Typical wooden houses
Good dinner next door to our camping
Our little corner at
A happy day: my daughter managed to buy a house in Spain
I made it to Kasprowy Wierch hiking all the way up!
In the bus from "Rondo" roundabout to the lower cable car station "Kużnice"
There were many people up in Kasprowy Wierch. Also at the higher point
After a beer, Volker continued to Świnica (alt 2301 m)
Ulica Krupówski
Lody (ice-cream) at every corner and not corner
Many restaurants, bars, music, artists etc. and many people
Goral wooden building on Kościeliska Street in Zakopane
The oldest street in Zakopane with its 19th-centurz Goral huts. Many houses have retained their historical character.
Some houses are ruins
Has Gaudi designed this house?
The villages after Zakopane all in this architecture and with the same arrangement on every plot
A shop on the road selling the famous smoked goat cheese (serk) and other home made products
Passing through Slovakia on our way to Ożwiecin
Former military buildings were used for the prisoners in Auschwitz
Thousands of prosthesis of all kind are exposed
Millions of shoes from adults and children
A barrack for prisoners adapted from a German army field horse table (for 55 horses) were filled with 800-1200 people
A huge camp of 175 ha that had over 300 barracks
www.klapa.pl
Excellent service and quality at KLAJA Bracia Swiat Carawaningu S. C.: www.klaja.pl - We had a new awning, Air Conditioning, new batteries, new chargers and a cool double USB plug installed in 8 hours!
Good breakfast at Co Bądż
A typical small shop that sells everything
Park Linowy Paprocany at the lake "Paprocańskie"
Having a drink at the bar Promenada
Very good food at Restaurant "Pod Prosiakiem" with its peculiar cosy decoration. Even the staff girls have their skirts with the table cloth pattern!
Overnight in front of the Bóbrka Museum
Someone who didn't use his brains just inserted the English text given by the Swiss Fund
And old clock in full working condition
Ignacy Lukasiewicz invented the first oil lamp (paraffin)
We got some rain during our visit
A well done hologram of a pharmacist in its antique pharmacy explaining things we didn't understand...
Kiełbasa (sausage) and Kaszkanka at the Bar "Przylesie" near Lesko
Before WWII, Jews accounted for 2/3 of Lesko's population. This cemetery, dating back to the mid-16th century, has more than 2000 gravestones and gives a tiny hint of the size and importance of the community.
Lesko's former synagogue is the only one of five synagogues to survive XXII
Camping Górna Wetlinka
Hike up to Polonina Wetlinska and then on the ridge and down to Wetlina
There was too much wind for me on the mountain ridge
Everybody hikes in Slovakia, especially young people even with small children. And nuns too.
A really nice hike with varied landscapes
Lunch at Skórka Spółka Jawna
So many people and of all kind hike in Poland!
Camping Ustrzyki Górne
Monday 06.08.2018: Flight BRU-KRK + Kraków Airport - Zakopane (alt 900 m): 228 km - sunny 26ºC not too hot
11:40 SN2547 arrival KRK 13:30. Everything OK with our camper. Drive to Zakopane (3 hours with lots of traffic). Settled at the Camping Pod Krokwią nó 97 (89 PLN/night with electricity). We are experiencing some problems with our solar device and the battery. Dinner at a restaurant just outside our camping site (78 PLN). N49º16'58" E19º58'7"
Tuesday 07.08.2018: Zakopane, hiking up to Kasprowy Wierch (alt 1987 m) and Świnica (alt 2301 m): nice weather not too hot
We took a shuttle (3 PLN/pax) to Kużnice. There was a long line (up to 3 hours waiting time if you had to buy the ticket), people offering tickets on the black market for 20 PLN more per person (!). This cable car only takes 60 persons per trip and there are two cabins alternatively going up and down. So we decided to hike up (2h45, 1000 m ascent, 7 km). A beer at the restaurant in Kasprowy Wierch after what Volker decided to continue the hike up to Świnica (another 500 m ascent and 4 hours, in total 20 km). Julia paid 55 PLN to go down with the cable car (no waiting time). Back with a shuttle to the roundabout. After a shower and a snack, Julia walked down to the centre (2,5 km) to Ulica Krupówski. I had a bigos for 6 PLN at a simple snack-bar and then I explored every single sports shop along the road; and I found nice fitness trousers at Mountain Warehouse. Volker joined me at the Restaurant Stodoła Grill = Steak next to the Post Office and we had dinner (82 PLN). Walk back home.
Wednesday 08.08.2018: Zakopane - Oświęcim/Ausschwitz (alt 234 m): 157 km - 31ºC hot
Drive to Chochołów (pronounced xoxo-whoof) to go to the therms, but the queue was so long at the entrance that we continued towards Jeleśnia, passing through Slovakia. There we stopped at a supermarket (all were somehow called Coop) and bought a huge bottle of Slovakian beer. After coming back to Poland, we stopped for lunch at a simple Polish fritkott (33 PLN) and had a lody (if you still don't know what it is, you didn't have enough of it) next door at the Pekarnia & Cukarnia (Bäckerei & Konditorei). Stop at a bicycle racing route. Volker wanted to watch while I in the meantime did this part of my website for this morning. In the afternoon we arrived in Oświęcim. We went to Castorama and bought some new plastic boxes to replace the old cardboard boxes we have in our cabinets. Drive to Ausschwitz Concentration Camp where we settled at the parking lot (50 PLN with electricity - noisy) so to be able to get tickets for a visit tomorrow. N50º1'35" E19º11'58"
Thursday 09.08.2018: Oświęcim/Auschwitz - Bieruń (alt 255 m): 17 km - 35ºC - too hot!
