Poland blog …

Well in this Poland blog we show how the Polish people really have topped the table at the moment for the friendliest people – wow, incredible! We love Poland!

So when we first entered Poland, we wanted to see some hills and mountains as it’d been a long time since we had seen any – all the way back to Norway! All of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have the merits and beauty but no mountains! So we planned a route that almost followed the outskirts of the country from the East, through to the South and then South West.

So first stop was the Bialowieza Forest, the last remnants of the ancient forest that used to cover the whole of Europe! But before we get to that, the police happened!

Road blocks and police stops!

There was a road block and we wee pulled over. the policeman spoke in Polish. I explained that I didn’t speak Polish. ‘Open the trunk’, he shouted! Crikey, didn’t expect that! One look and he told us to get on our way! A mile down the road I stopped and tried to figure out what that was about.

Two miles further on, we were pulled over again. This time I took the initiative and said hello in English. The policeman looked the car over, looked at the plates, asked to see in the back seats (we have tinted glass), and we were away. What is going on? We were on the Belarus border; is this normal?

Two more road blocks, where by now they were searching every single car, as if they were looking for a fugitive? A couple of days later, there was an article about the Polish president being concerned about Wagner mercenaries getting into Poland via the Belarus border – perhaps the incidents were linked?

Bialowieza Forest

Anyway, back to the Bialowieza Forest. None of this small forest remnant has been cut down over the years, and it’s now protected – however, according to the guide, there is constant pressure on the government, to let the logging companies onto the land! No-one is allowed onto the forest without a guide, and you have to book a guide in advance, and pay them for a full 4-5 hour walking tour. None of the trees are managed, as so there are lots lying half fallen or fallen on the ground and left to rot in the most natural way. It’s very noble that both Poland and Belarus have done this. On the Belarus side, the forest is larger, and as it’s a natural park and major tourist area, there is less pressure on the Belarus government from logging companies apparently. It’s an interesting place, although for some reason expected to see massive trees, as the area is 11,000 years old. This isn’t the case however, as many of the trees in the area don’t live more than 100 years or so.

Great customer service in Siemiatycze!

As an aside, we stopped off in a Lidl in Siemiatycze and I was blown away at how awesome the staff were – so I wrote to the company to tell them. Hopefully they’ll be rewarded! 🙂 Btw, Lidl are literally everywhere in Europe it seems!

Storks … again!

So following on from the all the storks we saw in Latvia – which seems to the home of most of them – there’s are also sone in Poland! This nest has a chick in it!

Camping in Krasne Riviera!

We stayed over in Kranse in the wrong campsite lol! There are two sites adjacent to each other! We ended up in Krasne riviera – lol! No worries though, as the staff were incredibly lovely to us all the same, despite speaking little to no English – they were all smiles! It was a great little site in actual fact, with a private jetty overlooking the lake, nice and peaceful. On the evening there was singing and guitars from some of the tents – it was really pleasant 🙂

We wanted to be away at 07:30 in the morning, but the gate was locked! We phoned the telephone numbers and left messages. The owner comes out – we’d clearly woken him up! With a big grin he opens up the gate, bows and says ‘Bon Voyage’ – nice!

Lublin in the rain

We dropped in at Lublin on the morning, and were surprised just how nice a place it was. Clearly it was set up for evening restaurants. Unfortunately it was raining when we were there, but we noted it for the future.

We found a car park but had no zloty, so we told the guy we’d go get some – in pigeon Polish/English/sign language! On the way back, I was a bit concerned that we’d be charged for a whole day, as we’d only been just over an hour. Sure enough we were – there was only one charge – a full day! ‘How much?’ I asked. When he told me the price, I converted it … 80p! For a whole day! Excellent. We love Poland.

Road construction

So we’re always complaining in the UK that road works go on for ever and there’s never anyone working on them. Well in Poland, it seems that you can drive on the unconstructed roads, whilst they’re still constructing them! One of the roads that we went on was mainly made of deep furrows of sand over gravel – it was like driving on the beach! It went on for several miles! If our car had been any lower, or if it hadn’t been protected underneath like the GTI is, I’m pretty sure the car would be damaged. However, we got there, and we got there fairly quickly. A lesson for the Uk maybe? Safety gone mad 😉

Tatra mountains

On to the Tatra mountains! As the flat plain turned to hills and the hills turned to mountains, it got more and more exciting! It’s amazing how much you miss these things when you don’t have them! After a long day’s drive, we arrived at the parking lot for Lake Morskie Oko. No places available – little did we know the score!

