South of Warsaw and bordered by the Vistula River from the west side and Ukraine from the east side, Poland’s Lublin region is an utterly unspoilt and unexplored tract of virgin land mostly unchanged by time and unaffected by human activity. The Vistula is one…Read More

South of Warsaw and bordered by the Vistula River from the west side and Ukraine from the east side, Poland’s Lublin region is an utterly unspoilt and unexplored tract of virgin land mostly unchanged by time and unaffected by human activity. The Vistula is one of Europe’s widest rivers and its numerous web-like branches spread out into the region to form sandbanks of unadulterated natural beauty. Old river courses, parched and dry but still enshrouded with reedy vegetation provide footpaths along their crumbling embankments ideal for hiking. Several gorges, some deep, steep and fertile with overgrown grass, others rocky and alive with flowing water provide charming zones of natural beauty where the prevalence of wildlife (mostly birds but forest mammals show up as well) is considered to be the largest in the country. Most of the Lublin region is covered with tracts of beech and pine forest, most of which form part of the Polish network of landscape parks known as parki krajobrazowe. Dotting these forested sweeps of natural terrain are sunlit hillsides covered with flowery meadows and marshy hollows overspread with bog plants and water lilies.

The lack of development in the region and consequently the ensuing conservation (oh, what a relief!) of Poland’s easternmost environment can be attributed to at least two reasons. Most post-war funds necessary for regeneration, rebuilding and restoration were assigned to Warsaw and other major towns where quick industrialization was considered vital. In this respect, the Lublin region was not considered a candidate for revival and industrial reawakening, the place having been viewed as more appropriate for agriculture rather than production and business. The second reason is a demographic issue related to the number of inhabitants in the region. This is Poland’s most scarcely populated quarter and so public transport in the area between towns and villages is in most cases inexistent or restricted to a couple of connections per day, making remote villages out of reach and small towns only accessible with difficulty. This lack of transport facilities have kept people away from forested tracts and secluded places, the region having thus been conserved to an extent that its natural environment is in most cases still untouched and intact.

Transport to lesser towns and hamlets is still a problem; however, with careful planning, a good map of the region and some extra time allotted for travelling (trains and buses here are utterly slow and there are no motorways), one can visit the most interesting locations of the region and allow as well time for exercising one’s feet along the walking trails of the region’s undulating terrain and forested parks.

The only sizable settlement in the area is Lublin, a town that since World War II developed and spread out along its suburban western periphery to become one of Poland’s most important cities. Several daily trains connect Lublin with Warsaw, taking about three hours to complete the trip, making their way through scenic landscape for most of the time but particularly where the train tracks pass close to the banks of the Vistula (the area near the town of Deblin and north of Pulawy is remarkably impressive). Less frequent trains (count on at least two daily) reach Lublin from Krakow, covering the hundred-seventy-mile distance in almost five hours. Lublin-bound trains from Krakow may either pass through Tarnow or Kielce, the latter route affording great views of the Holy Cross Mountains (Gory Swietokrzyskie) and the Swietokrzyski National Park.

Frequent buses from Warsaw to Lublin (at least six daily) operated by the Polski Express bus company can be boarded from the appropriate bus stop on Al Jana Pawla II, next to Dworzec Warszawa Centralna. There’s only one daily bus from Krakow, departing from the PKS Dworzec Autobusowy. Buses to Lublin, both from Warsaw and Krakow are cheaper than trains and they come with the additional benefit of arriving at Lublin’s central bus station, located conveniently at the foot of the Old Town. However buses take much longer to reach their final destination since they break off the journey at various stops along the way.

For reasons of accessibility, Lublin is definitely the base from which any visit to the Lublin region ought to start. Arriving by bus, one is deposited on Al Tysiaclecia right behind the Billa food store and the daily open-air market. Looking at the top of the hill south of the bus station, one is faced with a length of the city’s medieval stone bastions that watch over Lublin’s Castle. Plac Zamkowy, the huge parking space right in front of the open market on the opposite side of Al Tysiaclecia provides staircase access to the castle and the adjoining Old Town quarter.

Arriving by train at the train station almost two miles south of the centre, one has to take a local bus to reach the historic quarter. Buses 13 and 17 both ply along Ul Zamojska continuing through Ul Wysynskiego before they approach the city’s majestic Cathedral. The next bus stop right in front of the Krakowska Gate should be your first port of call. You are now exactly in the centre of Lublin, the Old Town quarter on the hill to the east and the New Town stretching to the west.

To savour the historic aspect and authenticity of Lublin’s Old Town, it is advisable to wander around aimlessly, peeping into its narrow winding streets and quaint corners to discover in the process a crumbling building, a faded wall fresco neglected for ages, a monastery façade that still echoes sixteenth-century Renaissance extravagance or a wall niche minus the statue. Lublin’s historic centre, small and compact is only partly restored, and what remains unrestored is perhaps more interesting and impressive.

Ul Grodzka cuts diagonally across the historic centre, connecting the castle area with the Rynek (old market square) and the Krakowska Gate. This pedestrianized walkway (all the Old Town is pedestrianized) is a real gem, embracing fine architecture, albeit plain and devoid of ornamentation. Most of the houses on the street are now converted into restaurants, their cosy atmospheric interior taking in most cases priority over the food. Piwnica u Biesow is one such establishment, the charming ambience of the cellar having been solely for me when I visited in April.

Steps away from the southernmost edge of Ul Grodzka is the Rynek. Huge but centrally filled up with an oversized Old Town Hall, this is not an ordinary square. Lined with nineteenth-century Renaissance houses, this is an architectural showplace of harmony, elegance and graciousness. To savour the true ambience of the Rynek, consider stopping for an evening drink at one of the beer halls that line the west side of the square. All have seating outside making it possible to enjoy the candlelit ambience in an atmosphere of magic and charm.

Right behind the Rynek, hidden on the east edge of the Old Town stands the Dominican Church and its adjoining monastery. While the monastery seems to have been worn out by time, the same cannot be said for the church which is definitely the finest place of worship in the city. Carpeted with gaudy baroque decorations, it contains no less than eleven chapels, all crammed with remarkable fittings and works of art.

The remodelled neo-Gothic castle reachable from the extreme north end of Ul Grodzka via a footbridge seems to be a modern affair and its external architecture is absolutely at variance with the plain and sober buildings on Ul Grodzka. Most of its interior is occupied by the Lublin Museum, a multi-section stock house that contains a range of collections as wide as the number of rooms in the castle. The redeeming factor (and what a redeeming factor!) is the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, a mystical place covered from floor to ceiling (and ceiling included) with colourful murals that seem to be always on show for that special occasion although they date back to the fifteenth century.

The Krakowska Gate on the extreme south edge of Ul Grodzka is obviously a gateway that gives access to the Old Town. But it houses as well inside its additional sixteenth-century octagonal structure the interesting Lublin History Museum.