Visit of Auschwitz (free of charge but you still need to get entrance tickets because the number of visitors is limited for each day). Julia was at 6:25 am at the ticket counter, which opened at 7:30 am. So we got in at 7:50 am and did the whole tour by ourselves. At about 12:00 we took the shuttle to Birkenau. We finished with the visit at 14:00 and had a cold coffee at the snack-bar across the road, only because they had A/C! Drive to a Lidl for grocery shopping but we still wanted to know if the RV repair company KLAJA in Bieruń was open, and it really was! We got 2 new AGM batteries (each 100 Ah) for 1800 PLN for both + 1 hour work (100 PLN/hour). Tomorrow morning we have to be at 7:00 am at the repair company to get an A/C built in our camper! Wow, this will be my best birthday present this year! If you ever have to get anything done with your camper, go to Klaja and ask for Mark -he is very nice and speaks very good English. Rejoicing about all the new stuff we have in our van, we drove just as far as Bieruń centre and settled at a parking very close to the rynek. Spaghetti at home and a stroll through town afterwards. N50º5'34" E19º5'21"
Friday 10.08.2018: Bieruń - Tychy - Bieruń - Bóbrka/Chorkówka (alt 350 m): 229 km - warm in the morning, rain in the afternoon and evening 24ºC
At 6:58 am we were at the repair shop. We took a taxi, which took us to the rynek in Tychy. Unfortunately at 7:50 am there was no place to have breakfast that was already open. So we walked to a nice café/restaurant Kawiarnia "Co Bądż" and had a good breakfast (53 PLN). Then we walked to the park Linowy Paprocany and lake "Paprocańskie". After a drink at the snack "Promenada" (20,50 PLN) we had lunch at the Restaurant "Pod Prosiakiem" (excellent 110 PLN). A few minutes after our arrival it started to rain. Earlier, we had received a message telling that all the work would be done until 16:00. In fact, they had finished before! At 15:30 we got a message it was ready. It's impressive what these people managed to do in just 24 hours! I recapitulate: 2 new AGM, 2 new battery chargers, an Air Conditioning (Dometic Freshjet 2200 chill out), a new awning Thule Omnistor (all of this for around 14k PLN ± 3270 EUR). IN 24 HOURS ! We then hit the road to the east and landed in Bóbrka/Chorkówka at the Museum Bóbrka. Overnight at the parking of the Museum N49º36'57" E21º42'42"
Saturday 11.08.2018: Bóbrka Museum - Lesko - Camping Górna Wetlinka (alt 712 m): 169 km - rain but warm 24ºC
Drive to Lesko where we visited the Kirkut (Jewish Cemetery 7 PLN/pax). We also walked up to the former synagogue, which is now an art gallery (but didn't pay the 4 PLN to enter the art gallery). Drive to Weltlina to the campground Górna Wetlina located about 3 km south of the village (80 PLN with electricity - we want to test our A/C, although we don't need it today, but we are testing it). N49º8'51" E22º31'14"
Sunday 12.08.2018: Weltlina Camping - relax day: 25ºC nice weather
No drive today! We spring cleaned our camper and then relaxed outside, eventually doing linner (=lunch + dinner).
Monday 13.08.2018: Hike up to Połonina Wetlińska: very windy 28ºC sunny/cloudy
From our camping we hiked up to the Chatka Puchatka (1228 m) and then hike along the mountain ridge to Przelencz Mieczyslawa Orlowicza (1099 m) then down to Wetlina (3h40, 13,7 km, 700 m ascent). The restaurant we had chosen to have a meal, W Starym Siole, was just 100 m from the end of our trail (good, by long waiting time for the food, 96 PLN). Bus to our camping (6 PLN/pax).
Tuesday 14.08.2018: Camping Górna Wetlinka - Ustrzyki Górne (alt 655 m): warm
Drive to Ustrzyki Górne where we settled pretty early this morning at the Camping Nr. 150 PTTK (75 PLN with electricity). Volker today went alone on a hike up the Tarnica (665 m ascent, 2:50 hours, 12,6 km), because I don't feel well and need to rest today. Lunch at the nearest restaurant "ZPC Skóka Spółka Jawna" (74 PLN, very good, Volker had his favourite Kaszanka smazona = black pudding sausage) N49º6'28" E22º39'4"
Wednesday 15.08.2018: Ustrzyki Górne (PL) - Băile Felix 'Felixbad' (Rumania)
We left Ustrzyki Górne at 8:45 am and arrived at 19:30 +1 (EECT) in Băile Felix (Felixbad in German). We had chosen a Camping ground called Strand Cu Valuri, but it was closed. So we drove to the Apollo Camping ground (16 € with electricity) across the Apollo Therme.
Bye bye Poland!
Polish Zloty to Euro Conversion:
1 PLN = 0.231 EUR - 1 EUR = 4,33 PLN
Some things I will remember from Poland:
- Poland still has the Zloty
- Restaurants are generally open from 11am or noon until late night without interruption, i.e. you can be served full meals at any time.
- Always clean toilets with toilet paper.
- In east Poland, almost nobody speaks anything else than Polish. So no English, no German, only Italian on the refuge at Chatka Puchatka.
- The napkins are not worth calling them like that, they are mostly as useless as in Portugal