Poland: Gizycko in Masurian Lake District

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Tuesday 27th June

Another humid day for our departure to The Great Masurian Lakes District in N.E. Poland. We weren't too sure exactly what the area would be like, but it sounded good. Anything to get away from the cities agin. After a very long and hot day on a couple of busses, we arrived at a town called Gizycko on the Niegocen Lake. Thie area is at the heart of the lake district with over 100 lakes within it's boundaries. It's also an area rich in animal and bird life and forests. The Borecka Forest is of particular interest as it is the only remains of a primeval forest in this region. Most of it is a protected wilderness but there are areas where one can see European Bison, Lynx, Elk, Wolf, Fox and Wild Boar. A couple of interesting birds here are the protected Black Headed Gulls and the Mute Swan.

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On arrival in Gizycko we sussed out the hostel we'd eyed out. A strange setup really as its part hostel and part kindergarden school! the hostel "common room"/lounge has school gymnastic equipment lying around and another common area has blackboards on the walls. The rooms have pinboards and other school related paraphanalia on them [obviously once classrooms]. I think the entire house - it's a large 4-storey place - used to be a school entirely but now the ground floor only and outside grounds, complete with climbing stuff, swings and sandpits, is taken over by the kindergarden and the rest has been converted to the hostel. We showered away the dirt and sweat of the day and took a walk down to the Niegocen Lake, 100m from the hostel door. A wonderful lake indeed and perfect for all the watersports that people come here to do, mainly sailing, windsurfing and canoeing. The lake is as flat as glass and would be so perfect for a bit of waterskiing but I don't think motorised sport is allowed. We sat on the shore in the warm balmy evening weather, watching the patient fishermen, waiting for the sun to set. The place turned into an artists palette with all colours reflecting off the clouds and the water. The peacefulness of athe place was hypnotic. We were expecting a whole host of mozzies to surface from somewhere and destroy the idyllic setting but luckily they remained hidden!!

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Wed 28th June

The rain returned today. A relief from the heat and quite welcome but not great for our planned walkabout. We went out in it anyway and spent the day orienteering ourselves and deciding what we'd like to do here. Definately some hiking and a spot of canoeing on the lakes and the adjoining network of canals. We returned to the hostel to find a huge group of young Polish history students, visiting for a hands-on practical research week. We chatted for a while to one of of the guys. An academic boffin I think as he kept talking about Polish history and the war etc...! Interesting but such hard work to keep up with him in his long winded English! The language barrier really teaches you patience.

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Thursday 29th June

Weather was still a bit dodgy but we went off to visit the Boyen Fortress, built in 1844. It's a star shaped fort on a small island between 2 of the areas' lakes, and was built as a defence system against Russia in the 1st WW. In the 2nd WW it was used as a hospital. Today it's used as a venue for parties and concerts!!!!!!!! Surrounding the fortress is a wonderful thick forest and it beckoned to us to be discovered. So, in we went and randomly chose a few paths and followed them. Not easy to get lost as they all run parallel to the lakes anyway. It was so wonderfully cool lunder the trees and we noticed a whole series of pagan looking crosses, just there! At odd places in the undergrowth. We're not at all sure of the significance of them or how long they've been there! Strange and intriguing. By the afternoon the weather cleared up so we took a walk around a small section of Lake Niegocen and stopped to soak up the warmth and the peacefulness whilst observing a host of local fishermen attempting to catch their supper! Being in this part of the world, surrounded by nature and relaxing panoramas, reminded me so much of being in Knysna on the lagoon, where one can sink so quickly into total 'do nothing' mode! What's best, is you don't feel at all guilty about doing nothing. You're meant to do nothing here. Therapeutic in the extreme.

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Friday 30th June

One day left in Poland before we hit Lithuania. We have limited Polish currency left and don't want to draw more before we leave, so decided against hiring bicycles, as was the the plan, as it would have cost more than we had left. Instead we found a great spot to sit alongside a canal, wathcing the yachts, canoes and cruise boats go by. We took our books on Russia along and started some route planning. Russia is going to be an extremely exciting and challenging sectin of our trip and it's only 1 month away. The rumbling tummies begged for some sustenance and we discovered a cool place on the river's edge to eat some awesome fish and chips and ales!! After a totally chilled out afternoon we went to watch Argentina and Germany play soccer at an outside restaurant/cafe on the lakefront. This was a fitting end to a highly relaxing day. An even greater end to our last day in Poland was the perfect sunset over the lake...