A stone’s throw away is the Cathedral of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist. The double-spire colonnaded façade is apparently sombre and architecturally bland but on getting inside, one is faced with an interior completely covered with ostentatious illusive murals that are a delight to look at and examine at leisure. The acoustic chapel on the extreme edge of the right nave is a masterpiece of more wall paintings and… as indicated by its pseudonym, proper sound amplification without the use of any sound equipment.

Before bidding goodbye to Lublin’s long-standing structures and well-seasoned Old Town, I climbed to the top of the Trinitarian Tower (the lofty building on the left side of the Cathedral) from where the views stretch out as far as the Kozlowiecki Landscape Park, twenty-five miles north.
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One thing I've noticed whilst living in Poland, is that a lot of Poles seem to think along the same lines. So when a lot of my students told me they shunned Zakopane in favour of smaller nearby resorts, I wasn't totally surprised to find…Read More

One thing I've noticed whilst living in Poland, is that a lot of Poles seem to think along the same lines. So when a lot of my students told me they shunned Zakopane in favour of smaller nearby resorts, I wasn't totally surprised to find Zakopane quieter than usual. It was my third time in the mountain town, having been there sparing three decades (90s, 00s, 10s) - I cannot see a huge difference, other than the run-in from Rabka-Zrdroj being more built up, a dual carriageway running south of Krakow and bigger cars on the streets.

Zakopane is the one place in Poland with higher mountains and quite big slopes for skiing but other than people who know how to ski, it does tend to attract a certain amount of posers who are just happy to have their photos taken in a restaurant with rented skis, poisefully placed behind then. It's probably the only place in the mountains truly attacking a lot of foreign visitors, particularly Russians who make use of the casinos and nearby thermal spas.

Whilst the culinary options are fairly poor because restaurants don't seem to offer good quality, it is reasonably cheap and drinks are good value. If you don't find the food up to scratch then the salty sheep cheese "oscypek" sold in various forms will surely please. Traditionally served with cranberry sauce, I prefer to give that condiment a miss but love the grilled ones and usually bring back a few of the bigger ones to Warsaw.

Zakopane is easily reachable by car, train or bus. If you're travelling a long distance, you may be best off taking Polski bus because the trains are usually crowded.

Accomodation varies in price, there are plenty of budget offers in the form of private rooms and hostels. Private rooms might as little as whilst dorms can run as low as 25zl. Even at its busiest, you'll find somewhere to squeeze you in a location, a central one, is undoubtedly an important factor if you're planning on going out at night.

I'm not much of a skiier but those in the know will tell you that Polish slopes tend to be quite on the busy side, queues are quite big and many prefer to opt for Italy or Austria which is not much more expensive. Hiking trails start from around Zakopane and when it's not too snowy, you can walk in the mountains and valleys, crossing over into Slovakia and some even hike to Hungary. The mountain enthusiast might want to try their hand at climbing Rysy. While those caring for a gentler stroll might look to Morskie Oko where there's a brilliant view of a lake (it was frozen when I went but I've seen it in photos!)

Other than walking, eating or participating in the fanfare that is Krupowki, you could go to see the ski jump, take a cable car to Gobolowka or Kasprowy Wierch or buy any number of overpriced knick-knacks from the market place. Close

Whilst Zakopane remains one of the most popular destinations in Poland, a lot of people find it too crowded and have left it to visiting Russians and Varsovians, snubbing it for nearby Male Ciche, Bukowina and Bialka Tatrzanska. In an effort to avoid crowds, the…Read More

Whilst Zakopane remains one of the most popular destinations in Poland, a lot of people find it too crowded and have left it to visiting Russians and Varsovians, snubbing it for nearby Male Ciche, Bukowina and Bialka Tatrzanska. In an effort to avoid crowds, the opposite effect has taken place with the last two particularly becoming popular. We had a couple of choices to choose from on our recent trip to the Tatry. Oe of them was a rather old-fashioned looking hotel room in Bukowina, devoid of night life and very much geared towards old people and families, we chose its rowdier cousin instead. A day or two into our visit, we paid a visit to Bukowina Tatrzanska to confirm we'd made the right decision.

Bukowina's pride and joy is the thermal baths, without doubt soothing and at about 60zl a day, the hot water won't burn a hole in your pocket. Unfortunately we'd left behind our swimming gear, so gave it a miss. Other than this, the main benefits are the ski slope which is not as high as those in Zakopane and therefore less busy. From the bottom of the town, there's a good direct route to Slovakia, some 3km away. The village though, is very linear and if you're looking for a place to park it becomes a nightmare. A main road runs through the town, meaning its rather busy.

There's a small range of restaurants that loiter by the pavement, we were famished and frequented a couple of them in an attempt to find a seat. All of them were full though and were seriously cramped. The restaurants specialised in Polish food or pizza and most had a greasy cooking smell about them. We were unprepared to wait and decided to head back to Zakopane before the traffic built up even more (it was a Friday afternoon)

Busy but without the array of choices available in Zakopane, I'm glad we gave it a wide berth. The one thing that would sway me to stay there would be the thermal baths, a spot of luxury particularly during the winter but staying at the hotel itself is often rather dear or fully booked. Having grounded part of my car radiator grill on a small wooden fence by parking in a hurry in the hope no one would nab my spot, we then spent over an hour in traffic to cover the 17km to Zakopane on the way back. I would certainly say that there are nicer mountain destinations in Poland and I found the supposedly relaxing Bukowina to be hectic but without much in the way of attractions.Close

Right at the foot of the High Tatras and only seventy-five miles northwest of East Slovakia’s capital Kosice, Poprad is a metropolitan area of considerable size with an excellent location, set amidst a number of graceful mountain towns that may be small on geographical boundaries…Read More

Right at the foot of the High Tatras and only seventy-five miles northwest of East Slovakia’s capital Kosice, Poprad is a metropolitan area of considerable size with an excellent location, set amidst a number of graceful mountain towns that may be small on geographical boundaries but are great on unusual attractions and outlandish charm. Most of these towns are within easy reach of Poprad, the latter being an excellent transport hub characterized by exceptional bus transport that is both frequent and cheap. A good number of surrounding towns are perfect for day trips but others require more than a short-lived or hasty tour.

Day trips are usually earmarked for locations within a ninety-minute transport distance or where the majority of attractions are confined to a central zone of activity. On the other hand, places that require a lengthy transport link or where the sightseeing attractions are scattered across an extensive area are best set aside for overnight stays. Staying overnight has several obvious advantages, the top being the possibility to hunt around at leisure in an attempt to discover for oneself what tourist brochures and travel guides miss out either deliberately or through lack of first-hand information.

Seventy miles more or less east of Poprad is the well-preserved medieval town of Bardejov. Reachable by bus from Poprad with ease in somewhat more than two hours, Bardejov is a graceful place that is best enjoyed through leisurely walking, possibly without map in hand. Since walking at leisure or lingering around uses up time, it is advisable to stay more than one night, possibly two or three. This gives one the additional benefit of including a half-day side trip to the neighbouring admirable spa town of Bardejovske Kupele.

