Tag Archive: Poland

April 28, 2021

Travelling corner: Wild swimming in Poland

I love wild swimming and had many opportunities to try it out last summer in Poland. In Poland, there are swimming pools and lidos which are popular in cities and towns, so if you have a stay-cation, you can still enjoy some cooling down on a hot day (oh yes, it is sometimes 30 degrees in Poland!). But if you’re in nature, there are some wonderful natural reservoirs to have a proper dip.

Lakes

I rarely go lake-swimming in the UK (any tips, do let me know in the comments below), so happily welcomed the opportunity to spend some time by a lake in Poland. We went to Pogoria which is a complex of lakes in the Silesian region. The lakes are surrounded by forests and have many cycling paths. We decided to spend a day on the beach. It was warm, sunny, windless and as expected, the water was super calm 😉 Our girls loved splashing in the lake’s waters and enjoyed the temperature of the water— you could easily spend the whole day there: splashing, swimming and playing. Very comfortable and highly recommended if you’re ever in Poland.

Sea

Oh the sea… More and more I dream about living by the sea, so I am using every opportunity to be able to wet my feet in the salty waters.. The Polish Baltic shore is a long stretch of sandy beaches, forests and lakes. It’s a perfect place to enjoy some time in nature and this is precisely what we did when we were in Poland. We went to a small village, just outside Ustka and explored the surroundings on foot or by bike – mostly by bike.. We even found a wild beach in Orzechowo with the most beautiful colour sea. The sea in Poland is cold, especially when it’s calm, however its temperature raises when there are waves.

River swimming is also popular in Poland. I didn’t try it out this summer, but it’s definitely on my travel to-do list!

Did you enjoy some wild-swimming last summer? Where did you go to? Please let me know in the comments below.

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October 7, 2020

Travelling corner: Baltic Sea in Poland

You know I love being by the sea and am even planning to move there one day (!). So when we planned our stay in Poland, we knew we wanted to go to the seaside, too. As the whole summer of 2020 was planned rather chaotically and last-minute, we chose the best location and summer chalet we could find! But, it turned out to be a beautiful spot which we explored intensively and greatly enjoyed. Where did we go to?

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea in Poland is a long shore of sandy beaches, forests and dunes. Some of the beaches have beautifully looked after white sands, like in Karwia. You can also find islands, e.g. Wolin and peninsulas, like Hel. The sea has relatively cold waters, but it doesn’t stop swimmers from enjoying some wild swimming or children from splashing and jumping through the waves. You can go on a boat trip or have a longer cruise to Sweden, Finland or Denmark. There are 9 different countries that have access to the Baltic Sea: Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.

Beaches of the Baltic Sea: Urban, Wide, Wild, White

What a choice! When visiting the Baltic Sea this summer, our base was just outside Ustka, a small town located in the middle of the Baltic shore. There was a long stretch of the urban, sandy beach going up to Orzechowo (a small picturesque wild beach). On one of our cycling trips, we discovered beautiful silver-blue waters and a wide beach in a village called Poddąbie. When visiting our friends in Jastrzębia Góra, we stopped for breakfast on a beautiful beach of white sands in Karwia. What are my favourite beach memories: swimming (of course!), walking (very relaxing!) and sitting and waiting for the sun to set (the explosion of colours!).

Cycling

Nearly the whole  Baltic seashore is surrounded by forests, lakes and rivers. Beautiful nature to be explored on foot, but also on bike. We rented bikes for a few days to explore local forests and beaches and found the whole experience wonderful! The cycling paths are occasionally a bit sandy (careful cycling important here!) and quite uneven (countryside roads). The paths are well marked, but occasionally, we had to ask somebody for directions. We cycled towards Orzechowo to visit inland dunes (on a very hot day!), explore a wild beach (beautiful colours of the sea), as well as go picking wild-blueberries (you sometimes need blue fingers!). We also cycled further away, to Poddąbie where the beach was wide with white sands and silver-blue waters. After a long cycle, it was a real treat! One happy observation: I think cycling in general and with kids is more and more popular in Poland (!!!).

