We
are in Pabianice which is the city where my Mother grew up and where
most of her family still live.. There isn't much to see in Pabianice
but this isn't too worrying for Dan and I as we are just keen to see
my family (who I haven't seen for 3 years!) relax and recharge at the
half way point of our trip. We are staying with my Cousin Justyna and
her Husband Kuba. These two are just so much fun and the four of us
never stop laughing, its the best... It is so great to see everyone
again... No body has aged a day except for my little niece and
nephews who have grown just so much! Our arrival has been celebrated
with so many amazing meals, including he best Vodka you could
imagine... When we went to my Grandmothers place for lunch the
everything was spectacular – Dan ate a mountain of food. I have
never in my life thought that a man could eat just so much in one
sitting... (Well maybe you could Pat but it would be close)... After
a few days of relaxation, Dan, Justyna and I set off to a little town
called Kroczyce... The area surrounding Kroczyce is renown as one of
the more picturesque regions of Poland.
This place attracts many
tourists due to its diverse landscape, rocky hills, natural caves,
amazingly shaped limestone rocks and many many castle ruins.
When we
arrived we met up with my uncle Grzesiek his wife Krisa and my cousin
kuba... So the 6 of us set off on foot to the nearby rocky mountain
where the views were spectacular...
It was great to see nature up
close again and there were so many people out and about rock
climbing, absailing and hiking through these mountains... truly
spectacular...
In
the morning the 6 of us met up with another 4 family members and the
11 of us (just like herding cats) made a full day of site seeing.. We
started off with the castle Ogrodzie Niec ruins in Podzamcze which
dates back to the 1300's..
The castle ruins were so picturesquely
located and simply beautiful..It was great fun exploring this
place...
After a little bite to eat and a great pint of Polish beer
we were all ready to then head off and explore the medieval fortress
of Birow Mountain which was reconstructed a few years ago..
As
we were on a roll we decided that we had time to check out another
Castle, however this one was not in ruins and simply gorgeous
The
castle in Pieskowa Skala which resembles the renaissance style of
residential architecture and is still today filled with many
renaissance artworks and serves as a museum..
So after another
beautiful Polish beer we headed back to our hotel restaurant for
dinner, drinking and dancing... And that is what we did... After a
great meal and a few drinks we were all very relaxed. The restaurant
was empty except for the 11 of us but we still had our own personal
band playing.... After that band finished we headed to yet another
place to continue partying into the night – it was so much fun!
After a great sleep we were off again for another full day of site
seeing.. The first stop was the Castle Olsztyn ruins...
It was so so
cold today but this didn't spoil the fun...
or the views..
We then
stopped off in the Forrest for a little bit of mushroom picking...
We
had a quiet last night away where Dan and I learnt a new card game
very much similar to Uno it was pretty funny... We did of course play
while drinking a few beers LOL.. The last morning on our weekend away
we had a quick stop off at Czestochowa which is the home to one of
the most famous Catholic Churches in all of Europe.. After a long and
event filled weekend we were heading back to relax with the family in
Pabianice..
