05 Jul 06
Amber is petrified resin that was leached from trees 70m years ago during a period of global warming and then solidified. Its value and properties - spiritual and medicinal, as well as decorative - have linked the Baltic and Mediterranean since around 500BC, while crude buttons, pendants and amulets dating back to the third millennia BC have been discovered, some of which are on display in the amber museums of Palanga (Lithuania) and Kaliningrad.
The ancient amber trade mainly emanated from along the Baltic coast, where the locals used to gather it from the coastline after a storm or, as they do in Jantarny, near Kaliningrad, from a vast open-cast mine.
After threading my way through the recently liberated Baltic states with their rolling countryside and miles of deserted golden beaches, we decided to enter the Russian Federation of Kaliningrad (where Putin's mother-in-law hails from) via the Curonian Spit. This is a remarkable piece of topography: 60 miles long and barely 400 yards across at its widest, the locals have somehow kept the sea from washing away the small towns of Juodkrante and Nida.
While neighbouring states are thriving, the lack of investment and opportunities in Kaliningrad are much in evidence. The border guard who checked our papers was eager to practice his English, but there was regret in his eyes and voice as he explained that, despite, degrees in biology and the law the only job he could get was this one: 'It pays me enough to live,' was his final weary comment as we drove off.
The vast amber mine near Sinjavino on the coast north of Kaliningrad is slowly being coaxed back to life, but it will take years before the once state-subsidised business is back up and running. In the meantime, the amber museum in Kaliningrad is in the process of recreating the fabulous Amber Room looted by the Nazis in the last war.
