The tour continued down to the 3 rd level of the mine at 135 meters deep and just under a 3 km walk.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7777/2...af3f2900_b.jpgPoland-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8070/2...69f93431_b.jpgPoland-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


There are a number of chambers to visit, you can see the progression of equipment used by the miners, there are several underground lakes and a huge cathedral.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8135/2...b7f5231d_b.jpgPoland-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8485/2...b9d76326_b.jpgPoland-37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8796/2...88ab6be9_b.jpgPoland-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8039/2...89696b45_b.jpgPoland-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8204/2...8349d2fd_b.jpgPoland-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8204/2...9db38074_b.jpgPoland-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8052/2...306ba8b3_b.jpgPoland-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8356/2...82a01797_b.jpgPoland-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8041/2...ddb2cd71_b.jpgPoland-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8591/2...37717e95_b.jpgPoland-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


After the tour another employee “guides” you on a walk for at least 20 minutes back to where the elevator shaft is an this transports you to the surface in about 20 seconds, but you still need a guide to show you back to the start of the tour above ground. This is another 10 minute walk. That said we finally made it back to the bikes after 730.

Luckily it was only a 25 min ride to Rafal’s place and that we had given him our SPOT so he was not waiting around for us. In fact he was out front to greet us!

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8508/2...0d713dab_b.jpgPoland-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


We settled in and then headed into the city for a tour of the old Jewish area called Kazimierz (Ca-gee-mesh)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8165/2...57f0bedd_b.jpgPoland-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8520/2...a5968c0c_b.jpgPoland-49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

“Since its inception in the fourteenth century to the early nineteenth century, Kazimierz was an independent city, a royal city of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, located south of Kraków Old Town and separated by a branch of the Vistula river. For many centuries, Kazimierz was a place of coexistence and interpenetration of Christian and Jewish cultures, its north-eastern part of the district was historic Jewish, whose Jewish inhabitants were forcibly relocated in 1941 by the German occupying forces into the Krakow ghetto just across the river in Podgórze. Today Kazimierz is one of the major tourist attractions of Krakow and an important center of cultural life of the city.”

We stopped for a local street food favourite Zapiekanka or “Polish pizza” at Endzior on Plac Nowy Square.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8011/2...8ba75df6_b.jpgPoland-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8348/2...0c705eb9_b.jpgPoland-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8266/2...4501bdb2_b.jpgPoland-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr



We headed to the famous Pijalnia Wódki i Piwa vodka and beer bar where it still looks like it did in the “Communist” time. Shots of vodka and mixed shots are 1 Euro we you ordered by the half dozen! The best shot is a Krakow specialty the “mad dog” shot or Wsciekly Pies.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8387/2...32f07469_b.jpgPoland-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8211/2...838924a8_b.jpgPoland-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8368/2...070cc50a_b.jpgPoland-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7461/2...24a3fff5_b.jpgPoland-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8553/2...3548c2a3_b.jpgPoland-51 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8457/2...78abf33a_b.jpgPoland-52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


To finish off the evening we went to a very cool bar that is in an old house and we got seat in the kitchen!

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8012/2...2594ecfe_b.jpgPoland-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8164/2...2e883ed2_b.jpgPoland-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Today we did a ride out from Krakow.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8385/2...ab48dfd3_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-08-24 at 19.31.28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8130/2...a3cacba7_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-08-24 at 19.34.08 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8441/2...5341d671_b.jpgPoland-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8302/2...c6dd99c0_b.jpgPoland-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8589/2...c6efa8eb_b.jpgPoland-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We stuck to the small back roads to get to the monastery in the village of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which is one of the most important pilgrim sites in Poland.

“With a vision while viewing the neighbouring hills and valleys from the Castle of Lanckorona, on 1 December 1602, Mikołaj Zebrzydowski, the Voivode of Kraków commissioned the construction of a calvary, i.e. Roman Catholic monastery and the trails of the Passion of Christ modeled on the Calvary outside the city walls of Jerusalem.”