The bus from Poprad to Bardejov follows one of two alternative routes. Passengers wishing to break their journey somewhere along the route to visit an intermediate town with the intention to proceed to Bardejov later should study carefully the details of the timetable posted conveniently at each bus bay in Poprad bus station. Passengers intending to reach Bardejov directly without any intermediate stops can take any Bardejov-bound bus, no matter which route it follows.

One route runs east and cuts across two small wonderful settlements that are both worth a visit. Levoca, fifteen miles east of Poprad is renowned for the intact medieval walls that surround its old quarter. Enclosed within the walls are outstanding buildings, the Gothic Town Hall and the Church of St James standing side by side on the centre of the medieval square being possibly the most remarkable. Spisske Podhradie, ten miles further east does not incorporate a medieval centre and is often left out of tourist brochures but within walking distance of the town’s peripheral zone are two old-world attractions that stand out for their uniqueness and architectural beauty. One is Slovakia’s largest and mightiest castle, a spectacular sight particularly when one considers the ridgy outcrop on which it stands. Although most of the castle is in ruins, what remains is enough to justify a visit. A stone’s throw from the castle are the ridgy valleys of the Drevenik landscape, a fertile area of caves, crags and canyons. The other, known as Spisska Kapitula is a tiny ecclesiastical hamlet that boasts a marvellous Cathedral, two Romanesque towers and a number of Gothic structures, unspoilt and untouched by time.

The first route resumes east towards the residential district of Presov, a town of considerable size only twenty miles north of Kosice. Like Poprad, Presov boasts an excellent bus station that is characterized by first-rate service to all neighbouring towns and villages, including a very frequent Presov-Bardejov connection. At Presov, the bus takes a sharp turn north plying along a winding road that cuts across the picturesque Spissko-Sarisske foothills and leads towards Plavec, a nondescript town located in close proximity to the Slovakian - Polish border. Plavec is uninspiring and featureless but it lies on the railway line that conveniently connects Slovakia with Poland and consequently, it is useful for those who want to cross the threshold into Poland at this point. The Plavec-Muszyna train connection runs at least five times daily. At Plavec, the bus takes a sharp turn east and runs for most of the way close to the Topla tributary before it reaches Bardejov.

The alternative route from Poprad to Bardejov runs north passing through the picturesque mountain towns of Kezmarok, Spisska Bela, Podolinec and Stara Lubovna. Scenic enough to be worth passing through even for those who do not intend to stop at an intermediate town along the way, it embraces mountain views lush with vegetation at eyelevel but bare and rocky as they soar further up. If you have time to stop at one intermediate town, this should unequivocally be Kezmarok. Sitting comfortably at the foot of the High Tatras, this pretty town boasts among several attractions a unique wooden church crammed with intricately carved decorations and wood paintings. Kezmarok Castle is an additional spectacular sight; the permanent exhibition inside is even better affording through numerous labelled exhibits an exceptional insight into the archaeology and history of the region.

If time is on hand, make an additional brief stop at Stara Lubovna. The attractive castle complex set within a lovely grassy estate on the outskirts of the town justifies your stopover. Stara Lubovna is only a short ride away from Plavec from where the bus proceeds eastwards to Bardejov.

The combined bus and train station at Bardejov is set within a green area enclosed by the Sibska Voda Canal, the Topla River and Ul Slovenska, the peripheral highway that leads in and out of the city. Located entirely west of the bus and train station, (that is, one has to cross Ul Slovenska to reach the centre and the spot where the action is) Bardejov is divided neatly into two by Dihy Rad, the city’s main thoroughfare. North of Dihy Rad is Bardejov’s commercial zone, an area crammed with shops, restaurants and financial institutions. Ul Kellerova, one of Dihy Rad’s northbound side streets is a pretty shortcut to the river, an ideal walkway lined on both sides with graceful villas and rustic mansions. South of Dihy Rad set on a raised zone of land lies Bardejov’s medieval town, a small remarkable place considered by many as a gem in Slovakia’s crown.

Surrounded with thick medieval walls, long stretches of which are still intact, the Old Town is indisputably the biggest tourist attraction. The highlight and the place where the majority of historical attractions are located is the old market square, an extensive piazza surrounded with forty-six distinctive and colourful facades that hide behind their elegant stonework the dwellings of the former affluent merchants who resided here five centuries ago when the city was experiencing a golden age of prosperity. Behind the monumental statue of St Florian on the north edge of the square stands Bardejov’s answer to Kosice’s magnificent Cathedral. Although Bardejov’s main place of worship has never received the status of a cathedral, it is nonetheless more impressive, embracing within its walls several original Gothic paintings and sculptures. Eleven chapels enhanced with more magnificent altarpieces and gilded statuary contain enough artworks to fill a religious art museum of considerable size.

Standing alone in the centre of the square is the Old Town Hall, an architectural wonder of Gothic and Renaissance features. Its interior houses a modest Museum of History that contains more religious art and church-related artefacts. If your time in the city is limited, you can skip this museum and concentrate on the excellent Museum of Icons located on the southern edge of the square. This is perhaps Bardejov’s most striking and most interesting display.

Churches and museums apart, Bardejov is not just a world heritage site of old-world attractions and ecclesiastical artworks. To soak in the true fairy-tale atmosphere of cobbled streets and isolated passageways, to feel the magic that enshrouds the medieval quarter, to experience the enchantment that the city transmits through its unpretentious ambience, one has to explore in solitude Bardejov’s back streets and its irregular layout of unexpected corners and quaint hideaways. As sunset approaches, the area in the neighbourhood of Ul Stocklova, Ul Postova and Ul Veterna turns into a sanctuary of dimly-lit houses and candle-burning restaurants, a cloistered spot where the echo of footsteps adds to the eerie ambience.

Before you pack your bags to leave, find time to walk along the picturesque embankment of the Topla River. Secluded, secretive and quiet beyond the least disturbance, it is a grassy place where one can rewind and revitalize before resuming one’s trip. The most scenic section lies west of Ul Kellerova. The three-star red-coated hotel you meet right in front of the river is Hotel Bardejov, an immaculate retreat that is clean, cheap and utterly romantic.
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Nestled at the confluence of two picturesque valleys, Zakopane is Poland’s most convenient base for hiking in the Tatras. Besides a host of central hotels, Zakopane is flooded with holiday homes that accommodate the thousands who descend on the city every year. In addition to…Read More

Nestled at the confluence of two picturesque valleys, Zakopane is Poland’s most convenient base for hiking in the Tatras. Besides a host of central hotels, Zakopane is flooded with holiday homes that accommodate the thousands who descend on the city every year. In addition to cheap lodging, Zakopane boasts excellent and frequent bus transport that penetrates deep into the most popular valleys and climbs up the most outstanding mountain sides of the region. These two worthwhile benefits are perhaps enough to justify why so many mountain trekkers choose Zakopane as their seat of lodging.

Those in the know however are aware that the atmosphere in Zakopane has evolved into one of day-and-night street partying which at times becomes tiresome and is too much to withstand. Although first-time visitors may be fascinated by the air of celebration and euphoria that hangs out along Ul Krupowki and its neighbouring side streets, it must be said that unless one finds accommodation away from the central zone, it is utterly impossible to find moments of nonchalance and tranquillity. Consider coming back to dine and sleep after a full day of trekking on the peaks or skiing on the pistes and you encounter high-volume street music or noisy street entertainers performing non-stop right under the window of your hotel room. Not even double glazing can prevent the disturbing ferment from reaching you.

