Cracking on in Krakow

"Here. Hold my clown"

Only 2 more days left of my Poland adventure - time has flown by really quickly!  Today, we said farewell to Zakopane and headed back to Krakow.  Ala gave us a quiz of all our newly acquired knowledge of Poland and the Polish language on the bus ride back which was quite fun.  I still can't remember any of the words she taught us - but fortunately my question was to name a famous Polish scientist who came from Krakow - which I did know!   Copernicus, of course!   My prize was a little bottle of lemon flavored vodka - not bad work for 8.30am!

On Wawel Hill

We stopped a couple of times en route to Krakow to refuel the bus and for bathroom breaks.  That is one of the downsides of traveling with a pack of a dozen Adventure Women - we come with our own built-in bathroom line!  Any time we stop then pow!  Instant pee queue!  But stopping at the service station did give me a chance to check out the local snacks - no Maltesers, alas, but I did buy the entertainingly named Knoppers bar as well as some potato "long chips". I figured if anyone was going to be good at Pringles knock-offs, it would be the Poles.  The Knoppers was surprisingly tasty (light, crispy, a bit like a Toffee Crisp) while the Long Chips were passable, in a pinch, but not really worth the calories.  Sarna (one of the other local guides) had also bought cheese for us to try which she handed round in a white plastic carrier bag.  PSA for you all  - Warm Bus Cheese paired with chocolate isn't really to be recommended!  Its a bit like drinking champagne after cleaning your teeth.  Both things in isolation are absolutely to be encouraged.  Doing one after the other, not so much.

The famous golden domed chapel

We arrived back in Krakow just after 11am, so Ala then took us on a walking tour round the old city.  Krakow is an absolutely beautiful city that, somehow, was spared the ravages of the Second World War and escaped any significant damage from bombing (the local population, as you know, not so much...). We walked through the park just by our hotel (we're staying in the sister property to the one we stayed at before - just round the corner - the Wawel Queen - (fortunately no beds tucked up in the ceiling this time) and the weather had cleared up again, so it was a glorious day, sunshine and blue skies.  We walked through the old Market Square (where I'd visited on my first day trying to find something clean to wear!) and made our way up to Wawel Hill, the historic heart of the city where the huge castle is situated.  It was incredibly busy - for some reason, today is the day that all the students from the local schools come to visit the museums, so there were hoards of kids of all ages running around in big packs!  We didn't actually go inside the castle as there isn't a huge amount to see, unless you are super interested in old tapestries - of which they apparently have the largest collection in Europe.  We obviously didn't look like a group of ladies obsessed with needlepoint, so we next headed off to the main cathedral in Wawel Square. 

waterspouts as dragons - hence the nickname
puking dragons when it rains!

The cathedral was originally built in the 11th century then destroyed and rebuilt in the 12th century before being destroyed again by fire and rebuilt in the 14th century.  It served as the coronation site of Polish monarchs and was subsequently expanded by successive rulers, in the same style of the Egyptian pharaohs.  So its now a hodge podge of incredible architecture with multiple chapels and mausoleums, the most notable being the golden dome of Sigismund's chapel.  https://www.katedra-wawelska.pl/en/ Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any pictures inside, which was a shame as it was really interesting as it contained very elaborate tombs of many of the former kings and queens of Poland.  If you want to take a look, here is the Wikipedia link, which has some great pics of the interior: click here

After the main Wawel Cathedral, we then walked back into the old Square where we visited St Mary's Basilica - where this time pictures were allowed.  The main feature of this church was the colorful interior and soaring ceilings - I can imagine how much of a contrast it must have presented during the drab, grey years during which Poland was under Communist rule.  It was also famed for the elaborate carved gilded altar - considered one of the most impressive examples of late Gothic European art, built from 1477 to 1489.  Ala told us the story of how the altar had been looted during the Second World War by the Nazis, broken up and removed - but that it had been found after the end of the war and then returned to the city and restored. 

The understated altar

Following the Basilica, we then got back on the bus and headed for our next stop of the day - a vineyard about a half hour's drive out of the city were we were to enjoy a wine tasting and lunch.  Its one of the largest vineyards in Poland, with 30 hectares that were planted fairly recently in 2012.  We met with one of the owners who took us into the vineyards, where he then proceeded to talk to us in a LOT of detail about the founding and all the various steps that were involved in getting going (including leasing the land from the hermitic monastery that owned it, sited just up the hill).  It was a bit too much and after half an hour, the group was getting antsy - but finally he got the hint and led us to the building were we were to have lunch and taste some wines.  Lunch was good - and the wines were surprisingly good too (we tasted 3 whites and 2 reds).  But it did all take quite a bit of time, so we didn't get finished until almost 5pm.  

