Canoe tour in Poland on the Masurian Lakes

06/20/21 Sunday, Hattingen > Königswusterhausen. Ulla and I start with the minicamper after breakfast. I didn't move the equipment after the Croatia tour, I just freshened it up. Mileage: 148060. In 6 hours we drive via A 43, 44, 45, 1, 2, 10 and 13 to Königswusterhausen. Three campsites that I inquire about decline. But we are allowed to come to Lake Hölzerne See. After arriving at 5 p.m., we jump straight into the water: pleasantly warm, but still cooling. We take a bike tour of the area. We have a snack at the angler's inn and have the first 🍻: the vacation can begin! We don't find a nice bathing spot on this side. We always end up at fences. So we go back to the camp and go in there again. For sleeping, I park the Dacia in a quiet corner, as the young people next door still want to play and laugh. I put up the mosquito nets so that we can sleep with the windows open. The heat is still in the car.

06/21/21 Monday, Lake Hölzerne See => Torun. The night was quiet. I swim a round and then we have breakfast at the front of the lake. The youth group packs up. Will the two girls get the throw tent into the cover? We are faster. We drive to the A12 and cross the border without control. Trucks are backed up in the opposite direction. A boring landscape passes by quickly. We drive off at Trzciel to refuel and swim. At the lake, I have to find an access first. Ulla prefers to stay outside. There are graves on the road and we learn that there is a 200-year-old Jewish cemetery at Lake Juden. Back on the highway, we pass Poznan and go through the countryside to Torun. We park the car at a campsite outside the city, cook something, and ride our bikes across the Vistula River to the brick old town. It's easier to walk on the cobblestones and we wander in small circles between the city walls, try pastries and quench our thirst with shandy. There is live music at several places in the city, even on Monday evening! We cycle back to the camp for a sundowner and have a beer by the Vistula River. Here we have a nice view of Torun.

06/22/21 Tuesday, Torun => Elblag Canal. We drive overland towards Ostroda. Traffic is slow, especially through the cities. We take a break at Jezioro Bachotek. The camp next door is still closed. After Ostroda, we speed up on the highway to the Elblag Canal, where ships are pulled over hills. I was here 25 years ago with Berni. It's new and exciting for Ulla. Several tour groups are at the easternmost inclined plane. We take a bike ride to the other pulling points across the countryside. We can observe the procedure four times: the boat drives into the wagon and is pulled up the hill. A second wagon comes down the same rope. The ropes are pulled by hydropower. We drive back to Ostroda to Lake Ilińsk to spend the night. The place belongs to the scouts, as the people who flee before the short rain tell us. So we are alone with the mosquitoes. But we can swim and cook in peace on the jetty until the storm comes back and we take refuge in the car.

06/23/21 Wednesday, Lake Ilińsk => Krutyn. I enjoy the morning swim and make coffee and tea. We have breakfast again on the jetty. The mosquitoes attack us in the forest. We quickly drive on the highway to Allenstein. We bike along the moat to the castle. I go inside and look at the art exhibition of Anatol (Hitzfeld) and Copernicus. Ulla shows me St. Jacob's Church. We exchange more Zloty at the new town hall, then head to the countryside. I want to see if I recognize anything. But only the level crossing in Marcinkowo brings back memories. But with asking questions and help, we meet Janik at his new, striking house. We chat for half an hour and also look for Clemens' house in the forest. Was it this one? But now we continue, Bea and Ludwig are already there and have gone for a swim. After the meeting, we do the same. But only for a short time, as a heavy thunderstorm comes again. Luckily, we are faster at the car and Bea has coffee for us. When we want to go out for dinner at 7 p.m., the restaurants are already closed. Luckily, we are still served at the campsite: they have pierogi and pike-perch and delicious salad with perch and of course vodka with buffalo grass to finish off.

06/24/21 Thursday, Krutyn. 1st day of the canoe tour. After a communal breakfast with a fully set table, we have to choose what to take on the boat tour. A water bag and the bicycle panniers are filled with food for 3 days and sleeping and cooking equipment. Then at 10 a.m. we go to AS-Tour. We can park the car there and we will be driven to the start of the tour in Sorkwity. Everything fits well in the boat. The driver roughly shows us the direction in which we will find the Krutynia at the end of the lake and we look at the route on the waterproof map, but then we have to wait: a thunderstorm is approaching. We visit the brick castle and play table tennis. At 1:30 p.m. it looks good and we start across the lake. The transition from Lampackie Lake to Lampasz Lake is easily found. The wind has died down and we paddle calmly. After a bath stop, we continue on the river. We navigate around fallen trees and rocks without having to pull the boat. It is very idyllic and the green color is beautiful. We continue over Kujno Lake and through another river passage to Dłużec Lake. On the left bank, in Langdorf, there is tourist activity: paddle boats, swimmers, and the smell of grilling. The outflow is well hidden in the reeds and there are cows in the following river bend. Ducks swim ahead and show the way. Today I've had enough, but we still have to cross half of Biale Lake to get to the PTTK Stanica Wodna Bieńki campsite. For 16zt per person, we get a nice pitch with benches right by the lake. After the anchoring beer, we cook rice and enjoy the sunset on the bench at the end of the rickety jetty. The mosquitoes leave us alone for a while.