To avoid the incessantly uproarious atmosphere of Zakopane, trekkers familiar with the place do not use Zakopane’s hotels or private rooms as their base to the mountains. Those coming down from towns further north, particularly from Warsaw or Krakow, usually terminate their journey at Nowy Targ, fifteen miles north of Zakopane. This subdued mountain town sitting on the intersection of the White and Black Dunajec rivers is not geared towards tourism and consequently accommodation is scarce, although the business of private rooms seems to be stepping up like lightning. Located on the main traffic route between Krakow and Zakopane, Nowy Targ is well connected by bus with all neighbouring towns and villages. An extra bonus is the westbound bus that travels to Zubrzyca Gorna, a small urban settlement that boasts the greatest outdoor folklore museum in the region. Using Nowy Targ as one’s base to the mountains may not be as handy as Zakopane but one is undoubtedly assured of a good night’s sleep away from the persistent bustling atmosphere of Zakopane’s shindigs.

Only a quarter of the Tatra Mountain region is Polish territory, the rest and the most off-the-beaten track belonging to Slovakia. The Slovakian Tatra Mountain range embraces the highest peak of the Carpathian chain and the deepest and most picturesque valleys and glacial lakes in the entire Carpathian region. The rugged mountain crests, bare and snow-capped for most of the year are reachable via funicular railways or chair lifts or a combination of both. Below the mountain crests, the lower sloping sides are carpeted with pine and spruce while further down, the fertile alpine valley sides offer a striking variety of terrain, characterized by extensive patches of grassland and smaller plots of shrubs and blossoming plants.

This attractive expanse of mountainous terrain located south of the Polish - Slovakian border can be reached from Zakopane by a special bus operated by a private company known as Marian Strama Transportowe. Popularly known as the Strama bus, this convenient public vehicle runs five times daily between Zakopane and Poprad in Slovakia and back, covering the whole one-way trip in somewhat more than two hours. The ticket price for the entire journey is twenty-two zlotys, less if one stops along the way. The cheap price combined with the comfortable air-conditioned Mercedes buses that ply the route makes the trip a worthwhile option, particularly when one considers that the bus cuts across scenic mountain landscape all the way.

From Zakopane, the bus climbs uphill along a steep busy thoroughfare to the small mountain village of Poronin, making its first halt at the Dom Kultury stop. From here, it proceeds eastwards along a secondary road towards Bukowina, another tiny village located within a picturesque forested valley setting. Leaving Bukowina, the bus makes its way towards Lysa Polana, a quasi-uninhabited border village located deep within a fertile ravine from where the rising views of the nearby enclosing mountain topography are superb. Lysa Polana is still characterized by the surviving border-crossing gates which have been out of operation since 2007 when Poland joined the Schengen zone.

Out of Poland into Slovakia, Lysa Polana’s twin sister is Tatranska Javorina, a nondescript village that sits comfortably at the foot of the Belianske Mountains. The journey from here to the small town of Zdiar is amazing, the bus pulling along high-gradient forested slopes from where the snow-capped peaks of the High Tatras are almost within touch. Soon after leaving the last Zdiar stop, the bus takes a sharp turn south towards Tatranska Kotlina passing en route alongside stretches of dense pine forest, bubbling river tributaries and grassy lake shores. After stopping at the minuscule mountain hamlet of Kezmarske Zlaby, the bus proceeds further south towards the highest peak and most scenic spot along the route. Called Tatranska Lomnica, this is Slovakia’s most equipped ski centre offering besides hotels, restaurants and other essential services, a sufficient number of cable-cars and chair lifts that render the highest peaks within easy reach. Even if you do not intend to trek or ski, stopping here for a day to use Europe’s most risky suspension cable-car to Lomnicky peak is definitely a highly rewarding experience.

Tatranska Lomnica is followed by another ski resort called Stary Smokovec. Although this is the oldest mountain settlement in the High Tatras, it is not as resourceful and equipped for skiing as Tatranska Lomnica. The cable-car to the Hrebienok peak however offers views that are equally amazing all the way up.

The last fifteen-minute section of the route is a sharp drop from the soaring altitude of the mountains in Stary Smokovec to the sub-Tatra region of Poprad. The descent along a winding country roadway offers more views over fertile valleys, sweeping meadows and rushing streams that drain the surplus water from the mountains into the Poprad River. The bus stops at Poprad bus station where the majority of travellers terminate their journey. However, it has to be noted that Poprad bus station is not the end stop because the bus runs further east to Poprad Aquacity, a modern spa resort equipped with saunas, massage rooms and all water-sports facilities one can dream of.

Apart from Poprad’s spa resort, the city is an unappealing monolith of residential blocks and does not draw any sightseers but its proximity to the High Tatras and its excellent transport options make it East Slovakia’s most ideal location from where a number of quiet graceful mountain towns and villages can be reached with ease.

Only a thirty-minute bus ride eastwards from Poprad is Levoca, a town small in size but utterly rich in history and natural charm. Set amidst lovely undulating hills at the foot of the Levocske Mountains and cut across by the Levocsky tributary, it is a sanctuary of seclusion and peacefulness, distinctively quiet, noiseless and secretive. Walk along the steep streets on the south edge of the medieval town and presumably you will walk alone; climb up to the town’s central square where most of the historical attractions are located and you will not encounter more than a dozen visitors. "Where are the locals?" I kept asking myself. But, needless to say, there was nobody on the street to answer back.

Levoca’s bus station is out of the way on the southern outskirts of the town, a twenty-minute uphill walk to the medieval quarter. But this laborious walk is as a matter of fact a feather in one’s cap rather than a drawback because it gives one the opportunity to walk along a lengthy stretch of the city’s immaculate medieval bastions and observe the architectural beauty of the arched gateways and projecting turrets that grace this double-walled structure.

Several gates along the city’s ring road, Probstnerova Cesta allow entry into the medieval town but it is the Kosicka Gate on the northeast edge of the bastions that is the most impressive. A short westbound walk from here on Ul Kosicka puts you right on the central square. Unpretentious but crammed with attractions, it is the place to stay if you want to savour the history that moulded the city into the shape you see today. Levoca’s irresistible focus of attraction is the Gothic Town Hall, a graceful fifteenth-century structure that occupies central stage on the main square. Close by is the Church of St James, a gigantic building that contains a wealth of original wood carvings, its high altar being an extreme example of fine craftsmanship and elaborate artistry. A good look around the square reveals more outstanding buildings, presently used as museums or exhibition centres.
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After our Ale Ryba! experience in Kolobrzeg, we decided to call it a day with regards to looking for good fish and chips. They tend to lure you in with the deadly combination of fish and deep fried batter but the taste rarely lives up…Read More

After our Ale Ryba! experience in Kolobrzeg, we decided to call it a day with regards to looking for good fish and chips. They tend to lure you in with the deadly combination of fish and deep fried batter but the taste rarely lives up tot he smell and it's certainly not the cheapest food. The closest we got to another fish experience was during a visit along Kolobrzeg's sea front.