As you can see the Baltic Sea has a rich offer for nature lovers, as well as for those after more active holidaying. We had a truly wonderful time exploring the seashore and have already made some plans for our future travel adventures by the Baltic. Have you been to the Baltic Sea? Which country did you visit? Please let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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September 9, 2020

Travelling corner: My summer travels 2020

I think for many of us our plans for summer holidays / travels changed this year. We had planned to go to Portugal but, due to travel restrictions, we cancelled the trip. However, that wasn’t the only reason why we decided to cancel it. We also felt that we so wanted to see our family and friends in Poland this summer, so we booked our flight tickets to travel to Poland. Then those flights were cancelled, too, just two weeks before! Fortunately, a different airline had tickets still available, so we booked our flights with them. Phew! I think travelling became more challenging this year, but I’m grateful that we still could travel, even in this much limited capacity, don’t you agree?!

We loved our stay in Poland. The weather was beautiful. Most days: sunny, warm, cloudless. We went to see our family in Silesia, our friends in the mountains, then we travelled to the seaside to visit some other friends and spend some time splashing in the water and building sand castles. We went away for three whole weeks (omg how long?!) In the past, we would usually go away for maximum of 10 days, but this year we needed to be away longer, to properly re-charge our batteries after a very intensive and stressful spring. And to be honest with you, we really enjoyed this longer time away. We managed to use this time to the fullest, but also managed to get bored and look forward to coming back home.

In Poland, we spent most of our days in nature: by the lake, in the forest (picking up wild blueberries) and on the beach (oh, the pleasure of walking barefoot on the soft sand…). We also found a wild beach, searched for white sands and explored dunes in the forest. I’m preparing more travel stories for you, so do expect more posts on our summer travels in Poland.

Lazy and slow, this is how I’d describe our summer in Poland.

Let me know in the comments below how was your summer 2020?!

Kinga Macalla

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December 18, 2019

Travelling corner: My sentimental trip to Śląsk in Poland

I spent part of my childhood and youth in Śląsk (Silesia), it’s a province in the south of Poland. As I wasn’t born there, there were some aspects which always attracted my interest: the regional history, the industrial character of the region and their regional dialect (gwara śląska). I left this part of Poland in my early twenties to go study in the Czech Republic and then in the UK. These days, every time I re-visit this region, I’m more and more fascinated by the changes that have been made, in terms of new cultural establishments, improvements in the urban landscape and the rich cuisine on offer. I think I feel like my uni professor from Prague who, after living her whole life in architectonically diverse Prague, came to work in Śląsk, found an architectural relief and was fascinated by the industrial character of the region. So who knows, maybe I’ll inspire you to travel to this part of Poland!

Nikiszowiec 

Let’s start with the oldest part of Katowice (Katowice being the capital of Śląsk). It’s a more than one hundred years old settlement built originally for coal miners. The houses called familoki (in German Familien-Block), with red windows, were built for workers and their families. Even though this part of Katowice seems so beautiful, quiet and overall unreal, people actually still reside there. The perfect place for a slow walk to discover its uniqueness and beauty.

Café Byfyj 

If we’re in Nikiszowiec, we need to try some amazing food from Café Byfyj. I don’t go out so often and if I do, I try to visit places that respect our planet and choose sustainable, fresh and local products. The food here was delicious and what’s more, the service was amazing: kind and friendly.

Muzeum Śląskie (Silesian Museum)

Is there a better place to build a museum in industrial Śląsk than on the grounds of the former mine? Yes, in 2015 Muzeum Śląskie opened its new site which was built on the former Katowice mine. It’s now conveniently located in the centre of Katowice in Śląsk. It has art galleries, museum rooms, cafes and restaurants, and a library. I found the whole site beautifully rebuilt and was fascinated by the presentation of the history of Śląsk. I was impressed to see some paintings by well-known Polish artists.

That’s the story of my sentimental travel to Poland. Have you visited an important/inspiring place recently? Please let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

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November 15, 2017

Travelling Corner: Polish Mountains in Autumn

I think I last visited Poland in autumn around 4 years ago and the Polish mountains even longer ago, so it was a real treat to go there in October this year. It was beautiful, colourful and foggy with pretty autumnal vibes.

