The rooftops of Krakow from the cathedral bell tower (Image: Carol Kubicki)
Greener travel
Having used the Keswick-based company, Freewheel Holidays, before, my partner and I confidently booked their cycling trip to southern Poland. We would begin with two nights sightseeing in the historic city of Kraków before collecting hired bicycles.
You can fly to Kraków, but we prefer slower and greener adventures to airport queues. So, with bulging rucksacks on our backs, we left Lancaster railway station, picking up an overnight ferry in Newcastle. A sea-view cabin, a bountiful buffet, a sunset walk around the deck and nightcaps in the bar put us in a holiday mood. Before we knew it, we were climbing aboard a train in Amsterdam’s bustling station.
Krakow Cathedral is within the Wawel Castle complex (Image: Carol Kubicki)
Picnic food (no buffet car), books and the ever-changing German countryside sustained us to Berlin. We stashed the rucksacks in our hotel and were soon eating our favourite German food, deep-fried potato pancakes (Kartoffelpuffer), served with apple sauce. They are greasy, unhealthy and delicious!
The next day, we sped through vast Polish forests and crossed wetlands teeming with wildlife, stepping into Kraków on a hot afternoon. Our hotel was alongside the green parkland that rings Kraków’s centre and this pedestrian-friendly area of winding paths helped us navigate the city. While swifts swooped overhead, we meandered under trees to the Wawel Castle complex and climbed the cathedral’s bell tower for rooftop views. When we had walked enough, there were shady cafés and multitudes of ice cream shops around the impressive medieval square.
The Tatra Mountains from Poland’s highest village (Image: Carol Kubicki)
On your bike
Over a beer that evening, we met our local rep and fellow cyclists from across northern Europe. We were given road books, maps and GPX files and instructions for collecting our bikes the following day. Climbing out of the minibus in Poland’s highest village, I breathed in the panorama of the Tatra Mountains. The River Dunajec, our companion for the trip, rises among these lofty granite peaks and tumbles down to the valleys lying below us.
Pedalling to Zakopane, I became acquainted with my bike and constantly leapt on and off, taking photographs of mountain views and rustic chalets. Checking in at the hotel, we were told the evening buffet had begun. We were half-board and surprised how early they eat in Poland. We parked our bikes in the garage, found our transferred rucksacks (we were last, so this was easy), showered, made a brew (the bulging rucksacks were full of teabags!) and joined the final 30 minutes of dinner.
The mountain resort of Zakopane is a tourist hotspot and we drifted through its shopping streets the next morning, finding bread and cheese for our daily picnic before whizzing up a mountain funicular. Once again, too relaxed, we had coffee idly watching dark clouds gather over the Tatras. The downpour began as we tackled a long brake-testing descent, my least favourite cycling.
Traditional farmhouse near Zakopane (Image: Carol Kubicki)
Into Nowy Targ the cycle path used a former railway line (Image: Carol Kubicki)
Then the sun reappeared as we left the road for effortless car-free paths through flower-rich meadows. The misery was forgotten in the company of singing yellow hammers and acrobatic swallows.
At a trackside café near Nowy Targ we bought drinks and received smiling nods when we indicated we had our own picnic. This was the holiday we expected.
We had informed Freewheel we were two vegetarians but, at Nowy Targ and every other hotel, we were a surprise to the waiting staff. However, without exception, the kindness and hospitality was almost overwhelming, each chef producing a delicious vegetarian meal, without drama.
We rarely saw our cycling companions during the day, as everyone rode at their pace (mostly faster than us) and often chose different routes to the same destination. Our evening meals, by contrast, were sociable as we exchanged travelling stories. For us, this was the perfect combination.
The beautiful Debno Church (Image: Carol Kubicki)
Soft mornings and fairy tales
As the weather cooled and mist lingered, we left our hotels on a soft morning, following the Dunajec on paths and lanes.
History has left its mark in this rural area and wooden churches, folk architecture and cultural sites punctuated our rides. Parking our bikes at Dębno, a gate led us into an exceptional 15th century wooden church packed with paintings and icons hanging on its plank walls. Looking up, the ceiling was rich with intricate geometric and floral designs.
The walls and turrets of 14th century Niedzica Castle came into view above the trees as we followed a path winding around inlets and headlands along a reservoir shore. Built by Hungarians, this formidable stronghold is open to visitors. However, our day’s quest was to beat the rain and, magically, as the first drops fell, we were rolling our bikes into the hotel. The fairy tale continued when we were shown our room in a wooden chalet that Heidi would surely have recognised.
The Dunajec is dammed near Debno (Image: Carol Kubicki)
The Dunajec Gorge carves a winding route of white water between Poland and Slovakia. The playground of canoeists and rafting trips, it is home to black storks and we watched spellbound as one stood in the foam, butler-like in its glossy tuxedo plumage.
In the thick of tree-cloaked hills, half-shrouded in mist, we visited Červený kláštor, a former monastery restored as a museum. After being dazzled by the vaulted painted ceiling and sniffing the plants in the herb gardens, we grabbed a table in the cosy restaurant. In this shadowy space with small windows and mahogany furniture, we were delighted to find a Slovak speciality of crispy fried breadcrumbs surrounding a centre of soft tangy cheese. Served with chips, it was perfect stodgy cycling food.
In Stary Sacz we found this joyful painted ceiling (Image: Carol Kubicki)
The finish line
Feeling fitter and stronger, we chose a longer option on our penultimate day. Our reward was dedicated cycle paths and narrow country lanes through hamlets of traditional houses and farms. Chickens strutted among somnolent sheep and red squirrels climbed trees. We didn’t enter an urban area until the afternoon, when we bumped along the cobbles of Stary Sącz to its airy market square. A bakery tempted us and we munched on fluffy, sweet Polish donuts (paczek) before pedalling by the convent and the papal altar built for the pope’s visit in 1999.
We retraced our wheels back to Stary Sącz for our last day of cycling and sat in the sunshine of the art centre’s terrace enjoying excellent coffee. ‘Why are you in Stary Sącz?’ asked our friendly waitress, astonished to meet foreign tourists and we had fun translating the sweet handwritten notes she placed on our saucers.
The colourful square in Nowy Sacz (Image: Carol Kubicki)
The sunshine seduced us and we pottered around the town discovering colourful murals and market stalls, until we checked the time. We had a deadline with a minibus in Nowy Sącz and so rode rapidly through the riverside flower meadows and pools on our last stretch of the Dunajec.
We visited the town’s showpiece market square, surrounded by elegant houses and full of floral displays, and found the nearby basilica before it was time to say goodbye to our trusty steeds. I knew I would miss daily cycling. Back in Kraków, an evening of traditional food and klezmer music in the town’s Jewish quarter was planned. Once again, two vegetarians were a surprise, but the onion soup and stuffed cabbage were a triumph. It was our last night with our cycling buddies and we shared our stories interspersed with soulful traditional folk music.
Walking back through buzzing Kraków, we reflected on our Polish cycling adventure, thrilled to complete the distance and encounter some of Poland’s lesser-known attractions.
‘With bulging rucksacks on our backs, we left Lancaster railway station, picking up an overnight ferry in Newcastle’
The riverside cycle path into Nowy Sacz (Image: Carol Kubicki)
PLAN YOUR TRIP
Freewheel Holidays | freewheelholidays.co.uk
Newcastle-Amsterdam DFDS ferry crossing | dfds.com/en
Rail Europe for train tickets | raileurope.com
For inspiration and practical ideas | seat61.com