sand covers the forest ground up on the steep coast of dębina.
on a rather stormy morning we sallied out to explore the cliff lines of dębina towards rowy ( about 4 kilometers distance - an 8 kilometer hike ) - and again were taken with the area's natural beauty, with long-stretched lush beech & pine woods & eroding cliff lines that resemble abstract art ❤ in the late afternoon we revisited ustka again and unearthed a few more lovely places and also enjoyed the re-emerging of the evening sun that dipped everything into a warm light.
sometimes you don't need a lot of words to these posts, sometimes just looking at the pictures without needing to process something is good enough.
a wood warbler on the hunt for insects 😍 this was a true surprise discovery, we heard the song of another one and stopped by to look for it and there came by this little fella with food in its beak ❤ they have a really distinct voice ( which the name suggests 😉 )
this little lilac flower belongs to a highly poisonous plant that is not native actually, but was brought in from south america at one point. it's the shoo-fly plant.
there's a shrine dedicated to st. mary on the cliffs above dębina's beach. pebbles found on that beach were accumulated in front of a small statue of her, which i found kind of endearing in a way. replace st. mary with a nature goddess and i would totally worship the heck out of this shrine, too ;)
seaside view on the edge of the cliffs.
a big, ancient beech tree we found in the woods ❤ do you ever get the feeling of immense humbleness when you encounter one of those old, gnarly trees that seem to have been around for centuries? i constantly do and always pause to admire them, feeling their bark and sensing the life pulsating underneath them.
i also have a big heart for the unique ones, those who grew sideways or downward or in an interesting shape. the outliers, those who rebel against the rules of their own ( if there are any in the world of plants and nature ;P ). should i draw a connection to human existence or better just let it rest and let you make your own conclusions? i am opting for the last one. otherwise i will start a whole monologue of wanting to fit in, but also wanting to rebel, and also wanting to uphold your own sense of self, while not being sure if your sense of self wasn't inflicted on you in some way or another. might be a tad bit too introspective 😅
i also call this picture 'peekaboo', because obviously my dad caught me taking a photo of him, taking a photo of me.
steep sand path leading up a cliff.
it was interesting to me how the sand was able to find a away up the cliffs from the beach. makes you realize how strong the winds must be sometimes to be able to carry all that sand over the obstacle that is the cliff line. or maybe it's the eroding of the cliffs even? sanding them down bit by bit and blowing the residues inland?
affected by exposure - nature on the edge of the elements.
most favourite thing to photograph by the sea, at least for me, is dead trees on the beach. they are the perfect sculptures and add-ons to demonstrate the forces of nature, an allegory of the cycle of life.
we left the hiking path up on the steep coast for a walk on the beach for a while. storm puddles are a common thing on beaches, the winds of the sea whipping the water against terra firma.
white sand dunes looming in front of the actual cliff line.
erosion marks.
it's so interesting to me how sand can look like schist stones under the pressure of erosion! nature is such a good shaper.
sandy mountain peak. if i didn't know any better, i'd call this little mountain range 'the sand alps'.
intact white dunes, overgrown with beachgrass.
those beach views 😍
on the beach of rowy we encountered a lonesome lifeguard hut. it wasn't lonesome though for long, some real lifeguards were approaching fast and brought life into it, opening its lookout windows. i wondered for a brief moment who would want to go swimming in the sea on such a stormy day like this, but apparently polish lifeguards take their jobs seriously, no matter the weather.
someone who thought themselves funny stenciled 'baywatch' lettering on the footbridge. by the way, if you didn't figure it out already, a red flag means a complete swimming ban.
and i feel the waves were a good indicator why one should not dare to the swim in the sea as she was pretty agitated that day.
there were still some venturous guests around, but i'd say they were pretty accustomed to the wilds of the sea ;) for the most part they also stuck to the beach, probably knowing perfectly well that swimming on crazy waves is not exactly a good idea.
instead they stuck their feet into the storm puddles to get their fix of swimming exercise. even if it wasn't entirely a good compensation.
also made out these cute fellas! dunlins are always on the edge of the water, hunting for tiny insects and larvae that hide in the shallows.
i had the impression that this swan couple was enamoured with the stormy sea, though, which i can relate to, 'cause there's something to be said about wild rolling waves and dramatic skies. it is quite enjoyable to feel the stark winds blowing over your skin, pushing you forwards, pulling you back. feeling the force of nature makes you feel alive.
found these delicate blossoms by the beach, too, european searocket the plant is called! it is a plant you can eat, but it is very spicy, just like arugula. it's mostly used as a spice in salads.
arriving in rowy we touched the harbour for a bit before returning back to the woods on the cliffs to find our way back to dębina. this cool vessel enticed me to take a photo of it, just to satiate my little industrial gadgetry loving brain. this is a dredger called 'belona', basically a ship that's able to remove sand banks out of the port or wherever you need them to be removed from.
back on the path to dębina we traversed lush deep green pine woods!
i loved all these pine needle-covered paths ❤
pines over pines over pines, standing like an army.
it was almost like in a fairytale forest 😍
and then we were back in the beech woods where we had started in the morning, closing our little chapter of coastline nature.