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8284/2...bbf8d973_b.jpgPoland-54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8146/2...bd0cfa2a_b.jpgPoland-53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

From here we rode to the nearby hilltop to the artist village of Lanckorona, where there is a great spot for pirogies and cakes.


“Lanckorona is a village located 30 kilometres south-west of Kraków in Lesser Poland. It lies on the Skawinka river, among the hills of the Beskids, 545 m above sea level. It is known for the Lanckorona Castle, today in ruins. In recent years, Lanckorona has become a tourist attraction for the well preserved 19th century wooden houses in its centre. The township of Lanckorona was established by Casimir III the Great in 1336, to protect the road to Kraków.”

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8183/2...14efa980_b.jpgPoland-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8513/2...25082caa_b.jpgPoland-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8377/2...13c1665a_b.jpgPoland-32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

From here we swooped thru near the city again to visit the University castle for the view and then to climb the Kościuszki Mound for a 360 degree view.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7474/2...bd8017de_b.jpgPoland-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

“The Kościuszko Mound, situated near Kraków is 333 meters above sea level on the Blessed Bronisława Hill. On 15th October 1820 the trunk of a tall tree was planted on top of the hill. Around this the people of Kraków placed earth in the shape of a spiral and it became the Mound, the symbolic burial place of Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746-1817, General, Polish and American national hero, freedom fighter and the leader of the Polish Uprising which in later years was to be named after him). The construction of this Mound continued till 1823 and was paid for only by public subscription. The result is a 34,1 meter high mound, the national memorial monument, seen from almost every where in Kraków. Soil from Polish and North American battlefields where Kościuszko fought was placed here. This Mound was of great importance to Poles during the Austrian occupation of this territory (Poland was partitioned between Germany, Austria and Russia for 123 years). The Austrians tried to destroy it but were unsuccessful. They built fortifications around it which can be visited today. Another threat was the II WW, but the Mound survived. The biggest threat was Mother Nature during the floods of the 70ties and the terrible flood in 1997 which inundated large parts of Poland and destroyed a large part of the Mound. A new strengthened and illuminated Mound was given back to the public in 2002. Here you will enjoy one of the best views of the city from the top of the hill”

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8085/2...edd40bf32a.jpgScreen Shot 2016-08-26 at 21.24.32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Then we headed north of the city to zespół parków krajobrazowych województwa or Krakow landscapes valley park. We arrived to the end of the valley ride just at dusk and so too late to visit the castle.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8758/2...550b5e62_b.jpgPoland-55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

So it was again downtown we did a tour of the market square.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8292/2...80c28809_b.jpgPoland-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8213/2...925ca98f_b.jpgPoland-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8498/2...fddc6a05_b.jpgPoland-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We ended the evening with a Krakow institution. This sausage truck has been here every night…forever!!

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8328/2...eb04b5a9_b.jpgPoland-48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8553/2...a872c4e1_b.jpgPoland-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8517/2...83e601bf_b.jpgPoland-47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr




The next 2 days it rained and so we had some good down time.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8214/2...27921fe8_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-08-20 at 21.14.22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7645/2...2776a9a4_b.jpgPoland-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8501/2...9be7b294_b.jpgPoland-40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7795/2...ed394e14_b.jpgPoland-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8151/2...1c220ab8_b.jpgPoland by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Today we leave Krakow and Rafal will ride out with us.


https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8107/2...ce747119_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-08-24 at 19.29.29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7541/2...ceae70a9_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-08-24 at 19.30.42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


We started going west to Rafal’s home to of Oswiecim (Oh -Svien -chim). The town is best known as being the location of the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.

“In 1941, German authorities decided to build a large chemical plant of IG Farben, in the eastern outskirts of the town. Polish residents of several districts were forced to abandon their houses, as the Germans wanted to keep the area around Auschwitz concentration camp empty. A buffer zone with the area of some 40 square kilometres was planned around the camp, and expulsions of local Polish residents took place in 1940 and 1941. All the residents of the Zasole district were forced to abandon their homes. More than 90% of all buildings were destroyed and the residents were transported to Gorlice to fend for themselves. Altogether, some 17,000 people in Oświęcim itself and surrounding villages were forced to leave their homes, and eight villages were wiped off the map.”

