COBBLESTONE STREETS AND MEDIEVAL CASTLES OF NORTHERN POLAND

: on 14 September 2024; Hits: 535

My kids and I had a looooong summer vacation lined up in my home-country, Latvia. With over a month of free time, the decision was made to broaden our horizons and explore a little bit more of Europe. We looked at Norway, Finland, maybe Denmark or Germany… but eventually settled on Poland. Because of a reasonable driving distance (from Latvia) in combination with acceptable costs of lodging and entertainment, Poland was a fitting choice.

Over the last 2 decades, I have planned and executed countless trips and vacations all over the world. However, our trip to Poland was finally the one where I could sit back, relax and just go with the flow. My brother had been to Poland before; therefore, I entrusted all the planning to him. And he is much more knowledgeable about all the ins and outs of Europe than I am at this point anyway. It was not an easy task though, because our little ''tour group'' consisted of 11 people – starting with kids as young as 4 to grandparents in their retirement age. I must admit that my brother did a great job of putting together an itinerary that was fun for all. So, let’s get into it!

LITHUANIA - PAKRUOJIS MANOR

Our first main destination was Poland’s capital Warsaw. However, it being almost a 10-hour drive from Latvia, we decided to make our first stop in Lithuania to break up the drive and stretch our legs. Pakruojis Manor was hosting a flower festival in their gardens and with blue skies and sunny weather we decided this would be a great stop.

The Manor grounds were impressive! It wasn’t just simple flowerbeds, but large flower sculptures shaped into arcs, ships, musical instruments and more. There were little artists’ studios and workshops, book shops, various exhibits and even tasting rooms. The kids had so much fun exploring everything!

During certain times visitors could watch acrobatic performances and kids were entertained by clowns and magicians.

And let’s not forget buildings full of antique farm equipment or the petting zoo where you could even feed a camel!

Do I even need to explain that getting kids away from Pakruojis was Mission Impossible? We had already spent so much more time here than originally anticipated and we still had hundreds of kilometers to drive. So yes, it was time to leave!

However, we could not quite leave entirely without trying Lithuania’s traditional dish. Cepelinai (or didžkukuliai) are potato dumplings made from grated and riced potatoes and stuffed with ground meat, dry curd cheese or mushrooms. I had never tried them before, so I chose the ground meat ones and quite enjoyed them.

My boys were a little bit more reserved and decided to go with plain potato pancakes instead (which I have made at home many times before).

We reached our first hotel near Warsaw by midnight.

WARSAW (PL: Warszawa)

It was a busy day planned, so not much sleeping-in was allowed. We had some great hotel breakfast… Oh, how I love European coffee!! And curd cheese pancakes for breakfast?! One will never see such a thing in the USA, so seeing them here was magical! I am not ashamed to admit that I do not recall the number of pancakes I consumed. It was definitely many, and maybe 3 cups of foamy latte coffees…? But it was a vacation, so I will not burden myself with any calorie counts here! Besides, lots and lots of walking was ahead of us, so it would all even out in the end!

The day started with a long walk around Old Town, Warsaw. It is the oldest portion of the city, and contains numerous historic buildings, mostly from 17th and 18th centuries, such as the Royal Castle, city walls, St. John's Cathedral, and the Barbican. The settlement itself dates back to between the 13th and 14th centuries.

The Old Town consisted of colorful architecture, cobblestone streets, souvenir stands, street entertainers, town squares with restaurants and cafes, flocks of pigeons, horse carriage tours and on and on. It was busy. Very busy, and touristy, yet very beautiful as well! History all around could be felt every step of the way.

After the Old Town we headed towards the observation deck and viewing platform of the Palace of Culture and Science (Pałac Kultury i Nauki). It is the tallest building in Warsaw and is also one of the most visited tourist attractions. That was definitely true, because the line to get the tickets and then get on the elevator was very, very long. It was probably 45mins to an hour until we finally reached the top. Here we had views in all directions over Warsaw.

After leaving the observation tower, we had another long walk to the Royal Lazienki Gardens. It is a public park with free admission and many walking paths, seating areas, ponds, flower gardens and arboretums, and historic buildings. It took us a couple of hours to leisurely walk the grounds, and we did not even manage to see it all.

Not surprisingly, you might also get lucky and see some wildlife here, like peacocks, ducks and squirrels. This was finally the place where I got lucky to get a great shot of a European red squirrel. They tend to be very quick and elusive and they had managed to avoid my camera for years!

