Gaski Lighthouse

Summer on the Polish coastline is typically pleasant-plentiful sunshine and clement breezes off the Baltic Sea, with temperatures in the low 70s. Baltic summers are similar to those of my home in the Pacific Northwest, where days are cool, dry, and sunny. But in July 2010 a heat wave gripped Europe. When it reached Germany, Poland, and Russia it stalled for several weeks, driving temperatures into the high 90s. The unseasonable spate of hot days happened to coincide with a U.S. Lighthouse Society tour of Poland's lighthouses.