Planes, trains, boats and things: a trip through northern Poland – part 1

I'm later than ever this week, but that's because we've been away and travelling light, so I only had my tablet with me.

I don't know about you, but I am incapable of typing anything more than a few comments on a touch screen keyboard. Even then I make so many mistakes I spend more time correcting what I've written than writing it. But I digress as usual. What it's meant is that I haven't managed to write my usual blog (a.k.a waffle).

Still, I hope it's worth waiting for because we've had the most wonderful time. I wouldn't really call it a relaxing week. When you're tramping from train to bus to tram, and much of that time with a rucksack that seems to start out light but gets heavier with every step, the whole exercise can be quite tiring. But it's been oh so worth it in the richness of the experience. I'll divide the trip into three posts (or maybe four) as there's so much to tell and show, I couldn't possibly fit it into one. As it is, this will probably be too long (as usual, I hear you think).

Anyway, I've long wanted to go to the Elblag Canal. I saw a video of it a few years ago and decided that one day I would have to get there. The canal's five inclined planes are almost unique navigational devices and they are a monument to 19th century engineering. It was definitely at the top of my bucket list. Koos beat me to it earlier this year, but since he said he didn't mind doing it again, we made it our first stop on this trip.

After flying to Gdansk courtesy of Wizzair, we took the train to Elblag, a surprisingly long journey of around two hours from the airport (taking transfers and waiting times into account). I tend to forget Poland is such a large country and distances that look just a hop and a skip on the map can be much further in reality. Add to it that the train doesn't take a direct route, it seems even further. We arrived to what appeared to be the beginnings of a celebration and watched with interest as market stalls of the arts and crafts type were being set up in the attractive main streets. Elblag was severely damaged during the war and aftermath, but its old town has been beautifully recreated in the traditional style. We were lucky to be staying right in its centre.

It transpired we had arrived at the beginning of the Breads Festival, an event held to mark the end of the summer holidays. It was certainly a feast for the eyes with the locally produced honeys, cheeses and (of course) breads on display. Here are a few photos of the street market.

Most of those beautiful town houses are new, but here are a couple that are genuinely old: the original market place clock tower and the church, which is undergoing restoration.

The following day, Friday, dawned clear, sunny and hot. We'd booked a trip on the canal and were up early to walk the few hundred metres to the quay where the boats awaited us. It seems there are always two boats moored in Elblag and another two at the end of the stretch of canal with the five inclined planes we were due to ascend. It takes the whole morning to do the thirty-six odd kilometres, so as two boats leave Elblag, the other two do the return journey ready to turn round and do the reverse run in the afternoon. The video shows what it's like to descend one of the inclined planes; we would be ascending and I couldn't wait.

I was so excited I pestered Koos to make sure we were there early. In fact the two boats were scheduled to leave at 09:15 and 09:35. We were booked on the second one, so we watched as others boarded the first and took their leave. They wouldn't let us on the earlier boat even though I asked. "No," the skipper said firmly. "We have full." I smiled. It was nice of him to try and speak English. I couldn't have said that in Polish for sure.

Our boat was Marabut (like the video)

Passengers boarding

A prospective passenger checks the details

Maybe next time? Dogs aren't allowed, sadly

The trip itself was just magical. We wound our way along the very pretty canal until we reached lake Druzno. This is a magnificent nature reserve dedicated to the conservation of bird life and nature. The channel through the lake is carefully marked, a necessary guide as I'm sure it's too shallow in many places.

As we crossed it, there were carpets of lilies, walls of reeds and a profusion of bird life. With the sunlight sparkling on the water, it was a haven of peace and tranquillity. Once we were off the lake, though, the excitement began. We still had to follow a few kilometres of canal before we reached the first of the inclined planes, so the waiting added to the thrill when we saw the first one up ahead.

I've been down the huge 1700m slope of Ronquières in Belgium, but that is designed for commercial use and you trundle down (or up) hill in a huge bath on wheels, so you stay in the water. Here in Elblag, the boat manoeuvres into a cradle that sits under water. This is then pulled out and up onto the rails, so it's like travelling up hill above the ground. A huge slipway, in fact. Amazing. The size is quite restrictive (a maximum of 2m 80cm at the boat's base) and sadly neither of our barges would fit in the cradle, so joining a passenger boat is the only way for us to experience them.

I must say the first of the slopes on our trip was definitely the most nerve wracking as it felt quite unsteady, but it wasn't the steepest. Luckily by the time we reached that one (number 4), I was convinced it was all quite safe.

The scenery was gorgeous and we were so lucky with the weather, which was wall to wall sunshine the whole day. We watched out for the buildings housing the big water wheels that drove the pulleys by means of cables. Then the water used for the pulley mechanism flowed into ducts. It then flowed down hill to be fed into the level below, thereby conserving the canal depths. It was fascinating to see how it all worked.

I love mechanical constructions and this one really appealed to me. At first sight, it looked really simple, but it must have taken a great engineering mind to conceive of it in the first place (said to be Georg Steenke, apparently of Dutch extraction).

The whole trip from beginning to end took just under four and a half hours. We were then taken in buses back to Elblag, a ride of less than half an hour, which just tells you something about the pace of boat travel.

Apologies for those who have seen these on Facebook, but here are some of the photos I took:

View leaving Elblag

 

Entering lake Druzno

A wildlife paradise in Lake Druzno

One of the other trip boats on the return journey
coming down the plane

And on it goes

Pulley at the lower level

Quite a view from the top of the slope

Pulleys and cables driven by the water wheel (housing just visible on the left

At the end of the journey, our boat returning with a new load of passengers

The obelisk memorial to Georg Steenke
Apparently buried during the war, but resurrected and placed here in his honour

On arrival back in Elblag, it felt as if we'd been in a different world, and so we had. Being on the canals again was like being in a kind of parallel universe.

Elblag was in the throes of its festival and the focus was on food and sampling the different goodies on offer. We were surprised how late into the evening it continued and then how difficult it was to find somewhere to eat. The evening before, we'd eaten at the hotel, a luxury we couldn't really afford to repeat. On Friday evening, we battled to find even a snack, but we managed it eventually, in a side street café that was also very busy. Unlike our hotel meal, which was delicious, this wasn't anything to write home about, but we counted ourselves lucky under the circumstances.

We went to sleep that night with the sounds of the market packing up below us, but content in the knowledge we'd had a wonderful day and experienced something that was more than special in our boaty lives. The Elblag Canal isn't widely known outside Poland (unless you're into boats, that is), but it should be. It's a marvellous day out for everyone and the Poles take full advantage of it.

The next morning, we packed our bags and headed for the station. We were on our way again, this time to Torun, which I'll post about next time.

Have a great weekend allemaal!