Our walk back towards the Old Town took us along several other smaller parks where my boys found pigeons to interact with. The biggest amusement of the day was a robot food-delivery machine which stopped at red lights when crossing a street, let bicycles and pedestrians pass, and used crosswalks… And, it had a very jolly demeanor!

During our walk through one of the parks, an entertainer was blowing huge bubbles for kids to run after and pop. This kept our boys busy for quite a while, so we gladly dropped a few coins into the donation bucket.

Our evening walk in Warsaw consisted of exploring the old castle defensive city walls. Many of the towers, walkways and passages had been restored and were open to tourists. And the dark pink and pastel sunset light made it even more magical.

Once it got dark, we headed to the Multimedia Fountain Park where, on weekends, locals and tourists alike can enjoy a free dancing fountain show – accompanied by colorful lights and rhythmic songs. It was quite a spectacular free-of-charge show and not one bit less impressive than the famous Bellagio fountains I had seen in Las Vegas that draw crowds by the millions every year.

It had been a long day, and my Garmin watch had tracked 9 hours of walking, 12.5 miles (20km) covered and nearly 30,000 steps taken! Every step was worth the effort though and we managed to see a lot in just one day! Now it was off to bed to wake up tomorrow and press on!

LODZ (PL: Łódź)

Just an hour’s drive outside of Warsaw we stopped in the town of Lodz. A lot smaller and a lot less touristy than the capital Warsaw, it was still interesting to see what a casual town like this had to offer.

One of the main attractions was the Manufaktura. At the end of the 19th century, a large factory operated in the current entertainment area. After it shut down, instead of letting the buildings go to ruin, the area was transformed into an entertainment district with cafes, play areas, fountains, walkways and even a shopping mall inside the old factory walls. Although it was Sunday and the mall was closed, all the outdoor areas were open.

Another industrial but renovated part of Lodz was the old power plant area which has now been transformed into outdoor informative exhibits, a playground, indoor museums and even a planetarium. We could walk around and read informative plaques about coal mining and old power plant significance.

The kids, of course, were more interested in the playground and water fountains…

After our brief historical tour, we returned to the town center to take a long stroll on the main shopping street – Piotrkowska street. Lined with cafes, candy shops, souvenir booths, restaurants and stores, this was the main tourist attraction. Neither one of us was much into shopping, however, it was quite fun to walk a few kilometers up and down the street admiring the architecture and intricate details of the old buildings.

By the way, did you know that just for the cost of a few Euros you can walk underground in city sewers?! Lodz’s underground sewer tube was built in 1926 and accommodated about 300 cubic meters of rainwater which was collected to sluice the city sewer network. It was one of the first sections of the city sewage system. Today, you can descend into the tunnel under the city’s main square and explore the tunnels on your own! Of course, such a stinky opportunity could not be passed! A truly unique experience!

POZNAN (PL: Poznań)

A new day (and long drive the night before) had brought us to a new city – Poznan. Being one of the oldest cities in Poland, it sure promised to be worth our visit! As already accustomed, we started the day with a long walk around the city and Old Town.

The city square was especially colorful with beautifully restored buildings, fountains, more cobblestone streets and churches. Surprisingly, it was very quiet in comparison, with not too many tourists like we saw in Old Town, Warsaw. It was a pleasant change, so we got some ice cream and walked around slowly inspecting all the miniscule details of the architectural art around us.

We also walked into St Stanislaus church which was built between 1651 and 1701 is one of the most preserved and exquisite examples of Baroque architecture in Poland. Talk about divine and impressive! Wow!

As one of the last sights of the day was Poznan Old Zoo. The new city zoo houses most of the animals but the old zoo is free to attend and has just a few animals remaining. Perfect for a short visit with hungry children! Cotton candy and ice cream stands gladly kept our money in exchange for some treats, and off to see the animals we went… It mostly housed farm animals (like sheep, goats, donkeys, ponies), farm birds (geese, ducks) and some other smaller wildlife (turtles, foxes, caimans)… Overall, for a short and free evening visit it was a very nice attraction. And kids always like animals. Especially sheep when they start baa-ing full blast! My 6-year-old could not stop laughing. Have to admit that the extremely vocal sheep was quite funny.

Once we got to our AirBnB, our evening was not quite done yet. My brother had booked us all a villa with SAUNA! A sauna! Born and raised in a Nordic country, we could not let the sauna opportunity pass (despite it being mid-August)! So, the evening was spent taking turns going into sauna and then jumping into an ice-cold soaker tub! Good times!

