Velo Baltica - Stage 2 [Dziwnówek - Kołobrzeg]

Stage 2: Dziwnówek - Kołobrzeg [61 km]

Dziwnówek means more or less “strange little city” in Polish. It is separated from Wolin island by the river Dziwna, which literally means “Strange”. But don’t worry, there’s nothing strange about it. The route leads to Łukęcin along forest roads with a variable, sometimes sandy surface. By 2023, a bike path along the road from Dziwnówek to Łukęcin is to be completed. From Łukęcin to Kołobrzeg, the route is marked and goes mainly on bicycle paths, gravel forest roads and (rarely) local roads.

After Łukęcin, while cycling through the forest road, we will pass the largest hotel in Poland. We cannot see the gigantic building from behind the trees, but it is clearly visible from many points on the shore. Right next to it, however, is another, informal sight - the summerhouse of Hitler's concubine, Ewa Braun. The wooden house was built in the 1930s. It is known that Hermann Göring has been there at least once, while visiting the seaplane base in Dziwnów. Currently, the building is abandoned and devastated.

Trzęsacz (literally “shaking place”) is one of the most dramatic spots of the Polish coast, with spectacular ruins of the church on the top of a cliff. When it was built in the 14/15th century, the temple was located 2 km from the shore. To this day the sea took almost all of it, only one wall is left. If it were not for the protection of the cliff, today we would not be able to see even this.

Fans of trains will appreciate a unique attraction - the Seaside Narrow-Gauge Railway, which starts daily (since May 1st till the end of September) at 8.40 from Gryfice, then stops in Trzęsacz, from where it runs a shuttle to Pogorzelica (every 1.5 hours). You can take your bike with you and save less than 10 km of cycling. But be warned - this way you’ll skip the miniature lighthouses park in Niechorze. Life is the art of making decisions, sometimes dramatically difficult.

Mrzeżyno is a nice town with beautiful beaches, but from the cyclist's perspective, it is worth visiting for a different reason. A few kilometers outside the city, in the Resting Place for Cyclists, we can travel to the future. There are many resting places along the way, where (except resting) you can fix your bike, but rarely you can find USB chargers, or e-bike chargers there. Everything is powered by solar panels on the roof. Maybe that's why electricity only works from May to September? There’s also free Wi-Fi. What's more, in Mrzeżyno you can find bicycle boxes, which can accommodate a bicycle with panniers, allowing its owner to go to the beach without worrying about his/her stuff.

From Mrzeżyno to Kołobrzeg a paved bicycle path runs along the road and independently in the forest, with a nice section of a several hundred meters long footbridge over the dunes in Dźwirzyno.