Art galleries and museums

Painting on Glass gallery at Zubrzyca Gorna At the Ethnological Museum at Zubrzyca Gorna is the gallery of Paintings on Glass. This is a traditional, local style of painting, and you will see original glass paintings in the old houses on show at the Museum. The artist, Stanislaw Wyrtel, is often in the gallery and will be happy to talk with you. You can buy his paintings for as little as 30zl and they make a lovely, light weight but valuable present or souvenir to take back to the UK. http://www.wyrtel.fr.pl/index.html . He also paints on old window frames which make an wonderful frame for his paintings.
	Nowy Targ market and town museum On Thursday and Saturday mornings, the market at Nowy Targ opens around 05.00am, starting to close around 13.00. The Thursday market has a livestock section with farmers offering pigs, sheep, horses, cows, goats and so on for sale. Get there by 08.00am to really enjoy this part of the market. Saturday market can claim to be the biggest street market in Europe, especially in summer. It can take up to 5 hours just to walk all around it. You can buy just about anything here, from hand made wrought iron products to ball gowns, potatoes to trees, hammocks to skis: really, just about anything. During the market, there are various food stalls selling open-air grilled meats and sausages. Or there are several very Polish cafes offering traditional local fare in traditional local surroundings. Try Rumcajs. Otherwise, you can take a short walk up into the Main Square of Nowy Targ, where, on Thursdays, the town museum is open in the middle of the square, and any day of the week, you can visit the Church of the Most Blessed Heart of Jesus which, behind the altar, has an amazing white stone sculpture of the Last Supper. There are all sorts of restaurants: posh Polish, American Retro, Italian pizza, Polish traditional and cafes and bars. Also, don’t miss the best ice cream ever, available from the kiosk next to the bakery in the main square, west side. Take a wander round the streets running immediately behind the square too. And for New Year, the restaurants in the Square put on all-night parties, including a huge display in the Square. No charge to take you and drop you off at the market with a map to the bus station for a bus ride home, or 60zl if you want a wait and return driver.

Day trip to Kalwaria A full day out, our driver will take a group of 2 – 6 of you to spend the day at Kalwaria for 350zl. The Sanctuary of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is located about 40 km. southwest of Krakow, and 15 km. east of Wadowice. In 1999, the Sanctuary of the Passion and of the Madonna of Kalwaria was added by UNESCO to its World Heritage List, with the following motivation: “Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a cultural site of great beauty and of spiritual importance. Its natural setting, which contains some symbolic places of worship related to the Passion of Jesus Christ and the life of the Virgin Mary, has remained almost unchanged since the 17th century. Still today, it is a place of pilgrimage”. The Sanctuary of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska consists of a basilica in baroque style dedicated to the Madonna of the Angels, a convent of the minor Franciscan friars (called affectionately in Poland bernardini) and a series of baroque and mannerist style chapels situated in an area of six kilometres, dedicated to the Passion of Jesus and to the life of the Madonna. Click on this link to see the map of the devotional walk around Kalwaria. http://www.sacrimonti.net/User/index.php?PAGE=Sito_en/kalwaria_zebrzydowska_geog
	Zywiec Brewery Museum and Brewery Tour Zywiec brewery is not a typical museum with glass covered exhibits and yawning visitors. It makes you feel as if you were participating in the brewing process. The set up of the rooms show certain stages in the history of Poland and the Zywiec Brewery itself, showing how times, people and the beer have changed. Within these 18 rooms you'll find everything to show the history of brewing and brewing methods over the centuries. 'Cosy Pub' with free beer testing is a nice bonus. http://www.muzeumbrowaru.pl/html/plan_muzeum.html Entrance to the Museum at Zywiec costs 19zl full tour and museum ticket, 16zl just the museum and 11zl for children. Our driver will take you on this day trip for 350zl between 2 – 6 people, and can include another stop: see the page of suggested combinations for more info. You can also visit Zywiec Castle either before or after the brewery.
Zubrzyca Gorna Skansen Ethnological Museum The Orava Ethnographic Park Museum is a centre of Oravan history and culture. It is here that a former Oravan village was reconstructed, including the key element of the Moniak manor. There are some 28 buildings that can be viewed, interior and exterior, long or short tour, but allow a couple of hours to look around. Also at the Orava Museum, there are open-air events aiming at the presentation of a live village, full of singing, dancing, music, folk art and craft, customs and farming work. The largest events include the "Świeto Borówki" ("Blueberry Day"), organised on the last Sunday of July. This is an annual event including shows of folk art and craft, such as smithing, embroidery, painting, pottery, wicker work, tailoring, making paper flowers, and such vanishing crafts of Orava people as flax work, cabbage cutting, horse labour at the treadmill, crop clearing; there are also song and dance ensemble shows and competitions for children and adults. Apart from visiting, one may also learn a traditional craft at the Museum. In groups of about 20 people, after previously arranging a time, under the supervision of an instructor, you may participate in the flax working process, making flour and bread, painting on glass, making paper decorations or rag-dolls, as well as learning to sing regional songs. We can either take you to the Museum, wait and return: 120zl return trip between 2 – 6 people, or we can take you at the start of a full, pre-booked day, then return and collect you, again 120zl between 2 – 6 people, or we can combine this museum tour with another visit and quote accordingly. http://www.orawa.eu/angielski.html

