Olomouc (10-11/12/2016)

Together with my girlfriend Ania, we decided to spend the weekend visiting the city of Olomouc in the Czech Republic. After getting up quite early, we took a bus leaving at around 7:30 and taking nearly 4 hours reaching the city at around 11:30. After reaching the destination, we decided to head to the place we had booked for the night and leave the luggage before visiting. After walking through the town we reached the Cosy Hostel, located in the city center and at just five minutes walk from the main square. After checking in, paying for the room, leaving our luggage and taking a shower from the long bus ride, we decided to go into town. We reached the Horni Namesti, literally Upper Square, or the city's main square where the main monuments stand. The immense Holy Trinity Column caught our sight as it towers above everything else. A Unesco world heritage site, it is a Baroque monument built from 1716 to 1754. It was built as thanks for the ending of a plague that had struck Moravia during that period and it's a perfect example of local expression of art and sculpture as all artists and craftsmen came from the city. Also many of the saints depicted standing on the column are local saints both from Moravia and Bohemia; and incredible thing is that the column is so big it even holds a chapel inside. Right behind it stands the town hall, dating to the 14th century in the Gothic style with a few additions and refurbishments from the next three centuries. Really interesting and peculiar is the astronomical clock which was unfortunately destroyed during wwii but then reconstructed; at midday we even saw it perform. Around the square there are also three fountains, two of which date to the 17th century the Ceasar and Hercules fountains, while one is much more recent. As it was close to Christmas time, a Christmas market had taken spot all around the town hall and it looked very nice. From there we walked over to the Dolni Namesti, or Lower Square, where a smaller version of the Holy Trinity Column stands at its center. There are also two other fountains one dedicated to Neptune and the other to Jupiter. Right next to the Marian column we decided to have lunch in a popular place called Hanacka Hospoda which was full as expected but cheap and really good. After eating we went back out once again and began walking uphill through old streets. We reached the Church of Saint Michael; one of the most impressive of the city. It was built during the 17th century in the Baroque style and had an incredible interior. Once out we headed a little further and visited the small but pretty Chapel of St John Sarkander built in the Baroque fashion. Another nice Baroque church not further on was the Church of Our Lady of the Snows which we also visited. Typical Jesuit church is has a really impressive facade. Continuing on we reached the Cathedral dedicated to St Wenceslas. Originally built in Gothic style, at the end of the 19th century several Neo-Gothic additions were made to make it look even more impressive. After visiting the large yet quite unadorned interior, we exited to a beautiful sunset. Then as it was getting darker we headed back into town and towards the main square. After looking around the market we decided to go back to the hostel and have a nap before dinner. After the relaxing nap we came back to the main square and decided to try the food from the christmas market stands. It was quite nice though slightly more expensive than average but still enjoyable. Then we also decided to have a beer as the Czech Republic is famous for it. We headed to a local brewery called St Wenceslaus which had good beer and even a beer bath which we didn't have the chance to try. After the beer we were slightly tired and decided to head home to get up and visit the next day too. The next day, after getting up later and having breakfast in the hostel, we headed out to see the midday astronomical clock show. Not far we then visited the Church of St Maurice, built during the 15th century in Gothic style, it holds one of the largest organs in the Czech Republic. Then as we still had most of the day to do something, we decided to take a train and visit the nearby town of Kromeriz. After reaching the train station we took a train and switched in a small town called Hulin. After reaching Kromeriz, we headed towards the town center, initially passing by the B\roque Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary which we also visited quickly. From there we reached Riegrovo Square with a nice Marian column at its center, similar to those in Olomouc. Then not far ahead, we reached the main square, with nice tenement houses all around its perimeter. At its center stood another Marian column and a nice baroque fountain. Jutting out from behind the houses was the tower of the town's main attraction: the Castle, or Bishop's Palace. Inscribed, together with the gardens, in the Unesco world heritage site, it is a good  but not outstanding example of  princely residence in Europe, while its Pleasure garden is a very rare and largely intact example of Baroque garden. After reaching the castle though we found out it was closed and the opening time was only during the summer. Right next to it stood the Archbishop's Gymnasium with its impressive facade, and a little on the Church of St Maurice built in the Gothic style. Impressive and unexpected was the Church of St John the Baptist with a beautiful Baroque interior and a enjoyable choir practice taking place inside. We were then able to visit the Castle gardens which lie a little the west of town and were free of access as it was winter and most of the plants and trees were dead or without bloom. We walked around and nonetheless thought the place looked really nice, with its maze hedges and fountains decorating the area. After seeing the Baroque garden, we headed back to the station and took a train back to Olomouc. As we had booked a late bus we still had time to spare, so we decided to have a coffee and crepe in a small place called Cafe la Fee. After that walking around town further and going back to the hostel to take our bags we decided to have dinner right before taking the bus. We found a place called Restaurant Drapal which was ok but at least had good beer, but definitely not as good as last day's lunch place. After dinner we were then off to the bus station taking our ride back to Krakow.

