Into the mountains for a long weekend

Back from a very intense, nine-day holidays (with only three working days taken off) spent in Wisła (free-of-charge accomodation) and around. In terms of physical exercise, it was a demanding time.

On Saturday, 27 April we had warm-up bike trip south of Wisła, with some significant elevation. 32 kilometres cycling done.

On Sunday, 28 April we girlfriend ran across the mountains west of Wisła, while I kept her company on my bike. Except for uphill sections, when I had to manhandle a bike, a piece of cake. 24 kilometres covered.

On Monday, 29 April, we drove to the Czech Republic with bikes and did a 27-kilometre trip, including an ascent to more than 1,000 metres above sea level. I am falling in love with Poland's southern neighbour even more.

On Tuesday, 30 April we went on a 22-kilometre climb to Skrzyczne, which is the second-highest peak in Beskid Śląski. Due to temperature topping at around +25C, this was the most exhaustive activity during our stay. The snap shows Jezioro Żywieckie, as seen from the final ascent to the Skrzyczne summit.

The first day of May, as a proper labour day, was the time of rest.

On Thursday, 2 May, again we packed the bikes into the car and went for a 47-kilometre cycling trip into Lysa Hora, which included an 8-kilometre uphill section with elevation of 700 metres. Covering it, either on a saddle, or manhandling, was memorable and splendid views from the peak, 1,368 metres above the sea level, came as a reward.

On Friday, 3 March we drove to Górna Rycerka to take a leisury 16-kilomtre hike into Przegibek and Wielka Racza route. With mere 700 metres of elevation, that was a relatively light expedition, with only some breathtaking views. The one to the right shows snow still lingering on northern slopes of Slovakian mountains.

On Saturday, 4 May we ventures to a cosy historic Czech town, Stramberk, located some 80 kilometres from Wisła. The pics shows the market square (or rather rectangle) visible from the historic castle tower.

History of the town dates back to the fourteenth century, however the wooden huts in the central part for which the town is famous, were built in the eighteenth century and remain superbly preserved.

The town has a hilly landscape and the six-kilometre stroll was full of ascents and descents, abounding in unforgettable panoramas (in the background the castle tower from which the first photo was taken).

On Sunday, 5 May, we took a short (mere 28 kilometres) trip to Ustroń by bike. In nearly flat terrain it brought a nice ending to the calorie-burning weekend.

Back to Warsaw to drown in a daily gring, counting down days to the oncoming Corpus Christi weekend.

A weekend in Kraków

A shame to admit prior to the last weekend I had never ventured to Kraków for purposes other than in business. I did not make it to the memorable (who of the attendees remembers it today?) blogosphere meeting in 2010, then for years there was no other reason to visit it, so keeping company to my girlfriend who ran the Kraków marathon last Sunday was sufficient to spend nearly the entire Saturday and Sunday in the former capital of Poland.

For years I have always had some sort of dislike for Kraków. Firstly because of the stereotypical conviction the city’s inhabitants are toffee-nosed and hold their heads up high, secondly on account of difficulties in finding a common tongue with workmates from Kraków several times during my career, thirdly driven by slow-flow and churchy nature of the city.

Unsurprisingly, we got there by the brand-new car, the journey duration was comparable to the fastest intercity train, but and here shame on the Polish railways, the petrol cost (with economic driving Octavia consumes mere 5 litres per 100 kilometres) was over 50% cheaper than train tickets. But I must admit driving around the city centre (only to reach our apartment and get out of it) was a big nuisance – thumbs up to the authorities of Kraków for their efforts to discourage private vehicle usage in the city centre.

Over two days I walked around 45 kilometres sightseeing the city and two days were still not enough. To the right – the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, being a blend of old and refurbished architecture. The market square of the district could have done without vehicles.

On Saturday afternoon we strolled down the boulevards along Vistula. River banks are full of greenery and are a superb hangout in the warmer half of the year. Spring in overdrive (those were the last two days of near-summer weather) lifted spirits!.

In the evening we roamed to Cmentarz Rakowicki to visit a grave of her friend who passed away in August 2023. The historic cemetery located in the city centre (which is a rarity) is worth visiting, if even you have no explicit purpose as we did have.

