East Prussia

Long drive to Gdansk, on my own. Actually, it was a bit ambitious as I'm not really tuned to national carriageways, copious diversions and other drivers.

After about 7 hours on the hottest day of the year (34 degrees), I arrived in one piece, although the final coup de gras was probably owed to Putin and the Orks, who disrupted the GPS just at the critical moment for the final left turn. I found out 15 km later, when I realised that I was too far west.

Part of the route took me along the border with what is now referred to as Krolewiec, once upon a time, Königsberg and to some people still as Kaliningrad. There are still many quaint examples of East Prussian culture, in the shape of the architecture. This church was once Lutheran and was quite a magnificent sight from the distance. It's in need of repair but quite a contrast to the normal ones. This one was 35 km short of Bartosice and I still remember the car breaking down here 10 years ago. I stopped in the car park and crossed the road to take a photo before drinking a can of trace elements with magical restorative powers.