Pomorskie in winter – you will rest here!

Sea attractions in winter

Saturday, 9.00 am, near the pier in Gdańsk Brzezno, the thermometer shows minus three degree Celsius. Many people are only now opening their eyes, but not Gdansk Walruses! For them, this is the perfect time to jump into the Gulf of Gdansk. And although the tradition of winter bathing has been known in the Tri-City for decades, the last few years have brought a real boom for this – apparently only seemingly – extreme sport.

Because the fashion for a healthy lifestyle does not exist without the fashion for swimming. “Since I started going into the cold water regularly, I have stopped getting sick. I have no idea how it works, but my body was so hardened almost immediately that I feel like I can move mountains! – says Piotr, who has been swimming in cold waters for two years.

Of course, healthy swimming requires a large dose of common sense. You cannot enter the water without an intensive warm-up on the beach and without a hat and gloves to protect the most sensitive parts of the body. But, as fans of this sport assure, after learning a few basic rules, swimming becomes the healthiest fun in the world. Walruses can be found in Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot, Hel and Koscierzyna. Sometimes they are in larger, organized groups, such as the Gdansk Walrus Club, but there are also lone wolves, deriving joy and tranquility from an icy bath.

Sauna on the beach in Sopot!

For several years, fans of cold baths have had an additional attraction in Sopot. M15 Saunaspot, a complex of saunas set on the beach. The rooms themselves are no different from typical dry Finnish saunas, but you can sit comfortably in them and look straight at the Gulf of Gdansk.

And of course, some of the guests of this place choose to bask in hot temperatures, but there is also a large group of people who combine saunas with winter swimming. – I usually pour a bucket of cold water on myself after the sauna. And here I have the opportunity to run straight into the sea! The feeling is simply indescribable, you have to try it – says Magda, who is a regular visitor to Sopot beach saunas.

Skiing and sledding on the Baltic Sea!

But Pomorskie is not only the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Gdansk. The beautiful landscapes of Kashuby are a paradise for lovers of cross-country skiing. In addition, even if the temperature in the Tri-City is slightly above zero, after passing the magical belt of the Kashuby border, we enter the land of white powder, picturesquely lying on the trees. Lovers of cross-country skiing should go to Kartuzy. There is a complex consisting of several cross-country trails.

They have different lengths – from several hundred meters to almost three kilometres – and stretch through the vicinity of the nearby Bilowo forester’s lodge. There is, among other things, an attractive viewpoint. However, those who would like to run more wildly have much more choice. Przywidz, Suleczyno, Chmielno – there are plenty of hills and forests around these places, where it is easy to meet a running skier in winter weather. And if we have little impressions after visiting Kashuby, we always have to run on wild beaches, for example on the Vistula Spit, between Krynica Morska and Katy Rybackie.

Skis or snowboard? Only in Pomerania!

And probably some of you are thinking now: for me, winter must be spent on the slopes and that’s it! Don’t worry, Pomorskie cordially invites those who prefer skiing rather than running. Kashuby is a land of hills, maybe not very high, but hospitable. The tallest is the called Wiezyca.

There are two ski stations here – Koszalkowo and Kotlinka, offering the steepest slopes in the area. It is a bit flatter in Trzepowo and Przywidz, where beginners and those who like a quiet, longer ride will feel good. And that’s not all: Suleczyno, Kosowo and Lysa Hill in Sopot also have many fans. So if we want to spend our holidays outside the crowded resorts in the Tatras, Pomorskie will provide us with a lot of unforgettable impressions.