06. Aug 2025

Gietrzwald - Ostroda

Photo 1: Early in the morning...

The village where I stayed the night is called Woryty. I almost left the Guest House this morning without my thermos and water bottle. That would not have been a good thing. There would be no food or water resources along the way until almost the end of the hike. I thought my backpack felt a little lighter as I started off. Then it dawned on me that I had left the two bottles in the refrigerator. When they are both full, they add close to 2 kilos (4.5 pounds) to my pack weight.

When I left the house, the host saw me. He knew I had a very long stretch yesterday and was surprised to see that I was up and going already so early in the morning. To be quite honest, it surprises me again and again myself. I am writing this blog post on Sunday. This morning I read these verses from Paul in 2. Corinthians 4 that took on new meaning for me:

Verse 1: "Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart." (The German translation reads: "...we do not tire")

Verse 7: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

Verse 16: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." (Again the German translation reads: "...we do not tire")

I told the man that I walk with God and he gives me the strength I need to walk this distance with such a backpack. He answered: "You are a strong man!" I said: "He is a strong God!"

Photo 2: Stone road... they last forever, but are not always easy to walk on.

Photo 3: One of 130 bunkers spread in a half circle line through the region of Olsztyn. They were built before World War II by the Germans to protect Prussia from a possible attack from Poland. The attack never came.

Photo 4: The road leading to Ostroda

Photo 5: The Polish flag: The white represents purity and honesty, while the red symbolizes courage, bravery, and blood shed for the fatherland. These colors are derived from the Polish coat of arms, which features a white eagle on a red background.
The symbolism of the colors dates back to the Middle Ages, particularly associated with the Piast dynasty and the legend of Lech, who chose the white eagle as a symbol after seeing it against a red sunset. The colors were officially adopted in 1831 and have been used to represent Poland ever since.

Notice: I am now back on schedule with the maps, destinations and distances posted on the blog. I needed to change things two weeks ago to accommodate for the rainy weather so that I would have a dry room to sleep in and not a tent.