Apparently watch out for the GIANT
 bees they have here - the size of Krusty!!

The vineyard we visited - they don't yet
export to the US, just to Austria (I think)

Vines for days

Site of the hermitic monastery, surrounded by the
vineyard

Beetroot tart, hot cabbage (yuk), celeriac
salad and celery salad.
Maybe I should have had the chocolate...

We waddled back down the hill to where Tomas had parked the bus for the 30min ride back into town.  Many of the other ladies had decided to go to the chocolate shop on the square for "dinner" of hot chocolate and dessert.  I passed and instead visited a cute little place that Ala had recommended called Chimera restaurant where I had a very light supper.  It was canteen style where you pay for a certain number of items - most of which were vegetarian or vegan,  It wasn't bad but wasn't great either, so I didn't feel too bad leaving a lot of it.  I also tried a chimera spritz - I have no idea what went into it, but it tasted very green, so I'm assuming it was healthy!  As much as I would have loved to have joined in the chocolate frenzy, I fear my digestive system would have completely rebelled, so I decided to be kind to myself instead and refrain!

Mystery green spritz

The next day was the last full day of our Adventure Women trip with three main activities penciled in the itinerary - the first, a trip to a local market so we could poke around all the various food stalls and see all the local produce.  I've been to many markets in my time, all over the world - the most memorable ones in South East Asia where refrigeration is optional and you NEVER EVER wear sandals or flip flops as you walk round.  The floor juices simply need to be seen (and smelled) to believe.  So this market was very tame in comparison to those - there were tons of little wooden hut shops where people with clean hands or food gloves served customers in an orderly manner from kitchens or prep areas that were sanitary and not piled high with unidentifiable organs.  I know, I know - where's the fun in that, right?   Wandering around, there were also a few shoes and clothing stalls - if you need a frumpy housecoat and some orthopedic sandals, these ladies have got ya covered!  I didn't buy anything other than a Nice Cup of Tea, having already purchased probably too much Ozempic cheese for US customs to handle already.

You can have any cake you like - as long as its
square and filled with cream

Cheese please!

Mum - this one is for you.  Delicious
new potatoes

Apparently this is dough for some
type of Moroccan soda bread

Watching the guy make these was
mesmerizing - his crimping skills? 
"chefs kiss"

GIANT burritos

The orderly nature of these stations belied
the chaos that was about to follow

After that slice of local life, it was time for another cooking class at a kitchen in Krakow, followed by a trip to the famous Wieliczka salt mine https://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/.  I had been looking forward to the cooking class - this time, it was more the usual type of class - the ones in a fancier kitchen, where you each have your own station, as a team-building type activity.  There were a dozen stations set up and I just picked one of the ones on the end, closest to the chef (so I could hear and see his demo) and not really paying that much attention to the ingredients in front of me.  

Rookie move.  

So many fucking radishes

The stations were grouped into whether you would be working on the appetizer, main course or dessert - so I had unwittingly picked a station in front of the appetizer, where we would be prepping the ingredients for a cold Lithuanian borscht soup.  Which, for me, meant grating by hand two big bunches of radishes.  Ugh.  Not anybody's favorite prep job!  And, of course, while I was doing that, I didn't get to see what anyone else was doing on the more interesting stations (FOMO!).  What I struggled with, more than that, though was the overall general cacophony and utter chaos that comes with a dozen women, all in the kitchen at the same time, shouting over each other, asking questions loudly and repeatedly to the chef, who would then answer and Sarna would translate.  There was simply just Too Much Noise for me.  I love to cook - but my kitchen is nice and orderly and quiet - I really do struggle with multiple competing loud conversations (probably one reason I never had kids!) so honestly, it wasn't the most enjoyable experience for me.  And to top it off - after I had finished finally grating the radishes - I was then awarded the prize of ...... herb prep!  Stripping the fronds from two big bunches of dill and then trying to chop it so it wasn't too "wet" for the chef's liking.  I could barely contain my excitement by this stage - but wait!  After I had chopped the dill - I had one further task!  I had to then boil the eggs for the soup - on an induction stove that was as temperamental as I felt - and apparently did not do a great job in hiding, according to a picture taken by Gwen from across the room.  I know I'm sounding a bit of a grouchy grump - but we all have our limits triggered by various places and situations, and I guess this was just one of mine.

