Jo’s Monday walk : the Dunajec Gorge

Shall we start at the chair lift?

Shall we start at the chair lift?

To be fair, I have so many photos it’s hard to know where to start!  After the wedding, my Polish family were wonderfully indulgent of my wandering ways.  I had booked into an old wooden villa for a couple of nights, in the upper part of the thermal spa town of Szczawnica, right down on the border with Slovakia.

Why there?  Well, I already knew that the scenery in nearby Zakopane was beautiful.  Part of the Tatra Mountain range, it is renowned for Summer hiking and for Winter sports.  But, as always, I wanted to see somewhere new, yet still within reasonable distance of Kraków.  The Pieniny Mountains are not so high, nor so busy, and they have a beauty all their own.

Szczawnica (rough pronounced ‘Sh-chav-nitsa’) sits in the river valley of the Grajcarek, a tributary of the Dunajec River which forms the border with Slovakia.

Come with me on my walk, and see what you think.

Ok- so from the chair lift we're going to walk alongside the river

From the chair lift we’re going to walk alongside the river

Using this lovely boulevard

Using this lovely boulevard

And crossing some of the many bridges

And crossing some of the many bridges

And sometimes looking back to check the view behind

Not forgetting to look back to check the view behind- peaceful, isn’t it?

This was one of my favourite houses- just look at that roof!

This was one of my favourite houses- just look at that roof!

And always, the river, rushing along beside

And always, the river, rushing along beside

After many twists and turns the Grajcarek flows into the Dunajec, and the beckoning scenery becomes much more dramatic.

One of my reasons for choosing Szczawnica is that it sits at the end of a stretch of the Dunajec famed for river rafting.  Not the white knuckle ride that phrase might conjure up for you, but nevertheless, a strong test of the skills of the boatmen.  The Dunajec Gorge drew me to the area.

Szczawnica przystan, or marina

Szczawnica przystan, or marina

The view from the landing stage

The view from the landing stage

A peaceful island lures you for a closer look

A frail bridge lures you for a closer look

A rather strange bird, guarding his territory

At this strange bird, guarding his territory

And the empty benches

No wonder the benches are empty!

And you never know what might lurk in the caves

I wonder what might lurk in these caves?

But the flora are delicate and pretty

But the flora are delicate and pretty

The water and trees are so many different shades

The trees and water are a myriad of colour

But what's this, patiently waiting?

And what do we find, patiently waiting on the river bank?

Wooden canoe trips have been organised through the Gorge since the early 19th Century, when customers came primarily from nearby castles at Niedzica and Czorstyn (more of these in a later post).  The Gorge loops through the valley, the limestone rock reaching 300 metres in height almost all the way.  It makes for some very beautiful walking and cycling, not to mention the opportunity to river raft.

Gentle aquamarine

Hues of gentle aquamarine

Still and smooth

Still, smooth water

And interesting patterns in the cliff face

And interesting patterns in the cliff face

Light and shade

Wandering through light and shade

The shadows adding a layer of mystery

The deeper shadow adding an air of mystery

Families, walkers and cyclists all have access to this dramatic beauty, though Spring and Autumn are probably the times to see it at its peaceful best.  In Summer and on public holidays there are mountain huts where you can find food and information.

An interesting sign appears

I found this sign quite interesting

And then a further clue

And then a further clue- welcome to Lesnica, written in Slovak

Without realising it I had crossed over the border into Slovakia, part of which is formed by the River Dunajec.  It felt quite strange, and looking at the remaining distance to Cerwony Klastor (approximately 2 hours, according to the sign)  it seemed a good time to retrace my steps.  But not without first paying homage to one of the nation’s favourite sons, who loved to hike and ski in the mountains.

Just one more sign- a view dedicated to Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II)

The view is dedicated to Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II)

In no time at all I was back at the marina with a hard-earned beer

In no time at all I was back at the marina, with a hard-earned beer

Fast approaching, round a bend in the river, some boatmen!

Where I saw, fast approaching round a bend in the river, the boatmen!

But that needs to be the subject for another post.  For now, I’m hoping that you’ve enjoyed our Monday walk.  I certainly did!

If you’d like to join in, you’re more than welcome to add a link to a walk you’ve enjoyed in the comments, or to link back to me from your post.  Either way, I really don’t mind.  I try to keep it free and easy so you can join in any day of the week.  The more beautiful walks, the better- right?

Whilst I was in Poland, kind people continued to contribute walks to cheer me up on my return. I’m delighted to be able to share them with you.  Enjoy your walking.  See you next time.

 

Way out in Western Australia we have Pauline, walking on the foreshore :

Geraldton Foreshore Walk

Sylvia is busy packing up her home in South Africa, but still found the time to cherish a few memories in her walk :

Sand Between the Toes for Jo’s Monday Walk Challenge.