From the port, we walked past the vendors stood at stalls of sunglasses and souvenirs and up to a promenade near the beach. The promenade contains book stalls and performers and on the left was a street performer playing a hurdy-gurdy whilst to the right there were some tables and seats overlooking the sea, we sat outside the ice cream parlour that served a so-called "American" style ice cream from a machine, in England we would call it "Mr. Whippy".

The neighbouring restaurant served up fish and chips and the seats seemed to be shared between the two restaurants. As I frantically licked my melting ice cream to avoid as little of it going on the floor as possible, I glanced over my shoulder, eyeing up my neighbours meal. A brawny looking fella tucked into the most humongous portion of fish, chips and what is known as "surowka" in Poland and basically amounts to various kidns of cabbage. As I coveted his meal, I very nearly ordered one myself but recalled my previously disappointing experience and made do with the ice cream.

The best ice cream experience in the neighbour in my opinions is to be found in Mrzezyno. Mrzezyno is a short drive along the coast from Kolobrzeg. After briefly passing Grzybowo and the long, busy resort of Dwirzyno, the road becomes bumpier and you arrive in the picturesque, quiet village of Mrzezyno.

Mrzezyno has a bypass that takes a lot of the cars away from it and gives it a secluded feel. At the end of the town, you come to a small junction with a little car park and a road going up a hill to the village's tiny harbour. Opposite the car park, is a small ice cream parlour that serves delicious and affordable ice cream. It's well worth the visit providing the weather is nice, it's an idyllic location to have a stroll and ice cream.Close

Zakopane’s bus station is a busy stage of commotion, a single roomy hallway that incorporates ticket sales offices, a newspaper kiosk and a couple of fast food vendors and pizza joints. As one leaves the terminus and tags along behind those who are already acquainted…Read More

Zakopane’s bus station is a busy stage of commotion, a single roomy hallway that incorporates ticket sales offices, a newspaper kiosk and a couple of fast food vendors and pizza joints. As one leaves the terminus and tags along behind those who are already acquainted with the whereabouts to the opposite side, one comes face to face with teams of backpackers loaded beyond capacity with all sorts of mountain gear, manifestly anticipating days of trekking in an attempt to reach the peaks. Those less daring are not burdened with any equipment but are likewise looking forward to reach the mighty peaks, not by way of walking or climbing but with the assistance of the cable-cars or chair lifts that thrive so profusely in the area.

Once in the open, one will find oneself on the extreme edge of Ul Kosciuszki, Zakopane’s alternative tireless day-and-night promenade which regrettably functions as well as a traffic shortcut to the centre. It’s however easy to disregard the humming vehicles and concentrate on the endless rows of spectacular sights that skirt the spacious sidewalks.

Right in front of the main entranceway to the bus station on the other side of Ul Kosciuszki is Bar Fis, a basic eatery half-hidden amidst a leafy setting. Nothing to talk about back home (although the cheese pierogi I ate here were tasty and delicious beyond comparison) but the knowledgeable attendants who work inside seem to act as an unofficial information office, dishing out besides the obvious plates of fare, valuable advice about anything one needs to know concerning the city.

A walk along Ul Kosciuszki is an encounter with some of the most stylish village-type houses that characterize Zakopane. For grandness, eloquence and tradition, look no further than Hotel Grand Stamary, a magnificent Zakopane-style building that combines beautiful century-old architecture with green spaces for recreation and sports. For plain rustic architecture so typical of Zakopane, ogle the all-wood construction that accommodates the main branch of the city’s tourist office. Located only a stone’s throw west of the bus station, it is a graceful rural structure supported on thick wooden vertical posts, its triangular thatched roof sustained on a charming framework of beams and struts.

A few steps further west of the tourist office, the Bystra canal is a portrait-pretty streaming watercourse that cuts across the city, draining the excess mountain water into the narrow ridgy depths of the Dolina Strazyska and the Dolina Bialego valleys. The foaming water flow is strong enough to drive anything in its path even large woody branches and tree trunks but kids are perfectly content with limiting their casting launch to a paper boat which they observe getting out of sight in a jiffy. Those amazed by the scenic sight of the watery ambience can linger on one of the canal’s wooden bridges or if time is on hand stroll at leisure along pretty Ul Sienkiewicza, a non-pedestrianized street that runs in close proximity to the waterway.

The western edge of Ul Kosciuszki is a bustling scene of people on the move. Brimming with activity, it is the place to linger if one wants to develop a taste for trendy clothes and fashionable accoutrements. To add to the exquisite air of stylishness and panache, several renowned cafeterias and trattorias have opened a branch here. Appealing to passers-by with their glistening interiors and strong aroma of coffee, pastry and sweets, they are distinctly tempting and inviting beyond abstinence. Amidst this conglomeration of welcoming spots of coffee and confections is the Orbis-run Hotel Giewont, a good-value no-nonsense place of accommodation considered by many as Zakopane’s most traditional legendary institution of hospitality. The three-floor structure is architecturally plain and unpretentious; yet its corner location between Zakopane’s two most popular streets gives it an air of glory and impressiveness.

The westernmost edge of Ul Kosciuszki heralds the spot where the real Zakopane begins. An up-and-down glance from this vantage point at the visible stretch of Ul Krupowki is enough to bear witness to the popularity of this lengthy pedestrianized walkway. Sloping gently upwards from its northwest edge right at the foot of Mount Gubalowka, it cuts across the most fashionable part of town, terminating at a junction point where it meets Al 3 Maja, a parallel non-identical twin, soulless and featureless but time-sparing for anybody who needs to go across by car.

The northwest section of Ul Krupowki, undoubtedly visited by anybody who puts his feet on Zakopane ground is not just a showcase of outstanding restaurants, boutiques and souvenir shops but it comprises as well an accumulation of attractions that should in no case be left out of review. A few downward steps northwest of Hotel Gazda (the huge corner block facing the edge of Ul Kosciuszki), one can track down with some hunting around the quasi-hidden Museum Tatrzanskie. This multi-section display of anything one needs to know about the region includes historical artefacts related to the Tatra mountain district, collections of mineral rocks excavated from the area and heaps of flora and fauna-related material brought together and systematized over the years since the second half of the nineteenth century.

On the opposite side of Ul Krupowki, only a short distance further down from the museum is the parish church, a huge nineteenth-century stonework creation that externally appears more recent than it really is. Its exterior neo-Romanesque design, though older than a century seems fresh enough to be easily mistaken for one that is just coming out of the drawing board. Inside, no expense was spared to add the greatest and most varied collections of ornamentation possible. Every chapel is packed with statues, murals and glimmering friezes; every corner shines with a profusion of decorations intricately carved in wood, painted and gilded. Looking at the entirety of the interior at one go may seem a feast of colour, gaudiness and showiness beyond comprehension but looking into the details of a handful of preferred attractions is perhaps wiser and more insightful.