Olomouc's main square with the Holy Trinity column and the Town hall

The town hall's astronomical clock

The lower square with its Marian column

The Church of St John Sarkander

The St Wenceslaus Cathedral

The sunset from the Cathedral

View of the town hall at night

The main square at night

Kromeriz's main square

The Church of St John the Baptist in Kromeriz

The Baroque castle gardens

Tarnow (03/12/2016)

After getting up relatively early, I decided to take the train at 9:30 from Krakow Glowny and reached the town of Tarnow one hour later. From the train station I headed towards the city center, whch took me about fifteen minutes to reach. I then passed through Plac Sobieski and Plac Kazimierz Wielki with the statue of Adam Mickiewicz. Continuing on I reached Plac Katedralny, where the Cathedral stands. I entered the church, which unfortunately had a mass going on so I had no way of walking around. Constructed during the 14th century in the Gothic style but refurbish in the 19th century in the Neo-Gothic one, it holds two immense sepulchral monuments; one Gothic-Renaissance belonging to the Tarnowski family and the other Baroque to the Ostrogski family. After exiting, right in front of the bell tower, stands the Mikolajowski House, dating to the 16th century and the oldest standing in Tarnow. From there I reached the Rynek: the main square. At its center stands the Gothic town hall with beautiful renaissance grotesque heads and faces in the roof rim, and the circular tower jutting out. Unfortunately the museums around town, including the one in the town hall were closed, so I had to rely on seeing the city from the outside only. From the main square, I headed north, passing by the pretty tenement houses and reached Plac Rybny. Here used to be the Old Synagogue of which only the Bimah remains, a four pillared podium from which the Torah was read. In fact before the war, nearly 45% of the population was Jewish, the being completely eliminated by the Nazis. Not far, a little outside town, I also visited the Jewish Cemetery. One of the largest and oldest in Poland, it was also closed, but I was able to peer over the low wall the large amount of headstones which were fortunately left untouched by the Nazis.Walking back into town I crossed the main square again and decided to look for a place to have lunch. I found a restaurant called Tatrzanska where I had a tasty duck meat with gooseberries. As I came out from the place, the sky was starting to become black and menacing to rain; I thus decided to head quickly to the bus station and take the next bus back to Krakow.

Tarnow's Main Square

The Grotesques on the town hall

Historic houses on the main square

Entrance to the Cathedral and the Mikolajowski house

The Jewish Cemetery

Wieliczka Salt Mine (27/11/2016)

