Hotel Nidzki Ruciane-Nida

Mazury to nie tylko sama woda, lasy, bagna, torfowiska, trzciny wodne i żaglówki. Mazury to także spływy kajakowe, idealne szlaki rowerowe, bogata historia i kultura, a także folklor. Mazurzy to bardzo gościnni ludzie. Oddalenie od innych wiosek i odosobnienie wpłynęły w bardzo dużym stopniu na wierze...

In the forest 10 km. before Stanica Wodna,
20-07-2001.

It`s only 10 more kilometers to Stanica Wodna, an easy 20 minutes with the late afternoon sun slowly sinking in the west but the shape of a huge but strangely formed bird out on this small lake stops me dead on my pedals, my hands gripping the brake handles in a death hold... Łuknajno, Podlasie Voivodship, Poland farang020

Mazurski, Wedland Biosphere, nighttime.

I return from my 20 km. hike through the Masurian Lake District late afternoon, dead tired and hungry like a grizzly after a severe cold and long winter of hibernation. Typical camping life sounds greet me while I struggle to my tent, bend on the bottle of Chilean Red Wine - a luxury I couldn`t real...

Mazurski Park, wedland biosphere, 19-07-2001.

My breakfast in this buzy litte eatery is Russian and the name henceforth totally unpronouncable to me though it came highly prized by the cook. I am unsure how to tell him my true feelings about this, though no doubt highly nutricious meal considering the sheer amount of veggies and egg yolk,...

There seems to be a pattern happening here. I actually took a bus back up to an area I had previously travelled through, only this bus was less classy than the last. Old & dated, no A/C and the engine screamed if the driver tried to take it above third gear - not that there was much call for that - as most of the larger roads (highways) had ...

Tomek lent us his grandparent's flat. His elderly relatives are currently living on the other side of Poland so the flat was empty. It was a nice place, and Tomek was very thoughtful. He had left us tea in the cupboard and some meat in the fridge. I also had some provisions, so we had weetabix and sausage for breakfast.

I have been a ve...

The journey from hell was supposed to take 5 hours, according to the Michelin route planner. Hmm, I don't think so. It took us two and a half hours to get to Elblag thanks to the stop-start nature of the endless traffic jams.

We picked up a hitch-hiker shortly after that. He smelled of smoke and spoke no English. He spent the whole jour...

I have now been in Poland for 6 months. I still don't think it's really hit me. Nothing has hit me. Not even the jet lag. Oh I guess that one car almost hit me. I don't think that should count though. Oh look. Cold tea. I never drank tea in Canada and now it's a daily occurance. Ugh. I should not have just tasted it. Not so tasty. I used to hate...

We woke up super early (for our standards - 6:00) and went down stairs for breakfast. They were just starting to put the breakfast out (since it wasn't technically supposed to start until 7) and we dug in. Then when we went to leave the hotel, the lady at the front desk handed us "lunch boxes" for the journey! How nice. I think it was because I ...

We set out early on a beautiful Monday morning. We had a two and half hour drive to Zabiele, the farming village where grandma lives. The drive was beautiful. The country side was alive with farming activities and of course tons of storks. We arrived in Zabiele at Babcia's just afternoon, as the day heat was reaching 30. Grandma fits the standar...