In
the morning we walked in the other direction from the apartment. That
street seemed to be the main commercial street in town and
was quite charming.
At
10:00 a.m. we left for Wroclaw and arrived at the hotel before 1:00.
The roads continued to be excellent. After checking in we walked into
Old Town and were pleasantly surprised at how gorgeous everything
was- clean and tasteful.
First was
St. Elizabeth's Church, then the main square with the famous City
Hall. We got some kielbasa right off the grill with sauerkraut-
the mustard was outstanding.
Down
to the University hitting more churches along the way. We crossed the
river to see the Cathedral. Diminutive gnomes were scattered about the city.
We
then spent some time at the Botanical Gardens.
Back
across the river to a park then the Panorama; an amazing scene
depicting a battle in 360 degrees. There was an English audio guide
that first explained how the panorama was created, both through
painting and the 3 dimensional objects in the foreground. The guide
then took you through the scenes to explain how the battle unfolded
which was a Polish victory over the Russians.
We
then went in the University Church on the way back to the hotel. No
pictures because a mass was going on.
We
strolled before dinner - ate at Masala, and Indian restaurant. I had
goat tandoori, Teresa had chicken tandoori with rice and cheese
na'an. I had a Cobra beer, Teresa had wine- all outstanding- $36.
Later
Teresa got 2 chocolate baklavas- closing down for the week sale 2 for
$2.20. I had a strawberries and cream ice cream cone. We strolled
some more before going back to the room.
After a good breakfast we drove to Ksiaz castle. The castle was best known for all the aristocratic scandals associated with it.
After a good breakfast we drove to Ksiaz castle. The castle was best known for all the aristocratic scandals associated with it.
From
there we drove to Swidnica and its "peace" church which was
built in 9 months without nails, stone, masonry or anything else due
to an arrangement with the Hapsburg's after the 30 Years War. 2
of the 3 created still stand.
Back
to Wroclaw where we tried periogi and a salad- the salad was better
than the dumplings.
On
to the Palace which contained a museum of the city- plenty of
information, plenty of English.
Back
to the room at 5:00 p.m.
Because
of intermittent rain we decide to eat close by and chose Akropolis on
the main square. I had a seafood soup and tagliatelle with chicken
and a large beer, Teresa had lamb stew and mixed vegetables with
wine. While the food was tasty Teresa did not get noodles or
scallions in her soup and they initially forgot her mixed vegetables.
In
the morning we drove to Krakow and checked in about 1:00 p.m. After a
huge kebab for me (I didn't finish) and a Greek salad for Teresa we
joined the yellow umbrella Free Walking Tour. First was the largest
medieval square in the world, then the Merchant's Cloth Hall, and we heard
the trumpeter from theTower by the Church.
We
saw the university and where John Paul II studied and made it to the
Palace with its cathedral and courtyard.
We
strolled back to the square, took in a few churches, and had very good Dobronski Cider- one
pear, one apple at the Sioux Restaurant. Back to the room.
For
dinner, at the advice of our tour guide, we walked outside of the
tourist area to Krichnia u Doroty. I had beef strogonoff, a mixed
salad and a large radler; Teresa had a beet salad she raved about and
potato pancakes with goulash and wine. Everything was great -$14.50. We checked out the square on the way back to the room.
In
the morning we drove to the mountains; first to Ustron which we drove
through, and then to Wisla where we stopped, walked around and ate
lunch which was a waffle with strawberries, whipped cream and
strawberry and chocolate syrup.
We
then drove to Malinka where we took the chair lift by the ski jump to
the top of the mountain. We walked along the top for a while then
back down and back to our car- about 1 ½ hours.
We
took the “scenic” route back to Krakow which was marked mostly by
stoppages in traffic and got back to our hotel by 6:00 p.m.
For
dinner we went to Old Town Restaurant which, despite its name, was
outside the tourist area. It was rated #5 of 1243 restaurants in
Krakow and lived up to its billing.
We
shared 3 Strong Bow dark fruit ciders and 2 starters: fried sheep
cheese with bacon, blackcurrant confiture, and arugula and potato
pancakes with mushrooms marinated in white wine- all delish. We also
got complimentary smalek with bread. For the entree I had rabbit leg
in a mustard/wine sauce with potatoes and mushrooms. Teresa had duck
with red cabbage, barley and gooseberry sauce. We both had an
aperitif of apple cinnamon vodka.
In
the morning we strolled north to see the Grunwold Monument (battle
with the Teutonic Knights) and began our visits to 8 churches with
some shopping in between, and then the Jewish Quarter, the Synagogue and the
Oskar Schindler Factory which has been transformed into a very
elaborate museum chronicling Krakow from right before WWII and
through it.
We
came back to see the Cathedral, the Underground Medieval Museum was
sold out.