We only visited the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site. This is a massive site and really shows the scale of what went on here. There are ruined barracks and their chimneys as far as you can see. On the site you can see the main gate thru which the trains arrived, the platform where the sorting of people was carried out, and you can see inside to experience the conditions these people were kept under. There are the ruins of the gas chambers and a memorial wall at the back of the site. This site does not require a timed ticket and as such was easier to access.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8465/2...570c9840_b.jpgSromowce CC by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8343/2...ab6e538d_b.jpgPoland-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8094/2...8b9fbe5c_b.jpgPoland-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8383/2...9d52be73_b.jpgPoland-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


The Main Auschwitz site only allows non tour group individuals visits by timed ticket after 3 pm. We did drive by here but it is a much more touristic feel and seems irreverent. It was heavy enough to visit Birkenau with out the much more difficult to see artifacts and displays here.

Then we rode south to Slovakia and thru the Tatra Mountains most of the rest of the day.

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8294/2...2a09a96b_b.jpgSromowce CC-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8616/2...49dc8ec2_b.jpgSromowce CC-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


“The Tatra Mountains, part of the Carpathian mountain chain in eastern Europe, create a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. Both Slovak and Polish sides are protected as national parkland and are popular destinations for winter and summer sports.”


https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8781/2...01405740_b.jpgPoland-56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

You can rent these tanks to drive off road.


https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8582/2...4a4f99f5_b.jpgSromowce CC-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8434/2...34295d3d_b.jpgSromowce CC-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

With our late start and stop at Oswiecim we still had 80 km to go at 630 pm but we made it to the Polana Sosny camp site just across the Polish border in Niedzica before dark. They had some great pirogies at the restaurant here and then poor Rafal had a 2 hour drive back to Krakow in the dark.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7645/2...0a211185_b.jpgSromowce CC-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8378/2...9687fa06_b.jpgSromowce CC-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8381/2...20a70935_b.jpgPoland-57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Great write up and photos as always, a bit too much alcohol though for me :mchappy:
Ride safe
Gino & Fiona

We must have some Mad Dogs in the next meet up!!!


sara

We had a great night camped by the river and a sleep in. This meant another late start and a big day planned.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8387/2...e8dc597c_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-08-24 at 19.38.37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

We had hoped to skirt along the border and then cross back to Poland. From here we would try to “do the big loop” into the Bieszczadzki Park Narodowy, but as it was getting late in the day we abandoned this plan at Cisna and headed north east to Przemyśl. Here we found a cheap hotel just out of the city that included dinner and breakfast.

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8434/2...40212ecb_b.jpgPrzemysl CC by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8175/2...f188a4b7_b.jpgPrzemysl CC-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8248/2...b5836b66_b.jpgPoland-58 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

From Przemysl we kept to the secondary road to get to Zamosc.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8486/2...aa5870a0_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-08-24 at 21.17.19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8490/2...fd2f0cc6_b.jpgWlodawa CC by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

Zamosc is a nice town with a very pretty market square.


https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8292/2...f1d3961e_b.jpgPoland-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8009/2...e81d3021_b.jpgPoland-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

North from here we rode east to skirt the Poland-Ukraine border all day on the 816. This is a bit rough at times, but mostly good road thru neat and tidy Polish farm villages.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8397/2...8ec2050b_b.jpgWlodawa CC-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr


https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8411/2...d0708345_b.jpgPoland-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8518/2...ea3977c2_b.jpg


We found a funky small hotel with “traditional” decor in Wlodawa and elected for non Polish Kebab for dinner. This country so far is very clean and neat, very well organized, and the food is great. The drivers and polite and courteous and follow all the rules of the road. So far the most civilized in Europe!