Ul Koscieliska, the street facing the church is Zakopane’s longest-standing part of town. A stroll along this untouched parading ground reveals a number of folksy wooden constructions, absolutely unusual elsewhere but definitely in place in Zakopane. Small and no longer able to cope with the number of inhabitants, the old parish church is a charming wooden rustic construction, its graceful roof framework supported on thick rafters being a masterpiece of skill and design. Behind the church, Zakopane’s cemetery contains more wood collections. Although obviously gloomy and melancholic, this burial ground is an impressive place crammed with numerous wooden tombs and an endless array of sculpted wooden niches standing on vertical posts as a timeless memorial to those laid to rest within.

The northwest edge of Ul Krupowki terminates with a bridge that spans the graceful Bialy Potok Canal. The bridge and its surrounding ground is the venue of a daily colourful open-air market where all sorts of inventive handiwork, speciality foods and carved-in-Zakopane wood items are put for sale. The soft mountain cheese wrapped in a yellowish-brown skin encrustation typical of Zakopane is everywhere, usually sold by women in colourful folk dresses. Likewise found everywhere are the hand-knitted sheep’s wool jumpers and the hand-assembled soft skin flat alpine footwear. Behind the market on Ul Nowotarska is the Mount Gubalowka funicular, a cable-car that provides access to the top of Zakopane’s most favourite tourist destination.

Go back to the intersection of Ul Kosciuszki and Ul Krupowki in the shadow of Hotel Giewont. Strolling uphill from here along Ul Krupowki is a feat of squeezing one’s way through crowds of parading hikers who come here to dine and lodge after a time in the mountains. Packed with all sorts of restaurants, basic and cheap or upmarket and expensive, this area is at times too wild and chaotic and leaves most first-time visitors exhausted and breathless. Occasionally, a section of the street is closed to pedestrian traffic and consequently the atmosphere becomes more confused and disorderly. The occurrence is merely a short-time show given by a group of street entertainers who decide to take to the middle of the street to perform.

As one proceeds uphill, Ul Krupowki becomes more appealing and captivating. The area in the neighbourhood of the Restauracja Kolorowa is needless to say more colourful and interesting, somewhat less crowded and more typical of a popular mountain resort.

The crossover of Ul Krupowki and Al 3 Maja marks the onset of Ul Zamoyskiego, a lengthy route that heads straight to a roundabout intersection (popularly called the Rondo) from where a two-mile stretch of country road leads to Kuznice. An endless procession of minivans and horse-drawn carriages ply the route for those who don’t feel like exercising their legs in excess of short distances. The twenty-minute cable-car trip from Kuznice to the top of Mount Kasprowy Wierch should indisputably be the prime reason for visiting Zakopane. The views all the way up are superb; the views from the top will leave you breathless and reluctant to leave.


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Missing out a trip to Zakopane when visiting Krakow is similar to forgetting to see the Vatican when in Rome. Who will forgive you for such a sin of omission? Visiting Zakopane from Krakow is after all an easy two-and-a- half hour bus trip…Read More

Missing out a trip to Zakopane when visiting Krakow is similar to forgetting to see the Vatican when in Rome. Who will forgive you for such a sin of omission? Visiting Zakopane from Krakow is after all an easy two-and-a- half hour bus trip that traverses through wonderful terrain of hillside groves and green pastures, a pleasure expedition that should in no case be missed.

While Krakow is historical and cultural, Zakopane is entertaining and easygoing. This does not in any way implicate that Zakopane is short on sightseeing attractions and tempting appeal but the town is geared more towards light-hearted leisure and recreation rather than artistic enrichment and aesthetic refinement. Krakow with its majestic churches and historical buildings captivates and ensnares; Zakopane with its trendy parading walkways and scenic views amuses and pleases.

No matter how early you leave Krakow, you will not put your feet in Zakopane before 11:00 am, probably much later. Consequently, it is advisable to stay overnight and so have enough time to join the crowds of Polish hikers and strut up and down along Ul Krupowki (Zakopane’s leading promenade) late at night when the endless rows of restaurants, cafes, boutiques, souvenir shops and open-air stalls turn into one illuminated display of colour, animation and excitement. Zakopane never seems to sleep. Even a downpour of rain and snow did not preclude the swarms from persisting repeatedly in their walking procession of wonder and delight.

Unquestionably, Zakopane deserves a stay longer than a couple of days, particularly if one intends to use the place as a stepping stone to the mountains. Nestled at the foot of the Tatras right at the confluence of two picturesque valleys, Zakopane is enclosed within mountainous landscape, a rugged topography of high peaks and straight-cut ridges. Separating the alpine heights are several picturesque valleys, streaming tributaries and glistening lakes, their grassy watersides affording ideal footpaths trailed for trekking.

All this seems adventurous enough to make a stay in the city enjoyable and amusing but… in the course of the last few years, the number of visitors has multiplied to such an extent that for most of the time the demand for accommodation far exceeds the supply. Gone are the days when home owners converged on the train and bus stations with placards in hands requesting disembarking passengers to lease a room in their house. This was the state of affairs in Zakopane ten years ago when I first visited the city. I can easily think back to the days when locals swarmed the area around each bus that arrived calling out ‘pokoje’ or ‘zimmer frei’. Today’s scenario has changed from one of owners begging to one of visitors looking around in an attempt to track down a place of accommodation. Hotels and pensions in Zakopane are simply not enough to house the thousands who descend on the city in high season. And when is it not high season in Zakopane? During the winter spell and such interval starts from early December and does not end before mid-April, the city is literally overrun by skiers and mountain trekkers who come here en masse to enjoy the snow-capped peaks and snow-carpeted slopes. In summer when the day temperature goes up to the mid-twenties and sunny days are frequent (although spells of heavy rainfall are frequent as well), the city is plagued with backpackers who come here to savour the fresh air of the mountains. In other words, Zakopane has in the last few years evolved into an all-year-round resort, a destination that offers something for everyone during each day of the year. On account of the city’s prevailing demand for rooms and the concurrent shortage of hotel accommodation, most houses (if not all) along the most popular streets of the city have been turned into guesthouses, their former needy owners becoming filthy rich overnight.

During the current year, I visited Zakopane twice, each time disregarding to book ahead. In the first instance, desperate to locate a bed after a day of travelling, I pleaded for accommodation at scores of houses that displayed the ‘pokoje’ sign. I was finally fortunate enough to find a tiny room on Ul Jagiellonska in the vicinity of the train station after a two-hour non-stop search. The second time, having thought that the high season was over, I was confident that finding accommodation would be a simple straight-forward affair. Contrary to my belief however, I couldn’t locate a room no matter how intensively I tried and hunted around. My only alternative was to take lodging for one night in Hotel Giewont, an expensive option worth the equivalent of a whole week of budget accommodation in a basic holiday home.

In short, Zakopane’s tempting appeal and charisma have turned the city into Poland’s most popular all-year-round destination and so demand for accommodation has become extremely great. Visitors should keep this in mind before showing up in the city. It is therefore advisable to book months ahead if one wishes to secure an acceptable place of accommodation close to the centre.