My parents, brother and cousin had come to see me for a weekend in Krakow, and after showing them the city for two days, after my parents had left, my brother and cousin decided to stay one day longer. So the morning after we woke up and caught a bus right in front of my houses headed for the town of Wieliczka. Only 12 kms south east of Krakow, the town is famous for its Salt Mine which was opened in the 13th century and continuously used until 2007. Together with Bochnia, which I had visited in October, it is a Unesco world heritage site, and one of the oldest salt mines in the world; the oldest being in fact the one in Bochnia. It was begun as the royal mine under the direct control of the Polish crown and has been giving salt throughout the centuries. So after getting of the bus 20 minutes later from when we caught it, we headed to the salt mine's entrance. The ticket price was very hefty, especially compared to Bochnia and average polish prices; the discounted ticket was 69zl and full one, for my brother, was 89zl. After buying the tickets we waited for our guide and group who then led us down a set of long wooden stairs and into the ground. The guide was an old polish man who spoke english, russian and german, his accent was quite bad and seemed like he was repeating the same things fifty times a day so not much enthusiastic about it. So after explaining us about the mine's history we started the visit of the mines. We saw several statues sculpted in salt by miners and also modern artists, so both old and modern figures. We walked through tunnel and into rooms, the most amazing of which was the Chapel of St Kinga with its huge size and salt chandeliers. We then continued on, reached a large room filled with water, and a huge wooden horse treadmill used to move and carry the buckets of salt. The lowest point we had reached was 130 meters below ground level, and outside being winter and cold, as the inside is +16 all year long it was quite nice. As the tour came to end, we found there was even an underground restaurant, which we stupidly chose to eat in, and paid quite a lot and the food wasn't so good. After that we headed out by taking the old elevator shaft the miners used to take and reached the top.  Once outside, we decided to check out the old town. We passed by the old castle and the town's main church and then reached the main square. A little outside and in the forest we then visited the wooden Church of St Sebastian dating to the 18th century. It was then time to go and walking back towards the city center we caught the next bus headed back for Krakow.

The salt statue of Copernicus inside the mine

One of the many salt tunnels

St Kinga's Chapel

Wieliczka's main square

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska (23/11/2016)

I decided to see this world heritage site which is not far from Krakow. After taking the 11:30 bus I reached the town of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 45 minutes later; from the bus stop it was another 20 minutes to reached the monastery I intended to visit. The Monastery and its park was inserted in the world heritage list due to its Mannerist architecture set into a cultural and natural landscape. Built during the 17th century, along with other Calvary monasteries throughout Europe to counter the reformation, this was also modeled on the Calvary of Jerusalem. So after reaching the top of the hill, I entered the main church, the Basilica of St Mary. Built in the Baroque style by an Italian architect who was quite active in Poland, also building a church in Krakow, it holds a nice organ, a golden altar and a nicely decorated chapel. The site is a popular pilgrimage place and even though it was a wednesday of november there were still quite a few people around. The monastery around the church is still inhabited by several monks who were also heading out into the park for their daily walk. So after getting out of the church I headed further uphill and visited the various mannerist and baroque chapels scattered throughout the park. After a nice walk around I decided to walk back down to town and catch the next bus back to Krakow, after the leisurely hour and a half in this quaint monastery.

View of the Basilica

The Mannerist chapel

View of the Basilica from the hill

Niedzica & Dębno (19/11/2016)

