1 — Go to the ends of the earth in Świnoujscie
2 — Take a breather on the Baltic coast
3 — Hike the giant dunes at Łeba
4 — Buy a one-way ticket to Hel
5 — Show your solidarity in Gdańsk
6 — Peer out from Sopot
7 — Hit the amber trail in Gdańsk
8 — Visit the home of the Teutonic Knights in Malbork
9 — Ride a boat on wheels near Elbląg
10 — Splash about in the Masurian Lake District
11 — See where the Wolf nearly met his end
1 — Go to the ends of the earth in Świnoujscie
Lighthouse in Świnoujście (photo: Jacek Fulawka / Adobe Stock)
Pronunciation
Links
Fort Gerharda – website: www.fort-gerharda.pl | map: goo.gl/maps/dU5cCLWJh3D2
Wolin National Park, where the land ends in sandy cliffs: www.wolinpn.pl
Międzyzdroje’s upside-down house: goo.gl/maps/2m1KV9zJjP22).
Skansen in the town of Wolin www.jomsborg-vineta.com
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- Swinoujscie ferry by night
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- Swinoujscie docks
2 — Take a breather on the Baltic coast
Replica galleon at Ustka
Pronunciation
Links
Floating holiday cottages on Lake Jamno – website: www.hthouseboats.com | map: goo.gl/maps/gniK7LsYcY32.
Kołobrzeg, the biggest town on this stretch of coast: www.kolobrzeg.pl
The pergola (vegetation-covered trellis): goo.gl/maps/EJFCbAPEJgG2
Cycle route along Poland’s Baltic coast www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos/eurovelo-10/countries/poland
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- The beach at Ustka
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- Postcards in Ustka
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- The sky at Ustka
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- Boats at Kołobrzeg
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- Inlet at Kołobrzeg
3 — Hike the giant dunes at Łeba
Słowiński National Park (photo: Mikolajn / Fotolia)
Here’s a video of my trip to Łeba and Słowiński, which I did at just the perfect time of year – a warm day in late spring, a month or two before the inevitable arrival of the tourist hordes.
Pronunciation
Links
Słowiński National Park: slowinskipn.pl/en/
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- The shoreline at Łeba
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- Boats at Łeba
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- Słowiński National Park
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- Lake Łebsko from the dunes
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- Buried fence posts
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- Baltic coast driftwood
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- Observation tower at Lake Łebsko
Słowiński panorama
4 — Buy a one-way ticket to Hel
The harbour at Hel
Pronunciation
Links
Local bus routes in the region: www.pksgdynia.pl
Seal sanctuary: www.fokarium.pl | map: goo.gl/maps/UqiGUQMsrGy) or go to the
Fisheries museum (housed in a former church) – website: www.en.nmm.pl/the-fisheries-museum | map: goo.gl/maps/LGoLDxVPqiP2
Information on potential future Hel Spot festivals is hard to come by, suggesting that there’s nothing in the pipeline (2016 was the year to be there), but the local tourist portal might be good place to check: www.gohel.pl.