The airline hub closest to Zakopane is Krakow’s Balice Airport, more than hundred miles north. Since no direct transport link exists between Krakow’s airport and Zakopane, one has first of all to start with a short effortless trip from the airport to Krakow’s Dworzec Autobusowy, the city’s main bus station located in close proximity to Krakow Glowny train station on the north eastern outskirts of the Old Town. The most fitting option to reach Zakopane from Krakow is to use the bus and not the train. Buses and minibuses operated by at least three different transport companies (PKS, Trans-frej and Szwagropol) run regularly every hour or even more frequently when demand cries out for more. Trains are far less frequent and cover a longer route, consequently taking about an extra hour to reach the final terminus. Over and above the extra journey time, one has to consider as well the price of the ticket which is less expensive for the bus trip than for the train.

But on top of everything, it is the scenic route the bus follows that makes travelling by bus more advantageous, more desirable and worthier than travelling by train. The journey from Krakow to Zakopane by bus is roughly a direct hundred-mile southbound route that for most of the way passes over single carriage roads running along fertile valley corridors or mountain sides lined with vast patches of pine forest and smaller patches of grassland. Leaving behind the wonderful view of Wawel Hill, the bus soon delved south along Ul Zakopianska, a major traffic-infested thoroughfare that headed straight out of town to the outlying suburb of Libertow. Just before bypassing Libertow, the bus crossed the mighty A4 overpass whose elevated layout afforded excellent views over the neighbouring village of Opatkowice.

South of Libertow, the bus proceeded along a stretch of a dual carriageway that extended across fabulous countryside characterized by large swaths of grazing land and smaller areas of cultivated farmland. Dotting this unblemished scenery of greenery were patches of yellow glittering stars studded with prominent dark brown cores, carpets of self-poised sunflowers that seemed to be ready for harvesting. All this natural beauty glimmered for only a few minutes and soon dropped out of sight as the bus reached Myslenice, an urban settlement of considerable size located at the northern foot of the Beskid Makowski Mountains. After a short stopover, the bus started its uphill trip along high-gradient meandering roads passing on the way close to several typical mountain villages, most of which consisting of nothing more than a handful of farmhouses scattered here and there across the countryside. Dotting the trailed pathways amidst the densely forested alpine heights were tiny charming mountain refuges, convenient havens for trekkers and mountain climbers. Half-hidden in the thick of the forest but partly visible through the window of the bus were several chair lifts ideal for ramblers who wished to touch the peaks without exercising their legs beyond overindulgence.

This exciting portion of the bus trip alternating between sloping mountain roads and descending faulting depths resumed for no less than an hour until we finally reached the town of Nowy Targ, a mountain neighbourhood notorious for its ability to afford amazing riverside walks for amblers and picturesque peaks for climbers. A good number of backpackers got out of the bus at Nowy Targ bus station on the western edge of the town from where access to the mountains seemed to be an easy undertaking.

From Nowy Targ the bus started its fifteen-minute high-gradient descent to Zakopane, the first section of the road leading to the small mountain settlement of Poronin being a winding course running across hillside groves and fertile ravines brimming with flowering shrubs in yellow bloom. Extending south from Poronin to Zakopane, the road becomes pretty busy, particularly as the approach to Zakopane becomes imminent. Rows of rustic folksy wooden chalets, so characteristic of Zakopane paved the way to the town’s official boundary.
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Shopping possibilities in Wroclaw have become so numerous and diverse that an attempt to choose the best way to spend your extra zlotys has turned into a feat of non-stop wandering around. Although no particular streets entirely dedicated to shopping exist in the city centre,…Read More

Shopping possibilities in Wroclaw have become so numerous and diverse that an attempt to choose the best way to spend your extra zlotys has turned into a feat of non-stop wandering around. Although no particular streets entirely dedicated to shopping exist in the city centre, it must be said that the area around the market square offers the best opportunities to find well-stocked shops of all sorts. The Rynek itself is a hive of shopping activity, particularly if one considers the scores of small specialized stores that fill in the three internal passageways running parallel to each other across the central conglomeration of buildings. Ul Olawska, Ul Wita Stwosza, Ul Odrzanska and the northern section of Ul Swidnicka are all busy streets in close proximity to the Rynek and likewise home to a bewildering array of upmarket boutiques, souvenir shops and food stores.

An eagerness for selling and trading complemented by a thirst for buying and consuming has in the last few years taken the city by storm. While strolling around the streets looking at the endless rows of overstocked shop fronts, one cannot help not asking: "how can such a great number of shops thrive and prosper when the total population of the city and its suburbs amounts to just somewhat more than half a million? Or is this perhaps a reaction to the former business scene in the city when retail opportunities were restricted to queuing behind the doorway of a shop just to buy a loaf of bread?"

Whatever the reason for such a thriving shopping scene, it must be said that since Wroclaw has been added to Ryanair’s list of low-fare destinations, the number of visitors in the city has exploded overnight. The result is visible for all to see. Not only are the existing shops flourishing beyond expectation but new businesses and familiar international brand names are establishing themselves on the most popular streets of the city. This innovation in the business scene is concerned more with the diversity and quality of whatever is for sale than with the opening of new shops and the renewal or refurbishment of old ones although the latter seems to be on the agenda of any Wroclawski businessman.

On the way from the airport to the city centre, one is surprised to encounter a considerable number of new department stores and glistening shopping malls, most of which sited within extensive grounds conveniently equipped with spacious parking spaces and in some cases landscaped areas for recreation and sports. Closer to the centre, the stage for retail business on a large scale is not much different although the open-air parking area is in most cases absent, being substituted by two or three floor levels of underground parking spaces. Obviously, shopping malls in the city centre do not have grounds large enough to host sports activities, although an attempt to include indoor entertainment facilities like cinemas, discos, children play areas and exhibition spaces has become the order of the day.

A short stroll west from the back exit of the train station is the answer to Berlin’s KaDeWe, a seven-floor upmarket department store notorious for quality, customer satisfaction and service and considered by many as Germany’s first. Wroclaw’s premium consumer sanctuary called the Arkady Wroclawskie may not be as popular or grand as Germany’s legendary retail institution but it is definitely more innovative in design, more lively and fresh-looking. Boasting five spacious floors teeming with hundred twenty stores crammed with top-quality pieces, it is a paradise of colours and style for fashion aficionados and a happy hunting ground for lovers of the latest in electronic gadgets and contraptions. Take the escalator or elevator to the second floor if your desire to break your shopping tour with a leisurely stop can’t be set aside for later. Here you will be entertained with the most recent films (in English, with Polish sub-titles) inside the Multikino cinema. This is not an ordinary film-showing hall but an eleven-screen complex of small cosy compartments where one gets enthralled with captivating appearances and imageries of exceptional quality. By now, one’s crave for a hot meal or a coffee may be too much to endure. In this case, one will absolutely not be let down because restaurants, fast food outlets, coffee shops and ice-cream parlours are as plentiful and various as the cutting-edge fashion brands that invade the retail spaces of this huge complex.

