Mikołajki calls itself the pearl of Masuria, and for once the claim is not entirely marketing. The town is a small, well-kept place on a narrow strip of land between two lakes, Mikołajskie and Tałty, and a short canal away is Śniardwy, the largest lake in Poland. In summer the harbour is a forest of masts, as sailors from all over Poland and Germany move between the lakes, and the waterfront is full of people with ice cream and sunburn. A bronze statue of the King of the Whitefish, a creature from local legend, stands beside the water.
The history is mostly German, because until 1945 this was East Prussia, and the town was called Nikolaiken. The Masurian people who lived here were mostly Protestant and spoke a Polish dialect mixed with German, and a wave of resettlement after the war changed the population almost completely. The octagonal Protestant church, with its distinctive spire, is a landmark that you can see from the water. Near the town lies Lake Łuknajno, a nature reserve and part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve, known for its large colony of mute swans, which gather in the hundreds.
On a motorcycle, the roads around Mikołajki are easy and scenic rather than exciting. They run along the lakes through forest and farmland, with tree-lined avenues and long, gentle bends, and the surface is mostly good. The real challenge is the volume of summer traffic, which on weekends can bring the road to a crawl, especially near the harbour and the ferry points. If you can, visit on a weekday, in the morning or in September, when the town is calm and the light is clear. A swim from one of the public beaches is a good break, though the water stays cold until well into June.
Mikołajki has fuel and a good range of restaurants, serving fish from the lakes, including smoked and fried varieties, and the usual Polish dishes. Mrągowo, nineteen kilometres away, is the larger town if you need more choice. Accommodation fills quickly in July and August, so book ahead if you are staying. Mosquitoes can be fierce around the water in the evening, and a light jacket is useful when the wind blows across the lake.