	Chabowka Skansen Steam Train Museum Just 5 minutes drive from Raba 500, a wonderful collection of steam trains, many of which still run. You can book a day return trip to Zakopane on one of these beautiful old trains which regularly run down the valley where we live. It’s lovely seeing them go by. We’ll take you there free of charge, or you can combine it with a trip to Wieliczka Salt Mines if you like. 2zl children, 4zl adults and 10zl for a photography pass. Well worth it. http://www.parowozy.pl/
Auschwitz and Birkenhau II In summer, there’s no rush to set off for Auschwitz: individuals cannot enter the Museum before 15.00, but it's open until 20.00. Bear in mind, however, that in winter, Auschwitz closes at 15.00. You can leave anytime after 06.30am. Take a pillow with you and snooze on the way. The drive to Auschwitz takes between 80 and 100 minutes usually, depending on Romanian TIR convoys and so on. Our driver will take you northwest through Jordanow, Wadowice (where Pope Jan Pawel II was born), through Zator and then west to Oświęcim. He will park in the Auschwitz car park, then, if you wish, accompany you for the morning ensuring that you do not miss out on any particular part of the museum and camp. You will not have to keep up with a guide, which cost 50zl per person now, and can take photographs at your own pace. Remember, you cannot take photos INSIDE Auschwitz. The museum offer a film, duration about 1 hour, and you can buy guide books there. There is no charge for entrance to Auschwitz. After Auschwitz, you will return to the car and Stanislaw will drive you to nearby Birkenhau II. If you want to eat something outside the camps, there is a good pizza parlour Stan can take you to. He understands the word ‘pizza’. At Birkenhau, again Stan will be happy to walk around with you. Make sure you get up one of the towers for a view across the enormity of Birkenhau II. 350zl day trip between 2 – 6 people.

	Rabkoland funfair At Rabka Zdroj, the next town 10 minutes drive away is the fun fair Rabkoland, open between May and September. 1zl entry fee, and then 35zl for a 10 ride card, this is probably the most inexpensive funfair in Europe! Great rides, nothing like Disneyland – more like a country funfair in Britain 50 years ago. You’ll find candy floss, dodgem cars, and a great activity area for small children. There are a couple of bars, a café and a restaurant but the food is pretty basic. It’s probably best to eat elsewhere. Also, here you will find the Museum of the Smile: the world centre of the Smile Award for Very Courageous Children. Free transport to and from Rabkoland, and the bus stop is nearby if you want to go it alone.
Wadowice Papal Tour There’s loads to see in Wadowice, the town where Pope Jan Pawel II was born. Visit the house at 7 Koscielna St where the future Vicar of Christ was born and raised. The house has been turned into a museum and exhibits include the Wojtyla family's former possessions and family pictures as well as personal belongings of Father Karol Wojtyl, a rucksack, a cap, a prayer book, etc. and a collection of photographs from his three visits to Wadowice as the Pope. The building is situated near the baroque church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the central square. Also, the nearby church itself where the future John Paul II grew up in its shadow, was baptized a Catholic and later confirmed in it, served as an altar boy and prayed daily here before its miraculous picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The church's Gothic chancel dates from the 15th century while the late-Baroque nave and aisles were built in the 1790s. The left aisle contains a baptismal font where the baby Karol Wojtyla was baptized. Also the high school where young Karol Wojtyla was educated has remained in place. Our driver will take you there for a full day trip for 350zl between 2 – 6 people. Visit Google maps for a map of Wadowice showing the Jan Pawel II tourist trail around the town.