The following morning, we had one last place to visit in Poznan before leaving. It was HistoryLand Lego museum. The concept of the museum was really interesting as it portrayed Poland’s history and events through ages made of a million Lego blocks. We also chose to take part in the audio tour, and I was surprised that my kids kept their interest throughout the whole exhibit. I honestly thought that they would ditch the audio tour after some 5 minutes, but that was not at all the case! There were lights and sounds, and digital projections and 3D screens…

And at the end of it all, my 8-year-old picked out his birthday present at the Lego store, although his birthday was nowhere in sight! :-D

ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM IN BISKUPIN (PL: Muzeum Archeologiczne w Biskupinie)

Biskupin Archeological Museum was an impromptu attraction that we found out about only the night before. It was along our planned route, so we decided to stop in. And I am glad we did. It was a totally different experience from the past 4 days of city-touring.

Biskupin is an archeological site and a life-size model of a late Bronze Age (7th century) fortified settlement that also serves as an archeological open-air museum. For over 2,700 years, the remains of the ancient settlement of Biskupin remained hidden under water and damp ground. Remarkably well preserved, they were discovered in the 1930s and ''lifted''.

Nowadays, the self-guided tour takes visitors on a walking route starting from the Stone Age through Middle Ages, showing the lifestyle and dwellings people had at the time. Although the big 7th century fortress is the main attraction, all the other settlements portrayed were equally interesting.

My kids loved exploring the Stone Age hunter-gatherer leather yurt with a firepit in the middle. Or the first log and mud houses built with thick straw roofs. The Middle Age village had performers carving wood, bone and painting on animal skins. Many of the buildings also had windows open to peak in and some rooms you could even walk into.

Overall, this was a great stop and absolutely worth a visit! And considering that such history does not exist in the USA, this was a great history lesson and eye-opener for my kids.

BYDGOSZCZ

Bydgoszcz was not really a major planned stop on our trip, rather a city we were driving through and decided to explore a little. It had a beautiful promenade along the canals with parks and fountains lining the city’s waterways.

We had a leisurely stroll here with (yet again) ice cream and cotton candy. I don’t think we manage to eat as much ice-cream and sweets in a whole year back at home as we did during this 10-day trip!

Also, I do not know what this obsession with pigeons was, but my boys were completely mesmerized by them. Yes, they were city pigeons – they were coming up to you, almost stepping on your toes looking for food crumbs being tossed their way. They were flying over our heads inches away and flocking in big groups... They were quite entertaining, but they were still just pigeons. Regardless, if my kids saw them in city squares, off they went chasing them around and trying to catch one (or two). Or they just stood there and stared at them. Who knew that pigeons would be such a huge deal!? Kids, you just never know what piques their interest!

GRUDZIADZ (PL: Grudziądz)

We rolled into Grudziadz well into evening. The sun was setting and after dragging our luggage bags into the hotel, some of us had already put on our pajamas ready to settle in for the night. It was past 8PM after all. A warm cup of tea, maybe a movie… a relaxing evening. Then there came my brother (or ''our tour guide'' as we had nicknamed him by now) announcing that there would be no sleeping, and everyone needed to go explore the town at night! Apparently, we won’t have time for it tomorrow, so it’s either now or never. Some were trying to object but it fell on deaf ears, so into the cars we loaded and off we went to sightsee the star-lit Grudziadz!

Although it did not seem like much at first, the farther we went the prettier it got. Another old town with cobblestone streets and lit up old churches. Old castle walls and towers and all absolutely void of people! It was peaceful and quiet. Sometimes we were the only people around.

We even discovered a restored castle tower (Klimek Tower) that offered a viewing platform over the city. We had never seen a big castle tower being open to visitors at night with no-one manning it. They really must trust people here, we thought. And up we went, and more up, and up, and up…. it was a really tall tower! A few flights of stairs from the top we suddenly heard someone yelling from the bottom: “Stop! Security! You are not allowed here!” Apparently, the employee responsible for the tower had forgotten to lock it at closing time at 6PM and had left doors open and lights on. Our movement had triggered the silent security alarm and here we were – about to be put in jail in Poland for breaking and entering a historic site! The security, however, was very understanding of the situation and we all laughed about it and parted ways as friends. It will be a story to remember though, for sure. P.S. We never made it to the top, unfortunately, but the view would have been grand!

A few more streets to explore, a couple squares to cross and off we went back to our beds. I did not muster any energy to even give my kids a shower. That’s alright, there will be another day.

MALBORK CASTLE (PL: Zamek w Malborku)

The morning next day was spent more leisurely than previous days. We had enough time to make some breakfast, pack up, and the kids even managed to squeeze in a little time for cartoons.

