Although this picturesque getaway looks miles from
anywhere, it's only an hour's train ride from St Petersburg.
It's reached that point when you can't stand the sight of brown mush any longer -- you dream of an escape to the tropics for a week or two, but there's no vacation in sight for six months... You have to make your peace with the winter.
Fortunately for us in St Petersburg, a number of weekend getaways guaranteed to renew your affection for ice and snow are close at hand. If you want to spend time alone or with the family, if you'd like to take a crowd of friends, or if your office could use a weekend retreat, several options are within an hour of the city.
Nestled among the firs and birches along the Finnish Gulf, the Baza Otdykha (holiday center) in the park at Zelenogorsk offers two-story cottages with 10 to 12 rooms sleeping two to four persons each. The rooms are cozy and well-heated, with a wardrobe and bedside stand in each, but this vacation spot is mainly for those who like roughing it, since other amenities are few.
The Baza Otdykha is ideal for winter sports enthusiasts. Just a short walk from the cottages you'll find an outdoor skating rink, complete with music, and a "sporting base" where you can rent ice skates, cross-country skiis and boots, and sleds for children. Another office in the same building rents out "Finnish sleds," which are basically chairs on long runners; parents can put a child in the chair, take a running start, and leap onto the runners for a ride themselves.
Since you'll be right there on the Gulf, now's your chance to walk on water and pull fishes from the sea, if you remember your fishing pole, as well as a shovel to break through the ice.
Why not take a dip while you're at it? Though if you are contemplating extending the boundaries of your world in such a way, advice and assistance from an experienced winter swimmer is a very good idea.
You may also witness a new sport in the making -- "wind-skiing." From a distance this looks like windsurfing, only the surfer uses a skateboard with footstraps and a sail perched atop a ski.
Neither the cafe nor bar is open in the wintertime, so you'll have to prepare your own food ahead of time for reheating on the cottage's hot plate. There's a dance hall where large groups can meet: make arrangements with the director ahead of time. To get to the park at Zelenogorsk, take the electric train from Finland Station. The trip is exactly an hour long.
When you arrive at Zelenogorsk, catch bus number 301 or 313 from the station side of the street. Get out at the school (first stop, or ask the driver), cross the street and you'll see the main entrance to the park directly in front of you. Walk along the park's main promenade, and you'll come to the Baza Otdykha just before the gulf.
There's no need for reservations in winter, but if you'd like to call ahead anyway (or want to reserve the dance hall for a large group), call 231-3705 and ask for the director. (You'll have to use Russian; ask a Russian friend or co-worker to call for you if you don't speak Russian.)
For those wanting a more relaxing weekend, the Hotel Energetik (formerly a resort solely for those in the energy industry) is just a few more stops along Primorskaya Ulitsa. Here you can spend a bit more, but also enjoy Russian cuisine served at a cafe in the same building.
Take a short walk among the trees to a shopping center with gift shops, a produce store and another cafe. This cafe breathes springtime, with its brightly colored batik drapes, high ceilings and sparkling chandeliers, and unlike the dark, brooding cafes in the city, no one here was smoking.
HOW TO GET THERE
Take the electric train from Finland Station to Zelenogorsk, 2,500 roubles (50 cents); trip takes one hour. Ploshchad Lenina Metro connects to Finland Station. From Zelenogorsk railway station, bus 301 or 313 one stop for Baza Otdykha; four stops for Hotel Energetik.ACCOMMODATION
Baza Otdykha, 20,000 roubles (about $5) per night per person. Phone 231-3705 (Russian)
Hotel Energetik, 35,000 roubles ($7.60) per night for one person, 55,000 ($12) a night for two. Phone: 231-5034
