I can’t get enough of running in the forest when I visit our Polish Family outside Krakow. The forest is maintained in a completely natural state, and every time I’m there I see something different.
This time I found the beaver dams (ok I fell into a beaver dam), a cave and an abandoned house. The beavers chew and scratch the trees until they fall down, then they use the trees to build their dams.
And I also ran through a farm – I’m not sure if I was supposed to but nobody seemed to mind.
The little village of Ojcow is a lovely place to visit. Its just a few km from our family’s house in Krakow, Poland, and I always try to pop past when I go running in the forest. It’s mostly restaurants and hotels. But its a lovely place to spend a relaxing hour or two in the country.
This is the chapel of the cathedral in the Wieliczka Saltmine, Krakow. The mine is so deep that the workers built homes in the mines (the mine is just over 300m deep; by modern standards it is not deep at all, but at the time that was a long way down), and being religious people they needed places to pray. So they build a cathedral under the ground. This is the front of the cathedral, the “choir” from where the services were conducted.
Have a wonderful Christmas.
Previously I posted a picture of the Chapel on the Water. Right next to the chapel is this lovely old stone fountain, quietly serving up fresh spring water which overflows directly into the river.
I am sure that right now that it is frozen solid and covered with snow (Polish Winters are really cold), but it must be wonderful to drink from in winter.
This is my last post for the year, so see you in the new year!
While walking in the forest in Ojcow I came across this beautiful grave. I don’t know anything about it, but I can’t imagine that a grave made entirely of plants would last for very long in the humidity of the forest. It is a lovely and peaceful spot for a little quite contemplation.
When walking through the forest I saw these mushrooms growing happily on an old and decaying tree trunk. I know that you can gather mushrooms in the forest (my inlaws in Poland and their neighbours do it all the time), but my knowledge is dangerous. Actually my knowledge is not even dangerous. It is nonexistent. I know nothing about what mushrooms are safe to eat, so I though it best to just look, take a photograph and leave my breakfast until I got back to the house.
My in-law’s house in Krakow is on the border of the Ojcow national forest. It is a small yet beautiful forest, full of trails, steams and wildlife. So of course I spent as much time as possible exploring the trails in the forest.
Running along the trail
One of the many rivers; I found many otter dams on this river, and lots of trees that the otters had cut down (yes the otters quite literally cut down the trees to use as dam-building material)
A most-covered tree; when you get deep in the forest it gets very earthy and wet. You can smell the earthy smell of the decomposing plants on the forest floor
I even found an old castle in the middle of the forest
Running uphill – the forest was suprisingly hilly – they were plenty of good climbs
Finally, here is the route I ran – about 14k. If you’re ever in the area I highly recommend a run through the forest.
This beautiful chapel is approximately 135m underground in the middle of the Wieliczka Salt Mine, near Krakow in Poland. The mine was started in the 13th century, and produced salt until as recently as 2007. If you don’t mind waiting you can book your wedding in the chapel, but I believe the waiting list is a couple of years or so.
Everything is carved from rock salt, including the floor tiles and bricks. They are not real – they are just carved directly into the rocks.
And here is a picture of the entire room. Beautiful, don’t you think?
In my past post, I showed pictures of Schindler’s factory. Schindler managed to protect many Jewish people during the Nazi occupation in Krakow. Today’s photo is about some Jewish people who did not survive. It says:
“The place of reflection on the martyr’s death of 65,000 Polish citizens of Jewish origin from Cracow and surroundings who were killed by the Nazis during World War II”
Sobering. If you want to visit it, it is in Szeroka Street – at the bottom of the small square in the Jewish quarter.
If you have read the book “Schindler’s Jews” or seen the movie “Schindler’s List” directed by Stephen Spielberg, you would have heard of Schindler’s factory. Schindler managed to save many Jewish people towards the end of world war 2 by having then declared as essential workers in his factory – even though the factory was, for practical purposes, producing very little.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when visiting Schindler’s factory, but while it was a history of the factory and of Schindler’s work it was far more than that. It gave an introspective history of Krakow in World War 2, and especially of the Jewish people that were confined to the ghetto during the Nazi occupation of Poland. An enlightening and sobering visit.
We only visited the factory on our second visit to Krakow, but if you are in the city I would highly recommend that you take a visit to the factory to learn move of its history.
The windows are filled with portraits of survivors.
The main factory gates
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