Several months ago, Ken brought up the idea of a group trip to
Kazimierz Dolny. You might remember that Ken and I had tried to arrange
group trips in the past, but those turned out to be Bro-mantic trips to Berlin and Bratislava
by ourselves. Those were a lot of fun, but we wanted to get a bigger
group going this time. So Ken proposed the idea to some of the guys on
our Triathlon Club to go out to KD for some biking, running, walking
(and drinking), and this turned into the biggest group yet: 20 people!
We got really excited because the weather forecast was around 15-18 degrees C (about 60 F) and sunny for the entire weekend. We really couldn't have planned a better weekend if we tried (just to give you an idea about our luck, there was a snow storm on the following weekend!).
Ken's girlfriend, Marta, arranged the hotel for all of us, and
basically we took over the entire hotel. It was a nice place, in the
middle of the town, with its own restaurant and bar (if you can call it
that). Any, it was perfect for us. It even had free bike rentals (is it still considered a rental if it's free?), which is what we were
planning on doing.
The tricky part was getting there. There was no direct train, but a few people had cars and some took the bus. A few people wanted to ride their bikes as well. I honestly didn't want to ride my bike, but because of the lack of any other plan (and for some reason, nobody begged me to ride in their car with them - what a shock!), I decided to ride my bike with Igors. We didn't ride the entire way - only Aussie Mark was crazy enough to do that (140 km). Instead we took the train most of the way there, then rode for the last 40 km. Ken joined us as well, and it turned out to be a really nice ride, except for my butt felt like it was about to fall off at the end. I don't know how people can ride for so long without their butt actually falling off. It hurts, unless you have buns of steel I guess (or you are used to your butt getting a lot of contact with hard objects...).
Everyone showed up to the hotel at various times on Friday (and even some on Saturday). We congregated in the hotel restaurant/bar/reception/lobby/entrance (it's all the same thing), and as people arrived, we welcomed them as if we hadn't seen them in years...even though we had just seen them the day before or earlier that week. I guess it's just the excitement of being out of town that makes it more fun to greet/hug/kiss people when you see them. Except when you're hungry and there's a pizza in front of you. I didn't get up for the people who arrived while I was stuffing my face with Hawaiian pizza.
Then it was time for the Kazimierz Dolny night life. And by that I mean we went to the only bar that was open. When we got there, it was as quiet as an abandoned library during a holiday break (that's supposed to mean that it was very quiet). This changed quickly, as we all entered and caused a bit of a ruckus.
On Saturday we had a great day of biking and sightseeing around KD, through the trails and around different sites. Ken led us to caves, open fields, canyons, etc (he even unknowingly led us to a bar, and a few of us thought it meant we should go in for a beer, rather than follow the group - nobody told us not to!). He does a good job of remembering places he's been before and leading us on efficient tours around so we didn't have to plan anything (Or think. Or have the chance to form our own opinion). It was a great day, until an unfortunate accident. Khalida fell off her bike while riding on the road and hurt her arm. She had to go to the hospital, and a few others joined her to keep her company. In the end she survived, with a smile on her face (and vodka in her hand), and we all got to sign her cast...so maybe it was worth it? :P
For some reason we were all in a singing mood, and allegedly (we don't take responsibility), our neighbors next door were complaining about the singing while they were trying to sleep (Igors, Martins and I shared a room). I don't buy it, because one of those neighbors, Aussie Mark, joined us for singing the next night. We blasted "Aweemaway, aweemaway...in the jungle the might jungle" all night, in the hotel room, in the Jewish restaurant, on the streets, and in the toilets. It was quite jovial, like a wedding party...all of us laughing and singing and acting like we owned the place. I have to admit, it was good fun.
We brought the party back to the hotel (there was nowhere else to go), and hung out in a hotel conference room the rest of the night, playing charades, singing, and laughing harder than I had in a long time. It was great night, and since most of the hotel was our group, I don't think we bothered anyone (except for the worker girl who yelled at Olga for dragging around the hotel's vacuum cleaner).
The next day Ewa's friend Ania had us over to her vacation house for lunch. She hosted us, even though she didn't know us, and it was a great lunch, great weather, and so relaxing. At this point, I didn't want to ride my bike back home...but unfortunately we had to.
The quote of the trip came at lunch, when a couple of the guys showed
up, not sober, and asked Aussie Mark (who was promised a ride home with
them with his bike): "Question (slurring). Can you drive a car?" They were
definitely not in a condition to drive, so Mark got really excited because
he didn't want to ride his bike back. But about 10 minutes before us
bikers were about to leave (without Mark), the guys told him "Nevermind, we're staying
over night. In this house!" (that would be Ania's house, whom they
didn't even know, and who didn't know they had planned to stay there). So a saddened Mark unloaded his bike from their car, put it back
together, changed his clothes, and joined us for the ride to the
train. In the end, the guys didn't end up staying overnight; they got
Patrizia to drive their car home....so actually, Mark could have gone
with them! I'm sure nobody reading this even cares about this story
except for poor Mark (the other guys don't even remember it). But I'm
telling you anyway.
On the way home we rode the shorter way...only 18 km to Puławy, and caught the train back to Warsaw. It was pretty painless in the end, but my butt started to hurt from sitting on the bike seat for 70+ km on the weekend. I can't imagine how guys who do competitive racing can sit on their bikes for 3 times that amount (like in the Ironman triathlon). Butts aren't made for that.
