Góry Świętokrzyskie for a weekend

Spent the last weekend away, yet not far away from Warsaw in Góry Świętokrzyskie, a hilly area closest to Warsaw, which does not deserved be named mountains. Ventured there with almost the same circle of friends, all current or former volunteers in Szlachetna Paczka with whom I took a trip to Sardinia three years ago.

The quite short time spent in a group of seven people reminded me I had got used to travelling on my own or in a couple. Or maybe it just highlighted divergencies between my friends and me (where the six of them are quite similar to one another). Travelling with my girlfriends, optionally also with their friends seems a whole lot easier.

With my friends for a long time I have noticed two major moot points. Firstly - sleeping habits. I am the only early bird in this group, while others prefer to sit up late (which I don't mind, but get up early next morning anyway). Secondly - eating. I am the one who eats to live, not the other way round and do not take delight in dining. Besides, I eat a large breakfast and a proper lunch and then take up little until going to sleep. They in turn all adore tasty food and a dinner is their main meal over the day. I like their company, but each time I am surrounded by them for more than a few hours, I repeat to myself I am not marrying them, hence my frustrations are useless.

Now a few snaps from the trip. On Saturday we climbed a short trail to Święty Krzyż church. Had I travelled on my own, I would have reached the peak by 10:00 a.m. With my friends we got there in full heat at 1:00 p.m.

The church has a viewing tower (entrance charge: PLN 10), which lets visitors behold splendid panoramas of nearby hilly landscapes. I am fond of looking at the world from above, hence joyfully forked out a tenner to take delight in it.

On Sunday we scrambled up Łysica, the highest hill around, mere 612 metres above sea level. We marched up just past a rainfall, so the ascent, though short, was a bit of nasty. Predictably, droves of tourists on rocks on top.

Later on we drove to Zagnańsk to pass by apparently the oldest tree in Poland, oak Bartek, whose age is estimated at between 700 and 1,000 years. The very tree needs to be fenced off and solidly propped up to retain its monumental nature 

The area is abundant in several tourist attractions and we could have seen more of them, had it not been an overly lazy weekend ;-)

Pieniny

Back from a nearly week-long foray into the Polish mountains, first non-business trip far beyond Warsaw since November 2024. Given my health-related tribulations, I feared how my lumbar spine and other vulnerable parts of body would endure the strain, but to my surprise, they got on well with it, much better with work-related sitting several hours a day. Over five days I cycled 120 kilometres and hiked 50 kilometres, with elevation gain of almost 3,000 metres in total, a quite something.

On the first day I took my new bike for a first ride longer than 50 kilometres. Velo Czorsztyn, a cycling trail around Jezioro Czorsztyńskie, at times is challenging, as one needs to cycle uphill. The section on the northern shore of the lake is most picturesque and flattest. All in all, one-third of the route is enchanting, the remaining kilometres are to be covered to reach the enjoyable spots.

On the second day I drove to Nowy Targ, to climb Turbacz, the highest peak in Gorce. The ascent involved change in altitude of some 650 metres and took me a bit more than two hours. I hiked with hiking sticks, which is an absolute game-changer. My arms were a bit sore after the hikes, but splitting the body load into four limbs brings a tremendous relief to the lumbar spine. The view from the top of Gorce turned out to be impressive, yet my expectations had been inflated by those claiming panorama of Tatry is break taking. It has not taken my breath away.

On the third day I took a break from major strain, drove to Nowy Targ and took a train to Zakopane, a town I had, shame to admit, never visited before. I considered getting there by public transport only, yet in provincial Poland combining two connections is a risky exercise. But even finding trains is a bit of an exercise, as Google shows you services you can choose from, but does not divert you to specific railway operator. As a result I got there by Luxtorpeda fast train operated by Koleje Małopolskie (PLN 7.20 for a single ticket) and returned by Polregio service (same ticket price). In the very town I have not understood what makes it a tourist hangout. Unless somebody explores Tatry mountains, there are very few reasons to spend holidays there.

On the fourth day the bike came into more intensive use, although the Velo Dunajec trail was shorter and easier than Velo Czorsztyn. The route runs also in a wilder area and is far more scenic, especially on bright, sunny days in warm part of the year when greenery is lush.

On the fifth day I did not have to get anywhere to start out a hike, as my lodgings was next to a tourist trail. I climbed to conquer Trzy Korony and Sokolica – two highest peaks in Pieniny. Although the hike was not long – less than 15 kilometres in total, it involved elevation gain of almost 900 metres, at times with steep ascents. Hot and humid air made this trip most tiresome of all.

After the recent election some have posited not to visit regions where Mr Nawrocki won. I am not into such forms of punishment. In Krościenko nad Dunajcem where I had an accommodation the newly elected president received 69% of votes in the run-off, while in nearby Szczawnica only 55%. I would hazard a guess by merely looking at locals around and on standard of housing, one could guess (with a margin error of some 10 percentage points) whether the local community was in favour of Mr Trzaskowski or of Mr Nawrocki. 

Worth also mentioning provincial Poland follows a different clock than large cities. On June evenings streets of Warsaw are full of people. The market square (note the excess concreted over area) in Krościenko nad Dunajcem at 8:34 p.m. was empty.

The foray was the first long-distance trip for my Skoda Octavia since November 2024. I strived to drive as economically as possible, however conditions (rain on my way to Pieniny, aircon on my way back, hilly landscapes along the way, traffic jams near Kraków) were not conducive. I made it there and back without filling up and the “low fuel” gauge went on after 967 kilometres. The car computer is accurate with respect to actual appetite for petrol. I am quite satisfied with it. In flat terrain, drier and cooler weather and lower speed (I drove 105 kmph on expressway) the engine consumption could drop even below 4 litres per 100 kilometres.