Tuesday, June 12, 2012

FROM KRAKOW TO CZESTOCHOWA ALONG THE TRAIL OF THE EAGLES’ NESTS

Before we left Krakow this morning we decided to take one last walk around the old town area.  This time we took a different route into the center and discovered some new scenes.  002  016
We entered through a different gate and were greeted by traditional Polish music.015  004  This morning everything looked new and fresh.  All the crowds from the weekend had disappeared and we were able to see things we hadn’t seen on the weekend. 006 007  012  017  Marlene was attracted to this window display of home made bread and preserved vegetables.019  We left krakow in a general north-west direction following a ridge line of limestone that runs for about 60 miles and is anywhere from 20 to 30 miles wide.  Erosion of the upland has left behind a variety of strange rock formations  as well as 500 to 1000 caves and high points on which castles were built in the 15th and 16th centuries.  023 One of our first encounters included a field of poppies.  We have seen these all over Poland, but it has never worked out to stop and take a picture.  025 When the rock formations began to appear we couldn’t resist stopping and hiking up to take a picture.030  At lunch time with the help of an old lady that spoke no English, but understood sight language well, we found a restaurant with a unique motif.  036 We didn’t realize the significance until we finished lunch and drove about 2 miles down the road and encountered our first ruined castle. 037 Of course we had to stop and hike up to examine it closer.  038 044  047           048 Marlene couldn’t resist trying on some local attire.  045 Throughout the afternoon we visited 3 more castle ruins.052  054 At the end of the day we found one of the most delightful hotels and restaurants that we have experienced anywhere in Poland.  We met the proprietor, a young man who has spent a lot of time in the U.S. and had for a while lived in Truckee, California.002 (2)        003 (2)
065  There is only one room in the hotel and we were lucky enough to get it.  061  062
095  The structure of the hotel is an original granary that was constructed in 1783.004 (2) 091  We had a view of the castle ruins from the balcony.063  Needless to say, before dinner we decided to explore the ruins.  069  073  079  081  088  Dinner was delightful and almost private.
www.spichlerz.net097100Check out  the web site at  www.spichlerz.net  for more pictures and description of the facility.  I'd recommend this place to anyone traveling in Poland.  In fact I think it would be a good destination point for someone wanting to explore old castles and caves.

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