From Berlin to Gdańsk - sandy beaches, sandy paths
From Berlin further north until it gets wet...
After a long break of almost two weeks in Kleinmachnow, it was time to move on again! From Berlin we followed the Berlin-Usedom Cycle Path to the Blumberger Mühle near Angermünde - a very nice route that we had already cycled in the opposite direction two years ago. In Spechthausen near Eberswalde we paid a visit to Oscar, an enthusiastic touring cyclist who has already crossed Asia twice (www.theborealspirit.de). Oscar and I were traveling together on the ring road in Iceland seven years ago, so it was great to see him again! After Angermünde it went through the beautiful Lower Oder Valley (really very good bike path to Gartz) to the Polish border, from where it was not far to Szczecin. There we spent a “rest day” in the city. After the visit of the small but fine National Museum, the view of the harbor was very motivating, because overseas ports somehow always trigger a kind of spirit of optimism in us - usually more of a reason for wanderlust, but very motivating if you're already on a" World Trip”. From Szczecin it was still a good 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the Baltic Sea coast of the island of Wollin. Online we found a local cycle route, which is apparently no longer maintained, which is why it became impassable between Komarovo and Stepniczka and we switched to country roads. At the Szczecin Lagoon, however, a very nice path was laid out on the east bank, from which we were able to observe some animals.
Going east along the Polish Baltic Sea Coast
After going back and forth across the island Wolin, the Baltic Sea Cycle Route then continued very nicely close to the coast. Of course, this invited us to always spend our lunch breaks directly on the beach. Unfortunately, the water was just too bitingly cold (for us) for swimming - real torture when you see endless sandy beaches with clear water all day long... Since summer has not yet started, the villages and towns along the coast were largely completely extinct, since they apparently live almost exclusively from the summer season. With a bit of searching, you can always find cheap accommodation and something to eat (due to the low night temperatures, we have not yet touched our tent, as there has not yet been a need). The landscape offered a variety of beautiful coastal forests, fields and meadows. White storks are almost omnipresent here, many villages have inhabited stork nests. Once we came to a village and a stork stood at the side of the road like usual dogs or cats... Unfortunately, the road conditions worsened a lot east of the coastal town of Ustka. The EuroVelo route 10/13 is not (yet) fully developed from here to Gdańsk, which is why the GPS tracks available on the web often run over the old “R10” cycle route. However, this has long since passed its best years and has unfortunately been largely left to decay and nature. Unfortunately, between Ustka and Osetnik (east of Łeba) we have to advise against the R10 route unless you are traveling with unloaded mountain bikes. The paths are often sandy or muddy (or both within a few meters), sometimes there is still some road in the pothole. Once a woman in an old Opel Astra came towards us quite quickly on a field and forest track. Something like that is reassuring. One thinks that it can't be that bad if the old Astra can do it too - only to realize a little later that it must have been solely due to the woman's death-defying driving skills that the "terrain Astra" through mud holes and over cubit-deep ditches could fly… Luckily from Osetnik the paths got much better again. Apparently, the expansion of the cycle route is being pushed ahead here, the EuroVelo route is partly finished or the R10 is in better condition, but this varies greatly depending on the municipality.
Gdańsk - what an impressive old town!
We knew from Gdańsk that it has a beautiful old town with a harbor and some warehouse buildings from the Hanseatic period. But what we then saw when driving into the old town was much more! Really impressive throughout! Lovingly restored after the Second World War, the facades of the homes of bourgeois merchants as far as the eye can see. Dockside warehouses that are now used as museums or hotels. The train station building is also worth seeing. In addition to a boat trip through the harbor to the historic Westerplatte, we also visited a few exhibitions - Gdańsk is definitely worth a trip, whether with or without a bike!
A little about the Baltic Sea Cycle Route in Poland
According to the plans of the EuroVelo program, EuroVelo 10 (Baltic Sea Cycle Route) and 13 (Iron Curtain Trail) are to run continuously along the Polish Baltic Sea coast. This has already been implemented from the island of Wolin to Ustka in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. The route is almost always well signposted and the paths are almost always very easy to drive on and close to the coast. Forest paths that are a bit more impassable never last long. Regardless, we recommend not relying solely on local signage for navigation, as some junctions may lack signposting.
Unfortunately, between Ustka and Osetnik east of Łeba, a 90 km (56 miles) long obstacle course awaits cyclists. The tracks available on the net often follow (as far as we know) the "historical" (because apparently no longer maintained) R10 route. Between Ustka and Rowy, the field and forest roads are often muddy or sandy, or both in a row. The material is happy about that. Between Rowno and Glowczyce, yard-deep potholes and mud puddles await in the forest path. Between Gac and Łeba there is loose sand and between Łeba and Osetnik the R10 has apparently been completely abandoned and left to thousands of tree roots and shifting dunes. The material is even happier. From Osetnik to Gdańsk there are significantly better cycle routes (good forest and field paths, solid gravel roads, paved roads, even paved cycle paths in urban areas). The EuroVelo is ready as far as Bialogora, from then on you can follow the R10, which is better to very easy to ride, to Puck via Wladyslawowo. From Puck to Gdańsk, the completion of the EuroVelo 10/13 is already well advanced, only in the Gdynia area are the signposts still largely missing.