06/25/2021 Friday, 2nd day of paddling, Bieńki => Spychowo. The sun hides behind clouds, but everyone is awake at 7 a.m. Bea didn't sleep well and wants to see a doctor. We have breakfast and Ludwig manages to get a taxi to the campsite after only 15 minutes, even though the driver only speaks Polish. Ulla and I pack up leisurely and have a coffee in the reception while our phones charge. They return at 10 a.m. and everything is packed back into the boat. Despite the clouds, it stays dry today and we have a tailwind from time to time. We paddle 2 km along the western shore of Lake Bielosee. The outflow is marked here. This stretch to the dam at the bridge in Babięta is beautiful again. We scare herons and pass duck families. We have to portage at the dam. Four people each carry and transport the heavy boats in stages. We find a cozy pier a little further for a lunch break. We are warned of rapids and obstacles further upstream, but it is all very harmless. We go over a big stone and a fallen tree with a light touch. The Jezioro Zyzdról Wielki, on the other hand, is long. We interrupt the 6 km with a coffee break and a swim at the Kanu Club Hotel. When we reach the end of the lake, we have to portage again, but then it is only 1 km on the reed-lined river to the camp in Spychowo. There are a lot more people here and the place is not as cozy as the last one. You can tell that the peak season is starting. Ludwig and I cook, today we have pasta with tuna and cucumber bites. We go to the evening sunshine with Bea on the jetty.

06/26/21 Saturday, Spychowo => Mokre Lake. People were active late at night. The last ones went to sleep at first light. The warm sun wakes me up around 6 a.m. Ulla sends me out because the thermarest is rustling. So I write the blog on the bench arranged yesterday. We start shortly after 9 a.m. In a curve to the east and north, we go through Schlif into the idyllic river. Individual holiday homes and farms are located on the right bank, and we pass several wooden bridges. We reach J. Zdruźno and immediately leave it to the east again. We head north on the elongated J. Uplik against the wind. We have to paddle harder and my left arm hurts again. We have fries at the restaurant behind the bridge on the main road 58. Ludwig calculates again how many kilometers we have already done and what the next few days will bring. He realizes that we have an extra day. We are all very happy about this and decide to split today's stage into 2 days. In Zgon we can buy everything for dinner and delicious drinks at the Sklep. Now we have to fight against the wind for another 1.5 hours until we reach the jetty at the Biwakplatz, which we already know from swimming on Wednesday. We are not completely alone, other people come on foot and by bike, but we are somewhat disappointed when the whole group from yesterday arrives here and sets up their tents right next to ours. But we make it work and sit by the campfire together after our delicious dinner with grilled sausages. Ulla and I move the tent again. But we could have saved ourselves the effort, because another group arrives by car and makes a campfire behind us.

06/27/21 Sunday, Biwak Mokre Lake => Krutyn. I get out of the tent early, but the campground and the jetty are still in the shade. Everything is damp from the dew. I thought about swimming on Saturday, but it's too cold for me. So I look for spots where the sun finds its way through the trees: an interesting play of light. The camp slowly wakes up. Today it's only 8 km, so we take our time and can still start before the group. Even a swim is still possible. We go 2 km across the lake. The outflow of the Krutynia is again somewhat hidden and regulated by a dam. So we have to portage. Here we can do it over wooden platforms which is easy and fast. The course of the Krutynia with its small lakes is a nature reserve and the shore is undeveloped. But there are more boats. Day-trippers in kayaks come towards us. The swimming spot is busy. Then it's only 200m to the camp, so a break is not worth it anymore. We want to go back to the same camp as it is very crowded on the PTTK and Ulla and I want to sleep in the car. I fetch the car and can't find my missing vest with my documents anywhere, and nothing has been handed in either. Bea can reconstruct from photos that I left it at the TT game at the start of the paddle tour. A phone call reveals that I am lucky again and it has been found. I set off with the car to our starting point. Ludwig accompanies me. Everything is still in the vest: passport, vaccination card, and Euros. Thank you very much. Back again, I go to the swimming area on the Krutynia and photograph dragonflies. Then we go to the Krutynianka restaurant. The young waitress speaks German and translates the menu for us. So everyone gets what they want. It was probably too much for Ludwig, though.