Tish Farrell brought me back to her home in Much Wenlock, a beautiful part of Shropshire :

http://tishfarrell.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/much-lettered-at-much-wenlocks-poetry-festival/

A lovely surprise from a lady I’d not met, Gunilla, but will certainly spend some time with :

http://gbkoru.blogspot.fi/2014/05/bloggers-sunday-walk-spring.html

And last, but never least, my sunny friend from Virginia, USA- Cathy, with an arboretum walk :

the state arboretum of virginia

 

Here are some of this week’s walkers,

Paula has been to the zoo :

http://bopaula.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/a-visit-to-the-zoo-part-ii/

And Elaine introduced me to Finsbury Park in London :

a walk in Finsbury Park

And who can resist Amy’s Iphoneography? (is that spelt right?)  What that girl can do with a flower!

http://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/phoneography-for-jos-monday-walk/

We’re going to be busy reading this week, aren’t we?

 

128 comments

    1. No place like home, Jo 🙂 The Poles are fiercely appreciative of their homeland; especially when they live abroad. They have good reason to be, from all that I’ve seen so far 🙂 How’re you, hon?

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    1. Timeless beauty, isn’t it Nicole? I absolutely love a mountain backdrop, though I’m not so good at the scrambling up them any more. 🙂 All well with you and the babes?

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    1. You’re totally welcome, Tish 🙂 I was looking for a way to say thanks for the support and as not everyone uses Twitter or FB it seemed like a good idea. Thanks for the appreciation. 🙂

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  5. Pingback: Monday Walk with Jo – canal walk video | PRIORHOUSE blog

    1. Thanks, Dianne 🙂 I was fascinated by the roof style. I’ve suggested I buy a plot and build a few such chalets to fill with bloggers. You coming? (but only when you can tear yourself away from the writer’s nook, of course 🙂 )

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  7. A new place to add to my ever-growing list of places to go. 🙂 I really enjoyed taking this vicarious walk with you through. It looks like a beautiful and relaxing town.

    Did you take part in any spa-type activities?

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    1. It’s a lovely place, Jackie. I find the spa aspect slightly bizarre though. If you have time look at the Szczawnica link which takes you to Wikipedia and gives lots of thermal details. Apparently the town was named after the slang word for the acidic waters. If I’d had a little more time I might have indulged as it was very cheap, but the weather was gorgeous and more geared to outdoor activities. 🙂

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      1. Thank You, Jo! iPhone is really convenient for taking close-up shots, easier than using a camera. The cool thing is that you can use any of the apps to enhance the photos, and it doesn’t take much time at all.

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  10. Pingback: Phoneography for Jo’s Monday Walk | The World Is a Book...

  11. Jo _ i really enjoyed your walk this week. I also love that roof on that house – and what a cool shot of your well earned glass of beer. Great angle and the amber color is so crisp. great shot – but all were nice and flowed so well – I like the verticals in the cave photo – the canoes and the shadows and light shots were my fav – but hard to say cause they all float to give that walk with you some charm – like the signs and the flowers

    and oh wait, I think I even saw a “Y” tree int hat photo titled “trees and water are a myriad of color” – now that was cool…. 🙂
    have a great week and my entry is going to be walking around the old canal walk area around our town. I will link it when I post.

    ❤ 🙂
    peace out!

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  12. What a great walk, Jo. Between your narrative and right choice of pictures, you took me to a place I’ll never get to. Rivers all over the world have a personality of their own and this walk is particularly charming and peaceful. Those boats really have my interest (I know…more later 🙂 and I believe I saw Hansel and Gretel looking out of the window of the house. 🙂

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    1. Oh dear- I thought I had kept Hansel and Gretel out of sight, Lynne! 🙂
      It could have been too ‘chocolate box’ but it had real charm. How did you guess? More to follow…
      Many thanks 🙂

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    1. So funny, Ruth 🙂 I just this second commented to Sherri that I’m going to buy a plot and go into building chalet style houses for bloggers. Come join us!

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      1. Do it, Jo! 😉 I’m planning to build a garage with a guest space/office over it in the next year or so, and I’d love to incorporate aspects of this house into the design. I love it.

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  15. Just gorgeous this walk, and the photos are beautiful. What a lovely place to stay. I love the wooden house too, could quite happily live there! I’ve never been to Poland so another great armchair walk to see new sights! Lovely to have you back Jo 🙂

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  18. Fabulous photos, Jo! Such a peaceful and pictursque place to walk. Thank you for the lovely walking tour! Will be back later… 🙂

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  19. What a fantastic gallery of photographs from this walking trip – a painting in every scene. Such a quiet and utterly full sense of nature treasures that you’ve brought us.

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  20. Pingback: Strolling into Paris | Le Drake Noir

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