In May this year, Russia blockaded the Polish Port of Elblag. Elblag’s fairway to the Baltic crosses Russia’s Kaliningrad border in the beautiful Vistula Lagoon, and Russia closed the border. As a result, the town of Elblag is bankrupt.

Poland blames Russia of course but the dispute goes back to 2003, when Poland imposed a visa blockade on Kaliningrad Russians. Now Poland is going to dig its own channel to the Baltic - with, it hopes, 60 million from the EU. But Poland’s relations with its neighbours, EU or Russian, are at an all-time low.

Elblag sits in one of the most beautiful nature areas of Poland. It’s all blue lagoons and picturesque waterways. The historic port has been designer restored with the fat end of an EU grant, complete with sidewalk cafes and smart hotels. Pleasure cruises leave Elblag hourly, where you can enjoy the tinkling of ice in duty-free drinks, the screech of wildlife and the squeals of pretty Russian girls. There’s a maritime economy and ferries unload tourists from Scandinavia. No more.

 

Elblag’s Canal Lifts. Look, No Water.