OK, so my research can, just occasionally, be flawed. We stopped at one of the small oil museums on the way to the big one. So small, it had only roadside parking and no attendant.
It really wasn’t worth ringing the telephone number on the gate to call someone to open up. We could see the small drills from the fence.
Biecz, pronounced Beee-ech, was our next stop en route to the big and proper oil museum. Another large Rynek / square. The largest in Europe, in relation to the town size. Biecz had been a major trading route, a lot of wine, apparently! Consequently there were many impressive buildings.
Kerstin bought postcards on day 1, stamps on day 3 and only just found a post boxFirst stop in the square … an ice cream!Kerstin and I climbed the tower. The young guide was happy to point out the sights from the top. One of the first Polish hospitals. A monastery with 4 monks. The river that was rerouted by the Austrians.Church. Tower and Gate housesPart of the old town wallWe walked around the back of the church.
Whilst up the tower, we also were chatted to by a 9 year old boy, wanting to practice his English … so some random phrases … like my best friend is called … He is in a class of 9 pupils … Kerstin and both commented on UK and German class sizes of 30+ I read that Poland has the 5th best education in the world.
We expected to arrive at the property oil museum before 3.00, giving us time to see it before it closed at 5 00. However, there was a mahoosive diversion. We didn’t understand the signs, so had to do a 5 point turn 5km later when the road stopped. Then a loop around. I was feeling tired, so we parked up in a lay by near the museum until 5.30. J nanny napped, and I dozed off for 10 mins in the chair. No idea what Kerstin did. But I do know I later beat her at crib. One for his knob!
The car park was empty so we got yhe tables and chairs out for dinner. Then we heard a strange noise. We went to investigate in the dark. The nodding donkey we had spotted earlier in the woods was working. Actually drilling for oil. We could certainly smell it!
The alarm went off at 7.00 … up and at ’em. We left just after 7.30. Our car park now had 3 attendants to entice early walkers into their parking. And whilst it was slow leaving Zakopane, the road north was busy but moving. The road south, even at this hour, was pretty slow. Is the North of Poland empty???
A Lidl shop. A real pain as I dislike shopping, but without a working fridge, I have to shop every 2 days. Then onward to Dunajec Castle. A large paid for parking just below the castle, with a couple of coaches already, and it was only 9.45. Stalls selling tat, more stuffed white geese (they’re everywhere – why?) and smoked cheese all the way up to the castle.
Dunajec CastleThis part of Poland had been ruled by Austria so wasn’t as damaged by the war. However, when the Russians arrived they plundered windows and contents. Fortunately the roof and walls survived. Lookingdown to the dam. An unusual carriage. Kerstin and I guessed a hearse, for porting hay? No. The lovely young girl practised her English to explain it was used by young gentry rebelling against their wealth, and of course their parents! They’d sit on hay bales. The carriage would be drawn by 4 horsesrigged in an unconventional line. Oh, and to complete the picture, each horse was a different colour. View of the castle from the dam
Going around the castle with our English paper guide, we’d been flattened by constant tour groups. On our return to the car park, we discovered where all these people had come from. It was full of coaches. A nice castle, but it really didn’t warrant this number of visitors.
We lunched in the van and only managed to exit the car park once we realised we had to hand over our £4 to the attendant at the opposite car park, who then zapped the barrier open.
Next stop was a campsite, so we could take turns on the raft ride. Fortunately, we drove into the town first to investigate the rafting. Kerstin went and asked at one raft operator. We could take Corrie for free, so we could all go and they had their own parking (free)! Result … no need for a campsite and we could go together.
The rafts used to be hollowed out logs, lashed together. The spruce branches prevent most splashes. Two boatmen, one aft, one stern, steer over the rapids using long poles like a gondalierThis was about as exciting as the rapids got, but the raft did move fast over them. This is how goods used to be transported. The Dunajec River here was busy with rafts, dingeys and kayaks. Another top Polish destination. But being on the water was restful.