Ricing the potatoes for the dumplings

But once all the cooking was well underway, the mayhem did subside somewhat so I did rally and recover.  The food itself was pretty good - although I have to confess to being a bit disappointed by the potato dumplings as I found the texture to be unpleasantly gluey with very little taste.  The best bite was the flour-free chocolate and rhubarb cake - not two flavors I would have thought to put together, but it was surprisingly light and tasty.

They looked great - but tasted bleh.

Pretty in pink - surprisingly tasty
Lithuanian Borscht but which I will likely 
never make again cos it was a colossal
ass ache!

Duck breast with potato dumplings and
a redcurrant based sauce

Tastiest bite of the day

Watching the eggs boil and being 
generally Over It.  
My lack of Poker Face strikes again!

By 1pm, Sarna was herding us out of the door, so that we would be on time for our 2.30pm entry time at the salt mine, a 30 min drive out of town (we'd said farewell to Ala the day before).  I was looking forward to the salt mine as it had been pumped up as "absolutely incredible" with an "amazing structures carved underground".   I hate to say it, but I was a teeny tiny bit underwhelmed, to be honest.  Yes - it was impressive in places - particularly the famous St Kinga's Chapel and there were some huge caverns with soaring high ceilings and turquoise saline pools, but overall it was a bit of a meh from me.  I don't think our guide was all that great and he didn't do the best job of bringing it all to life (we could overhear snippets of other tour guides and they seemed to be giving much more interesting anecdotes) so perhaps the experience would have been better with more compelling commentary.   To access the mine, you had to descend about 800 steps, winding round and round a wooden staircase dozens of times.  

There were lots of intricate
carvings throughout the mines

Deep saline pool

Highest cavern in the mine - site of the only ever 
recorded hot air balloon ride inside!

Mighty impressive chandelier - all the 
crystals are made from rock salt

dizzyingly high ceiling

step 558 of 800

What

Inside the famous chapel

was impressive was the sheer scale of the place - we would access about 3.5km over 2-3hrs (via the tourist route https://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/individual-tourist/tourist-route) at depths ranging between 64 - 134m below the surface - but the whole network of tunnels encompass about 250kms!!  We would walk through these big tunnels, bolstered by countless giant logs, and often go past other tunnel shafts that were roped off - those were the ones I wanted to explore!!  As I had a look on the website after we visited, I noticed there was a different style of tour you could have taken called the "Miner's Route" where you dress up in overalls, with a hard hat and a lamp, and basically recreate the experience of being a novice miner.  Now THAT would have been a ton more fun for me than shuffling along with a group of 40 other people! https://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/individual-tourist/miners-route

But, it was good to have done it nonetheless and it is certainly still worth seeing, although my feet were throbbing by the time we finished - walking on unforgiving hard bed salt rock takes it toll after a while!  All that was then left was to gather for our farewell dinner at this lovely restaurant off the old square in Krakow (called Wesele or "wedding" in Polish).  We had the sauerkraut soup once again with the hard boiled egg and sausage, followed by beef and then finally cheesecake.  It was all very tasty - but I think I'll be done with heavy Polish food for a bit by the time I leave.  I am craving something light and leafy!!  

Wesele restaurant

Lets get married again!

After dinner, both Sarna and our Adventure Women ambassador Margie said a few words about how fun the trip had been and how they hoped we'd enjoyed Poland as well as each other's company.  And - on the whole - I had a great time (luggage stress aside).  As you know, I don't often go on organized trips like this, preferring to travel independently (and with ManpanionTM where possible) but it was actually a nice change to not have to worry about any of the logistics or timings or tickets or whatever.  It was all very well run, with a nice diversity of experiences and - importantly - it never felt as if we were being patronized or "talked down to" as tourists.  I've been on those types of tours that aim for the lowest common denominator in terms of quality of food, quality of accommodation and treat their guests as basically cattle, to be herded on and off buses and carted round "local experiences" that are clearly fake and inauthentic and manufactured purely to extract tourist dollars.  This trip was not that - at all.  After 4 days of touring round Zakopane, particularly, I really did feel as if we had been exposed to how life actually is for people living here - and gained a better appreciation and understanding of the Highlander way of life and their customs.  I guess it must be a bit of a remnant from the communist era, but Poland has always had a bit of a grey reputation in my mind - solid, humorless, gloomy.  While Ala did self-describe the Polish people as a "bit melancholy", the place itself was bright, vibrant and colorful.  The countryside was stunning - every bit as beautiful as Slovenia or Switzerland.  (You may have noticed that I made a decision not to visit Auschwitz during this trip - that's because I can see myself returning in the future with ManpanionTM (who has yet to visit) and I suspect that is a visit you only do once, so I decided to "save" it for when we can see it together).  So Poland was a lovely surprise - and the experience with Adventure Women was also one I could see myself repeating in the future.   The only question is - where to next??   https://adventurewomen.com/

