As cold as Hel!!

It was a cold morning and the sun started peaking over the horizon highlighting the snow covered vista outside our villa.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that an impressive fire had been created by my travel companion for our comfort. The landscape outside was awe inspiring.

We had to feel the snow with our bare feet!

The plan was to go to Hel today. Hel is at the end of an isthmus in Northern Poland which was an important strategic location for the Polish Military during WWII.

The icy drive way from our accommodation

I needed my sunglasses today as we drove past cold white fields covered in snow. The roads were lined with trees devoid of leaves and snow was cleared to the sides of the streets and foot paths.

The area is clearly a holiday destination these days with camping grounds stretching out along the coast covered in snow and ice. There were many new developments and apartments catering for tourists as well. The Baltic Sea was frozen for a few hundred metres from the shore and of course there were lots of birds enjoying the weather!

The train to Hel that we almost didn’t see!

Hel can also be accessed by train from Gdansk or Gdynia and there were people travelling this way as it was a Sunday. We parked the car and negotiated the ice paths to get to the Esplanade and the Baltic Sea. I was surprised to see a group of about 10 people swimming in the freezing waters!!!!

There are people swimming and children making sand castles!

Viewing platforms on the esplanade have shelters

We admired the view before seeking warmth and some lunch. The Fala restaurant was just across the icy road so we settled in. We enjoyed Borsch soup, Flounder and fried potatoes and then a Pierniki gingerbread cake that was so moist and boozy, it was a hit!

We wandered around the town and perused the souvenir shops but these are cheap knock offs and not authentic Polish crafts. We even went past a bar dedicated to the Australian band AC/DC, apparently the owner is a fan!

We drove around the frozen waterfront and marvelled at the amount of snow everywhere.

The sun was a red ball near the horizon as we were driving out of the isthmus but unfortunately we could not capture this in time…. And getting out of the car was a major effort in the snow and cold wind.

You can buy these little bottles in any shop to keep warm.

We stopped at a Jabka store on our way back for supplies and looked forward to our fireplace in the little villa.

Apparently the massive snow piles and icy conditions have not been this severe for ten years. Our villa has a projector and screen that we took advantage of to watch the next episode of The Night Manager.