Majówka. It's the famous first week of May that sneaks up on you and all of a sudden you think "I have 5 days off, what am I gonna do?" May 1 and 3 are holidays in Poland, so usually everyone takes an extra long weekend to enjoy some early spring weather outside of the city. Two years ago, I didn't really know about it, so I didn't plan anything. Last year, we had an adventurous trip to Lviv that had us hitchhiking over the Ukrainian border. This year, we decided to reduce the risk and stay in Poland. I don't think I've taken a "holiday" within Poland, but Dominika had been talking about a trip to Wrocław and Karpacz for a while, and it was the perfect chance to check it out.
As is usually the case amongst my friends, it only takes one person to come up with a travel idea, and a bunch of others will sign up. And we have Dominika to thank for this great trip. My brother was in town too, so he was able to see a bit of Poland outside of Warsaw.
We took off on Wednesday morning, hoping to beat the traffic. Everyone knows that the entire city leaves town and the roads are packed on holiday weekends, so we got an early 7 am start. This was especially impressive considering Irina was the one picking us up (no offense Ira - I just want to see if you read this!! :)))). It was a great car ride because the car was full of sandwiches the girls made. Since it was a holiday and no shops would be open, everyone brought enough food for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day). Our car was Irina, Asia, Igors, Scooter and me. Piotr, Domi, Mark and Ewa left in another car from Warsaw even earlier.
One good tip we received about going to Wrocław was to take the highway towards Poznań, even though it's not exactly the right direction. Traveling by highway saves a lot of time in Poland because a lot of the other roads are in really bad condition, or go through towns which require slow driving. This road was new and smooth, unlike the roads here that contribute to Poland being the most dangerous place to drive in Europe.
We arrived at our apartment in Karpacz in the afternoon, 6 or 7 hours after we left. To be honest, since it was a long weekend, nobody was really paying attention to the time. We just knew we had enough sandwiches, so everything was going to be ok. We stayed in a 2 story apartment with a few rooms and a lot of space for the 9 of us. Close to our apartment was the Wang Chapel, an 800 year old church that was taken down, moved, and re-erected in the 1800s (that was their choice of words, not mine). As you can imagine, visiting an "erected Wang" caused the childish Austin Powers quotes to come out (at least in my head). We did a short tour of the chapel and hung out in the nearby cemetery, while the fog started coming in (always a good idea). It was scary because there were zombies everywhere.
The next day we hiked Śnieżka, the highest peak on the Karkonosze mountain range. The peak is 1,602 meters high, but it was cloudy so we didn't get to absorb the usual amazing views. It was still really fun, as we crossed back and forth between Czech and Poland, slowing making our way up through the rocks, trees, and snow, stopping for food and beer along the way. It was a challenging hike, but still manageable for everyone. I was rewarded with a big bowl of bigos at the top.
Then we were off to Wrocław, and along the way the GPS led us past an old abandoned castle in the middle of nowhere. We wanted to take a closer look so we drove up to the gate. As we got out of the car to look around, I started thinking about all the horror movies that start exactly like this. A group of friends trespasses some creepy property out of curiosity, finds themselves somewhere they shouldn't be, and the entire audience knows that something bad is about to happen, but the friends have no idea and continue on (the scary music doesn't discourage them). Everyone is yelling at them to turn around and leave, wondering how they could be so stupid to chase the frightening noises instead of running away. Just as I was thinking about that, an older man came out of nowhere and started yelling and walking towards us. Uh oh. I looked at his hands to see if he was carrying any axes or chainsaws, but saw only keys. But what was he saying? He didn't seem happy, maybe he was just telling us to leave? I had already taken a couple pictures, so I was happy to get the heck out of there, before he chopped us into little pieces. Then he offered to let us in the gate and show us around. In the dark, abandoned castle, where nobody could hear us scream. Really? We all looked at each other, some more concerned than others. In the end, we decided to accept his offer. It made me feel better that another car drove up as well, and some bigger guys came out and joined us. I was thinking they could help in case something bad happened (or maybe the monsters would attack them first...and I could definitely outrun them), but I didn't even consider that they might also be bad guys, or even zombies. Turns out the old man wasn't trying to murder or eat us, he just wanted to make a few bucks while he was sitting around "watching" the place. He took us around the grounds, up and down creaky ladders, into small caves and passage ways, and to the top for some nice views, in exchange for a small tip. Apparently the castle is going to be turned into a hotel or something, and it was his job to keep an eye on it in the meantime. After we left, we found some information about Zamek Niesytno online. I'm just happy we came out alive.
