Tom`s travels: 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.