The main market square on Sunday morning was partly choke full of runners, but on the other end empty. Absence of crowds adds to the place’s charm. The morning was abnormally warm for mid-April, temperature at 9:00 a.m. was already above +15C.

To reaffirm my church-oriented associations, I need to pop by ulica Franciszkań- ska and snap the edifice of the Cracow bishop’s office (in Polish: kuria biskupia). You should know who appeared in the window above the door several times…

Not much later I scrambled to the Wawel hill, also do discover the courtyard of the Wawel castle is open to visitors free of charge. I have finally somewhat made up for my lack of familiarity with Poland’s former capital.

Down the Wawel hill, I came across a cross commemora- ting the Katyń massacre which until 1990 had not functioned in the public discourse. Recently laid wreath remind the anniversary of the genocide has just passed.

Around noon on Sunday I reached Zakrzówek on south-western edge of Kraków. The green areas have been redeveloped in recent years and now the city can definitely boast about them. I climbed a quite steep rocky mound to find myself on a natural terrace with a picturesque view on the city’s panorama.

Not far from the viewing point is the Croatia-like Zakrzówek pond with man-made beaches and nature-sculpted rocks, a spot jam-packed in summer months (the city had to place limits on number of visitors), was moderately crowded on a spring Sunday.

After the short trip neither have I grown fond of Kraków nor has the klimat of the city enchanted me, but once another opportunity arises, I will strive to explore it better.

Next post on 12 May (off to Wisła for the long May weekend and the days ahead of it).

Budapest

I had long yearned to visit the capital of Hungary, yet there always used to be some obstacles on my way. In early October my girlfriend urged me to take a short foray abroad before the end of 2022. I had to forego my reluctance to support in any way the authoritarian regime of Mr Orban (just as in 2019 I renounced my resolution to never invest in government bonds – this has paid me off well, with superior coupons on inflation-linked gilts).

The cost of cheap airline tickets (return ticket with no small hand baggage for mere PLN 130 – such expense does not discourage from flying) and accommodation (PLN 128 per person per night) were actually the only outlays which did not hit the wallet. Maybe except for public transport tickets which were reasonably cheap.

Inflation in Hungary exceeded 20% and this is felt, even after the Hungarian forint depreciated against the Polish currency. Especially the entry tickets to sights had steep prices, but if one wants to get to know the city, such expenses must be borne.

The weather in early days of November was quite nice, with temperature in between +10C and +15C most of the time and hitting +20C in the afternoon on 2 November. If I was to pick one word to describe Budapest, I would choose “drab”. Drabness of the Hungarian capital, nearly everywhere, except for most splendid tourist destinations, is eye-popping. But while taking pics, I attempted to catch the more pleasurable atmosphere of the city.

To the right – a view at Danube river and the edifice of parliament in the distance, as seen from the ascent to the Gellert Hill. The pic taken around an hour before sunset.

The beautifully illuminated parliament building is the iconic landmark of Budapest, looking much better in the darkness that during daylight.

Inside, the building is decorated in typical Austro-Hungarian lavish style, with lots of gold and paintings. The lavishness is actually overwhelming.

The basilica in Budapest, built in the middle of the nineteenth century, also had its wall, ceiling and domes splendidly adorned. This time round I took some effort to tweak with settings of my camera, which had a visible positive impact on the quality of shots.

The basilica has a viewing terrace which overlooks the city which lacks skyscrapers. Here, a view on the Fishermen’s Bastion, the pic taken with > 10x optimal zoom, hence the blob (I lack time to process snaps in the photoshop).

Andrassy Street is definitely the high street of Budapest. The view in which all lines converged towards the horizon took my fancy, hence I bothered to snap the alley…

…From the Victory Square which, like many spots in the Hungarian capital commemorates year 1896 when Hungary celebrated a millennium of its existence. The square brings to mind sights of Berlin…

Another lavish interior is the biggest synagogue in Europe, not destroyed during WW2. It was my first visit to a Jewish temple, set me back nearly the equivalent of PLN 100, but given the expense was one-off, it was worth it!