Beskidy (Polish mountain range)

I went hiking in the Polish mountain range of Beskidy in the South of Poland, not far from Katowice and the border with the Czech Republic. I would say these mountains are medium in height, so the stamina level needed to walk there is quite average. I went to the small town of Wisła and chose two routes: one to admire views (Trzy Kopce Wiślańskie, 810 m n.p.m.) and another to reach a beautiful mountain chalet at Schronisko Soszów (Soszów Wielki, 886 m n.p.m.). The overall route to each destination took me around 5 hours there and back, but the whole experience was amazing: from white morning fog and autumnal colours to the beautiful interiors of the chalet.

Walking route signs

If you’re planning to visit any Polish mountains, it might be worth knowing about the walking route signs which come in 5 different colours. The route signs in Poland do not necessarily equal the level of difficulty and are usually marked in the form of a rectangle with three lines: white, another colour (black, red, blue, green or yellow) and white again. The colours describe the length, whether there are scenic views, if the route links with another route or if it has a specific destination.

Do you enjoy hiking? Have you visited any Polish mountains? Please let me know in the comments below.

Written by Kinga Macalla

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December 19, 2015

Christmas around the world

A few examples of Christmas traditions from around the world!

ITALY
Unlike in any other country, Christmas presents are delivered by Befana, an old witch, who visits all Italian children in the night of 5th January, travelling the country on her broomstick. Being a good housekeeper, some say she will sweep the floor before she leaves. To some the sweeping meant sweeping away of the problems of the year. The child’s family usually leaves a small glass of wine and a plate of regional food for the Befana.
Another interesting tradition is Lancio dei Ciocci, which consists of throwing old crockery out the window at midnight on New Year’s Eve, symbolising the riddance of old negativity and evil. It is also common to leave doors and windows open in order to let good spirits in.

POLAND
Christmas in Poland, just like in many European countries, is celebrated on the 24th of December, known as Wigilia. It is a tradition to prepare twelve dishes, one for each of the apostles that accompanied Jesus during the Last Supper. As meat is banned on Christmas Eve, fish dishes are served instead, the most typical being karp. It is not uncommon to find one swimming in somebody’s bathtub in the days leading up to Christmas!
Before the dinner, families share Christmas wishes and opłatek (similar to a communion wafer), which is served on a small pile of hay, referring to the stables in which Jesus was born.

GERMANY
Germans are famous worldwide for their Christmas markets and advent calendars, but they also have some lesser known traditions. In some part of Germany, children write to the Christkind (‘the Christ child’), a traditional giver of gifts. In Nürnberg a young girl is chosen each year to participate in a parade as the Christkind. She wears a long white and gold dress, has blond hair and wears a gold crown and sometimes also wings, like an angel. She is responsible for the official opening of the Christmas market and visits old people’s homes and hospitals during the Advent.

FRANCE
The 6th of January is celebrated in France as Fête des Rois (Day of the Kings). A flat almond cake is eaten called Gallete des Rois in Northern France and Gâteu des Rois in the South of the country. A small charm is placed inside the cake and the person who finds it has to either buy a beverage for everyone around the table or offer to host the next king cake at theirs. This can extend the festivities through all of January!

SPAIN
Christmas celebrations in Spain start on the 22nd of December, with the launch of Sorteo de Navidad, a Christmas lottery, which takes place every year and is broadcasted on national television. There are long queues at the ticket selling points, even as early as a month before! After all, everybody is hoping to win the main price, El Gordo, literally ‘the fat one’.
On New Year’s Eve, during the countdown to midnight, twelve grapes are eaten, one for each stroke of the clock: that’s one grape per second! They represent the twelve months of the year and are meant to bring happiness in the upcoming year.

Winter 2015

On this note, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! No matter how and where you spend it, we hope that it will be a time of rest, spent with family and friends. We would also like to wish you all the best in the New Year, let it be a year filled with love and happiness.
See you in January 2016! 

Written by Alicja Zajdel

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