Ferries: www.zegluga.pl
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- Smoked fish
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- Imagine ending up in Hel because it was the only place you could pronounce
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- There is fish and chips in Hel
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- Concrete tetrapods
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- The open sea beyond Hel
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- Boats at Hel
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- I could have got a ‘one way ticket to Hel’ but went for a return
5 — Show your solidarity in Gdańsk
Empty shelves in a store mock-up in the European Solidarity Centre
Pronunciation
Links
European Solidarity Centre – website: www.ecs.gda.pl | map: goo.gl/maps/PV9QfLYDTDz
The Elektron Bar: amberside.pl/bar-2/
The Corten Café: amberside.pl/corten-cafe-3/
The Museum of the Second World War www.muzeum1939.pl/en | map: goo.gl/maps/8A6f77m1kb32
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- Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970
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- Mockup of a communist-era living room
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- Outside the European Solidarity Centre
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- A set piece – broken gates
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- The atrium in the European Solidarity Centre
6 — Peer out from Sopot
The pier at Sopot
Pronunciation
Links
Krzywy Domek (Crooked House) – map: goo.gl/maps/kQmUhYcwdxu
Upside-down house in Szymbark, in the Kashubian Landscape Park: https://www.poland.travel/en/museum/upside-down-house-in-szymbark
Europe’s longest wooden pier, in Sopot: visit.sopot.pl/en/discover-sopot/tourist-attractions/#molo-i-marina
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- The crooked house (krzywy domek)
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- Looking out at the end of Sopot Pier
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- Local resident
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- Bleached out on the pier
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- The retro signage by the start of the pier
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- The beach at Sopot
7 — Hit the amber trail in Gdańsk
Amber for sale in the Tricity (photo: chrupka / Adobe Stock)
Pronunciation
Links
The Amber Museum – website: (muzeumgdansk.pl/oddzialy-muzeum/muzeum-bursztynu/ | map: goo.gl/maps/3hgVfzeuc5H2
St. Bridget’s Church (Kościół św. Brygidy), with its richly decorated altar – website: www.brygida.gdansk.pl/?modul=strony&strona=15 | map: goo.gl/maps/N8bcZWL3Lh42
Tourist information centre – website: visitgdansk.com | map: goo.gl/maps/Bv7SMx43PLn) or
Craft beer trail: visitgdansk.com/en/corobic/tricity-craft-beer-trail,a,124
The AmberSky Ferris wheel: visitgdansk.com/en/aktualnosci/Amber-Sky-still-goes-round,a,3554
The annual Amber trade fair, Amberif: amberif.amberexpo.pl
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- Taking a coffee in Gdańsk
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- edf
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- Mariacka street in Gdańsk
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- The amber altar in St. Bridget’s Church, Gdańsk
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- Souvenirs in Gdańsk
8 — Visit the home of the Teutonic Knights in Malbork
Malbork Castle (photo: Jan / Adobe Stock)
Pronunciation
Links
The Seven Wonders of Poland: goo.gl/wFKaTZ
Malbork castle – website: www.zamek.malbork.pl/en | map: goo.gl/maps/mJcz34c7feK2
Virtual online tour of the castle: www.panodesign.co.uk/Malbork2008/
The European Route of Brick Gothic: www.eurob.org
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- Polished floors
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- Cosy seating in Malbork Castle
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- A column inside the castle
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- Within the walls
9 — Ride a boat on wheels near Elbląg
Traversing the Elbląg Canal (photo: travelpeter / Adobe Stock)
Pronunciation
Links:
Rzeczpospolita newspaper’s Seven Wonders of Poland goo.gl/wFKaTZ.
Where to book trips on the canal: www.zegluga.com.pl/en/.
The annual Ostróda Reggae Festival: (www.ostrodareggae.com/en/).
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- Captaining the boat on the Elblag Canal
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- Canal bank en route to Elblag
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- Passing fields of cereal next to the canal
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- Below deck on a boat on the Elblag Canal
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- Canal museum at Buczyniec on the Elblag Canal
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- Going down a pochylnia
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- Mooring rope
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- The view from inside the boat when moored inside a carriage
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- The canal transitions to a hill or ‘pochylnia’
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- Passing an empty carriage on the way up a hill
10 — Splash about in the Masurian Lake District
The lake district at Karwica (photo: januszlipinski / Adobe Stock)
Pronunciation
Links:
Rent/charter a boat in Gizycko: gizycko.turystyka.pl/uk/index.php?Menu=4.
Żegluga Mazurska, the main operator of cruises in the lake district www.zeglugamazurska.com.pl.
Kayak rentals – Mazury PTTK: mazurypttk.pl and AS-TOUR: www.masuria-canoeing.com
Augustów’s annual ‘sailing in Anything’ Championship (Mistrzostwa Polski w Pływaniu na Byle Czym): www.pnbc.pl
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- Lake Niegocin seen from Giżycko
11 — See where the Wolf nearly met his end
Peering through an abandoned bunker at the Wolf’s Lair
Pronunciation
Links
Wolf’s lair website (which used to advertise the on-site hotel / restaurant): wolfsschanze.pl | map: goo.gl/maps/5iqb9r9Hrh12
Jarek ‘Sztaba’ Sztabiński, who offers the chance to ride around in period military vehicles: sztabowoz.pl
Car rentals from Giżycko: www.gizycko.turystyka.pl/uk/index.php?Menu=56&Next=57
(All pronunciation courtesy of Forvo)