We
cleaned up at 6:00 and went to a string quartet concert. The four
beautiful young ladies played exquisitely from Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi
and Chopin to Glenn Miller and themes from The Godfather and
Schindler's List.
After
the concert we went to Cyklops for dinner – the highest rated pizza
place in town, which did not disappoint. We shared a big salad and a
large pizza; I had a craft beer, Teresa had wine - $18.25.
We
then sat at the fountain in the square for a while watching break
dancers and Teresa's favorite guitarist. We did more shopping and I
got good gelato.
In
the morning we headed to Lublin. The drive was not too bad until we
got near our hotel as a bike race was going past it and the road was
blocked. Carmen wasn't too helpful and Teresa's google maps was a
little more so. We parked in a pay garage and tried to check in but
the only non-smoking room available was not ready until 2:00.
We
therefore did some exploring through the Old Town, first to the
Square and then to the castle with its chapel famous for the best
preserved Byzantine frescoes in the world.
We
then checked out some churches though somewhat thwarted by two
weddings.
Seeing
that the barriers had come down we moved our car closer .
For
dinner we ate at a restaurant on the Town Square and Teresa won. She
had pork chops in mushroom sauce- I had the equivalent of wiener
Schnitzel, my first sub-par meal of the trip, though the fries were
okay, the cabbage good, as well as the sour sausage and boiled egg
soup- $21.
After
dinner we made it to Bosko's for gelato. The Old Town had about 30
ice cream shops but this was by far the most popular (line way
outside the door) and the highest rated- well-deserved – generous
scoops and scrumptious ice cream.
Lublin
had its own version of colorful fountains which we saw with 3,000 of
our new friends.
In
the morning we drove to Bradovieza where the National Park Forest was
located (shared with Belarus). We first walked through the area where
the tsars had a hunting palace and preserve. We ate a so-so lunch on
the grounds.
We
then drove to a corner of the Park where animals were fenced in as
they are hard to find walking through the enormous Park.
The prize of the enclosed area is the collection of bison- one of their last refuges. They also had deer, wolves, boars and ice-age horses.
The prize of the enclosed area is the collection of bison- one of their last refuges. They also had deer, wolves, boars and ice-age horses.
We
went back to our Hotel Zubrowska which was fantastic.
We
went to the 3rd floor spa area and were able to book
massages for 5:00. Until then we went to the salt cave where we read
for a while. After the very relaxing massages we went down to the
elegant indoor swimming pool where we swam, read some more, sat in
the hot tub and then spent some time in the sauna.
It
seemed the only good restaurant open that Sunday night was at our
hotel so we ate there.
We
first got some pate with some bread and gooseberry/horseradish sauce.
I got pielmieni which were small dumplings with minced boar or beef
in them in a cream and mustard sauce- delicious. For the entree I got
a deer roll in bacon with gnocchi and red cabbage and Zubr beer- all
great. Teresa had pasta with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan
cheese and wine. We both had apple tarts with ice cream- $48
A
very good breakfast at the hotel and then the drive to the Lake
District. The Mazurian Lakes are a series of large lakes connected by
canals that allows transport over an extensive area.
We
stopped at a few places along the way to see the lakes and some
nesting storks.
We arrived in Gizycko before 3:00 and checked into our bungalow overlooking the lake. It had a living room, dining room and kitchen with a picnic table on the front porch where we ate a late lunch.
We
drove into town and walked to the harbor and downtown area as well as
the swing bridge which was at that time closed to vehicular traffic.
After a trip to the supermarket- back to the cabin.
We
drove into town for dinner at a restaurant frequented by locals. I
had fish, fries and a salad; Teresa had a large salad- with drinks-
$15
In
the morning we drove to Wolf's Lair which was the forward command
headquarters for the Nazis on the Eastern Front during WW2. The
security for the complex was provided by the terrain with bogs and
lakes to the east; with camouflage by way of trees around the
buildings, planted on top of the buildings and netting; and by
monstrous bunkers with very thick steel reinforced concrete for walls
and roofs. Hitler, Jodl, Goering, and Keitl had their own enormous
personal bunkers.
Wolf's
Lair was also the place Claus Von Fostenburg attempted to assassinate
Hitler with a bomb in a satchel in the Conference Bunker.
The construction began in 1941 and continued through 1944. It was abandoned in 1945 due to red Army advances.
We
drove back to town to visit the Boyen Fortress.
Back
to the room.
We
decided to eat on-site for dinner so we walked to the Taverna on the
water. I finally got another kielbasa (actually two) with garlic
toast, potato salad and a beer; Teresa had a Diablo pizza and white
wine- $14. We went back to the room and Teresa wanted to start a fire
– some fits and starts but we got it going.
We went back to the Taverna at 10:30 for me to get ice cream and Teresa to get a strawberry liqueur.
In
the morning we took a very scenic drive down to Mikolajki, a very
charming town which we walked around, picking up some pastry.