On this solo travel I decided to leave early from Krakow and head south towards the mountains to see a castle on Lake Czorsztyn. I took an early bus right downstairs from my house, leaving at around 7:20, and reaching Nowy Targ at 9:20. Right before reaching the destination however, a mini van hit hard the bus from behind so we were made get off, with no one injured, and wait for the next bus which luckily came in just a few minutes. Once I reached Nowy Targ I had to wait half an hour to then take the bus headed for Niedzica. About 40 minutes ride through rolling hills, I eventually reached Niedzica Castle. Sitting on top of a hill at 553m it overlooks the Lake with a beautiful setting all around. Built during the 13th century it was refurbished from ruins during the 20th century. After paying the entry ticket price of 12zl, I entered through the main gate and started exploring the interiors. The courtyard had an interesting arched structure made of wood and stone which reminded me of a church cloister and its own small church with a clock on its tower. After seeing the museum inside with several archaeological remains found under the castle grounds, I climbed to the highest point of the castle where a beautiful panorama of mountains and the lake filled my eyes. After exiting the castle, I reached the dam which formed the lake, and from there had a great view of the castle overlooking the water and the surrounding hills and mountains in the background. From there I went back towards the main road and looked if I could catch the bus back towards Nowy Targ. I found out though that the bus wouldn't pass until much later so I decided to walk part of the way instead. After walking for about an hour I reached a small village called Falsztyn where I saw I could take a bus coming in the next 10 minutes. As I was waiting at the bus stop I decided to eat the lunch I had packed; two sandwiches and some fruit. After catching the bus, I decided to get off a few kilometers after in a small village called Dębno where I wanted to see a wooden church. After jumping off, I walked through the wooden houses of the village and ten minutes later reached the church. St Michael the Archangel church is a Gothic wooden structure dating to the 15th century, and together with other similar wooden churches throughout Lesser Poland it is a Unesco world heritage site. It is considered as among the best preserved of its kind in Poland, and one of the oldest, if not the oldest polychrome wood church in Europe. As my luck goes the church was unfortunately closed, and no way of finding someone who new if it would open or not as the village looked deserted; online I had seen that the church would be open only during the summer months so I enjoyed its beauty from the outside only. It was time to go, so I got back on the street walking towards Nowy Targ, after a few hundred meters I found a bus stop but no bus schedule, I tried looking online but found just one or two buses coming much later. I decided thus to walk it instead; I was worried though that I wouldn't make it in time to take the bus back to Krakow. I thus decided to stop on the side of the road and try my luck in getting a hitchhike; luckily just a few cars later, three young polish guys stopped and asked if I wanted a ride. I jumped on and told them I wanted to go to Nowy Targ, they agreed as they were also heading that way. Unfortunately they didn't speak one single word of English and I managed to say just a few things in polish; after reaching the town I thanked them greatly and managed to get the next bus headed to Krakow ending a tiring yet very satisfying and funny trip.

Niedzica Castl 

The Castle's courtyard

The castle tower

View of the castle from the dam

The countryside near Niedzica

View of Dębno

The Wooden Church of St Michael the Archangel

View of the church

Lublin, Zamosc & Sandomierz (11-13/11/2016)