06/28/21 Monday, Krutyn => Ukta, Day 5. The woman from the office recommended that we start paddling before 10 a.m., so we aimed for 9 a.m. and have a busy morning ahead of us. My alarm clock wakes me up at 6:30 a.m. I want to ride to the Sklep, but we had locked the bikes as a precaution, so I have to wake up Ulla for the key. I get everything in the small store, the bread is just being delivered. After breakfast, I park the car in the parking lot at the canoe rental again, and at 9:20 a.m. we put the boats in the water. There are only a few other paddlers with us on this beautiful section of the river. We use the transfer service of the young men at Mühle Zielony Lasek for 30 zt. Individual small farms are located on the banks. We have a muesli break at one with a stork's nest and I jump into the Krutynia. In Wojnowo, we could turn into Lake Dus and visit the monastery of the Old Believers. But we content ourselves with a stop at the new bridge. The old wooden bridge has been replaced and children are swimming in front of it. We walk to the blue church. Photo exhibitions line the fences along the way. A black-clad young nun opens the Orthodox church for us. We have to wrap cloths around our bare legs. Gregorian chants from the CD create a calm and relaxed atmosphere. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to take photos of the many icons. We paddle to Ukta and go to the private campsite there. The lawn is well maintained and there are porch swings and nice seating areas with fire pits. Unfortunately, the place we wanted is occupied by young men with hammocks. They are obviously still sleeping off their bender and only leave in the evening. We swim and gossip about the other boats passing by with their Polish paddling positions. We can buy the missing beer for a cozy barbecue evening with a game of Doppelkopf and an evening walk to the village square with storks.

06/29/21 Tuesday, Ukta => Kamien, Day 6. Many birds are still visible on the last stretch of the river, only the kingfisher is not showing itself unfortunately. It is very hot now and we look for shade. We have an ice cream in Iznota where many paddlers get out. Ulla and I want to visit the garden of the Alkos Hotel with the fort palisade, but we are turned away. Then, unfortunately, the river ends. We drive to the opposite bank across from the mouth to the Bartlewo Spit. After a refreshing swim, Ulla discovers many sculptures in the park in front of the quirky hotel. Slim women stand in a circle and Vikings take position. We also briefly try ourselves as skiers on the alternative playground. (Too bad I can't upload videos here). Then we cross the lake. Motorboats make a lot of noise, waves, and Ulla is afraid 😱. Where the PTTK used to be, there is a lot of hustle and bustle and no tents can be seen. So we continue across the lake with the motorboats. In Kamien, the Catholics have claimed the place. Once across the lake, on the east bank there should also be 2 more sites at a distance of 1 and 6 km. The first one is only a biwak site with an outhouse and water pump, but it is beautiful and we have enough for cooking. Only Pivo and the TV for the broadcast of the England-Germany match is missing, unfortunately. Does a fisherman with a car have mercy? and gives Ludwig a ride to the Sklep. We listen to the match (lost 2-0) in the setting sun at the jetty. A wonderful evening.

06/30/21 Wednesday, east of Kamien, Day 7 and last day of the tour. Ludwig is in the water before me! I slept until 7:15 a.m. After breakfast, I have to make a phone call: water got into my apartment in Hattingen after a heavy rain, but the diligent neighbors in Südring have already taken care of everything! Thank you very much for that! On to the last stage to Ruciane-Nida. We go over Bełdany Lake and past the small island Wyspa Mysia for 6 km. When a large excursion boat comes towards us, we move to the west bank. Where have Bea and Ludwig, who were ahead of us, gone? I dig out my phone and the bow wave of the steamer splashes into the kayak. The phone gets wet, but still works and tells us that we have to go east to the lock. Bea and Ludwig are already in the lock again and Ulla and I have to wait for the next lockage. Many sailors are waiting at the top and we have to somehow get through. It only calms down behind the harbor and the railway bridge. Where is the site that is supposed to pick us up? And then Bea and Ludwig are gone again. Luckily, there are mobile phones. So we quickly find the two of them again and get confirmation from the rental company that we are in the right place. We pull the boats ashore, unpack, and take our final photo when the driver arrives. Back in Krutyn, Bea and Ludwig look for the lost grill rod at Mokre Lake and we go to the Old Believer Monastery Museum at Jezioro Duś. We meet again on the way to Mikołajki. We spend the night in the small but fine City Camper and dress up for the farewell dinner. While we dine on perch and meat or salad, a thunderstorm with heavy rain hits. It's a good thing we're not in the boat now. During a break in the rain, we rush back and have a nightcap in the Mercedes bus.

07/01 Thursday, Mikołajki. After breakfast, we take a walk through the city together. I want to avoid the main street, but the chosen path does not lead to the church but to the railway tracks. So we turn back and then find the Evangelical one. So we walk along the quayside to the Catholic church and up its tower with a view over the small town. Again at the car, our paths separate. We say goodbye after a good, eventful, harmonious week. We head east. Suwałki with the Wigry hermitage and Vilnius in Lithuania are our destinations.

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