To tell you the story of this house, I have to start with the sea. I spent thirteen years on it, during which I sailed around the world twice. I have been to New York more times than to Gdynia, and it was there that I boarded the Dar Młodzieży for the first time (although my hometown of Elbląg is only 80 km away from Gdynia, where the sailing ship docks). Working on a ship allows you to do many things that a regular job does not allow. After a 12-hour shift, you have another 12 hours to make plans. I was drawing in my head and on paper what a neglected meadow with waist-high weeds in Kępiny Wielkie would look like. Every cruise I came up with something new - a place for a common bonfire in the garden, a gazebo with a barbecue, a plan for planting plants. Finally, I was inspired to turn the garage and utility building into a house. After many efforts, this idea was realized. Here is the house with interiors designed by my wife Beata - in the Provencal style, with a soft sofa in the living room and a goat, two bedrooms and surplus furniture that has been given a new life here. There is also a fairy-tale garden that comes into full bloom in June, a sauna and a hot tub to cool down after heating, a summer kitchen and a swimming pool where you can soak and splash (available seasonally). And if you don't have enough water for bathing, you can go rafting on the Nogat River flowing nearby.
When you arrive at the address provided, I will greet you personally. I will tell you what's going on in the grass, I will show you which way to go to the river, which way to bike and where the fish will taste the best. Come here for holidays, work holidays, family trips, friendly escapades or go on a trip for no reason.
In Kępina Wielkie, on the Nogat River, in a well-kept garden, there is a 100-meter-long house with Provençal-style interiors. You will find in it:
– a cozy living room with a fold-out sofa, places to sit down with a book, a goat and a TV,
– kitchen with a large fridge and a large table,
– bathroom with shower,
– two separate bedrooms on the first floor – one with a double bed, the other with two single beds.
The house is air-conditioned and available year-round. It will be perfect for two couples, a family group or a group of friends. There is space for 4 people in the bedrooms, and 2 additional people can sleep on the sofa in the living room.
The entire area is 2,500 m² and is fenced, your pets are welcome here. If you come over without pets, there is a chance that you will be visited by cats living next door.
In the huge garden there are many corners to relax and spend time together. Waiting for you here: a large swimming pool (open seasonally from mid-June), a gazebo for sitting, a corner with swings, a fireplace and a summer kitchen with a grill. At your disposal will be: deckchairs and bicycles. The entrance to the property is quite steep, be careful if you have a low suspension.
A few words about places to prepare food, because there are several of them on site. In addition to the well-equipped kitchen, the house will also have a summer kitchen with a grill and a gazebo for outdoor feasting. There are vines and raspberry bushes growing in the garden - enjoy their fruits.
There used to be wetlands here and this situation lasted until the first half of the 18th century. In 1741, the Prussian intendant managing the Elbląg estates - Jacob Heinrich Poehling - began draining and developing these areas. Kępiny Wielkie was built on land torn from the sea, and until 1945 it operated as Zayerniederkampen. Until quite recently, there was a ferry crossing over the Nogat, which flows 150 meters from here. It is worth adding here that the river is the border of the Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeships. So you will be able to take advantage of the benefits of Masuria and the sea.
I invite you to a Provençal-style house, whose interiors encourage you to slowly relax, and its surroundings provide plenty of entertainment. You can here:
– splash in the pool or lie on the sun loungers in front of it (ATTENTION! the pool is available seasonally, from mid-June),
– lie flat in the garden,
– do a few asanas on the grass,
– hide in the garden with a book and swing in a hammock,
– cook together in the summer kitchen and organize a feast in the gazebo,
– light a fire and cook potatoes or roast sausages in it,
– take a sauna and then cool down in a banya,
– in the evenings, warm yourself in the warmth of the goat and sink into the pillows on a soft sofa, preferably under a blanket and in nice company,
– rent kayaks (there are two on site) or SUPs (also two) and set out to conquer a selected lake or go down a river (kayaks and boards are pneumatic, you can easily take them with you by car).
And if you feel the call for adventure, contact me - I will tell you where to go for tasty fish, which way to go for a bike ride and which beach to go to. Below are just a few ideas.
Kępiny Wielkie is an ideal base for visiting Żuławy, the Vistula Spit and the Elbląg Plateau.
You can go to the Vistula Lagoon to the beach in Kadyny, which was the favorite beach of Emperor Wilhelm II. There are seaside beaches a little further away - I recommend the one in Stegna, but definitely not on weekends. Other options to choose from are Kąty Rybackie or Sztutowo.
You will be about 150 meters away from the Nogat. You can go for a walk to the river or go rafting. The waters of the Nogat also encourage fishing and sailing. You can rent a kayak or a SUP board and sail through the meanders of the river to Malbork (and visit the castle), sail through the Jagiellonian Canal to the Vistula Lagoon or moor at the marina in Biała Góra. In turn, in the marinas in Osłonka and Żuławki nad Szkarpawa you can rent a yacht and go on a multi-day cruise around the Żuławy Loop.
Żuławy is an ideal area for cycling! Directly from your home you can go on two wheels to the mouth of the Nogat, to the Vistula Lagoon. The famous international bicycle route R10 runs through Mikoszewo. Its section on the Vistula Spit is considered one of the most beautiful of the entire loop, which totals over 8,500 km. It is worth riding at least a fragment of the Mennonite Trail (running through the Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeships), which combines sightseeing attractions related to the history of settlement in the Vistula Delta. The trail is flat and mostly runs along little-used asphalt roads, so every cyclist (even beginners) should be able to do it.
Take a trip to the Żuławy Museum and the Żuławy Historical Park in Nowy Dwór Gdański (called the capital of Żuławy). You can go for a ride in the open carriages of the narrow-gauge railway and visit Nowy Staw with two market squares and a characteristic pencil-shaped tower (and be sure to eat the local blueberries).
You will be close to the Ujście Nogatu and Przyroda Elbląska nature reserves.
There are several horse farms in the area, where you can take horse riding lessons and take rides along the local country roads.
What’s there for children?
Children love water and you will be able to find evidence here to confirm this thesis. Pack your sleeves, inflatable unicorns and swimming rings, because the youngest ones usually don't want to leave the pool. But if they go out, you can go rafting down the Nogat as a family, go on a bicycle trip, go to the seaside beach or the Vistula Lagoon. There are many possibilities and you definitely won't be bored here, unless you want it as a family!
What’s there for employees?
You can work remotely at home. Wifi works flawlessly in any room, but it also works outdoors - you can also work from a bench in the garden or from a deckchair in front of the house.
