Pieniny - Escape from the Reality

Usually when I tell someone that we go for a holiday to Poland, people look at me and don't understand what the hell could be interesting there. Many people go to Poland for low prices of food ... but spending time in Poland by the sea, visit sandy "desert" or mountains? We always choose places, which are not so often visited by tourists and maybe that's the reason why we often see the countries we visit in a bit different light than other people ... So during our stay in Poland we found out that Poland can offer not only cheap chocolates and coconut oil in supermarkets, but also wonderful nature and castles that take you to your own little fairytale.

Outside space and time
Those three days in Pieniny were like a trip to a different time-space. We were staying in the Kluczkowce village, in a cabin of Domki Pasja campus. We had the most wonderful view of the Czorstyn lake, Pieniny mountains, meadows and polish-slovak Tatras in the back. 

There are many summer houses and apartments in the village, however the relaxing and calm atmosphere there is incredible. The only sound we were hearing all the time during our stay were the bells on necks of the sheep, grazing in the meadows. At night, if the sky is not cloudy, you can watch the stars and the lake illuminated by moonlight.

Like if time didn't exist. Everything flow so slowly and calmly ...

It was a shock - especially in comparison to Prostějov, where I go to bed with the sound drunk teenagers, who are screaming in a park next to our house and when I open the window, I smell cigarettes and our constantly drunk alcoholic neighbnour who lives one the floor below my room.

Haunted house

We were accomodated about 15-20 long walk from the lake. Around the road to the lake, there were the typical "haunted houses" lik from American movies. Some of the villas are used as hotels and restaurants and when we were walking by, we heard some weird music from one of those restaurants, which made the atmosphere even more creepy. It reminds me of the horror movies - shot of the street with these houses, silence and suddenly music coming from one of those houses, that invites you to check in there and then fight against monsters and zombies until the end of the movies ...

Well, pretty weird village.

Czorstyn & Niedzica - castles from Terabithia

There are two old castles on the shore of the lake - Czorsztyn and Niedzica castle. Both of them were built in 14 century and are available four the tourist visits. When visiting castles in Czech Republic, they usually remind me of old czech fairytales ... these reminded me more of the Bridge to Terabithia movie or scene from Harry Potter, when the students are arriving Hogwarts ...

Czorstyn is rather a torn, but Neidzica castle is reconstructed castle, where you can find portraits of the monarchs, equiped chambers, torture room and much more. As we understood, the excursions to Niedzica works this way - you buy a ticket, you can walk around the castle on your own and whenever you're interested in getting more information about some area, you can ask the guides who are waiting in the rooms for visitors' questions. The cost of the tickets is 14 zł for adults and 12 zł for kids, students and seniors.You can also visit the museum of carriages with this ticket.

Czorstyn lake

If you are not that much into monuments and you prefer spending time in nature, the Czorstyn lake is pretty clear and it's possible to swim there. We were staying in Poland at the end of August, so the weather was pretty cold and the water was .. well freezing. However the surroundings of the lake are really beautiful except the fact that youngsters are having parties here - they make a campfire, open a beer (or some other alcohol) ... and when they leave the place, they leave the garbage in the camfire or somewhere in the bush.Which is really sad, especially because these people come here by cars and it's not a problem to put the garbage in a trunk and throw it into a bin about half a kilometer from the place.

  

Zakopane in the valley of the High Tatras

Except the Czorstyn lake, there is another attraction in this area - the Tatras and especially Zakopane town, which is located about 50km from the Kluzkowce village. Zakopane is the most often visited polish tourism center - which is obvious from the crowds of tourists all around the city. Our dad left to Poland only with sandals - as well as to the Romanian Fagarash mountains few years ago, so we wanted to just "peep" to the Tatras.  At the end of the day, we found out that the most beautiful view was behind the Biedronka supermarket, where we went to buy some food for bbq.

So at the end, we came back to our apartment, put on some warm socks and blankets and just enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere outside space and time in Kluzkowce.

Magical morning

We had the most beautiful weather during the whole stay in Poland. During the day, the sun was shining and we could wear just shorts and a tee, while in the evening, the temperature was a bit lower, so we wrapped ourselves into blankets and it was awesome as well.

The morning before our departure was cool and also super foggy. About 10 o'clock in the morning, the fog was slowly getting up, the mountain tops and the ships on the lake started magically appearing from nowhere ...

  

Astronomical Clock in Stara Bystricia
The last stop on our way home was Stara Bystrica in Slovakia. The first mention of the village comes from 15th century and during the 2nd world war, most of the village was set on fire. Currently, the most interesting thing, that attracts the tourists, is the new astronomical clock from 2009, which is one of the newest astronomical clocks in the world.