Or is it? Or maybe!!!
On a rowing tour in Lower Silesia
Unfortunately, Poland still seems to be located behind an iron curtain on the mental map of most Germans. Our beautiful neighbouring country has so much to offer that is worth discovering. So my joy was great when our rowing supervisor Hellmuth Nordwig announced a hiking trip on the Silesian Oder from 15 to 19 June. Eight people, two boats, 123 kilometers and 16 locks: The adventure called.
Down memory lane
The boats were lent to us by AZS Wratislavia and transported for us or up to Krapkowice. The starting point was not chosen by chance: Krapkowice/Krappitz is the birthplace of Uli Kuloziks and Hellmuth's father, and so we first strolled through the town on the day of arrival in the footsteps of the ancestors. Then it started: Via Opole, Brzeg and Oława we meandered with the Oder first to the north, then to the northwest back to Wroclaw. Due to the low water level, we did not need to share the many locks with cargo ships and had the Oder for us – with the exception of a few extremely considerate motor boats.
Chopin in the Saloon
One pretty town after another, friendly, helpful people, a mighty river where I didn't see a single piece of garbage swimming in the four days: Wanderruders as if from a picture book. The penultimate stop was Oława, where we stayed in a floating hotel, with boat parking right next to the bed. For dinner we climbed up the Oder embankment and unexpectedly landed in the Wild West, more precisely in the Tawerna Kapitańska. The responsible interior designer had obviously not been able to decide between Captain's Fair or Westernsaloon and therefore generously installed both style features. The food was excellent. And even though we were the only guests that evening, a pianist appeared and let – no, not Ragtime, but Chopin’s heartbreakingly beautiful nocturnes bead from the white e-wing.
stars
On the last day we landed exhausted from the 32 rowing kilometers in sweltering heat in the home port. The reception was warm and the rowing colleagues from AZS Wratislavia were eager to hear about our tour.
We ended the trip in the restaurant Lwia Brama on the cathedral island. While a thunderstorm was raging outside, lightning flashed over the cathedral and the rain poured on the cobblestones, we sat comfortably in a medieval brick vault and enjoyed Silesian wine and the Michelin-starred cuisine.
If there were Michelin stars for hiking trips, our trip on the Oder would have earned three out of three. Dziękujemy bardzo, Hellmuth.
