Friday 24 June: Today we’d booked on a Rafting trip on the Dunajca River in the Pieniński National Park. The river runs between to borders of Poland and Slovakia. It took over an hour and a half in a small mini-bus to get to the start of the trip at Przystań Flisacka.There are a couple of photos of the scenery on the way there.
The ‘raft’ is actually built in 5 sections and tied together with rope. It’s apparently a traditional way of transporting good downriver. At the end point, the raft is separated and carried back upstream in trucks, previously on horse-drawn carts. Fresh branches are tied to the front to prevent water being splashed in during the trip. Two men control the raft, a captain at the front and a steersman at the rear.
There are a limited number of licensed rafters which do an apprenticeship of 5 years. Most are family businesses. The apprentice stands in the rear, doing most of the work. Our captain was a real character, and apparently told jokes in Polish all the way. It was difficult to get a straight answer to any questions we asked. The entire trip was 18 km, travelling through the national park at various speeds depending on the width of the river. There were no real rapids, but there were sections where the raft flexed and creaked through the rougher water. Frances did her best not to jump in, settling for dangling her feet over the side. Not too dangerous, although I did spot a tiny water snake. After about an hour of rafting we disembarked at Szczawnica Przystan. By now the temperature was over 30 degrees and Frances had to have a swim – not long though because we had to board the mini-bus for the drive to the castle in Niedzica.
Rafting on the Dunajca River in the Pieniński National Park.
After finishing the rafting trip at Szczawnica Przystan we drove to the the castle in Niedzica for lunch. It is above the dam on the Czorsztyn Lake. A beautiful spot, but in the afternoon glare, photography was nearly impossible. We struck up a friendship with Viola, a Polish woman who runs her own small human relations company. It was great to get her insights into Polish life and culture, and hope to catch up with her when she visits Australia.
While there, Frances and Viola bought some Oscypek cheese. This is a smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk exclusively in the Tatra Mountains region of Poland. It’s sole everywhere in stalls and some stores. Oscypek is made using salted sheep's milk, with the addition of cow's milk.Unpasteurized salted sheep's milk is first turned into cottage cheese, which is then repeatedly rinsed with boiling water and squeezed. After this, the mass is pressed into wooden, spindle-shaped forms in decorative shapes. The forms are then placed in a brine-filled barrel for a night or two, after which they are placed close to the roof in a special wooden hut and cured in hot smoke for up to 14 days. (Wikipedia) The flavour is too smoky for me, but Fances, and of course the rest of Poland, love it. Traditionally the small oval pieces are served warmed up with a dab of cranberry jam.
Our last stop was a pretty unique Archangel Michael's Church at Debno Podhalanskie.It was built in the mid 15th Century and is made completely of larch wood. It’s been in use since then, an amazing feat for a wooden structure.
There are some interior photos from their website – photography inside was not permitted.
Eventually, after more than 8 hours since we left, we returned to Zakopane for a well-earned rest.
We chose the local Bar Mleczny (Milk Bar) for dinner tonight, just a 15 minute walk into Zakopane. With a completely Polish menu and staff, the only way we could order was to point at what other people were having.You’d think by now we’d have learned enough Polish to read menus, but we’re still finding it too difficult. Frances ordered the Pork Schnitzel which came with potatoes and salad which she enjoyed. Still looks and tastes like chicken to me.
I ordered Potato Pancakes with Mushroom Sauce. They are made with grated potato and onion, mixed with egg and flour and pan fried. Probably not that healthy, but taste really good. The creamy mushroom sauce and a side salad was an ideal accompaniment for a light meal. After dinner we walked around the town which was alive with visitors. This is the first place we’ve been where almost the only voices we here are Polish.
We even saw the Hiking Nuns as we had an after-dinner evening walk. There are some travellers for other countries, but are a small minority. It’s a refreshing change.
