Week 2 Off to the Interior (Poland, Lithuania)

From Gdansk we slowly made our way inland. At one of our stops, we got to see the technique used to pull the ships over the ramparts in the Oberland Canal. The difference in height of the canal was too great to build 36 locks to overcome the difference of 100 meters. Instead, in Elblag, they developed rail cars to pull the ships over land. Everything runs on hydropower.

Wow, getting the gas cartridges for our Anti Mosquito Thermacell is not that easy... but essential for survival! The supposed Thermacell shop in Olsztyn turned out to be an office from where they only sell online. No one wanted to open for us there. None of the hardware stores or hunting supply stores in the area knew the device either. As a last resort, we sent an email to the owner of the online store and waited. We spent the night near one of the many lakes. Finally, we were able to take out the SUPs and take a ride (a big thanks to Anne for letting us take her SUP. A bit wobbly at first, but on the smooth lake, it was really nice and doable.

The next morning, we received the long-awaited response from the shop owner... We can buy the refill packs from him. Quickly back to Olsztyn and we finally felt prepared for the next few nights by the lake.

After another 3 hours of driving, we were now in the heart of the Masurian Lake District, which according to legend was formed when God, after creating the Earth, had too much water left and poured it over northern Poland.

Just past Lötzen, we chose a campsite that was also located on a lake. It only cost us a mere 12 euros and we could park right by the lake and finally do some laundry.

The next morning, we headed further on and made our way to Lithuania. The destination was Dzukijos National Park in the south of the country. It is the largest park in Lithuania and consists of rivers, lakes, swamps, and 90 percent pine forest, bordering Belarus.

In Lithuania, camping in a camper is tolerated everywhere where it is not prohibited in terms of the 'everyman's right'. Except in national parks, where free camping is not allowed. We follow the advice of other tourists who have written a blog. They recommend various private properties in the national park where the owners allow camping for a small fee. So we simply drove along the sandy roads that led into the forest or to a lake. On the first day, we had to give up because the forest road became too narrow for us at the end.

We ended up stranded at a public campground with many cabins and fire pits to choose from. No one came to collect money that evening.

Our first night in Lithuania was already very nice and the next day started with lots of sunshine.

After a day of driving, we had the urge to move again and started a 15-kilometer hike through the national park starting in Marcinkonys. Beautiful untouched forests that seem to never end. Fantastic.

Wow! Still 27 degrees Celsius here and we headed straight to the next big lake. The lake in Lavysas was quickly found. We simply drove along one of the gravel roads and eventually found the perfect spot for us. A forest property with a note with a telephone number on it. At first, we couldn't reach anyone, but in the evening, the owner of the property came by and explained to us that we would have to pay 6 euros for 24 hours of camping here. He was super friendly and with the help of Google Translate, we were able to communicate well with him in Lithuanian. After one night, we decided right away to stay here for a few more days, as this place has everything your heart desires: the lake is right in front of us, we are alone most of the day and can run around naked, we have trees to hang our hammocks right by the lake, and we can make a campfire here where we never run out of wood in the forest.

Moments like these make the trip worthwhile already.

On the second evening, we met the owner again, and communication went more smoothly already. Maybe it was also because of the vodka we brought along. He told us something about Lithuania and the sometimes difficult working conditions. Many Lithuanians work abroad because there is little work here. He himself runs the small place by the lake in the summer and earns his money in Germany in the winter as a self-employed person at a freight forwarder. A real vacation in Germany is not financially possible for most Lithuanians.

We had to push ourselves to move on, but autumn is just around the corner and we still want to make it to Estonia before heading south again.

Today, we arrived in Trakai. Here we encountered a few other campers as well. We parked the camper in the middle of town on a private property where we will spend the night.

Tomorrow, we will explore Trakai a bit, maybe visit the castle, and then continue on to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.