Exploring the Timber Architecture Route in Lesser Poland

Traditional tile fireplace

Its been a very packed couple of days in Zakopane!  Alas, my luck with the weather finally ran out - and unfortunately it was on the day that we were supposed to do a 4hr hike in the Chocholowska Valley!  We had started the day with a trip to another cultural center called the Red Manor House (named after its red tiled roof) where we were able to see (and shop) the local arts and crafts, including some of the traditional Highlander style clothing we'd played dress-up in the day before, as well as lots of wooden carvings and glass paintings.  Some of the glass paintings looked kinda amateurish so I was not tempted by any of those - but I did buy a cool looking carved wooden bird (I would be revising my opinions after our glass painting workshop the next day!).  After our trip to the cultural center, we then visited the oldest church in Zakopane (they seem to have a lot of these!) - again, in the trademark style of the region featuring rustic carvings from local people.  I don't recall too many of the details (I tend to zone out in churches) but basically it was all very old.

I may scoff now.... but soon I will have a great 
deal more appreciation for the skill and artistry
!

Another old wooden church

After the church, it was time for lunch (more food!) so we went to a place along the famous Krupowki Street - the pedestrianized street in Zakopane that is called the "Champs Elysee" of the town.  While that might be a bit of stretch, it was certainly fun to stroll down it, checking out all the shops and restaurants, without having to worry about getting squashed by traffic.  Our restaurant was a nice, but basic, inn-style place where we would again try some local favorites - fried cheese for appetizer, then stuffed cabbage roll and potatoes for main course, then a weird cheesecake thing for dessert.  It was fairly tasty but holy shit - none of this is light, healthy fare!  While I'm certainly enjoying the food, I'm not sure my digestive system and waistline are sharing the same levels of enthusiasm for it.  I think by the time I leave Poland I might even be done with pierogis and potatoes and be craving salad!

Cloudy with a side of fog

It was decision time at lunch as to whether to do the hike or not.  The plans had been modified due to the crappy weather (it was still raining and it was actually cold) so the hike was going to be shorter and in a different part of the park (not the valley as originally planned).  I figured I'd already done enough hiking this year in inclement weather (looking at you, Mt Fitz Roy) so I made the decision to pass completely and instead head back to the hotel to chill out and have a nap.  I mean - I'm on vacation, right?  I did rouse myself later on in the evening to go back out for another stroll down the Champs Elysee and found an adorable little art cafe for dinner where I may or may not have ordered a plate of potatoes as my main course.  No judgment, right?

The other ladies get ready for their hike...

..while I remain perfectly happy 
with my choice to nope that one out!

My little oasis art cafe where I had a lovely, 
quiet dinner

All the ladies hard at work on their creations!

The next day, the weather had improved considerably and our itinerary had us driving to the town of Bukowina Tartrzanska and to the Culture Center and School of Dying Trades (catchy name!).  We met a young lady who gave us some of the history of the center - it recently celebrated its 100year anniversary (which in these parts makes it a youngster!).  The main reason we were there was to try our hand at glass painting - examples of which dotted the cultural center and which we'd also seen during our visit to the Red Manor House the day before.  We were led upstairs to this classroom, where there were a dozen stations set up, each with a little pane of glass and a black permanent marker.  There wasn't a whole lot of instruction given, other than you needed to paint the front details first, then work backwards, as you would be painting on the rear side of the glass, then flipping it over to view the finished product.  Fortunately, they had a set of templates depicting various scenes and objects that we could choose from - lots of the ladies chose to do flowers and floral scenes - I decided to do a big fat happy marmot.  You trace the outline with the marker on the back of the glass, then simply fill it in using acrylic paint - then you're done!  I think we were painting for about an hour - and I'm actually pretty happy with how mine turned out!  I guess doing all those terrible Bob Ross paintings during the pandemic (that Mum gets to "enjoy" in her basement at home) might have rubbed off on me!!

Site of the cultural center for Dying Trades

Glass painted chandelier

The beginning.... my carefully selected
marmot template.  Closest thing to a mouse
that I could find.

With a little inspiration from Google....

Adding in the Polish name for Marmot...

In process....

Almost done....

Ta-da!  Finished product, the right way 
round.  Pretty happy with that, tbh!