Krakow centre 1. You can travel to Krakow either by bus: 07.30 am or 11.20am: 14zl each way, 90 minute trip to Central Bus Station just north of the Main Square, the last return bus leaving Krakow at 20.00 (but you must check this yourselves when you arrive there) 2. OR by train, a 3 hour trip (!) leaving Raba Wyzna at 10.40, arriving at 13.30 and the return train leaving Krakow at 14.40, arriving Raba Wyzna 15.30 3. OR our driver can take you (2-6 people) one way to Krakow for 100zl 4. OR our driver can take you and bring you back, waiting in Krakow for you. You can leave him at Carrefour and take the tram into the centre and back (4zl) and find him in the car park where you left him (350zl between 2-6 people, up to 12 hours door to door) 5. OR he can drive you into the centre and wait in the parking beside the Main Square so you can return to the car with shopping bags and so on. 400zl between 2-6 people, up to 12 hours door to door. 6. OR if you have an evening flight back to the UK, our driver can return you to Balice airport free of extra charge, and you can leave your bags in the left luggage lockers outside, suitcase size 8zl/24hr ( http://www.krakowairport.pl/en/20/46/22/Baggage-lockers ). The shuttle train to Krakow Central Station costs 8zl and you can buy your ticket on board. http://www.krakowairport.pl/en/3/176/35/en 7. OR you may decide to spend either your first night or your last night at a hotel in Krakow. There is so much evening entertainment available, that it’s well worth while. If so, we are happy to collect or return you to the airport but only taxis can enter the centre of the city so we advise you to travel with luggage by taxi between Krakow centre and the airport. Once in Krakow centre, there is so much to see! We highly recommend taking a horse drawn carriage trip around the centre for an hour: you will be taken through the streets surrounding the Main Square (Stary Rynek), past the Castle (Wawel) and through the Jewish Quarter (Kazimierz). There are shopping centres next to the Main Station and south of Kazimierz, and the Main Square hosts market stalls and the Corn Market in the middle. Cafes and restaurants ring the Main Square with outdoor seating, bars and discotheques all round, and all sorts of evening entertainments take place in the Square throughout the year. Churches, art galleries and museums abound but please note that the Wawel castle cathedral and some other areas of the castle are closed on Mondays. http://www.krakow.pl/en/

