Lake Nidzkie

Nidzkie is about twenty kilometres long and narrow, running south-east from Ruciane-Nida into the Piska forest with pine down to the water on both shores and few buildings, which makes it one of the quieter large Masurian lakes - much of its length is a reserve where motorboats are restricted. Halfway along, at Pranie, stands a forester's lodge in the trees, and it is the reason people walk or paddle here: Konstanty Ildefons Galczynski, one of the more loved Polish poets of the twentieth century, spent his last summers there and wrote a good deal of his late work in it, including verse about the lake and the forest. The lodge is now a museum kept much as it was, with his piano, and it runs concerts and readings in summer. It is reached by boat from Ruciane-Nida or on foot through the forest, and there is no road to it.

The landscape

• Twenty kilometres of forest shore - pine to the water with few buildings and restricted motorboats.
• The Pranie lodge - a forester's house in the trees with no road to it.
• Galczynski's rooms - kept as they were, with his piano, as a museum.
• Summer concerts - readings and music held at the lodge in season.

When to go

May to September. A day, going by boat or on foot.

Things to know

There is no road to Pranie - it is boat or a forest walk. The museum keeps seasonal hours. Concert evenings book out. The lake can turn rough quickly for small boats.

Nearby

Ruciane-Nida is at the northern end; the Krutynia trail arrives there.