After the obligatory ice cream at the destination we caught the mini bus (full) back to Jez. Then drove on towards Krosno … Kerstin was checking P4N overnight stops as we drove … found a lake side small parking. As well as anglers, there was a young Polish couple who are digital nomads. They’d just been kayaking and happy to chat. As I feared, most National Park’s are dog unfriendly. So no point heading down to Bieszczady National Park to see the bison then. Shame. And yes, finding free water is hard. They book onto a campsite every week to empty, fill and do laundry. But not many campsites as we move east.
We cooked on the Cadac and then ate by the lake. Impossible to capture, but we watched lighting contained inside a cloud. Most bizarre. It was like a brain zapping.
We spent last night in a car park near Auschwitz. The tour Kerstin and I took, didn’t finish till gone 7.30. We showered and had supper in the Auschwitz car park as they had water and EHU as part of the car park ticket.
It was a very slow drive down to Zakopane. Single track and just very busy. Another new road is being built alongside, but not ready for us to use. So we didn’t arrive till late lunch time. Car parking everywhere, even people letting out spaces in their front gardens. A larger one (looked like they had turned the whole garden into a hard standing) just about had room for us. And suggested we moved to the back and upper level overnight. All for about £18!
Our overnight parking. Lovely and peaceful next to a babbling stream.
I’d identified 2 walks we could do, so the intention was to stay a second night. We set off for the longer of the walks, money ready to pay the £2 National Park entrance fee. But no. No dogs. What a pain! Not allowed even on a lead. The helpful girl gave us a map and indicated the dogs allowed black route, which skirted the edge of the park. Only 2.5km each way, but beggars can’t be choosers.
On the black route.Love a harvest and rolling hillsA small wooden hut was a smokery. Bought one … similar flavourto haloomi but not squeeky or needing to be cooked.
On our return we found an ice cream served with avocaat and cream. Nice. J returned to Jez for a nanny nap with Corrie, so Kerstin and I went into the National Park.
The waterfall was the main destination for most walkers … 2.5 km up. The rocks were slippery, having been polished by the sheer number of boots.
Kerstin and I really fancied going on to do a loop, but we wouldn’t have returned to James until 8.00. Had to have supper … and we wanted to get up and go to beat the traffic in the morning. It might be dubbed Poland’s winter capital and be pretty, but with no dogs rule, it wasn’t going to keep us beyond the one night.
Kerstin and I did the 3.5 hour tour. Our English speaking guide was excellent, well read and intelligent. Kerstin is also well read and intelligent so had some intetesting questions, which led to discussions.
Everyone should do this tour. You already know the facts, but to see the buildings is something else. It is very sobering.
We left our lay by Krakow car park and drove the short distance to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. We were asked to move from our initial parking and directed to the main car park which had coach bays. The security guard checked we were OK with the gates being shut. The next morning I had a discussion with the parking attendant about NOT paying £20 just to park over night (no services), in addition to the £10 to park during the day. My argument was that we’d not been told and no overnight charge was shown on the price board. I was persuasive enough.
The salt mines were justifyably one of Unesco’s first World heritage sights. We walked 2.5km of the 287km of tunnels. Many have now been back filled as collapsing or flooding. We descended 135m (442ft) although the mine went a lot deeper to 327m.
Fortunately the local area is covered in pine forests … so much uses in shoring up the tunnels. Apparently the salt preserves the wood.
Neolithic man harvested surface salt from brine and the first excavations commenced in C13 until 1997, when salt prices fell and tunnels started flooding.
Various technologies were used to extract and transport the grey rock salt. A huge number of statues … apparently carving from rock salt is difficult, even for an expert. Poland is a strongly Catholic country, and under some occupations, religion was discouraged. Despite this, the miners erected shrines and chapels, which moved as they moved along the tunnels. There’s a massive cathedral. The walls are covered in carved reliefs. There were a lot of these chandeliers throughout the mine. Pope John Paul II held a mass here. Even an underground lakeFortunately the lift took us back up … Old miners lifts with small cages stacked on top. An experience of it’s own.
The salt mines are one of Polands’ major attractions and we can see why. We oozed the morning and set off after lunch for Auschwitz
Clune Gap Years 