Today’s big adventure was Malbork Castle. I have to admit that before our trip I knew nothing of Malbork Castle. But as it turns out, it is the largest castle in the world measured by land area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is 4 times the size of Windsor Castle in the UK and is the largest brick structure in the world that has EVER been built. How could I not have heard about it?!

Even while just waiting outside in line to purchase the entry tickets and before ever entering the castle complex itself, we could already see how GRAND it was. Malbork is the most complete and elaborate example of a Gothic brick-built castle complex in the characteristic and unique style of the Teutonic Order. Inside, it has more than 700 years of history!

Entry tickets also included a self-guided audio tour. This seemed to be a very popular way to go in Europe. I wish the US had more options like that. My kids got their owns headphones and audio guides again and the castle tour could finally start. Malbork was a true example of a medieval fortress with ditches, moats and defensive walls, drawbridges and guard towers, courtyards, gardens, turrets and ballrooms.

The audio tour led the way and guided us through many of the castle’s rooms, hallways, kitchen areas and towers. Some of the rooms were empty but some housed exhibits like knight armor, medieval weapons, jewelry etc.

Overall, it took us over 5 hours to complete the audio tour. Of course, you can cut it short anywhere you want, but we wanted to see it all. And can you imagine, after 5 hours when all the adults where totally exhausted and ready to take a nap, the kids were still running around looking for unexplored corners in order to try to extend the tour… Undoubtedly, this was a very memorable stop on our trip.

As a little souvenir and memorabilia from this place, I got the kids each a Malbork engraved knight’s sword.

GDANSK (PL: Gdańsk)

Our final area left to explore on our Northern Poland itinerary was Gdansk. Our last 3 days of the trip were spent around there.

Although we had allocated the better part of the day to touring Malbork Castle, we still had a little time left in the evening to take a short walk from our AirBnB to Gdansk Old Town. Already upon crossing the bridge and stepping onto the old cobblestone streets, I was certain that this was going to be my favorite Old Town of the trip.

Although there were masses of people and tourists, lots of street hustle and performers, the buildings themselves were absolutely amazing! So, ignoring all the noise around us, we cruised through the Old Town’s many side streets, squares and alleyways admiring the cityscape and history that was all around us.

It was said to be one of the best maintained Old Towns in Poland and I wholeheartedly agree! It was a true gem boasting ornate merchants’ mansions, churches and block after block of restored history. I loved it! We all loved it!

HEL PENINSULA (PL: Mierzeja Helska)

Although we were still staying in Gdansk, the next day we opted to take a short drive to Hel Peninsula. It is a 35-kilometre-long (20mi) sand bar off Poland’s north coast separating the open Baltic Sea from the Bay of Puck. At some points, it is only 200 meters wide therefore there is beach and water both on your left and right as you drive to the tip of the peninsula.

/Hel from the sky. Credit: www.worldisbeautiful.eu/

Although our drive was supposed to be just under an hour, it happened to coincide with one of Poland’s federal holidays. Therefore our 1-hour drive doubled to 2 as everyone wanted to go spend a sunny holiday by the beach. Parking was another issue in such a limited environment but once we resolved that, we were finally ready to go explore!

We started off with Hel Seal Sanctuary (Fokarium w Helu). For a nominal entrance fee (donation) you can enter the aquarium. It is not really the kind of aquarium most people would think of. It purely fulfils the role of a rehabilitation center for the ill and weak Baltic seals found on the coastal beaches. It is also a breeding institution that gives back freedom to both the offspring that came into the world in the pools of the seal aquarium, and to older seals after that have been cured and rehabilitated.

The best time to come see the seals here is during feeding times when employees talk about the seals in their care and have seals perform several tricks. There is also a small exhibition hall.

Afterwards we moved on to the beach area. The tiny strip of sand was so crowded and tight packed with people that neither one of us had much desire to spend time here.

So, we continued on to the port and harbor. It was actually quite interesting to see all the different ships and boats moored here.

From here we walked towards Nadmorski Nature Park and Hel Lighthouse. It was a quieter area with sea views, pine forests, dunes and a lighthouse.

This walk concluded our visit to Hel Peninsula.

SOPOT

On our drive back to Gdansk, we decided to stop in Sopot. Together with Gdynia, they are informally called Poland’s Tri-City or Three Sisters due their close proximity to each other along the Baltic Sea. Although we chose to skip Gdynia due to time constraints, we did visit Sopot. It is a seaside resort city with health spas, restaurants, resort style hotels, sandy beaches and a long wooden boardwalk.