I also thoroughly recommended the thermal baths in Budapest, yet for obvious reasons, I did not take any photographs there.

Now time to focus on Szlachetna Paczka – less than 4 weeks left before the final weekend and lot of hard work to be put in ahead of my team and me.

A break from lousy time in Wrocław

I will actually share my memories from the post split-up days once I bring all the stuff into order, i.e. once I rent a flat (hopefully one of landlords makes a decision this weekend), move out and handle all formalities (signing over my current flat to my ex-gf and closing our common bank account).

In the meantime, I went for a training (very useful one) to Wrocław and enjoyed two days away from the nasty goings-on I need to endure before I find the peace of mind.

The training on the first day ended before 5 p.m., then a drive to a hotel, check-in and off I go to town. For the sake of scarcity of time, I decided to get about Wrocław by car. Moving by my own four wheels turned out to be cheaper and faster way of moving between places, but driving around Wrocław remains far less pleasant than around Warsaw and bit of more stressful, even for a seasoned driver.

Around 7 p.m. I turn up to fountain park next to Hala Stulecia. The sun is still high, temperature around +27C, people roam around or sit by. A wonderful summer afternoon in a place which fills one with positive energy. I remember sitting here on 1 June 2018, in the first weeks of the relationship, in days when I was uncertain of its future. This chapter is now (almost) closed…

Jumped into the car and drove towards old town. Then, on foot I pass the bridge where lovers attach padlocks to symbolise their affection. Regardless of circum- stances, this is one of my favourite places in Wrocław, looks even more glorious, illuminated by the rays of setting sun.

A quarter later, wandering past the bank of Odra river, passing several tourists and local youngsters whiling away. It is still hot, I am breaking sweat, but the thought of air-conditioned hotel room lifts my spirits up.

The last part of my walk is the stroll to the Rynek and Plac Solny, the latter being one of my favourite places in Wrocław, while the former I deem to be a more ordinary one. The city is alive, but I begin to get drowsy after a wake-up at 4 a.m. to make it to Wrocław by 8:30 a.m., so I head back to where I have parked my car, around a mile away.

Plus a bonus shot, yesterday’s total eclipse of the moon. Not as splendid (with a naked eye) as advertised, here shot with my compact Olympus, without a tripod. Lack of professional equipment makes itself felt.

Apologies in advance if I don’t post next weekend. Need to get over the tribulations.

Malta

Never ever, have I made my way to a travel agency to have my holidays organised by a bunch of experts in trips abroad. I do not avow to never resort to enjoy the convenience of having someone else arranging flights, transport, accommodation and local sightseeing for me, but until time permits and vision of company of Janusze and Grażyny (let alone their children Karyny and Seby) puts me off, collective voyages, chartered flights and hotels with all-inclusive services are not the preferable way of holidaying.

The recent holidays in Malta were also self-organised. Finding flights via Wizzair and a room at Airbnb did not take more than two hours, while the latter resulted in savings on accommodation of some 50% compared to cheapest decent hotels found at booking.com. The rest you need to find out before leaving abroad is how to get about (local public transport and fares) and what sights are worth visiting. For a person who knows English and is not afraid of fending for themselves in a foreign country, a piece of cake.

The very Malta (and the other island, Gozo) in terms of area are of the size of Warsaw, yet a week-long stay proved too short to visit all places worth a tourist’s attention. The reason is not necessarily the high number of attractions squeezed into small area, but the travel times between them. Unless you hire a car (which apart from high costs has one tremendous drawback for me, which is steering wheel to the right and left-hand traffic), you need to fall back on public transport, namely buses. Firstly, they do not run frequently, which extend journey times, secondly their routes are winding, which means a distance of five kilometres as the crow flies is taken with a 10-kilometre-long route, which is covered within 40 minutes. Add up waiting times and bus changes and you will get the average speed of moving of 10 kilometres per hour or less.

We rented a room in Marsaskala, a city on the south-east edge of the island, less than half a mile away from a beach. Maltese beaches are hardly ever sandy (those can be found on northern and western shores), the one snapped is rocky. Besides, many beaches are out of reach since in order to get there, you would have to fall off a cliff (or fly off it, or swim, or take a boat).

