position yourself and slide off into the stream below \u2013 if, of course, you are not too careful. We were. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stationed myself at the base of the sledge-run and arrested the first descent in such a way that it almost took my arm off. This taught me that the best method of halting the sledge was to stoop down with hands outstretched as if I were a wicket keeper, which I rarely was, because second to football, I hated cricket; yet, had I been more compliant, I might have been correctly informed that a decrease in speed could be best effected by the pilot of the speeding snowcraft using their heels as brakes. These modern doughnut-shaped things are mighty fast on snow, albeit a little less dignified than their more conventional counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winter in Kaliningrad can be both harsh and beautiful<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In winter, much of Central Park, like the trees that occupy it, lies dormant. But after a game of snowballs and lying in the snow, you really need something to pep you up. I have generally found that in winter at least one of Central Park\u2019s refreshment kiosks debunks shutdown and that snacks, teas, coffees and even ice creams are still available for the cold and brave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catering for those whose resuscitation requirements are rather more sophisticated, I was pleased to learn that on the day in question \u2013 the question being, whatever was I doing standing around in the snow? \u2013 The winter-friendly kiosk was adult enough to provide mulled wine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At four quid a pop, you don\u2019t get pop, but you do get a very tasty, very warming and satisfactorily large helping of a put-colour-back-in-your-cheeks beverage. Just the job for a man with frozen feet and his doughnut-stopping, beer-raising arm having narrowly escaped dislocation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essential survival garments for cold weather in Kaliningrad<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Mick<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9 2018-2026 Mick Hart. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some snowy scenes of Kaliningrad in winter. The thaw is on, but it\u2019s not spring yet!<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[123,40],"tags":[2735,96,2736,1388,28,584],"class_list":["post-14320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kaliningrad-photogallery","category-visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad","tag-central-park-kaliningrad","tag-konigsberg-cathedral","tag-mick-hart-mulleed-wine-kaliningrad","tag-snow-in-kaliningrad","tag-winter-in-kaliningrad","tag-youth-park-kaliningrad"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rz-Fire-Hydrant-Kaliningrad.jpg?fit=811%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5567,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/all-white-in-kaliningrad-more-snow-on-its-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":14320,"position":0},"title":"All White in Kaliningrad More Snow on its Way!","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"31 \u044f\u043d\u0432\u0430\u0440\u044f, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Snowy scenes in Kaliningrad 2021\/2022 Published: 31 January 2022 ~ All White in Kaliningrad More Snow on its Way! For the past three or four days the rain has been teeming down here in Kaliningrad. It has washed away the snow and left the city and my shirt, which is\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Kaliningrad Photogallery"","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad Photogallery","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad\/kaliningrad-photogallery\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Kaliningrad-Bell-4.jpg?fit=453%2C861&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13762,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/kaliningrad-in-autumn\/","url_meta":{"origin":14320,"position":1},"title":"Kaliningrad in Autumn: Turning over an old leaf","author":"Mick","date":"25 \u043d\u043e\u044f\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Leaf it to me 25 November 2025 - Kaliningrad in Autumn: Turning over an old leaf From the earliest time of recollection, autumn has been for me my favourite season. In the days before real climate change, as distinct from the racketeering kind championed by the EU (achieve Net Zero\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Kaliningrad Photogallery"","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad Photogallery","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad\/kaliningrad-photogallery\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Collage created from photographs and leaves in Kaliningrad during autumn","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rz-Autumn-Collage-Kaliningrad-2025-min.jpg?fit=900%2C1196&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rz-Autumn-Collage-Kaliningrad-2025-min.jpg?fit=900%2C1196&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rz-Autumn-Collage-Kaliningrad-2025-min.jpg?fit=900%2C1196&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/rz-Autumn-Collage-Kaliningrad-2025-min.jpg?fit=900%2C1196&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14263,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/snow-in-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":14320,"position":2},"title":"Snow in Kaliningrad: Great Shovels and Icicles!","author":"Mick","date":"21 \u0444\u0435\u0432\u0440\u0430\u043b\u044f, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Snow in Kaliningrad brings out the shovellers. Mick Hart tried his hand at this but liked looking at icicles best.","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "DAILY LIFE in KALININGRAD"","block_context":{"text":"DAILY LIFE in KALININGRAD","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/daily-life-in-kaliningrad\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mick Hart shovels snow in the Kaliningrad winter of 2026","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rz-Mick-Hart-shovelling-snow-in-Kaliningrad.jpg?fit=900%2C1170&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rz-Mick-Hart-shovelling-snow-in-Kaliningrad.jpg?fit=900%2C1170&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rz-Mick-Hart-shovelling-snow-in-Kaliningrad.jpg?fit=900%2C1170&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/rz-Mick-Hart-shovelling-snow-in-Kaliningrad.jpg?fit=900%2C1170&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3026,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/it-always-snows-in-russia\/","url_meta":{"origin":14320,"position":3},"title":"It Always Snows in Russia!","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"22 \u044f\u043d\u0432\u0430\u0440\u044f, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"... and sometimes it doesn't Published: 22 January 2021 ~ It always snows in Russia Before moving here, whenever I mentioned to a fellow Brit that I was visiting Kaliningrad, I would be asked, \u201cWhere\u2019s that?\u201d As soon as I had educated them geographically, among the predictable responses based on\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "DAILY LIFE in KALININGRAD"","block_context":{"text":"DAILY LIFE in KALININGRAD","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/daily-life-in-kaliningrad\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kaliningrad Church on a winter's day","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Side-of-church.jpg?fit=550%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Side-of-church.jpg?fit=550%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Side-of-church.jpg?fit=550%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2156,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/kaliningrad-green-adorned-with-flowers\/","url_meta":{"origin":14320,"position":4},"title":"Kaliningrad Green & Adorned with Flowers","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"13 \u0441\u0435\u043d\u0442\u044f\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"As summer fades ... Published: 13 September 2020 It only seems five minutes ago that I was remarking on the welcome novelty of buds and leaves appearing on the K\u00f6nigsberg-Kaliningrad trees, and now here we are in September, the leaves turning brown and yellow and falling to the ground. Early\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Kaliningrad Photogallery"","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad Photogallery","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad\/kaliningrad-photogallery\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kaliningrad Mother Russia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Flowers-mother-Russia.jpg?fit=555%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Flowers-mother-Russia.jpg?fit=555%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Flowers-mother-Russia.jpg?fit=555%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":762,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/international-womens-day-kaliningrad\/","url_meta":{"origin":14320,"position":5},"title":"International Women’s Day Kaliningrad","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"7 \u043c\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The perfect presents for Women's Day Revised 7 March 2026 | First published 6 March 2020 ~ International Women's Day Kaliningrad Just before the dawn of International Women's Day 2020, we took a trip to the BauCenter, where I bought Olga a nice trowel and some other romantic garden implements.\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "DAILY LIFE in KALININGRAD"","block_context":{"text":"DAILY LIFE in KALININGRAD","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/daily-life-in-kaliningrad\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Olga Hart with trowel in garden in 2026","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/OLga-trowel-2.jpg?fit=720%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/OLga-trowel-2.jpg?fit=720%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/OLga-trowel-2.jpg?fit=720%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/OLga-trowel-2.jpg?fit=720%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14320"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14377,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14320\/revisions\/14377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}