This one was the first trip with my girlfriend Ania. We took a really early train from Krakow leaving at 5 am and arrived in Lublin at 10 30am. Luckily the woman checking tickets in the train told us that she would open a carriage just for the two of us as we had found only separate seats, so we were able to spend those five hours in a comfortable way. After getting out of the station we took a bus and went to drop our luggage off at the hotel. We had booked a room in the Hotel Campanile, not far from the city center, so after checking in and leaving our stuff we were already heading into the old town. We first stopped at the Krakow Gate, one of the only surviving remnants of the fortified 14th century wall that used to surround the town of Lublin. Most of its base is from that period while the top dates from the 17th century. Passing under the gate, we reached the medieval core, and entered the small yet pretty Rynek. At its center stands the Crown Tribunal which used to be the seat of the highest appeal court in the Polish Kingdom. We then continued down Grodzka, the main street, and reached Plac Po Farze where the foundations of what used to be the Church of St Michael stand. From there we had a nice view over the surroundings, including the castle. We then exited the old town from the Grodzka Gate, originally dating from the 13th century, but completely refurbished in the 18th century. Crossing the bridge we stopped at the foot of the castle and notice a crowd of people looking down on the castle square. I then figured out what the bustle of people and the polish flags hanging all around was all about. Apparently today was the National Independence Day of Poland, and a large group of military personnel was parading at the castle square. After enjoying the show, we moved on and reached the Dominican Monastery, built in Gothic style it suffered a fire which completely destroyed it and was rebuilt in the Renaissance style; as a mass was taking place we gave a quick look but found it rather pretty. Continuing further we entered the Cathedral of St John the Baptist. Built in the Baroque style during the 17th century for the Jesuits it has a nice interior, and rare for countries in northern and eastern Europe, a lone standing bell tower. We were getting hungry so we decided to have lunch on the main square in a place called Biesy which was quite good. After lunch we were feeling quite tired so we decided to head back to the hotel and rest a bit. After a nice nap we woke up around 7pm and decided to head back into town; we walked through the old town again and enjoyed the cold yet soothing night. We then decided to head back again to the hotel but first stopped at a bar for a hot mulled wine, which we ended taking twice each as it was tasty and heated us up from the cold. The next morning we woke up at an acceptable hour and headed to the bus station where we took a bus leaving at 10am and reaching the town of Zamosc one hour and a half later. A Unesco world heritage site, the town was founded in the 16th century by a polish nobleman, Jan Zamoyski, and under the direction of Italian architect Bernardo Morando as an unique example of a Renaissance town in Central Europe and modeled after the Italian ideal town. After getting of the bus we headed immediately to the main attraction: the main square. The so called Rynek Wielki, measures 100x100 meters and is surrounded by beautiful renaissance houses and the town hall at its northern end. At the north-eastern end of the square stand five beautifully colored houses called the Armenian houses because they stand on Armenian street which used to be built and funded by a rich amernian merchant. We then passed by the Jewish synagogue, as Zamosc along with many other Polish cities used to hold a large jewish population before wwii, and the Franciscan church which was unfortunately closed. However we managed to find the Cathedral open and visited its rich renaissance interior with some rococo additions. We then passed under the Brama Szczebrzeska and reached the Rotunda, a fortification dating to the 19th century, which was regretfully used as a place for mass murdering a large part of the polish population by the Nazis during WWII. After that unpleasing yet touching place, we were back in town and walking along the pretty streets. We had lunch at the Bistro Zamoscianka just as it started snowing outside. We then decided to take a bus back to Lublin to be able to see the museum as it had closed on the previous day because of the national holiday. After reaching Lublin, we were in time to check out the main museum, located inside the castle. For 6,50zl we saw various paintings and object dating from the medieval to the modern times, but most of all the castle church. The Chapel of the Holy Trinity was built in a Gothic style during the 15th century and holds some beautiful Rutheno-Byzantine frescoes, mostly religious scenes but also the portraits of king Władysław Jagiełło. After the visit we decided to go for dinner, and Ania had found a nice Thai restaurant online called Thai Story where I had a nice massaman curry. After sleeping the last night at the hotel, the morning after we took a bus leaving at around 11am that took us to Sandomierz. The bus took around 2 hours and dropped us off right in front of the Opatowska Gate. The main and only remaining old town gate dating to the 14th century; it also has a viewing platform which we climbed up to see the old town from above for 3zl each. It started snowing again, and most of the roofs were already turning white. Once down we walked further and reached the small yet really nice Rynek, not perfectly flat but slightly sloping down towards the river, with the Gothic town hall at its center and colorful house all around its perimeter. We then entered the tourist office and asked if we could leave our luggage while visiting the rest of the town; they kindly agreed. As we were getting hungry we decided to eat at a restaurant on the square where we had a cheap and nice lunch. After that we continued on and reached the Cathedral and entered as it was open. Originally built in Gothic style, it is now mostly Baroque looking and contains an interesting series of paintings depicting the murder of priests and the murder of christian children by the Jewish population. The second part supposedly is an old belief that Jews used to kill christian children to use their blood in rituals, which was obviously never true. Not far from the cathedral we walked further and got to the Castle which dominates the southern end of town on top of a hill and overlooking the Vistula river down below. It was time to go, so we headed back through the old town, grabbed our luggage and took the next mini bus which took us to Krakow in about three hours.

The Krakow Gate in Lublin

The Rynek in Lublin

View of the Lublin castle

The so-called Armenian Houses in Zamosc

The Rynek in Zamosc

The Castle church in Lublin

Opatowska Gate in Sandomierz

View from the tower over Sandomierz

The Sandomierz town hall and main square

View of a street and the Cathedral of Sandomierz