Blogs from Lower Silesian, Poland, Europe - page 6

An diesem Tag bin ich mit einem Mietwagen von Breslau nach Schweidnitz gefahren und habe die dortige Friedenskirche angesehen. Danach bin bin ich zu Schloß Fürstenstein bei Waldenburg. Zuletzt wollte ich noch die Festung in Glatz sehen aber die hatte schon geschlossen.... read more

The week started with the realisation that we only had a fortnight left in the van. Clearly we weren't going to get to see as much of Eastern Europe as we had hoped, with Spain and France taking up more time than we had thought. We were hoping to get to Romania and decided we had just enough time to at least see a small amount of it and after a bit of research decided on the Maramures region in the North West of the Country. The Maramures region is the last peasant culture in Europe; where the residents live off the land, use horse-drawn carriages and still wear traditional clothes. The area is also known for its wooden churches and stunning scenery. Crossing the boarder into Romania we were instantly shocked by the state of ... read more

Zamek Kliczkow is an awesome place. So awesome in fact that I'm honestly not sure where I should start when reviewing it. Should I mention the fantastic architecture, beautifully restored from near-ruin status to one of the most impressive castles I've seen in Poland? Should I talk about the huge range of traditional food on offer, or the great facilities? There is so much here it's hard to know. So I'll simply play it straight and say what I did when visiting this hidden regional treasure. I arrived at Zamek Kliczkow along with a tour group travelling from nearby Wroclaw organised by DOT (the Dolnoslask Tourism Organisation). From the moment we arrived we were plunged into the thick of things. On our first evening there we took part in a Knight's Competition, a gruelling two hours ... read more

Oh dear how boring this is getting. It was raining again this morning. We have had rain for at least part of the day for the last 12 days. So we headed off from Katowice without seeing much of the city as it’s too wet to explore what might be on offer. Driving through the city we see a mix of the shiny new buildings with their glass walls rising skywards and the old buildings looking as though they have seen better days. Opening the car window to take a quick photo we were enveloped in the smell of coal smoke. Coal is in abundant supply in the area as we have seen many working mine pitheads. The roads through the city have been some of the best we have encountered. It didn’t take long before ... read more

It’s not every day we get to fulfil a dream. This one is going to be short, from the heart and I hope not to offend, as this is Michelle’s story and I’m not sure if I’ll able to give it full justice. Following WWII Germany was, basically, dissected with Russia integrating 200 + km of territory (known as Lower Silesia) into Poland. So villages such as Deutsch – Hammer were to be lost to all, but for memory. Now known as Czeszow, Deutsch – Hammer is where Michelle’s father was born and raised until the spoils of war were divvied up and the might of the Soviet army moved in, packed up the remaining German citizens of the area and shipped them out. Michelle’s father died at a young age, leaving a wife and three ... read more