Carmen
took us on some bad roads to Elblag. We checked in and drove to the
city center which was quaint but absolutely dead. The architecture
replacing the bombed out buildings was appealing but we ran out of
things to do quickly. We had planned to stay for dinner but because
the weather was iffy we decided to drive back to the hotel and eat at
its restaurant. I had leg of duck with braised red cabbage, baked
apples, roasted potatoes, beer, apple pie and ice cream; Teresa had a
salad, cheese cake and wine- $41
In
the morning we headed to Malbork Castle and arrived around 10:00 a.m.
It was very large, very well-restored and had the best audio guide we
had ever used.
The
Teutonic Knights built the castle after having been invited into
Poland to quell some pagan Prussians (The knights had some military
training from the Crusades although they were supposed to be medical
monks) They decided to stay and take over the area and held the
castle for 150 years. The suffered a huge military defeat to the
Polish and Lithuanians at Grunwold but held the castle (it was
considered invincible) several years after that until they could no
longer pay their mercenary soldiers and sold the castle to the
Polish.
After
about 2 ½ hours there we headed to Gdansk. We made it in time for
the 3:30 Free Walking Tour. That lasted 2 hours and was quite
informative as to the history of the city and how the buildings
related to it.
After
more sightseeing we went back to the room to clean up, then we went
out scouting amber and restaurants.
We
ate at Literaki and it was very good. We split a large Caesar Salad
with anchovies and grilled chicken and we each had pork tenderloin in
balsamic/strawberry sauce with salad and mashed potatoes- beer and
wine -$38.17
We
strolled some more before I got chocolate ice cream made in front of
me with liquid nitrogen.
In the morning we walked to the Solidarity Monument and the Solidarity Museum. It was a good museum and filled in the gaps between 1980 and 1989. The world owes a debt to the brave and tenacious Poles who eliminated European communism and the great suffering it caused.
We
stopped briefly at our apartment before heading out again. We got
lunch at an outdoor market consisting of a shared kielbasa and a
shared potato stick- see picture. Ice Cream was next before we
climbed up the town hall tower for the view.
We
then went to St. Mary's basilica, the largest brick church in the
world. We then walked across the green bridge and spent a little time
on the other side of the river.
We then searched for the bar that had cider on tap and we found it! After drinks, back to the room.
For dinner we went to Chleb e Wino and it was very good. Teresa had wine, I had sangria- we shared some bruschetta. I had spaghetti amatraciana; Teresa had spicy pork ribs and potato salad with smoky bacon- $31
On
the way back I got a mixed swirled ice cream cone.
We
drove out early and first went to Torun, a nice quaint town that was
hopping. We got some pastry upon arrival. The town was known for
gingerbread. Teresa had no gingerbread; I had gingerbread …. ice
cream, along with snickers ice cream- very good combination.
We
then went to Warsaw airport to return our car and took a taxi to our
apartment – we then walked quite a distance along the pedestrian
street to Old Town.
We
came back- cleaned up and went to eat at D.K. Clerq's. We shared some
olive oil garlic bread and both had cider, and we both had the
chicken wrapped with bacon and onion skewer with potatoes and cabbage
salad- $30.80.
In
the morning we grabbed pastry on the way to Old Town for the Old
Town Free Walking Tour. Pse was our guide and he was very good. We
learned a lot of Warsaw history.
We
went back to the apartment for a few minutes then got the best kebabs
we had in Poland. We finished them on the way to the Jewish Free
walking Tour which started at 2:00 p.m. Same guide- more history.
From
the end of that tour we took a bus to the Jasilinski Park where we
walked around, stopped at a cafe for some Strong Bows and shared 5
scoops of ice cream.
We
took the bus back to our apartment.
For
dinner we went to Frida's, a Mexican restaurant as we had always seen
it crowded. We shared a starter of empanados. I had a burrito and a
beer, Teresa had a salad and wine- $34.
In
the morning we took the Metro to the Uprising Museum. We thought it
opened at 8:00 arrived at 9:00 but it didn't open until 10:00. We
therefore walked some in the new town, got some pastry then went to
the Museum which was well done and informative.
We
Metro-ed back to the apartment, paid for our room and then went to a
“milk bar” for lunch. Milk bars are holdovers from communist days
as a place to get a cheap lunch, buffet style. We had lasagna and
slaw- $6.
After
lunch we walked to the Royal Castle. It was a long walk because the
police had cordoned off about a kilometer of the main road and we had
to go around. A parade with expected demonstrations were in the
offing and there was a huge police presence.
The
restored Palace of the Kings of Poland had very sumptuous rooms
which were intended to be true to the originals.
We
did not have to walk far for another great meal. I finally had roast
pig nuckle with sauerkraut and bread and sangria; Teresa had pork
and stewed sauerkraut with mushrooms. We each had apple pie with ice
cream for dessert- $38
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