Krakow and the Pieniny Mountains, Poland

This was an odd choice of trip for me. I was going to have to work throughout October, November and the first part of December and my Christmas plans were looking rather dull. So I thought about what I could do just before Christmas and found this Explore trip to Krakow and the charming Pieniny Mountains. It was just four nights and went by the unpromising title of “Polish Winter Adventure” but it seemed to be mainly a winter walking trip – snowshoeing, in fact – and it was on sale. As usual I booked my own budget flights and these necessitated an extra night in Krakow at the start of the trip and flying out of Glasgow and back to Edinburgh.

Costs. Flight £70. Krakow hotel (B&B) £47. Explore tour £403 (including single room supplement). Total cost of trip £640.

Day 1: Travel to Krakow. Left home at 6.55 am and arrived at Glasgow airport at about 8 am. My flight was delayed by about an hour. Took off at about 10.50 am and landed in Krakow at 2.25 pm (local time). Caught 2.55 pm bus into city and arrived at my very good hotel (pre-booked) at about 3.20 pm. Went out to buy some snacks. Went out for beer and pizza at 7 pm.

Day 2: Explore Krakow; travel to Szczawnica. Went for breakfast at 9.10 am. Checked out of hotel at 11.55 am and left rucksack in Reception. Walked around Wawel Castle and then around huge market square. Coffee break at 2 pm. Walked around some more, including the outer walls of the old city. Went for early dinner in pub at about 4 pm. Left pub at about 5.20 pm and walked back to hotel and collected bag. Free (!) bus to airport at 6.12 pm because of air pollution. Arrived 6.45 pm and found Explore tour group about 7.20 pm. Set off in minibus at 8 pm. Arrived at Szczawnica hotel at about 10 pm and went to bed at around 11 pm.

Day 3: Walk around Szczawnica. Breakfast at 7.50 am. Boarded minibus at 9 am. Started walking 9.50 am along (initially) Slovakian side of very pretty Dunajec river gorge – there was not enough snow for snowshoeing. Arrived back at hotel, via supermarket, at 2 pm. Walked up to Szczawnica spa centre at 4.15 pm. Boarded minibus again at 4.45 pm. Torch-lit sleigh ride at 5 pm – a surprisingly engaging event. This was followed by lots of mulled wine, soup, steak, sausages, and smoky cheese dessert in a barely heated outdoor shed – but with musical accompaniment! Came back to hotel but then went out again for beers. Back at hotel about 9 pm.

Day 4: Walk around Szczawnica. Breakfast at 8 am. Departed hotel at 9 am in minibus. Started walking at 9.20 am. Beautiful walk uphill through clean snow to top of hill and then along ridge following Slovakian border. Some of the tour group found it tough going and could not keep their feet on the downhill stretches (poor footwear?). Reached the refuge at 12.20 pm and had a coffee and ate my savoury snacks from the previous day. Left refuge at about 1.15 pm and walked down to road and our minibus, arriving 2 pm. Back at hotel about 2.10 pm. Went out for dinner at 6.15 pm; back at hotel at 10 pm.

Day 5: Travel to Krakow; tour Krakow. Breakfast at 7.55 am. Departed hotel at 9 am. Arrived Krakow hotel at 11 am. Started walking tour with our tour guide about 11.40 am: tram, barbican, main square, old university, Wawel Castle. Coffee in castle. Jewish quarter. Lunch stop (cheesy, rather messy bread) about 2 pm. Back at hotel at 3 pm. Left hotel at 7 pm and went for a burger and a couple of Czech beers in a nearby pub on my own. (I had opted out of the group dinner because I did not want to pay a compulsory additional fee for the live music.) Came back to the hotel about 8.30 pm.

Day 6: Travel home via Edinburgh airport. Breakfast from 9.10 to 10.05 am. Checked out of hotel at 12.25 pm. Walked around old town. Went for lengthy coffee break. Came back to the hotel at 2.20 pm. Taxi came at 3 pm and I was at the airport for 3.25 pm. Flight delayed by an hour. Boarded plane about 5.50 pm and took off at 6.25 pm. Landed at 8 pm and caught 8.25 pm bus to Glasgow and then took a taxi home.

Reflections. A successful trip: Krakow was a lovely city and not over-crowded in December, while the Pieniny mountains were pretty in a very accessible sort of way (think more Dovedale than the Scottish Highlands). To my astonishment I even enjoyed the sleigh ride, which I had been dreading. I was not at all disappointed that we did not use snowshoes as these would surely have involved much faffing around that would have detracted from the pleasure of walking in fresh clean snow. Not everyone in the tour group had come prepared for winter walking and I felt that, unfortunately, the excellent Day 4 walk was cut short by the tour guide as a result.

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