{"id":4331,"date":"2021-07-31T08:47:18","date_gmt":"2021-07-31T08:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=4331"},"modified":"2021-07-31T08:52:37","modified_gmt":"2021-07-31T08:52:37","slug":"svetlogorsk-a-tale-of-two-lifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/svetlogorsk-a-tale-of-two-lifts\/","title":{"rendered":"Svetlogorsk a Tale of Two Lifts"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

No other pick-me-up necessary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Published: 31 July 2021 ~ Svetlogorsk a Tale of Two Lifts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was winter, or somewhere on the edge of the coldest season in the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were walking along Svetlogorsk prom, the original piece, and having fooled ourselves into believing that the sea air would be all those euphemisms that they are fond of using in England, bracing, invigorating, fresh, which mean ridiculously and intolerably cold, my brass monkeys were telling me that it was time to head for a nice warm bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In those days, 2001, the choice along Svetlogorsk prom was rather limited. You had a caf\u00e9, take it or leave it, and we had only just left it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s working!\u201d exclaimed Olga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy charm?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. She was pointing towards a tall, ribbed biscuit tin standing on end at the side of the bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lift, and it\u2019s working,\u201d she exclaimed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs it?!\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both pronouncements were hard to believe, as one section of the tin\u2019s corrugated metal was missing and two others were flapping around like a panic-stricken liberal at a patriots\u2019 convention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These were the days before marriage, when making a good impression was almost as important as drinking a nice pint of beer, so without exposing my reluctance I agreed to take the lift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s do it!\u201d I announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten seconds later we were doing it, or about to, we were about to go up in the lift, so why did I have that sinking feeling, as if I had just been shafted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t a big one, quite small in fact ~ looks can be deceptive ~ and as it was already up, it took some time to bring it back down, and with the most frightful clanking. I had heard a lot about Kaliningrad\u2019s lifts, lifts inside 1970s’ flats that regularly got stuck, and the last thing I wanted was to be trapped in this sardine can slowly but surely refrigerating in the ice-cold wind that was whipping around the Baltics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were four of us in the lift; myself, Olga, the man who pressed the \u2018up\u2019 button and my apprehension; anymore and it would have been really crowded. Not the sort of lift you would want to take in these uncomfortable days of slavish social distancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lift had rattled and groaned down, and it rattled and groaned up, but it got there, a little too quick for my liking. I was just beginning to enjoy it! Isn\u2019t it always the way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The doors opened onto another world: an even colder one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was like stepping out of the TARDIS, except this TARDIS was smaller on the inside than it was on the out, and onto a platform which, although buckled and uneven, could at a pinch have accommodated at least a Dalek or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My word but the wind up here was all those euphemisms and more that meant, \u2018Hell, I\u2019m freezing my nuts off\u2019, and I was off as well, pretty sharpishly. Olga could stand and admire the view as much as she liked, impressing her or not, it was time to nail my true colours to the mast and hot foot it to bar-room sanctuary!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Svetlogorsk a Tale of Two Lifts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kaliningrad\u2019s new beach-side lift, located three-quarters of the way along the new promenade<\/a> as part of its grand development plan, is solid-built, having a large and airy assembly room, a modern ticket office and turnstile entry system, with marbled interior and two lifts spacious enough in which to hold an illegal gathering in the midst of a pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Svetlogorsk
Svetlogorsk a tale of two lifts: The 2021 lift ticket and boarding office<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The apparatus by which the lifts work is well oiled, and the lifts themselves have a lovely bedside manner. \u2018Going up\u2019 says the automated voice, which is rather reassuring, and with the slightest of bumps the ascent begins. Hoisting isn\u2019t in it; you glide and as you glide, to dispel claustrophobia and replace it instead with a fear of heights, the shaft becomes transparent. Through the now glass sides daylight pours in and with it views of the sea, the sky and the coastline, the ground slipping quietly and smoothly away, until, with another gentle bump, the lift comes to rest where it should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Svetlogorsk