Marsaskala, as most Maltese coast-side cities, has a marina with tens of yachts moored on it. In the background, architecture typical for the island, Arabic rather than European. Buildings are plain, made of yellow bricks, never insulated (what for?), but oddly enough air-conditioning is not prevalent.

The capital of Matla, Valetta, is just a small part of the bigger agglomeration and has less than 10,000 inhabitants. The city is picturesque and gives off unique climate. To the right, the main pedestrian precinct of the city, surprisingly not chock full of vacationers.

One of more marvellous sights of Malta is Blue Grotto located on the southern shore of the island. The combination of cliffs, caverns and sea is one of more breath-taking things you can see. The very place is far away from civilisation and you need to walk down a steep descent to reach a port where you can board to boat which takes you to the caverns.

Within a walking (arguable, whether an optimum way to get there in early-afternoon heat) distance from the Blue Grotto lie the restored ruins of megalithic temples which trace back to 3000 BC. The rebuilt remnants of temples are sheltered from elements of weather by giant tents, which also give shelter from heat.

To the right, on our way to St. Peter’s Pool, lying some three miles from our dwelling. The beach is overhyped (droves of people, swimming hampered by waves, long descent), yet the path from Marsaskala runs mostly along cliffs. Typically, there is no fence nor any other form of protection from falling off. On your way, just stop over and lap up the view!

During the week of our stay, there was just one day when it rained, and just until midday. Here, the snap taken from the viewing terrace in the fortress of Mdina, the former capital of Malta. Currently the city has around 200 inhabitants and the area of less than 1 square kilometre. The suburb of Mdina, Rabat, is some 10 times larger and if you venture there, do visit legendary catacombs.

Few know Maltese islands are an archipelago consists of several islands, of which the second biggest is Gozo, reachable by ferry. Because of the lousy public transport, it takes three hours to get there from the other end of Malta. The other island seems to be a bit more civilised, yet lacks significant sights or places of interest.

On top, a few curiosities for those weighing up whether to visit Malta.

1. English is the second official language, hence language barrier in day-to-day communication does not exist, but do not expect fluency in English from locals (they cherish their independence from the UK).

2. Litter is scattered all around. Sights like this one are sadly commonplace in Malta (once again I appreciate such rubbish dumps are getting less frequent in Poland). You can hear of rats running across streets (I have not seen any), and I had to kill three cockroaches (dwellers of sewage pipes) which hung about in the shower booth.

3. The island is not plagued by tourists, yet the large percentage of visitors are Poles (at some moment, while running across Poles on nearly every step, we got afflicted to allergy to our compatriots).

4. Nightlife is witnessed only in a few holiday resorts. Except for this, when it gets dark (in the second half of September after 7 p.m.) the island almost comes to a standstill.

5. Prices in restaurants and entry tickets to tourist attractions are on moderate level, comparable to Western Europe, but prices of ordinary food produces in shops (no difference in pricing between cornershops and discounters) are far higher than in Western Europe – this probably reflects the cost of transporting all goods to the island and definitely do not correspond with average yearly net-of-tax salary of around EUR 17,000 per year.

6. You will struggle to find traditional Maltese food (they have their own beverage, Kinnie and some local wines), so in most restaurants you would find typical Italian meals (pastas, pizzas, etc.)

Besides, next holiday due in 2018. Time to immerse in the corpo-world for the last quarter of the year.

Turin

Ventured to North Italy in business earlier this week. The very decision of the senior management to fork out money and command me to take this (truth be told) useless business trip has taken aback many in my department, as our budget for travels to clients is rather tight. But then out of the blue it transpired splurging nearly five thousand zloty for a three-day foray was absolutely doable and coming by all sign-off despite strict cost savings turned out achievable.

The total cost was quite absurdly high (for five thousand PLN you could arrange two-week holidays in Italy for one person, provided they travel with a companion and share accommodation) because flights and the hotel had been booked less than a week in advance. Hence… Failing to plan is planning to… pay over the odds. But who cares if no one’s money is spent (if the travel budget is not fully spent, someone will cut it next year, so it is better to expend money foolishly than to pursue savings). If you can get a foray for free (or actually earn on it as you receive foreign travel allowance) who would not seize an opportunity to some nooks and crannies of a distant country?