We continued on and decided to stop at another castle nearby, Bolków. It started raining heavily so half of us went into the castle to look around, while others went for shelter and food. It was a pretty cool castle, with informative exhibitions and history about the castle and region (if you can read Polish). There were no axe murderers or zombies, so that was a plus. After a short visit (and finding a recycle bin to throw away our empty bottles from the first couple days), we headed to Wrocław.
The first thing for an English speaker/reader to know about Wrocław is that it's pronounced exactly NOT how it's written. The first 100 times I heard someone say the name, I had no idea they were saying the same word that I had seen written "Wroclaw" so many times. That's because of the way they pronounce the letters in Polish. The W sounds like a V, and the ł sounds like a W. Confusing, right? So Wrocław is one of the most confusing words in the universe. Instead of "Ro-clau," as it looks to me, it's pronounced "Vroh-tswahv" (using English sounds). Since you're probably really confused right now, just call me sometime and I'll pronounce it for you.
Wrocław is a beautiful city, definitely overlooked by a lot of visitors to Poland. Everyone knows about Kraków, and they definitely should visit it, but there are many really nice cities around Poland that don't get much publicity. Wrocław is one of them. It has a beautiful Old Town, rivers that run through the city, and some really good food and bars. It has only been a part of Poland since the end of WWII, previously it was part of Germany (called Breslau in German), among other kingdoms. There are still signs in German, and German tourists everywhere, and it seems that German is the second most spoken language.
We walked around the city, enjoying some nicer weather than we had in the mountains, and did a lot of what we'd been doing all weekend already: stuffing our faces with food. Ewa said it best when she mentioned that she hadn't felt hunger in 3 days, because we had been eating non-stop. Staying true to form, we had kebabs immediately upon arrival, just to tide us over a couple hours before we ate dinner at Spiz, in Old Town. This was a brewery that served many flavors of beer, and really good food. Dominika's friend met us for the evening, and we also met up with a couple co-workers who were also in town. One was a friend of ours, and other was the IT guy. I don't think I've ever talked to him outside of the IT desk, but he's a really nice guy and poured vodka with loose wrists, if you know what I mean. We rented a couple apartments near the center, which were old, wooden, and creaky, but pretty nice. The building was strange because the individual unit door locks used electronic key cards, but the front door of the building required a manual key (to lock and unlock from both sides). So we always had to use the key to get out of the building, and to let people in when we came back at different times. A door buzzer would have been nice, and would have prevented me from accidentally not waking up to let people in, or having to take a nap next to the door while waiting for people to come home at night.
Highlights of the city included the top of a cathedral for a nice view of city (for 5zl), and the Racławice Panorama (you have to buy tickets hours ahead of time). The Panorama is a 360 degree painting, with 3D effects (meaning bushes, wagons, and other items placed in front of the painting) to make it look like you are in the middle of a battlefield. The painting depicts a Polish uprising battle against Russia at the end of the 18th century (seems like there have been a lot of uprisings in Poland's history). It was definitely an interesting exhibit, a style that I had never seen before.
On our last night, we went to another restaurant I can recommend, Bernard's. It had really good food, with a casual but fun atmosphere. The cuisine was Czech-inspired - marinated beef salad, duck salad, and goulash, for example, and everything was great, even the nachos. It was a nice last evening before heading back to the real world in Warsaw, and it made me think that I shouldn't forget about all there is to see within Poland. So let's go!