Overall, it was a great weekend with great people, the town was really cool, and I got some good exercise. Here's looking forward to the next group trip.
ps. Mom - don't worry about all the alcohol references here...it wasn't that bad
We got really excited because the weather forecast was around 15-18 degrees C (about 60 F) and sunny for the entire weekend. We really couldn't have planned a better weekend if we tried (just to give you an idea about our luck, there was a snow storm on the following weekend!).
Beautiful weather for an October weekend (the next weekend it snowed!)
The tricky part was getting there. There was no direct train, but a few people had cars and some took the bus. A few people wanted to ride their bikes as well. I honestly didn't want to ride my bike, but because of the lack of any other plan (and for some reason, nobody begged me to ride in their car with them - what a shock!), I decided to ride my bike with Igors. We didn't ride the entire way - only Aussie Mark was crazy enough to do that (140 km). Instead we took the train most of the way there, then rode for the last 40 km. Ken joined us as well, and it turned out to be a really nice ride, except for my butt felt like it was about to fall off at the end. I don't know how people can ride for so long without their butt actually falling off. It hurts, unless you have buns of steel I guess (or you are used to your butt getting a lot of contact with hard objects...).
Trying to keep our butts from falling off along the Wisła
Riding uphill
Everyone showed up to the hotel at various times on Friday (and even some on Saturday). We congregated in the hotel restaurant/bar/reception/lobby/entrance (it's all the same thing), and as people arrived, we welcomed them as if we hadn't seen them in years...even though we had just seen them the day before or earlier that week. I guess it's just the excitement of being out of town that makes it more fun to greet/hug/kiss people when you see them. Except when you're hungry and there's a pizza in front of you. I didn't get up for the people who arrived while I was stuffing my face with Hawaiian pizza.
Then it was time for the Kazimierz Dolny night life. And by that I mean we went to the only bar that was open. When we got there, it was as quiet as an abandoned library during a holiday break (that's supposed to mean that it was very quiet). This changed quickly, as we all entered and caused a bit of a ruckus.
On Saturday we had a great day of biking and sightseeing around KD, through the trails and around different sites. Ken led us to caves, open fields, canyons, etc (he even unknowingly led us to a bar, and a few of us thought it meant we should go in for a beer, rather than follow the group - nobody told us not to!). He does a good job of remembering places he's been before and leading us on efficient tours around so we didn't have to plan anything (Or think. Or have the chance to form our own opinion). It was a great day, until an unfortunate accident. Khalida fell off her bike while riding on the road and hurt her arm. She had to go to the hospital, and a few others joined her to keep her company. In the end she survived, with a smile on her face (and vodka in her hand), and we all got to sign her cast...so maybe it was worth it? :P
Monument in the cemetary
Kinda reminded me of Napa Valley
All of us crammed into a cave
In the main square
Later that evening we went to a Jewish place for dinner. Remember the last time we
ate at a Jewish place (in Lviv)? Well, it was almost the same thing (except in KD the staff was nicer). Over half of the menu was unavailable; the only stuff left was really
strange. Some people say that it's a sign of a good restaurant
when they run out of certain dishes, but I see it more of a sign that management sucks. Literally the entire
page of entrees was unavailable (except the liver, surprise surprise). Maybe they just
don't care if you walk away unhappy, because it's so popular and they know people will keep coming. We all
ordered random side dishes, soups and salads. My food was actually
really good (mushroom soup and a side of groats - not exactly a gourmet
meal, but I was satisfied). It was not picture-worthy, because I was disappointed I couldn't have my top 3 choices. I hope this isn't a
common theme for Jewish restaurants, especially since I'll be in Israel
in a few weeks!
This is hot chocolate, basically a mug of fudge. Awesome.
Dusk on the Wisła
Dog on the Wisła
I don't even want to know what this is
This is red herring. Which should mean it's actually NOT red herring. But it is. Isn't it?
For some reason we were all in a singing mood, and allegedly (we don't take responsibility), our neighbors next door were complaining about the singing while they were trying to sleep (Igors, Martins and I shared a room). I don't buy it, because one of those neighbors, Aussie Mark, joined us for singing the next night. We blasted "Aweemaway, aweemaway...in the jungle the might jungle" all night, in the hotel room, in the Jewish restaurant, on the streets, and in the toilets. It was quite jovial, like a wedding party...all of us laughing and singing and acting like we owned the place. I have to admit, it was good fun.
We brought the party back to the hotel (there was nowhere else to go), and hung out in a hotel conference room the rest of the night, playing charades, singing, and laughing harder than I had in a long time. It was great night, and since most of the hotel was our group, I don't think we bothered anyone (except for the worker girl who yelled at Olga for dragging around the hotel's vacuum cleaner).
The next day Ewa's friend Ania had us over to her vacation house for lunch. She hosted us, even though she didn't know us, and it was a great lunch, great weather, and so relaxing. At this point, I didn't want to ride my bike back home...but unfortunately we had to.
Napping on the lawn of Ania's summer house
On the way home we rode the shorter way...only 18 km to Puławy, and caught the train back to Warsaw. It was pretty painless in the end, but my butt started to hurt from sitting on the bike seat for 70+ km on the weekend. I can't imagine how guys who do competitive racing can sit on their bikes for 3 times that amount (like in the Ironman triathlon). Butts aren't made for that.
Overall, it was a great weekend with great people, the town was really cool, and I got some good exercise. Here's looking forward to the next group trip.
Goodbye, Kazimierz Dolny
ps. Mom - don't worry about all the alcohol references here...it wasn't that bad