Since there are no direct flights to Turin from Poland, one option to get there is to take a flight from Warsaw to Milan and then take a fast train which runs between the cities, or, arguably more conveniently, buy tickets from Lufthansa and catch a connecting flight in Frankfurt or Munich – we opted for the latter. “Catch” is the apposite word, since on the itinerary my imprudent workmates from sales department booked, the transfer time between connecting flights in Munich was 40 minutes.

Needless to say, after a delay in take-off from Okęcie airport on our way to Munich, we were late for a flight to Turin. Lufthansa kindly rebooked us for a flight three and a half hours later and equipped us with a snack voucher for 7 EUR (try to buy something reasonable to eat on the airport for such amount of money!!!). We ended up then flying with a cheap airline one hour later than planned (in total four and half hours later), missed a dinner with a client and checked in to hotel at 10 p.m. On our way back the first flight from Turin to Munich was delayed, but to our luck, the flight from Munich to Warsaw was even more delayed, therefore we landed in Warsaw mere 45 minutes later than scheduled.

The agenda of the visit was stuffed with meetings morning-till-evening and I only managed to take one brisk, long (15-kilometre) walk around the city in the evening the day before flight home. I need to confess for the first time since many years I ventured somewhere abroad without getting familiar with stuff such as local transport, local sights to be seen and other knowledge coming in useful while travelling (logistics was taken care of by the workmates).

Forgive me the quality of photos. I did not take the camera with me, all pictures snapped with a smartphone. To the right, Piazza Statuto, one of more famous squares in Turin, but I have no idea why (pardon my glaring ignorance).

I stroll (no, I rush) towards Pad river (with hindsight I have learnt it is Pad, not “some river”) and pass by a building which resembles a town hall. In fact, this is Madama Palace, now playing host to senate of Italy. So inconspicuous…

Less than half a mile closer to Pad, I stop by at Veneto Victory square. Should look like a life-bustling place on Tuesday around 6:30 p.m., but few tourists roam around, some local teenagers hang out, besides the place is quiet.

The day I turned up to Turin, a friend advised me to climb up the hill on the other side of the river to take delight in panorama of the city. Here, having ascended the viewing terrace outside Santa Maria del Monte church. It’s before 7 p.m., nearly one hour before sun goes down. Splendid.

Then I scrambled even further up the hill, to Villa del Regina (my sneakers from Lidl, bargain purchase for 27 PLN did not withstand the two-kilometre steep ascent) to stare at the sunset. The smartphone definitely proved inferior to even a compact camera which would have rendered far better how marvellous sight it was. I grabbed the moment, made it perfect, immortalised it, but with an imperfect device.

On my way back to the hotel (one night per 115 EUR, cheapie, but who cares if your employer pays) I cross the river again. Boulevards are anything but full of people. Conversely, nightlife does not seem to exist in Turin during the working week. On the other hand, I have not spotted any potentially dangerous immigrants, yet saw many homeless sleeping on the street, a disturbingly frequent sight, just as in Madrid.

While moving between meeting across the city and beyond we took taxis (too little time to use public transport). Driving in Italian cities proves to be governed by the law of the jungle, but Italian drivers have got accustomed to chaos well and excel in avoiding accidents (if inexperienced in driving in such traffic conditions Poles were behind wheels, prangs would happen all the way).

Price-wise, I was surprised basic goods in local discount stores were more expensive than in Madrid and Berlin which I visited this year, although I can boast about running across a restaurant where we ate medium-sized pizza and washed it down with mineral water for mere 7 EUR.

Finally, a foregone conclusion that Italy has seen its better days. Every time I travel abroad I appreciate how Poland has moved on and how in many aspects it has not just caught up with Western Europe, but often outshines the “old EU” countries.

Flying to Malta for eight days on Tuesday, next post in a fortnight.

By the way, any gee-up from readers after a few months without a single comment and seepage of inspiration since getting busy with more interesting stuff than blogging?