Railway Dog

Interrailing can easily get dominated by cities, particularly capital cities. But it doesn’t have to be. Railway Dog much prefers greener locations, so we skipped Warsaw and headed to the Mazury Lakes region in North East Poland, as recommended by a Polish hitch hiker back in Romania.

From the Gdansk, Tczew, Malbork train, we had to change trains in Olztyn, where we had a quick wander and bought some bread at the bakery by the station.

The train to Elk was slow and hard-seated. When the new lines come through I can imagine a big step up for NE Poland. It was crowded on a late Spring Friday afternoon, so the conductor let me sit in a seat reserved for train staff, with Baspie the Railway Dog on my lap, as there was no room on the floor. My hair is looking quite grey these days, and it helps, especially where most older women dye their hair.

When it came to ticket inspection, my Interrail QR code did not work for him. A friendly sixth former translated for the ticket inspector. He wanted me to buy a ticket. I said no, I already have a ticket, and he gave in. Later when the train emptied he even allowed Baspie on the seat next to me. The floor was rattling a lot.

Elk is a peaceful relaxing destination with a pleasant simple campground down by the lake run by the council.