We’ve only been on the road for 5 days but we already feel we have seen and experienced loads. Weather has been dreamy (30+ degrees and sunny) so we packed away our thermals deep into the bowels of the van (hopefully never to be seen again!).

After leaving Lomza we headed dead south to a little historical town – Kazimierz Dolny nad Wisla. We set up camp just outside the centre and set off to experience the town and surrounding areas on foot. This area of Poland has had quite a sizeable Jewish population so we ate like Polish Kings in a Jewish restaurant called “U Fryzjera” (“At the Hairdresser’s” – note: masterclass in logo making!) and drank some refreshing tea at “U Dziwisza”. We climbed through the natural loess gorges up to the early medieval castle of King Kazimierz the Great.

We even squeezed in a very emotional Euro match (Poland-Germany) watched on a huge screen in the atmospheric town square with local supporters chanting “Polska! Polska! Bialo-czerwoni”. Needless to say, after a couple of beers, we joined in…

Originally, we planned to stay one night but it was truly too hard to leave. So instead we chilled our boots and left on Saturday, heading to Lublin via a spa town called Naleczow, where we took a bath in a pool of white clay (quite an experience, although total submersion definitely not recommended :/) and climbed a little hill to the surreal and dream-like little cafe called Kawiarnia Jasminowa (Jasmine Cafe). It was hidden through the jasmine trees in full bloom – talk about good timing! The smell was truly intoxicating and has beautifully complimented the home-made jasmine vodka…

Then it was time to go to Lublin – our third stop on this leg (the town is perfect for a city break if you’re looking for one!). We found a campsite outside of the town by a lake and took an opportunity to go paddle-boarding in the morning.

In Lublin we walked through the historical centre, meandering through the old shabby (but chic!) streets and having an occasional strawberry margarita in a bar or two… (strawberries are very much in season in Poland right now).

We also paid a visit to the museum situated at the site of former German concentration camp Majdanek where horrific crimes against humanity were committed. We decided not to take any pictures of that place because it got imprinted in our minds hard enough.

Next stop – Bieszczady Mountains…for the Midsummers…

 

PS. If you’re on Instagram you can follow Sylwia @missapplebaum for more photographic updates 🙂