As we did not get to spend any time on the beach at Hel, we walked along the boardwalk here and found a less crowded spot to sit down and let the kids wade into the water. Locals and tourists alike were swimming, tanning, walking along the water, playing beach volleyball, engaging in various watersports and doing whatever else one wished.

After about an hour spent by the water, we went for a short walk around Sopot. It was a very crowded city with its main streets full of tourists and hustlers.

One of the attractions in the city center is the Crooked House. It was built in 2004 (inspired by fairytales) and is part of Sopot’s shopping center.

The overall atmosphere just felt a little too loud and crowded for us, and as it was coming to an evening anyway, we headed back to our AirBnB in Gdansk. It was time to pack up and get ready to leave the next morning.

ARBORETUM KUDYPY PLAC

This was our last full day in Poland as we started heading back east towards Latvia. However, there were still a few sites along the way that we wanted to stop at. One of them was a short stop at Kudypy Plac Arboretum to let kids out of the car and give them a wild space to run around a little. The arboretum had nicely maintained trails and wood boardwalks over marshy areas with signage about trees and plants that could be seen here.

OLSZTYN

A quick stop in Olsztyn was another little side-attraction that we did. It was a fairly quiet city in comparison to many others we had visited, and we saw barely any tourists here at all.

We spent about 2 hours wandering the cobblestone streets, peeking into a local market, observing the ducks in a park’s fountain and getting some ice cream yet again.

WOLF’S LAIR (Ger: Wolfsschanze, PL: Wilczy Szaniec)

The Wolf’s Lair was our main attraction of the day. The Wolf's Lair was Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The name was derived from "Wolf", a self-adopted nickname of Hitler. He began using the nickname in the 1920s and it was often how he was addressed by those in his circle. Although originally intended to be a short visit, Hitler ended up staying here for 800 days between 1941-44.

Upon retreating, the German army was ordered to destroy all the buildings, however, due to their immense size and often meters-wide steel enforced concrete exterior walls, it was an impossible task. No matter how many explosives were used, a lot was left intact. These remains are what people can go see; and nowadays the complex draws more than 300 thousand visitors a year.

We picked up our audio guides again and on nicely paved walkways headed out to explore the complex. Each building had a number assigned to it with the audio guide explaining what each place was, along with various facts and recorded witness statements. It was a very, very interesting tour. And when at times I tried to scurry my kids along to move on faster, they would protest and said that their audio guide had not finished talking yet at a certain spot and they wanted to stand and listen to it all.

Some of the buildings also housed small exhibits (about Polish uprising, Holocaust, or Hitler’s assassination attempt) and some more stable ruins could even be walked though where we could see the cold, damp and dark interior of these structures.

Although we would have loved to take part in a few more of the activities offered here, it was so late already that the park was closing. In complete darkness we reached the last and final lodging in Poland.

When we woke up in the morning, we could finally see the amazing place we got to spend our final night at. It was an old dam and a historic power plant turned into a hostel.

/Credit: Goscienic pod Wegordem/

There was a lake we could take a boat ride on or go for a swim in. There was an apple orchard in the garden with many tasty apples ripe for picking. Due to its remote country-side location, it was very tranquil. This was our last lodging and last morning in Poland.

STANCZYKI VIADUKT (PL: Mosty w Stanczykach)

Although we had already set course for home, this roadside attraction did not require much time to see, so we made the stop. These 2 parallel viaducts were constructed in 1917 as part of a historic railway line. Both bridges are of massive size and are considered the highest in Poland. They are about 200m long and 36m high with 15m arches.

Upon paying a small entrance fee, we could walk across both bridges as well as take the steep staircase down to the bottom of it.

WISZTYNIEC TRIPOINT – POLAND / RUSSIA / LITHUANIA BORDER

A very unique (and last) stop that we made was the Tripoint border. A short walk took us to a large granite monolith that marked the spot where the European Union countries of Poland and Lithuania meet the country border of Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast).

Needless to say, the Poland and Lithuania’s borders were much more heavily fenced and guarded than that of Russia. I guess not too many people long to illegally cross into the Russian territory. The same can’t be said for the opposite.

With this, our trip around Poland was concluded. Just a short drive later we crossed into Lithuania and then back into Latvia. We had covered nearly 2750km (1700 miles) by car and over 65km (40miles) on foot while exploring towns and attractions during these 9 days. When several months ago my brother asked me what I would be interested in seeing in Poland, I answered: ''Some old towns would be nice as we don't have them here in the USA.'' And he sure delivered! I think I have seen enough old towns to last me for a good while! And thank you, my dear brother, for all the long hours, days, weeks and months of your hard work of putting together this itinerary! Till next time!