Bieszczady

Bieszczady mountains, 17-22.09.2023, 1100 km

A very warm second half of the September. 

17.09.2023 Sun

It was supposed to be a very warm day and the forecast said that the highest temperatures would be in Sandomierz - exactly where we were heading. 

First stop was in McDonald's to eat some breakfast. 

We arrived in our accommodation exactly the minute the host called me to say that our room was almost ready. She let us park in front of the building so that the camera would catch our bikes. However, as it turned out later, some car parked behind us and we had troubles driving off. 

We ate lunch in "Bistro Podwale". I paid over 60 PLN for a burger which was a total rip-off as burgers usually cost around 30 PLN. I asked for rare and got medium. The food was good but not worth such money and service.

The restaurants and the old town were really crowded on such lovely day.

Then we visited the castle museum. The most unique exhibits were the chess and the replica of the crown that probably belonged to the Casimir III the Great.

My partner suggested a trip in a Melex and it was a splendid idea. I was tired and enjoyed getting driven around in a stylish electric vehicle. We saw the most important parts of the city and took a walk in the Queen Jadwiga gorge. A very nice young guide explained everything and she could handle the car really well.

 

We saw the museum of herbs "Czary napary" and decided to walk in. It was quite enjoyable.

 

We spent the evening in a very nice restaurant "Widnokrąg". The time passed slowly there, there was long waiting time for everyhing. But the food was interesting. And our accommodation was only a few minutes walk away from there.

 

18.09.2023 Mon

We returned to the same restaurant for breakfast. It was tasty, but fatty. 

Then we visited the Opatowska Gate. On top, there is a city view.

My partner really likes the striped flint that this region is famous for. Since our anniversary was in two days, I bought him a bracelet with this stone as a gift. 

Then we took a few pictures in the armoury.

It seemed like the whole city didn't accept payments by card - except for our accommodation, surprisingly. This city should be called "Cash only".

We left the city and it turned out that my partner had a friend nearby, so we stopped for coffee. He has the same bike as my partner. They haven't seen each other for over ten years.

Then we took off to Sanok, where we stoppped for lunch. We ate a local dish called proziaki, but I didn't like it. It was like a plain sandwich.

 

Another nice viewing point in Sobień with the castle ruins and the San river view. 

Before dusk, we arrived at our accommodation in Lesko at Zielona street. The first disappointment was that the house was located at the end of a very steep, slippery and potholed road. There was a high risk of falling off the bike. Of course, the host didn't inform me upfront about this difficulty. He also didn't offer any solution other than parking in the middle of a meadow. Like I booked an accommodation with a parking spot in order to leave our bikes overnight in the middle of some meadow I couldn't even see from the window. We took the initative and talked to the neighbor, who offered that we could leave the bikes next to his house. It was a construction site, but I thought that maybe they had a break now for a few days.

I was quite disappointed by this situation, but we had no other choice than to leave our bikes on a steep hill. The host took the rest of the payment and we never saw him again.

19.09.2023 Tue

In the morning, it turned out that our bikes were in the middle of the construction site and the workers were drilling holes right next to them and covering our machines with dust and dirt. Perfect.

It was supposed to be a rainy day, so we drove to Sanok to visit the castle museum. They had a whole bunch of pictures by Beksinski, who left his heritage to them in his last will before he was murdered. 

Then we ate in the "NoBo Cafe". My tart turned out to be a portion for two people.

The weather wasn't getting better, so we returned to Lesko and left our bikes in the meadow. It seemed better then leaving them in the middle of a construction site.

 

20.09.2023 Wed

The morning on the beautiful terrace with nice view on the mountains. Sadly, due to the construction site, it was noisy and the radio was playing.

The weather was supposed to be only good from now on. We took off to explore Bieszczady.

The dam in Myczkowice.  

 

The heart of Bieszczady.

 

The dam in Solina. We took the cable car to the viewing tower.

The views were breathtaking.

We wanted to have a coffee, but the POS was out of order.

 

We went back down to eat in the restaurant "Karczma Jawor".

Then we took a stroll on the dam.

We drove further down the curvy roads.

We drove to Stuposiany to look at the wisents.

 

Nearby was also an awesome viewing tower, but it demanded a 25-minute stroll up the mountain. But it was totally worth it.

21.09.2023 Thu

Our first goal today were the famous Słonne serpentines, beloved by all motorcyclists. We drove four times through these lovely curves. The more we drove, the better we turned and the more we tilted our bikes.

 

Then we drove to the monastery ruins in Zagórze. We had to walk 15 minutes there, it was warm and sunny. Surprisingly, we could drink a coffee and eat a cake there. Then we visited the viewing tower.

 

I really liked the view, the atmosphere, the Otława river. I could stay there for a long time.

The next stop was the upside-down house in Uherce Mineralne. It was a really funny feeling, being inside this house.

We didn't visit the handcars nearby since that place had bad reviews.

For lunch, we visited Gospoda pod Monastyrem. It was a good choice. There was a bonus: a cat that jumped on my lap and followed me around. It felt like three years ago when I met my partner on vacation and I met a similar cat back then.

We drove to the museum of Bieszczady in Czarna Góra. It was late, but they welcomed us and let us explore the museum as long as we wanted. We also purchased some pretty souvenirs.

On our last night, we made a campfire.

22.09.2023 Fri

Bye bye mountains...

I was hoping to talk to the hosts upon our departure, but they weren't home. They haven't asked during our whole stay if we were fine. 

The drive home was fine, the cars let us drive through. But my right wrist really hurt like it had enough.

We grabbed a bite to eat at the palace in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.

We got pulled over by the same policemen who we met during our vacation in the Beskids in June. I remember, because the policewoman said that her daughter and I had the same name.