After we'd all exhausted our creative juices painting, it was time for lunch (more food!) and so we went to the VERY nice restaurant next door, where we got to order whatever we wanted from the menu.  All the food here is very reasonably priced and I ordered some lamb and - yes - potatoes!  It was delicious!!  The restaurant also had a terrific shop attached to it, where it sold lots of tasty treats including the flavored vodkas we'd been given to try during lunch (coffee flavor, black lilac, vanilla) and "crem" - basically pistachio and hazelnut spreads.  All very very yummy!!

Interior of fancy restaurant

Had to rescue Krusty from the bear, though.  
I was very brave.

Pretending to be an influencer

All manner of deliciousness

Exterior of the restaurant - very cool!

After lunch, we started driving through what is known as Lesser Poland and the Timber Architecture Route, stuffed full of wooden houses built in the Zakopane style, established by an architect called Stanislaw Witkiewicz.  We had the opportunity to go into one, occupied by a local wood carver, to see inside these two roomed houses.  One room was the Black Room where the fire was & where everyone lived; the other room was called the White Room - where linens and fancier clothes were kept and used for special occasions only.  The Black Room was full of authentic artefacts from the period - lots of wooden implements for cooking, farming and the like - and this is where the whole family (and occasional baby animal) would live.  The former White Room was now the wood carver's studio, so we had the opportunity to watch him work as well as buy any of his hand made pieces (basically lots of statues of Jesus - definitely needed to make a few more bowls and spoons for us heathens).

Timber houses lining the roads

Extra roof insulation??

Inside the Black Room of the wood 
carver's cottage

Two adults, two kids would sleep in this 
tiny main bed!

At work

The wood carver's many many chisels and tools

Our final stop before getting back to the hotel was at a cheese smoking hut, where we got to see the smoking process that goes into making the oscypek cheese that we've eaten so much of this week!  There are three main shapes of the cheese - one big spindle shape, one larger ball and one smaller cylinder shape.  You can also buy string version of the cheese - so of course I bought some!  

Site of the cheese smoking hut - I loved the tilework 
of the driveway

the smoking hut - you can see the cheesy
spindles at the top of the picture

two of the three traditional shapes of osycpek cheese

the cheese molds that are used to emboss
the pattern on the outside

As we spent a bit of time in the bus today, we'd had some time to learn more from Ala about what life in Poland was like, before the fall of communism in 1989.  Pretty grim, in short.  She described growing up in the 80s in a place where there were no colors, everything was grey and run down and poor.  She remembered standing in long lines with her parents waiting to buy basic food supplies and how food was still rationed with tickets.  For example, the ration of toilet paper was 2 rolls per person per YEAR!  (I struggled to wrap my head around that one).  How you would buy what was available, vs what you wanted.  She remarked on just how completely different her children's lives were now, vs when she grew up - and when her parents grew up.  She said when she grew up, she had basically nothing - and now her kids have everything.  She talked a bit about the various politics of the region and went through a fair amount of the history of Poland - it was all fascinating stuff! (I just wish I could remember more of it - but I was usually in some form of food coma).

Highlander quartet

That evening, we had a short drive from the hotel to go to another restaurant for a "night of regional specialties including folk entertainment and dancing".  These types of dinners usually make my heart sink as they tend to combine both mediocre food with mediocre performances of questionable authenticity from bored looking locals, put on just for the tourists.  

This was not that.  

We had the restaurant to ourselves and it was decorated in the same traditional style we'd been seeing all week.  Our entertainment was a 4 piece band who VERY enthusiastically played and sang traditional Highlander songs for us, dressed in all their woolen finery!  It was VERY loud, quite discordant at times - but weirdly enjoyable (I'm trying to figure out how to upload a video so you can also "enjoy" the experience - I may end up just posting it to Facebook if I can't get it to load up here).  They were having a great time too - especially the chap on the far left with the impressive 'tache - and so were we!  Apparently this group actually tours around Poland and internationally too - including Chicago, which has the largest Polish community anywhere in the world outside of Poland!  Dinner was a HUGE trough full of various meats and vegetables - it was simply Too Much!  But overall, the night was a lot of fun - even if the sheer volume of it all had me reaching for the Advil when I got back to the hotel for the night!

Tomorrow, we head back to Krakow and the last two days of our trip.  Its been a fun experience so far and the south of Poland is gorgeously scenic - it reminds me of some of the beautiful countryside we saw in Slovenia too.  This is definitely a part of the world I'd revisit - next time, with ManpanionTM in tow!