Svetlogorsk a tale of two lifts: The 2021 lift, upper platform and viewing gallery<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Everyone holds their breath, except those that can\u2019t breathe through their masks, wondering, as lift travellers\u2019 do, what if the doors don\u2019t open? But guess what, they do. And there you are, standing umpteen feet from the ground in the long, glass viewing gallery, feeling as high as a kite and besotted with the view, some of which has been there for centuries and some of which is changing before your very eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip for the moment:<\/strong> Every moment in a person\u2019s life is historic, some more historic than others. Don\u2019t forget to capture these for the sake of social history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"View
View from the top of the Svetlogorsk Promenade lift, July 2021, showing development in progress<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9 2018-2021 Mick Hart. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No other pick-me-up necessary Published: 31 July 2021 ~ Svetlogorsk a Tale of Two Lifts It was winter, or somewhere on the edge of the coldest season in the year. We were walking along Svetlogorsk prom, the original piece, and having fooled ourselves into believing that the sea air would be all those euphemisms that 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Promenade a New Chapter in its History","author":"Mick","date":"31 \u043c\u0430\u044f, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Promenade Apartments Svetlogorsk Showcase Stylish Living 30 May 2024 ~ Svetlogorsk Promenade a New Chapter in its History At the point at which the new stretch of promenade on Svetlogorsk\u2019s coastline meets the old, a broad canvas containing an evocative\u00a0black and white photograph of the promenade as it appeared when\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "VISITOR'S GUIDE to KALININGRAD REGION"","block_context":{"text":"VISITOR'S GUIDE to KALININGRAD REGION","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad-region\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Promenade Svetlogorsk Upmarket 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2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A summer's day on Svetlogorsk prom (where there is a lift) Published: 25 August 2022 ~ Whenever I need a lift, I go to Svetlogorsk Look! Is that really me sitting outside a caf\u00e9 bar in Svetlogorsk gazing out across the sea! I wouldn\u2019t want you to get the erroneous\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "VISITOR'S GUIDE to KALININGRAD REGION"","block_context":{"text":"VISITOR'S GUIDE to KALININGRAD REGION","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad-region\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Svetlogorsk lift view from the top","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Svetlogorsk-Lift-view-from-bank-rz.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Svetlogorsk-Lift-view-from-bank-rz.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Svetlogorsk-Lift-view-from-bank-rz.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Svetlogorsk-Lift-view-from-bank-rz.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Svetlogorsk-Lift-view-from-bank-rz.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13389,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/my-special-day-out-in-svetlogorsk-by-mick-hart\/","url_meta":{"origin":4331,"position":3},"title":"My Special Day Out in Svetlogorsk by Mick Hart","author":"Mick","date":"28 \u0430\u0432\u0433\u0443\u0441\u0442\u0430, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A day out at the Baltic Coast 28 August 2025 - My Special Day Out in Svetlogorsk by Mick Hart Don\u2019t you just hate it when you mislay something? It\u2019s so frustrating, isn\u2019t it? This year I have had trouble remembering what I\u2019ve done with summer. I recall someone saying,\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "VISITOR'S GUIDE to KALININGRAD REGION"","block_context":{"text":"VISITOR'S GUIDE to KALININGRAD REGION","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad-region\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Telegraph Art Cafe visited by Mick Hart on his day out in Svetlogorsk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Telegraph-Art-Cafe-Svetlogorsk-rz-min.jpg?fit=1200%2C903&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Telegraph-Art-Cafe-Svetlogorsk-rz-min.jpg?fit=1200%2C903&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Telegraph-Art-Cafe-Svetlogorsk-rz-min.jpg?fit=1200%2C903&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Telegraph-Art-Cafe-Svetlogorsk-rz-min.jpg?fit=1200%2C903&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Telegraph-Art-Cafe-Svetlogorsk-rz-min.jpg?fit=1200%2C903&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":477,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/svetlogorsk-gothic-rauschen\/","url_meta":{"origin":4331,"position":4},"title":"Svetlogorsk Gothic (Rauschen)","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"5 \u0444\u0435\u0432\u0440\u0430\u043b\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Rauschen (Svetlogorsk) Gothic Architecture This is one of my all-time favourite buildings in the Kaliningrad region\u2019s coastal resort, Svetlogorsk (German: Rauschen). Without genning up on its history, I would estimate that it dates to around the 1920s and is designed and constructed in a neo-Gothic style. 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