The lake region of Poland is most probably one the most beautiful part of the country. Warmia, Mazurie and Suwalszczezna have more than 1000 lakes. (information should be verified but it is for sure a lot).
Regions mostly living from agriculture
As for a lot of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, winter is specifically string (even if that topic starts to be largely discussed…) and long. So spring and summer are very welcome by population to spend time outside and moments that they cannot enjoy most of the time of the year.
If the polish natural resources are at the end of the day are very rich and very diverse (Tatras mountains, Bieszczady mounatins, Bialowieza forest, Baltic sea), it is very often that people go to the lake region for weekends and holidays. 2h / 3h distant from the capital city, it is very common for wealthier people to have a secondary house (dzialki in polish).
With Ela, we had the opportunity of spending 2 weekends in that region and it was a pure « rewelacja »(revelation). We went firs in the specific region of Suwalszczezna, at the Lituanian boarder. This part of Poland is known due to its main city: Swualki. For French people, this city can be compared to Aurillac. I mean that nobody had been over there, nobody how it looks like but everybody knows that it is the coldest city in Poland (thanks television and meteo forecast).
Cycling + Swim + Barbecue : the polish summer hit!
So, we visited this part (most precisely Blaskowizna) for a long weekend (3h and half driving) where we decided to do camping. A nice and charming guesthouse rents their garden for putting your tent and offers the basic commodities. They also offer a restaurant service with products from the garden or from the neighbors. Beautiful! We had some tasty food from the season and it was cheap.
They have developed their activity quite recently and it was amazing that they were developing some sustainable practices without being aware of it. It reminds us that sustainability is very often nothing more than common sense.
From there, we went for bicycle rides in the small roads between lakes and farms. I discovered the Bania (Russian sauna tradition). We globally took a rest in this very quiet region, very close from the land, surrounded by local products and organic agriculture.
In the middle of summer time, we also had chance to go to Nowe Kawkowo, a small village in Warmia region that starts to be famous for their ecological tourism. Few natural accommodations are available and everything is made on a slow atmosphere. We slept in Moniówka and we can say that it was our first HopHost, the first signs.
Swimming in the wild lakes, visiting the villages around (and the monastery , buying home made cottage cheese, eating vegan dinners (vegetables from the garden)… this region is for us fresh air that we easily recommend to anyone looking for relaxing and quite moment.
For foreigners, don’t hesitate to make a detour if you are in Poland for at least two weeks. It is worth to discover such a while region!
