Velo Baltica - Stage I [Świnoujście - Dziwnówek]

Stage I: Świnoujście - Dziwnówek [60 km]

You start in a city that is as fascinating as hard to pronounce. Świnoujście goes something like: “Shvee-now-OO-eesh-chuh”. If you’ll try to say it loud, you’ll most likely be laughed upon and not understood, but that is the way to win polish hearts. We love when somebody tries to speak our language, even if you’re horrible at it. You can just try with “cześć” (“cheshch” - hello) and dziękuję (“janekuye” - thank you). Our starting point is exactly on the border with Germany. Due to the direction of the winds most cyclists choose to go from west to east. To get to the border you have to cross the Świna river, assuming that we came by train from any other place in Poland. The train station is located on the right bank, and there is a ferry port right next to it, from where free ferries run to the center every now and then.

There is no obligation to start the route exactly from the border, but we recommend that you add these few kilometers to take a photo at the symbolic border gate between Poland and Germany, and then see the symbol of the city and one of the most picturesque places on the Polish coast: “Stawa Młyny”. It is a beacon in a fancy shape of a windmill that makes it easier for ships to enter the port. It is not a lighthouse, but you can see quite a special one already on the eastern side of the strait. The height of 67.7 meters makes it the highest among Polish lanterns and the tallest brick lighthouse in the world!

It is worth climbing to the top to see the panorama of Świnoujście, the sea and gas terminal - this is a structure thanks to which Poland does not have to worry about cutting off gas from Russia. While natural resources are a weapon of war nowadays, stronghold systems used to be useful in the 19th century. One of them - Gerhard's fort - is located right next to the lighthouse.

From Świnoujście to Międzyzdroje, we cycle through a forest on a sometimes sandy track, which approaches the beach before Międzyzdroje. When entering the dunes, you have to push the bikes, but the views from the path make up for it. Alternatively, you can take the parallel path deeper in the forest.

The biggest attraction in Międzyzdroje is the 400-meter-long pier and the Star Alley. It’s our own little Cannes, where you can see palm stamps of actors you never heard about. The city is almost surrounded by the Wolin National Park, whose biggest attraction (apart from the beautiful forest) is the Bison Show Farm. The flock has an average of 5-12 individuals, and the young born every year are named by the listeners of the Radio Szczecin. The "excess" specimens are distributed to other places to recreate the population of this once common animal. You can also see white-tailed eagles there. Although several dozens of them live in the Wolin National Park, we have a better chance to see Poland’s national bird in the wild by following the Blue Velo cycling trail, which crosses our route in Międzyzdroje.

From Międzyzdroje to Dziwnówek, we ride along a mixed road, in some distance from the sea. Two kilometers before Warnowo can be muddy or sandy - depending on the weather. In the future, the route will follow the planned bicycle road along the regional road No. 102 from Międzyzdroje to Wisełka. We get out of Wolin Island by crossing the drawbridge in Dziwnów.