As is usually the case amongst my friends, it only takes one person to come up with a travel idea, and a bunch of others will sign up. And we have Dominika to thank for this great trip. My brother was in town too, so he was able to see a bit of Poland outside of Warsaw.
We took off on Wednesday morning, hoping to beat the traffic. Everyone knows that the entire city leaves town and the roads are packed on holiday weekends, so we got an early 7 am start. This was especially impressive considering Irina was the one picking us up (no offense Ira - I just want to see if you read this!! :)))). It was a great car ride because the car was full of sandwiches the girls made. Since it was a holiday and no shops would be open, everyone brought enough food for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day). Our car was Irina, Asia, Igors, Scooter and me. Piotr, Domi, Mark and Ewa left in another car from Warsaw even earlier.
One good tip we received about going to Wrocław was to take the highway towards Poznań, even though it's not exactly the right direction. Traveling by highway saves a lot of time in Poland because a lot of the other roads are in really bad condition, or go through towns which require slow driving. This road was new and smooth, unlike the roads here that contribute to Poland being the most dangerous place to drive in Europe.
We arrived at our apartment in Karpacz in the afternoon, 6 or 7 hours after we left. To be honest, since it was a long weekend, nobody was really paying attention to the time. We just knew we had enough sandwiches, so everything was going to be ok. We stayed in a 2 story apartment with a few rooms and a lot of space for the 9 of us. Close to our apartment was the Wang Chapel, an 800 year old church that was taken down, moved, and re-erected in the 1800s (that was their choice of words, not mine). As you can imagine, visiting an "erected Wang" caused the childish Austin Powers quotes to come out (at least in my head). We did a short tour of the chapel and hung out in the nearby cemetery, while the fog started coming in (always a good idea). It was scary because there were zombies everywhere.
Zombies!
The next day we hiked Śnieżka, the highest peak on the Karkonosze mountain range. The peak is 1,602 meters high, but it was cloudy so we didn't get to absorb the usual amazing views. It was still really fun, as we crossed back and forth between Czech and Poland, slowing making our way up through the rocks, trees, and snow, stopping for food and beer along the way. It was a challenging hike, but still manageable for everyone. I was rewarded with a big bowl of bigos at the top.
Scoot at the Czech/Polish border sign
Hiking Śnieżka
At the peak
Rainbow ponchos
Then we were off to Wrocław, and along the way the GPS led us past an old abandoned castle in the middle of nowhere. We wanted to take a closer look so we drove up to the gate. As we got out of the car to look around, I started thinking about all the horror movies that start exactly like this. A group of friends trespasses some creepy property out of curiosity, finds themselves somewhere they shouldn't be, and the entire audience knows that something bad is about to happen, but the friends have no idea and continue on (the scary music doesn't discourage them). Everyone is yelling at them to turn around and leave, wondering how they could be so stupid to chase the frightening noises instead of running away. Just as I was thinking about that, an older man came out of nowhere and started yelling and walking towards us. Uh oh. I looked at his hands to see if he was carrying any axes or chainsaws, but saw only keys. But what was he saying? He didn't seem happy, maybe he was just telling us to leave? I had already taken a couple pictures, so I was happy to get the heck out of there, before he chopped us into little pieces. Then he offered to let us in the gate and show us around. In the dark, abandoned castle, where nobody could hear us scream. Really? We all looked at each other, some more concerned than others. In the end, we decided to accept his offer. It made me feel better that another car drove up as well, and some bigger guys came out and joined us. I was thinking they could help in case something bad happened (or maybe the monsters would attack them first...and I could definitely outrun them), but I didn't even consider that they might also be bad guys, or even zombies. Turns out the old man wasn't trying to murder or eat us, he just wanted to make a few bucks while he was sitting around "watching" the place. He took us around the grounds, up and down creaky ladders, into small caves and passage ways, and to the top for some nice views, in exchange for a small tip. Apparently the castle is going to be turned into a hotel or something, and it was his job to keep an eye on it in the meantime. After we left, we found some information about Zamek Niesytno online. I'm just happy we came out alive.
