We travel 144 km south and check into Camping Malta in Poznan. Once again we are the only ones apparently mad enough to be camping at this time of year and the site is empty so we receive a 10% discount due to the freezing cold weather. The campsite is set next to Lake Malta (Jezioro Maltanskie), it is busy with joggers and dog walkers and on the opposite side we spot a ski slope. We brave it in the camper for two nights before checking into a toasty two bedroom bungalow ready for a long awaited visit from Vicky and Ed.
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| Jezioro Maltanskie |
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| Poznan Square, Poland |
Today is Saturday 29th November and after a quiet couple of days we are up bright and early ready to meet our visitors at the airport. We walk 5 km along the river and into Poznan City Centre where we find an ornate little Weranda Family café to enjoy some lunch. We enjoy copious amounts of tea to warm up and a toastie and salad each before setting off for the airport. We stand in the arrival lounge awaiting some familiar faces. After an excitable reunion we hop in a taxi and head back to the campsite to drop the luggage off. Vicky and Ed have bought Jac and I a miniature care package each. We have chocolate, Haribo, Jagermeister and Malibu. So cute.
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| Weranda Family Café |
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| Our visitors have arrived |
We spend a while catching up before heading out. We walk back along the lake and past the gothic Archcathederal Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul set on the island of Ostrow Tumski just outside the city centre before reaching the centremost neighbourhood of the city, the old town. An impressive renaissance style affair lined on all four sides with restaurants, bars, shops and museums. We call into a tapas bar to continue our catch up over a couple of beers. Five hours, seven tapas dishes, eighteen beers and four mulled wines later we decide to leave. We stop at a shop for beer and wine before Jac and Ed enjoy a huge kebab each and we attempt to hunt down a taxi. We are quickly side tracked and find ourselves enjoying some live music in a terrace bar further around the square. The early hours of the following morning we finally make it back the bungalow where we continue our catch up over a few more drinks before heading off to bed.
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| Poznan Square |
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| Catching up over Tapas |
The following morning brings an unsuccessful start. We only have two days with Vicky and Ed and want to make the most of them. This is contradicted by us missing breakfast and not leaving the bungalow until gone lunch time. We head back along the lake where it is so cold the reeds have pretty ice baubles around them. Typical of Jac and I (absolute creatures of habit) we take Vicky and Ed to the café we ate in yesterday. I struggle to eat anything and instead order tea, orange and fruit water to try and cure my hangover. The others enjoy their lunch before we head off in search of the Royal Castle. We briefly admire the castle before deciding that the only thing to shift these hangovers is more food and head off towards another eatery. We stop in an American Grill and share a few side dishes before heading back to the tapas bar from the previous night and order a mountain of food to share. The others manage to sink a few beers whilst I wince at the thought in the corner. We head back to the bungalow later that evening after attempting to break the world record for the highest food consumption in one day and play cards before heading to bed.
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| Ice baubles form on the reeds |
The following morning (and the first day of advent) we manage to make it to breakfast and take full advantage of the buffet style spread. We pack our things and check out of the bungalow before catching a taxi back into the old town. We enjoy a hot chocolate whilst we wait to see the infamous 'Angry Goats' at the Town Hall at midday. I check my watch every 30 seconds to be sure not to miss it and we hurry outside at five to twelve to get a spot with a view. A large crowd gathers before the clock strikes 12 and we witness two very small mechanical goats emerge from two black doors at the top and begin to butt heads. Legend has it that many years ago a cook was preparing a banquet for dignitaries when he burnt the deer he was about to serve. He found two goats in a nearby field and decided to take them back to the kitchen to cook. The goats escaped and fled up a flight of stairs which led to the platform at the front of the Town Hall. They began butting heads which in turn drew the attention of the townsfolk who started laughing. The cook was pardoned and shortly afterwards two mechanical goats were incorporated into the new clock. To be honest the whole thing was pretty disappointing but its something you should do when visiting Poznan. Something else to tick off the list I guess.
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| The legend of the Poznan Goats |
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| The Poznan Goats |
After watching the butting goats we enjoy a farewell beer before waving goodbye to Vicky and Ed as they take a taxi and dash back to the airport after their two night stay in Poznan. We walk back to the camper along the lake and prepare to check out the following morning to begin our journey to Krakow.
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| One for the road |
That morning we drive 310 km further south towards Krakow. The drive takes us along one road the whole way, occasionally winding through a village or town. Every single house has smoke billowing from its chimney and about 150 years worth of firewood stored in its garden. The temperatures have started to reach as low as -5 now so everywhere we go we smell an overpowering burning smell. For the first few days I worry that its the van playing up again but Jac assures me it is definitely burning wood. We make one stop to fill the van with fuel, we pay 4.64 zlt (under £1) per litre and are soon back on our way. We spend the remainder of our journey pootling along the winding roads, singing along to George Ezra at the top of our voices. We arrive at our stop in Naklo for the evening and stay in the garden of an elderly German couple before continuing our journey the following morning.