	Niedzica and Czorstyn castles Driving east through Nowy Targ and into the region called Pieniny, brings you alongside Lake Czorstyn which in summer mornings often has a magical mist rising from it, so photographers take your cameras. You can visit Czorstyn Castle, a medaevil gem of a place, then drive on across the dam bridge where the Dunajec river carries on east past the lake, and visit Niedzica Castle which was inhabited by the last family owners until the 2^nd World War. The castle museum includes a torture chamber which children will love to view. Walk down to the lakeside and take a boat trip around the lake, then swim and sunbath on the lakeside beach. There’s a nice café above the beach, or take a picnic with you, so you can enjoy a full day out for 350zl for 2 – 6 people.
Wieliczka Salt Mines What an amazing place! Our driver takes you for a day trip, 350zl between 2-6 0f you, north east through Mszana Dolna and Dobczyce with views across to Pieniny. Stop first at the Steam Train Museum at Chabowka if you like. Our driver will park, then take you up to the Mines and either to the Ticket office, or make sure you are in the right queue for the English language tour. Queues are a problem as the Mines are a very popular venue for all nationalities, winter and summer, but if you aim to arrive there after lunch, you’ll have a shorter queuing time. About 60zl for an English language tour in a group of up to 35 plus tour guide: or you can pay 75zl and have your own guide. There are 380 steps (in easy blocks of 10 and a little landing) down to the start of the 2-3 hour tour, longer if you include an hour in the Crystal Museum at the end of the tour. Our driver will wait in the car park for you. If you have an evening flight, you can do this tour before our driver takes you on to the airport, about 40 minutes away. He’ll guard your luggage in the car. http://www.kopalnia.pl/
	Day tour of churches in Podhale If a group of you are interested in art, architecture and seeing as much of Podhale as possible by car, then this day trip is your choice. 350zl between 2 – 6 people, we will take you on a round trip, visiting a selection of churches, both wooden and of particular artistic interest. Rdzawka, Ludzmierz, Nowy Targ, Lesnica, Koscielisko, Bachledowka, Dzianisz, Chocholow and Spytkowice are on the list but we may either spot more on the way, or call it a day after 6. Your call. We'll be driving across most of Podhale so choose a say with good weather and you will get so many beautiful photos. If you would like to hear Mass at a particular church, let me know and we will arrange the day accordingly. The trip will take us east, south, west and then north through Podhale and a stop for lunch in Zakopane is usual.
Chocholow to Zakopane centre walk You can either get the bus to Chocholow from Raba Wyzna centre – about 8zl each - we supply you with maps so you’ll know where you are - or our driver can take you, 2-6 people, for 50zl. Our driver, or the bus, will drive south from Raba Wyzna over the ridge and across the plain where in summer you will see storks and their babies in the nests perched on roof tops and telephone posts. Ask Staszek to stop for photos anytime. Chocholow, a 400 year old wooden village, is the start of your walk: can set off across the field track towards the eastern end Gubalowka Ridge. Before you trek off, there is a general store in Chocholow if you want to stock up on water and so on. The stone church is also worth a visit, and on the main street across from the church car park where our driver will leave you, is Chocholow Museum, a wooden house that has been maintained in the style in which it was first lived in, where central heating is a little wooden panel in the kitchen ceiling to let smoke out if the room gets too hot, and contraception is a bed for the husband in the barn. The track takes you south between fields in which, in summer, there will no doubt be local people raking hay. Your greeting is “Szczęść Boże!” to which they will reply “Daj Boże!” The track becomes a lane through the forest and up to a stunning view across Zakopane in the valley, to the Tatra Mountains. Walking east along the ridge will bring you to a lovely wooden restaurant at the top of the Szymoszkowa chair lift, on which you can take a ride down into the valley, where the horse drawn carts wait to take visitors into Zakopane centre for shopping and market. The train home to Raba Wyzna leaves Zakopane at 17.33 from the Main Station, or you can pre-arrange with our driver to collect you from the market pick-up point: 50zl between 2-6 people, home to Raba 500.

	Picnic on Raba Gora We have phrase books and dictionaries you can use to write a shopping list of supplies required for a picnic up the hill in a forest glade on Raba Gora, above our house. You can walk into the village and make your purchases, then take the Jan Pawel II marked path (and our map) and wander up the hill past the village cross, into the forest and along to the picnic area. A good walk, but not too far for children, although we can drive you up the hill as far as the forest edge if some of you are not keen on up hill walking. Lovely views, take the camera, but do stay out of areas of untended long grass and weeds: there may be snakes. You can carry on along the Jan Pawel II marked path as far as Rdzawka village across the Zakopianka, then walk back via the wooden church and art gallery on main road above Rokiciny Podhalanska, the path bringing you down through the village with a short walk along the 958 back home. Or ring us on your mobile from either the church above Rdzawka, or the church at Rockiciny and we’ll collect you - no charge.