Approaching the abandoned castle (and certain doom)
From the inside view
We continued on and decided to stop at another castle nearby, Bolków. It started raining heavily so half of us went into the castle to look around, while others went for shelter and food. It was a pretty cool castle, with informative exhibitions and history about the castle and region (if you can read Polish). There were no axe murderers or zombies, so that was a plus. After a short visit (and finding a recycle bin to throw away our empty bottles from the first couple days), we headed to Wrocław.
View of the town from the top of Bolków castle
The first thing for an English speaker/reader to know about Wrocław is that it's pronounced exactly NOT how it's written. The first 100 times I heard someone say the name, I had no idea they were saying the same word that I had seen written "Wroclaw" so many times. That's because of the way they pronounce the letters in Polish. The W sounds like a V, and the ł sounds like a W. Confusing, right? So Wrocław is one of the most confusing words in the universe. Instead of "Ro-clau," as it looks to me, it's pronounced "Vroh-tswahv" (using English sounds). Since you're probably really confused right now, just call me sometime and I'll pronounce it for you.
Wrocław is a beautiful city, definitely overlooked by a lot of visitors to Poland. Everyone knows about Kraków, and they definitely should visit it, but there are many really nice cities around Poland that don't get much publicity. Wrocław is one of them. It has a beautiful Old Town, rivers that run through the city, and some really good food and bars. It has only been a part of Poland since the end of WWII, previously it was part of Germany (called Breslau in German), among other kingdoms. There are still signs in German, and German tourists everywhere, and it seems that German is the second most spoken language.
We walked around the city, enjoying some nicer weather than we had in the mountains, and did a lot of what we'd been doing all weekend already: stuffing our faces with food. Ewa said it best when she mentioned that she hadn't felt hunger in 3 days, because we had been eating non-stop. Staying true to form, we had kebabs immediately upon arrival, just to tide us over a couple hours before we ate dinner at Spiz, in Old Town. This was a brewery that served many flavors of beer, and really good food. Dominika's friend met us for the evening, and we also met up with a couple co-workers who were also in town. One was a friend of ours, and other was the IT guy. I don't think I've ever talked to him outside of the IT desk, but he's a really nice guy and poured vodka with loose wrists, if you know what I mean. We rented a couple apartments near the center, which were old, wooden, and creaky, but pretty nice. The building was strange because the individual unit door locks used electronic key cards, but the front door of the building required a manual key (to lock and unlock from both sides). So we always had to use the key to get out of the building, and to let people in when we came back at different times. A door buzzer would have been nice, and would have prevented me from accidentally not waking up to let people in, or having to take a nap next to the door while waiting for people to come home at night.
Wrocław Old Town
Highlights of the city included the top of a cathedral for a nice view of city (for 5zl), and the Racławice Panorama (you have to buy tickets hours ahead of time). The Panorama is a 360 degree painting, with 3D effects (meaning bushes, wagons, and other items placed in front of the painting) to make it look like you are in the middle of a battlefield. The painting depicts a Polish uprising battle against Russia at the end of the 18th century (seems like there have been a lot of uprisings in Poland's history). It was definitely an interesting exhibit, a style that I had never seen before.
Wrocław from the top of the cathedral
Kayaking upstream wasn't easy
Can you tell where the painting starts and ends?
Viewers gather around while the narrator tells the story of the battle
On our last night, we went to another restaurant I can recommend, Bernard's. It had really good food, with a casual but fun atmosphere. The cuisine was Czech-inspired - marinated beef salad, duck salad, and goulash, for example, and everything was great, even the nachos. It was a nice last evening before heading back to the real world in Warsaw, and it made me think that I shouldn't forget about all there is to see within Poland. So let's go!
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