after a small lunch break and a nap we made our way back to ustka again ( click here for the first post about ustka ). we had no special plan for our visit, we just wanted to explore a little bit more of ustka, preferably the main promenade of the city, as a way to finish the day in a strolling manner.
the pirate ship got out of its former docking spot deeper in the harbour and was ready to set out for sail. the dragon is called that way because it has a dragon as its figurehead, getting slayed by ( probably ) st. george. if you want to go on a cruise with that ship you have to pay 45 PLN ( about 10 euro ) for a ride, which i personally think is quite a steal!
we did not want to go on a sailing cruise, though, instead we opted to try our luck at the piers again ( last time we almost had been blown away by the strong winds ). this time the wind wasn't as strong anymore, but the weather conditions were still good enough to grant us a lovely dark clouds meet sun peaking through combination scenery-wise.
the sea's waters glistened excitingly when the sun light fought its way through the clouds. more and more the sun emerged out of the grey blanket of water-holding structures, eventually ending up giving us one very nice sunny summer evening.
looking back to ustka on the western pier ( which we couldn't enter the last time because of sand-blowing winds ).
the lighthouse and tawerna columbus - a restaurant, which also offers appartments for guests.
and the swinging bridge again, opened up to let some boats in and out of the harbour.
the eastern pier with the main beach behind it.
since we wanted to take a stroll on the promenada nadmorska ( beach promenade ) we eventually had to pass by the lighthouse again.
a little park dedicated to polish composer frederic chopin was very close to the promenade and of course there was also a statue of him ( designed by ludwika krasowska-nietschowa in 1979 ). chopin is somewhat of a national hero in poland - obviously!
another prominent figure got a special monument in ustka - the actress irena kwiatkowska. she was a very popular actress who appeared in many comedic tv shows and cabaret roles. she was known to visit ustka often, sitting one a nearby bench to watch the life on the promenade.
after realizing that the promenade wasn't so exciting otherwise we turned to the main beach and spend a few moments enjoying it. you can't see it here, but the sand was moving across the beach, creating a surreal feeling of standing still.
in the back, the sun illuminated a small patch of the coast, sort of like it wanted to highlight that particular spot.
i really liked this concrete look-out tower on the promenade. i immediately thought it had something to do with military stuff and it turns out it was actually an observation tower for the 9th permanent artillery battery, which was situated in the west of ustka. it was supposed to control any activities that might've occcured during the heydays of the cold war. these days you can climb up for a small fee to observe your surroundings and when you get down again you can grab some snacks in the tavern right next to it.
back in the city two tiny houses caught my attention, one of them beautifully restored, the other one kept in a state of abandonment. this one here is actually used as an appartment rental for tourists ( check out here ). i suppose these tiny houses were once fishermen's cottages, unfortunately i could find nothing about the history of these.
the other tiny house was directly opposite the restored one, maybe even awaiting its resurrection? i certainly hope so.
this villa from 1887 was another gem in the cityscape of ustka. it is a typical example of spa architecture of the late 19th century.
the flamboyant roofs of the red villa greet you inevitably as soon as you enter ustka's mansion district.
definitely one of the most luxurious mansions in the city - villa red. it was once built for the german business man conrad westphal in 1886, but the chancellor otto von bismarck, who loved to visit ustka, also is known to have lived here. since this famous figure was the mansion's most well-known guest, the building now is only advertised as the bismarck villa. it is now a hotel and an acclaimed restaurant.
hotel alga also has an old-timey spa splendor going on, with the cute front building being a perfect depiction of former hospitality. if i recollect correctly these front buildings were often used as breakfast rooms, but also served lunch and dinner purposes. i can practically see and hear beautifully festooned women in long flowing dresses and impeccably styled men with monocles and pointy mustaches going about their day in here. can you?
the hotel was erected in 1900 and has been a hotel ever since.
a few streets further this funny advertisment was surely quite an eye-catcher, too! it's basically telling you to not be an asshole and smoke your cigarettes somewhere else and not on the beach!
more insight into the fabric of ustka - where old traditional timber-framed houses are mixed up with more stately looking townhouses.
this gorgeous but sadly heavily neglected facade belongs to a building that i found on the well-visited promenade. it is part of the old spa pavillion from around 1900 - which i am pretty sure was a wonderful place when it was still used as such ( it was a restaurant and concert hall - here is a picture from when it wasn't neglected - so gorgeous!). these days the art nouveau facade crumbles away quietly in close vicinity to the hustle and bustle of the promenade. such a shame, really!
back at the harbour we got a little closer to the dragon galeon / pirate ship. it was actually pretty impressive!
i liked these figurines at the railings of the ship, they were pleasantly gloomy and dismal 😍
the harbour promenade right next to the pirate ship. the brick building is the baltic contemporary art gallery i've written about in my other post about ustka. the buildings with the turrets in the back are also historic villas from around the turn of the 19th to the 20th century.
the last photo of the day - a glorious sunset light evening picture towards the baltic sea with my favourite sights of ustka: the lighthouse and swinging bridge.
and with that, another baltic sea day came to a close, but not the last one yet to come.
will i ever finish the baltic sea adventures and stop reminiscing about 2019? will i ever reach the year 2020, the year of doom and deadly viruses?
stay curious, until next time 😅
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