As it was getting late, and there was little chance of sunlight on the way back, we found a great little ‘pension’ for the night 20 minute drive away in Małe Ciche. There are some incredible bargains to be found booking accommodation a few hours in advance, by the way.

Lake Morskie Oko

This lake is one of the the most popular places to visit in Poland. – little did we know this before hand! After looking up whether we could save time and money by booking online, it became obvious that we’d have to get there early to secure a car parking space. On the previous evening, it was obvious that people had been made to park literally miles away up steep hills. Bit of a nightmare after you’ve walked up and down a mountain!

Apparently the ticket office opens at 5am – crikey! Anyway, we thought we’d be ok to get away at 05:30-06:00 and get there for 06:30 ish. We didn’t want to wake anyone in the hotel though – hate it myself when that happens – like at airport hotels!

04:30 and doors start going, car are being loaded up, and people are off! Blimey, this is early! Well, we were awake by then, so we followed the early crowd – arriving at 05:30. Unbelievably the main car park was already half full! Shocking! Climbers with all their gear were on the way. And we rocked up with trainers, jeans, jumpers and apples 🙂

Great way up by the way – not steep, but long! It takes 2 hours, and there’s lovely views of mountains, valleys and forest all then way. There were only a couple ahead of us, as the climbers had gone to other parts of the mountains, nice! At the top you’re greeted by amazing lake/mountain views – just stunning! Plus there’s a restaurant where you can buy breakfast (Polish style) and a cuppa 🙂

The way back down also takes a couple of hours – mostly because you’re literally fighting your way against the current of the crowds. 07:30-09:30 packed! Like you’d see at a football match! When we were at the top, there were about 10 people! An hour later, you’d be lucky to see the lake at all!

Plus stewards had close the main car park and the nearest others in the town, and were directing traffic back up the mountains and hills – just incredible!

If you get the chance though – go for it! Just stay local and set off early is our advice!

Kraków

Wow, what a lovely city Kraków is. It reminded me of Florence in Italy. Architecturally stunning. Loads to see and do. Easy to get around. Completely set up for tourists. Great atmosphere. Lovely Café’s and restaurants. Just great! Really it needs a long weekend as a minimum, but we’re not on that kind of holiday or schedule!

We were informed that it’d be a nightmare getting into Kraków, especially on a weekend. So we planned it especially so that we’d go in on a Sunday – free parking! We stayed about 25 minutes away, and it was a breeze. Totally simple to get in, and no trouble at all finding a parking space right next to the old town. We don’t know what all the hassle is about?

Kluczbork

Wow, my legs and lower back seized up whilst driving – lol! Oh to be fitter!! 😉 I guess that climbing Mount rains for four hours first thing in the morning, ten wandering around Kraków all afternoon had taken its toll!

I had to stop and have a hot shower. We ended up in a bizarre place right next to a petrol station that had really good reviews. To be fair it was absolutely spotless, although I think it was set up for the romantic getaway (despite the location) or maybe a wedding venue?

Great food onsite though, and one of the younger waitresses spoke English which really helped. They brought all courses together of course!?! Why do they do that. It seems though that in Poland you choose a course, they leave the menu. You eat the food. You choose another course! Ah, makes sense. If I’d know that I’d’ve only had my massive Polish style traditional tomato soup with pasta – delicious! £2 for the massive soup btw, £3.50 for the main course – excellent value!

Zamek Książ

We had planned to visit Wrocław, but that’s too many cities in a row for me. I’m sure that I missed out, but getting in and out of cities can be a nightmare on the wrong day.

We were on our way to Czechia – more hills – great! On etc way we planned to see Zamek Książ castle. Well worth a visit, not a long visit though/ there are some lovely grounds and woodlands to walk though, and the castle itself is very pretty – 13th century apparently! If you’re over that way, make an effort to catch it!

The Polish people

As we mentioned at the outset, the Polish people have definitely turned out to be the most helpful and friendly so far – just lovely. It’s definitely part of their nature! Many don’t speak English, but will persist in trying to get a message across to help you out – just awesome.

We highly recommend Poland as a place to visit, loads of cities, loads of natural parks and sights, loads of nature, lovely countryside, and best of all lovely people!