Before making your way out, have a look at two eye-catching attractions normally attributed to a viewing rather than to a shopping gallery. One is a large original manifestation of Salvador Dali’s over-fertile imagination, a 3D figurative showpiece that I dare not classify as a sculpture. The other is less conceptual, more natural and colourful. Suitable to occupy a grand place in a natural history museum, it is a two-storey water tank where all the rich colours of the deep are concentrated in twenty seven gallons of gyrating water. Scores of exotic fish, some as large as a human arm, others as small as a toe nail stare at you from numerous cavernous dens and hideouts formed by multi-coloured coral entanglements.

Close to Arkady Wroclawskie and visible from the southernmost edge of Ul Swidnicka is the newest and highest behemoth of commercial temples in Wroclaw. Appropriately named the Galeria Handlowa Sky Tower, it is a three-tiered skyscraper endowed with three full floors of superstores and retail outlets. Extensively spread out over a huge area, it houses in addition scores of residential apartments and offices, a complete fitness centre, a bowling alley and areas for indoor and outdoor recreation and sports. The huge adjacent open-air landscaped parking stands to witness that accessibility of land in out-centre Wroclaw is in no case a drawback. Also not a drawback seems to be the acquisition of monumental art pieces. The entranceway to the Sky Tower is as a matter of fact enriched with another Dali effigy, an out-of-the-world highly imaginative muddle that may appear meaningless to some and absurd to others but definitely peculiar and inquisitive to all.

Midway between Arkady Wroclawskie and the market square stands the oldest must-see shopping attraction in the city. A four-floor historic showpiece that predates World War II, Renoma is an extreme example of what renovation and modernisation really entails. Its recent restoration has given back the prestige and style the place rightly deserved, making it able to match and even outclass other competitors in the city. Covered with ceramic tiles and embellished with rows of gilded pyramidal studwork, the façade is an exceptional specimen of pre-war extravagance and showiness. Even if you are not in the mood for shopping, take the escalator to the upper level where an assortment of cafes and restaurants proliferate through a whole floor making selection of fare difficult and tiring. Don’t leave the place before you climb your way up to the roof from where customers and bystanders alike can experience captivating views over the historic centre and the river.

A mere five minutes east of the Rynek and so closer to the action than any other shopping mall in the city is Galeria Dominikanska, a three-floor shopping paradise stocked with hundred pleasant retail outlets crammed into a rather small space. Not as grand or attractive as Arkady Wroclawskie, it is nonetheless ideal to stock up on last-minute essentials, particularly where food commodities, mobile phone cards and Polish merchandise are concerned.

A short walk east of Most Grunwaldzki is Wroclaw’s largest retail complex, a modern spacious showpiece with more than two hundred stores spread over four floors. The usual cutting-edge fashion brand names are all well represented, in some cases (like C & A) operating from interlinked multi-floor stores conveniently laid out on top of each other. Worthy of mention is the electronic giant Saturn, a huge gadget-and-gizmo store that stocks the latest trailblazing automated devices in the country. Apart from a huge space reserved for parking, the upper floor contains a diversity of entertainment corners, ideal for revitalisation between long rounds of shopping. The Kinderplaneta is a cushy multi-coloured children’s playpen where kids get in enthusiastically but never want to leave. The nearby Multikino is strictly an adult bar area where a long row of large screens put on view the latest films in an atmosphere of drinking and carousing. To complement all this, several laidback restaurants (like Wook, Sphinx and La Grotta) are close by in case one needs an urgent fill-up when the film is over.

Visiting a shopping mall is perhaps too time-consuming for tourists whose time in the city is limited to a day or two. Such visitors should disregard impersonal large-scale shopping sanctuaries and head straight to speciality shops where buying turns into an intimate consumer-seller affair. Speciality shops obviously concentrate on one or two specific ranges of items and so choosing becomes an easy and effortless event. Most travel guides including the Rough Guide to Poland give a list of the worthiest branches to visit.
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All Saint's Day, the 1st of November is a Public Holiday in Poland and is one that I have a lot of time for. Typically people visit cemeteries, share stories about the dead and light candles in little coloured glass jars that light up the…Read More

All Saint's Day, the 1st of November is a Public Holiday in Poland and is one that I have a lot of time for. Typically people visit cemeteries, share stories about the dead and light candles in little coloured glass jars that light up the cemetery at night and make for a wonderful spectacle. It's all too easy not to visit your relative's graveyards and this traditional holiday means it's harder to avoid.

Warsaw, like most big cities has several massive cemeteries rather than lots of little ones, due to the mass of dead bodies in a short period of time in WW2, they are more noticeable in Poland than most other places.

While we have some visits at smaller cemeteries to make, the one that houses the most of graves of my wife's family is Cmentarz Polnocny, located on the north-western suburbs between Bielany and Lomianki. All the cemeteries are serviced by temporary bus lines and this is usually the quickest way to get around because driving becomes a bit of a nightmare.

Some roads are blocked off and others take on temporary traffic rules, there is a heavy police presence on the road as they sometimes take control of directing traffic themselves. Despite the bus being a good option, many people, us included (somewhat stupidly in retrospect) opt to use their own car and therefore traffic is pretty heavy.

Having been making slow progress, our choice route had been blocked off and we found ourselves at a standstill, an ambulance flew past us and it was clear that there had been an event somewhere further up the road. My wife happened to have the map open on the correct page and I noticed that there was a little lane just the other side of the railway line, a distance that was about 6 car lengths, the cars either budged up or turned around and I soon had the chance to see what it was like.

It was bumpy, very bumpy and barely recognisable, the ground was made up of all kinds of odd materials and the bottom of the car constantly scraped a mixture of rocks, paint cans and whatever else was lying around. At one point I had made a slightly wrong turn and noticed in my mirror that another car had seemingly followed me, he'd taken the lead. Despite the road's worsening condition and the fact that both cars had the ground clearance of an earwig, we proceeded seemingly more confident now there were two of us smashing up our cars instead of one. Our adventure on wheels came to a close when the road disintegrated into a massive field of mud with grooves, almost a metre deep.

Seconds later, another car turned up, this time it was a big jeep and the driver egged us on to go for it but we turned him down, he sped up and soon got stuck in the muddy mess. The car that had accompanied us decided to turn back, while we parked in the field and started walking across it. The mud was extremely moist, my daughter, myself and the pram that I was half carrying, half ploughing the fields with were covered in mud. Some people really dress up to go to the cemetery, smart trousers, polished shoes, the lot, the more casual at least look clean.

We were going to turn up looking like we'd come out of the graves ourselves and the only consolation came when we strangely came across another family, who were in smarter clothes but clothes that were about to be covered in mud all the same.

By now, the jeep had made it a bit further through the field but seemed well and truly grounded and whilst the other family decided to persevere, we decided to go back to the main road, a wise decision because the road was empty when we got back and I think if we had continued, more disasters awaited and I would have found myself in the cemetery permanently, either through slipping or facing the wrath of my wife.Close