Zakopane & Tatra Mountains (15-16/10/2016)

Together with the others from my Euroculture group, Ania, Julia, Lara, Martin, Mona, Iva and Aidyn, we decided to go on a weekend to Zakopane and the Tatra mountains. We left Krakow around 7:30 and in 2 hours reached the town of Zakopane located just at the foot of the mountains. Considered the winter capital of Poland, due to the nice weather, it was already filled with weekenders taking their Saturday strolls in the fresh air of the area. After reaching the bus station we grabbed some snacks and then got on another small bus in the direction of the mountains. After another 30 minutes driving trough tight turns in the forest we got off at a place called Lysa Polana where after crossing the street to the other side we reached the border with Slovakia. Having never been in that country I decided to cross the border and take some pictures, and we also took one all together with the road sign. From there we started our walk, and stopping here and there for rest and pictures we eventually reached the lake 10km and 2 hours and a half later. Called Morskie Oko, or Eye of the Sea, it is the largest lake in the Tatra Mountains and part of the same national park. The sun was out and there were many families and people walking as the way was quite easy and mostly paved. We stopped at the lakeside, and enjoyed some sun while eating lunch. Then we proposed to walk further and reach another lake, though smaller and at a higher altitude, called Czarny Staw pod Rysami or the Black lake below mount Rysy. The hike up took another hour, though 2 from our group decided to remain down at Morskie Oko. The views while climbing were really nice, though the steps were covered in ice and super slippery, but the waterfall next to them was enough to keep on climbing. After enjoying the panorama and taking a group picture, we descended back down around the other side of the lake and reached the mountain hut; there we gathered with the others who had remained down and started our walk back towards Zakopane. On the way we even met some deer who came close to the people to try and get some food. After reaching the end of the hike we took the mini van back to town and headed to our hostel to leave our stuff, shower and change. We then headed into town to have dinner; we found a restaurant which had several stuff from which I took grilled chicken with vegetables. After dinner we took a stroll trhough the center and then took some drinks from the shop and headed to the hostel. After relaxing we decided to head to sleep as we were planing to get up early and hike the next day; during the night however a large group of spanish started yelling and making a lot of noise in the kitchen which was right next to our rooms. In addition, when we woke up the next day it was raining heavily so we decided not to hike and part of our group left early to go back home to Krakow. After a hearty breakfast we also decided to head home as the weather seemed not to improve. In 2 hours we were home happy at least for saturday's weather.

View of the Tatra mountains

The group

Morskie Oko

The smaller lake above Morskie Oko

View of the lake and the surrounding mountains

The group

Bochnia (08/10/2016)

I decided to visit the salt mine of Bochnia located nearby the city of Krakow. They are among the 2 sites included in the World Heritage Sites including the more famous salt mine of Wieliczka, So after taking a really cheap train from Krakow's main station(6pln one way) I arrived 30 minutes later in the small town of Bochnia. It was a cloudy and rainy day but I imagined it would be good to see the mines as they would be underground. So after exiting the train station I headed on towards the center. About 10 minutes later I reached the main square, the Rynek, lined with some nice country houses. I then walked slightly uphill and entered the town's main church: Saint Nicholas Basilica. The exterior looked Gothic, with an incredible and interesting wooden detached bell tower, while the interior was mostly baroque and filled with people due to the ongoing mass. It was then time to head to the salt mines, where I bought the ticket, which included a mandatory guided tour, and in polish as the only english one would take place at 15:30 and it was still 11am. Together with the group, we then descended down the mine's depth through a really old miners elevator and reached the bottom at about 350m below the surface. The tour lasted about 2 hours and included walking through several tight and dark tunnels covered in salt, riding a small mining train and visiting a church made out of salt and wood at 400m below the surface. All along there were also several statues made of salt, sculpted by talented miners that thought it would be a great way to pass time. After the tour had finished, I had understood basically nothing, I exited the mines and decided to head to a nearby town to visit its castle as I still had some time left before heading home. I planned to take a bus but it seemed there was none available; so despite the rain I decided to head there on foot. After bout 1 hour and 40 minutes I reached the destination: the castle of Nowy Wisnicz. Once there I bought the ticket and like the other case had to wait for the guided tour to go inside, and as before it was only in polish. However at one point, two guys, which I had seen had looked at me in the mines, were also there and out of curiosity asked me where I was from. After telling them I was from Italy, they were surprised and asked how I could understand the guided tour in the mines, to which I answered in fact that I didn't. They then kindly offered to translate for me, so luckily the visit to the castle was much more interesting as I could actually understand what I was seeing. After the visit, still talking with the two polish guys, they found out I had walked all the way from Bochnia and offered me a ride back, at first I refused and said I could walk, but then they didn't seem dangerous so I accepted. 15 minutes later I was back in Bochnia's bus station and a few minutes later on a mini van bus back to Krakow.

Bochnia's main square 

The wooden bell tower in Bochnia

Bochnia's salt mine 

The salt sculpture

The underground salt church

The castle at Nowy Wisnicz

The castle's Renaissance loggia

Ojcow National Park (27/09/2016)

After having arrived to Krakow in Poland on the 25th, my destination for the semester, I decided to visit a nearby place. After looking up a few places, I decided to visit the national park of Ojcow which is only 30km north of the city of Krakow as it seemed it would be a nice sunny day. I woke up on the 27th morning at 6:30 and headed towards the bus station where I read online I would find a bus headed to the national park. Having just been in the city for 2 days It took me some time and some random Polish words to find the small bus stop. Once there I got in this mini van which had the sign Ojcow on the front and bought the ticket directly from the driver (5zl which is around 1,20 euros). The drive took around 40 minutes yet the weather did not seem as nice as I had expected, all around a thick fog was covering the surrounding landscape. Despite that, after having arrived I decided to start walking towards the first attraction of the day. A few hundred meters from the bus stop I passed by a small chapel built over a small stream and then further on through a pretty tiny village with wooden houses. Then through a path in the forest, I reached a small church sitting on top of a remote hill among the woods, with a splendid column held up by a statue of an elephant. After descending the other side I continued on and went though another thick forest. After 1 hour and a half from the bus stop I eventually reached the castle of Pieskowa Skała. A beautiful renaissance castle which hosted a museum with a separate exhibition of that in the Wawel castle in Krakow. To get inside, as i then eventually learnt took place in many museums around Poland, we had to put some kind of slippers under our shoes to protect the wood which didn't seem so old, but yet it was quite nice and funny to walk around like that.  After seeing the museum exhibits, for just 7 zloty, and the beautiful courtyard I came outside when the sun had finally come out shining in full brightness. After exiting the castle grounds with its pretty flower gardens around it, I got back on the path and came across an interesting rock formation called Hercule's club, because of the resemblance of a rock jutting out from the ground to the greek hero's weapon. After walking past some more interesting rock formations I reached the bus stop where I had begun my walk in the morning. Right next to the parking lot, perched on top of a rocky output, stands the partly ruined gothic Ojcow Castle. Entrance was only 1,5 pln for students, and gave a nice viewpoint over the surrounding landscape. After visiting the castle, I headed on walking through more wooded areas, eventually reaching the Lokietka Cave. After buying the ticket, 5pln, I went in with an old couple and the guide, who obviously spoke only in Polish and showed us around the really impressive cave. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, and being it such a small group, I did not manage to take any as I was constantly observed by the guide; despite the language barrier I still enjoyed it. After the cave, It was time to head back, so I walked towards the bus stop and eventually took the mini van back to Krakow.

The church in Ojcow

The Castle of Pieskowa Skala

Hercule's Club

The Ojcow rock

Pretty traditional village house

The Ojcow Castle