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| Naklo to Oświęcim |
Our next stop is Oświęcim where we visit Auschwitz. We pay 50 zloty to park at the memorial site for 24 hours, our fourth and final Concentration Camp visit. The uniform layout of the Prisoner Blocks are essentially the same as the others we've visited however the one thing that sets this camp aside is the huge amount of exhibits they have at the State Museum. The exhibition displays shoes, clothes, glasses, prosthetic limbs and even women's hair. One thing that leaves us feeling particularly choked are the children's shoes and clothes. We learn that of the 1.3 million prisoners at the camp, 253,000 of them were children many of which were killed instantly upon arrival. The walls of every building are lined with mug shots of some of the prisoners of the camp. We visit the gas chambers, crematorium and hospital before leaving.
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| Auschwitz Concentration Camp |
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| Auschwitz Concentration Camp |
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| Auschwitz Concentration Camp |
We drive 96km east stopping along the way for a minor radiator repair, to Krakow the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. We are keen to get straight out and explore. By now temperatures are reaching -7 at night and we struggle to find anywhere to wild camp in the busy city. Using this as the perfect excuse, we gather our essentials and check into an apartment for three nights. We wrap up and head to the main square, a 5 minute walk from our apartment. When we arrive we make our way through the impressive Cloth Hall before we are greeted by a huge Christmas Market. There are easily 30 stalls crammed with festive treats and we cant wait to get tasting and sampling the delights. The square is buzzing with people so we start with a mulled wine that knocks both our socks off. We admire the skyscraper Christmas Tree and make our way around the stalls before stopping to snack on some traditional Polish food. We enjoy pork knuckle with boiled cabbage, potato and onion whilst people watching and make one last trip around the market. On our way back to the apartment we take refuge from the freezing temperatures under a patio heater and enjoy a mulled cider.
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| Oscar making himself at home |
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| St Mary's Church, Krakow |
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| Warming the cockles with a mulled cider |
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| Getting into the Christmas Spirit |
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| Nightcap |
The following morning I excitedly spring out of bed at an ungodly hour excited about the day ahead. The prospect of cooking breakfast in a normal sized kitchen sees me waking Jac up with a cheese and chorizo omelette. We leave the apartment and wander down to St Mary's Church in the main square ready to meet our tour guide Damien for a free walking tour. Our group is a interesting mix of around 20 American, Australian, Austrian, German and Swedish tourists and it doesn't take us long to get chatting. Its cold today and the temperatures are still dropping, having ripped his coat foraging around in some undergrowth a few days before, Oscar is attracting attention by shivering and whining as loudly as he possibly can. Eventually he makes us feel so bad we improvise and buy an overpriced women's snood from one of the stalls at the Christmas Market. We weren't spoilt for choice so Oscar wound up sporting an orange dress with a faux fur collar. Poor thing. We spend the next 3 hours exploring the main square and the surrounding areas before finishing up at the castle.
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| Oscar sporting his new coat |
After a quick re-fuel back at the apartment we decide to hit the charity shops. We whizz around excitedly picking up bargain after bargain feeling very pleased with ourselves. Jac manages to bag himself a floor length wool coat, two tweed blazers and a waterproof dog walking jacket. All for £3. We spent the evening back at the square huddled around a patio heater eating pizza and drinking beer before heading back to our apartment. We wake the following morning after our second night in this beautiful apartment (we could definitely get used to this) and head back out to hit yet more charity shops. This time armed with a detailed map highlighting all the bargain hotspots. We collect another impressive haul and wonder how on earth we will fit this all in the camper when we have to leave the apartment. By now we have spent enough time clambering through piles of clothes and sifting through rail after rail so we decide its time for something slightly more cultured. We head into the square to meet our guide for another free walking tour. This time focusing on street art.
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| Street Art tour guide |
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| Street Art, Krakow |
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| Street Art, Krakow |
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| Street Art, Krakow |
We finish the tour at Krak Mound where Oscar enjoys a much needed run around off his lead. The following morning, much to our disappointment we check out of the apartment and decide to head towards the Czech Republic. We stop after 135km and spend the night in the ski resort of Wisla. We arrive late and the place is like a ghost town so we settle for a couple of episodes of Dexter and a night in.
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| Krak Mound |
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| Krak Mound |
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| Snoozing |
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| Snoozing (Again) |
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| Snow in Krakow |
