A couple weeks back my wife and I decided to take a trip into the mountains of southern Poland. Along the way was the city of Tarnow. I was pleasantly surprised about this area. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
Along the way, we stopped at Zalipie – “the most beautiful village in Poland.” My wife found this location while searching for things to see around Tarnow. Zalipie is a very small village, with no accommodation and support. The folks that live there have carved out a niche for their area. They have an annual competition to paint their wooden cottages and other structures, including beehives, with decorative arrangements of floral motives. This tradition dates back over a century ago when all the females in this village. Now it is an annual competition. The community is very welcoming. The community center was a great place for us to start our tour. There was a lady who worked at the community center who was able to explain the local topography of the village. She provided us with a map of the village and a cup of coffee, which was nice after a three-hour drive. Not all the homes were participating in the painting competition, there were enough. We decided to take a long route around the village which was about 4 km (2.5 miles). Several of the cottages were open to visitors. All of which had some arts and crafts for sale. It was interesting to see these crafts and visit with the people. Most spoke decent English. One house really struck me as we watched a lady paint a monotone floral motive on the wall around the property. I was thoroughly impressed with her skills. She was a great artist. I think we stopped by about 12-15 cottages/properties to observe the motives that were painted on the cottage, the fences, or other structures on their property. We even saw one homeowner who painted six beehives. It was pretty cool.
We then drove onto Tarnow. It was a bit difficult to drive around the city due to all the construction. Google Maps didn’t adjust for the construction in the area, so we had to really concentrate on driving and getting to the hotel that we were going to use for the night. I’m generally a Marriott snob. However, there are no Marriott properties in Tarnow, so we stayed at a “3-star” hotel, but I was impressed with the accommodations. Hotel Tarnovia was a very comfortable place even with the small rooms. The staff was very professional and courteous. I was able to get a good night’s sleep before the journey that was planned for the next day. The city was very quiet during the night, and after being in Warsaw the silence was welcome.
During our walks around the city, we came across the “Cat Castle,” which was currently undergoing renovations. It was an interesting building with a lot of architectural details that are very uncommon for this area. It really stood out. It seemed gothic in nature, but then it didn’t. It seemed like someone had a dream to live in a castle and had enough money to at least start the construction. Hopefully, they will finish the renovations sometime soon, I would really like to see it sometime.
We took a coffee break at the Tramwaj Café. This was an authentic tram car that was used within the city many years ago. You can see the remnants of the tracks in some of the streets. This was a nice setting near the main city square and was a great place to take a break. The interior still has the old seats that were converted to be used with a tabletop, so that we could enjoy a nice morning coffee. It was a stop that was well worth the time.
Like many larger cities in Poland, there was a Jewish population within the city, which was literally decimated during the Nazi occupation. Tarnow hosted a couple of monuments to remember all those who lived in this area and were victims of the horrific occupation. There was a synagogue near the center of the city that was destroyed by an explosion. However, a portion of the temple remained, but it was severely damaged. It now stands under another structure that protects it from the elements. About two blocks from this site there is another memorial that commemorates the forced removal of all the Jewish people and probably other undesirables. This sculpture showed a line of people with a couple of guards. It is on the site where all these people were loaded into train cars and forcibly moved to other locations for forced labor or termination.
Later in the day, we started our drive to Zakopane, Poland, but on the way, we stopped at the “Castle of Wisnicz.” This castle is located between Krakow and Tarnow. The construction of it started in the 15th century and underwent several modifications and improvements. Primarily the walls around the main structure were constructed and upgraded several times. They had an interesting tour where you could use an audio guide to make your way around the building. The infrastructure for the audio guide was great. It would not play unless you were in the immediate vicinity of the area or subject that was being discussed in the audio guide. There was a lot of history that took place in this area. They really tried to replicate such of the interior items as they could, but many of these items were plundered during several wars or insurrections.