Because this holiday was, essentially, a touring holiday we passed through several towns, only stopping for a couple of hours to check out the facilities (mainly to find sweet buns for breakfast and sweet ripe plums for any time of day) and see what they had to offer. In some cases, Słupsk springs to mind, we couldn't wait to move on, but in other places, whether it was because the sun was shining or they were close to the sea or they were simply pleasant places to stroll around, we would have liked to sit at a pavement cafe, sipping coffee and people-watching for an hour. The fact that most cafes were closed didn't help us there, but we had an enjoyable mooch around a few nice towns.
Kamień Pomorski: the town hall is all that remains, apart from a clunky cathedral, of an old town here. Last year the town hit the headlines as several people died in a social housing block which burnt to the ground. Drunks and smokers are not a good mix especially when combined with lax fire security and escape routes. A very sad episode and families are still waiting to be re-housed, almost a year after the tragedy.
Trzebiatów: a very nice place on the banks of a river we never found the name of. A small lively town we remembered for several reasons: a pretty square; a charismatic bee-keeper who sold us some raspberry honey and entertained us with stories; a post office staffed by a morose and rude 20-something girl.
Kołobrzeg: where the breeze coming in off the Baltic was relatively warm, compared to a few days previously, and the clouds had gone, revealing bright blue skies and warm sunshine. These beach chairs, leżaki, are invaluable for this type of day, keeping the wind off but letting you sit comfortably in the sun.
The car park at one of the well hidden entrances to Wolin National Park. Basically a wide space among the trees. Apart from a chattering class of nine or ten-year-olds and their teachers, we were the only people wandering along the banks of the lake, through pine and beech forest, to a large stone at the edge of the water. As we got back to the car after a lovely walk, where we saw a white-tailed eagle that may have been a seagull, it started to rain and from out of the leaves came about half a dozen frogs and toads.
Although it only has a small permanent population, Międzyzdroje was a bit more lively than Łeba was. It was also much more like a seaside town should be: pier, beach, amusements and the centre was very clean and looked-after. So it should considering the amount of people that descend on it during the holiday season. Even on a dull day in October the cafes were open and people were wandering about. When I spotted this Blackpool-type board on the grass next to the 'promenade for the stars' (like Hollywood's walk of fame but smaller and with people you've never heard of), I knew we had to have a photo. Agnieszka took some convincing but, in the end, got a very nice man to take a photo.
Finally, instructions on the wall of the public toilets in Międzyzdroje: washing your feet is forbidden.
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