The Baltic Coast

The Baltic Sea has a lot to offer. Not only cold, grey waters and such weather, but also endless, yellow, sandy beaches, tasty fish and countless villages on the coastline, where you can rest, leaving the hectic city life behind for a while.

A good starting point to explore the Polish seaside is Gdańsk. The historic city with a nearby airport is itself a great attraction. This time, however, we are going to travel eastwards. Our destination is Krynica Morska, one of the smallest towns in Poland. Fun fact: in Poland becoming a city/town is an administrative decision. Even a hamlet may appear to be a city in the official register, having been granted borough rights. Thus, the population of Krynica Morska amounts to the staggering almost 1500 inhabitants.
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Krynica Morska is situated on the Vistula Split in the vicinity of the Polish-Russian border and only 70 kilometres away from Gdańsk. Such a location gives you the opportunity to enjoy both the Baltic Sea and the Vistula Lagoon in one place. And it is not a typical, hotel-tycoon holiday resort. Obviously, as a spot touched by civilisation, this remote place offers hotels and other accommodation facilities, restaurants, taverns, bars, cafés, as well as numerous other attractions that provide for the needs of holiday makers and travellers swarming the Baltic beaches in summers.

In the lagoon part of the city, you can find a seaport. Come again, a seaport on the lagoon? It is indeed possible thanks to the Strait of Baltiysk on the Russian side. Here you can also take a ferry to Frombork, a historic town recognised mainly because of its most renowned citizen — the Polish medieval astronomer Copernicus. Next, to the port, you can see one of the city’s landmarks, a restaurant set up in an old cog (ship), which is said to have been used by fishers in the nearby waters. However, it is not the only culinary highlight of the town. Pleasures of the palate are on the menu in a few other places, which you may like to discover for yourselves. After a generous and delicious meal, and surely before another one, you can take a walk to a small, red lighthouse situated on a hill in the eastern part of the town.

There are many more factors that make the Vistula Spit a special place. The whole area is a protected landscape park, which includes also two nature reserves. In addition, there are many sand dunes in this region. Wielbłądzi Garb (Camel’s Hump), with its summit protruding proudly almost 50 metres above the sea level, is the highest of them. It is also the largest static dune in Europe. It takes only a 40-minute walk from Krynica Morska to get there. You do not feel like walking? Take a rickshaw or a taxi! If you have become tired of the rural landscape, sandy beaches, and spectacular sunrises and sunsets — and you are interested in history — this locality has something for you. Halfway between Krynica Morska and Gdańsk, in a place called Sztutowo, you can find a silent witness of the tragic history of the 20th century. The remains of Stutthof. It was the first and the longest operating concentration camp on the Polish territory, as well as the first one outside German borders. The camp was set up on 2nd September 1939, the second day of the German invasion of Poland, which was the onset of the 2. World War. Today there is a well-maintained museum with a tiny bookshop. However, the dismal atmosphere of this place can easily ruin your holiday mood.

Author,

​Written and photos by Tomasz Tracilowski
https://www.eyeem.com/u/tomasdfl