Krynica-Zdrój, Poland

07.01.2013

We set off from Lodz by train to Krakow and then from the bus station located next to the train station we caught a bus down to Krynica. My first impression of the biggest spa town in Poland was that it was very similar to Zakopane which I had visited two years ago, Christmas lights still hang and give a warmth in the darkness (we arrived late) we exit the bus in the centre and start to hike up to find our guest house through the thick snow which you fight through with your heavy backpack pulling you down; smells from restaurants come from every direction and people stroll through the streets in no hurry to get anywhere which is very welcoming after being in Krakow station for a couple of hours.

We booked a guest house near to the ski slopes and the lady told us that we could be the only guests as we have just missed the holiday period when everybody comes here to ski which sounds great to us. We find the house without any problems and the lady gives us a quick tour of her very nice home; we unpack our heavy backpacks and go for a tour of the centre once more before retiring for the night in an attempt to recharge for the next day when we will attempt to ski.

I have never skied before and am advised to take a min lesson of one hour which we search the many ski rental cabins to find and eventually do. The man tells me that his English is pretty bad and I have no reason to doubt him, he tells me to watch what he does and copy so we head to the bunny slope and he shows me how to stop, turn left and right (which he often confused) and how to use the ski lift; the lesson goes well and my confidence is high so I attempt the big slope straight away, it becomes clear from the start that I wasn’t ready for this just yet, the slope looks too steep and I instantly forget how to turn at speed. After going down once I go back to the bunny slope to practice before we leave, my advice to anybody going skiing for the first time is to firstly get a lesson for more than one hour (even if it’s just two) and then don’t attempt the big slope until you are really ready because it can put somebody off skiing for life.

Side note:

The feeling of taking off ski boots and putting on your normal shoes is just about the best feeling in the world after hours on the slope. 

The next day we head out early, the slopes are pretty empty and after a short time on the bunny slope I’m ready to get back on the big one: I get the hang of it pretty quickly and am able to nervously shuffle down to the bottom, I keep going and going and after 3 hours on the slopes I’m able to convince myself that I’m alright at this. The next day (and final day of skiing) I’m able to hockey stop like a pro and confidently ski down, I hear that a lot of people quit after the first day of skiing when it’s their first time so if it’s your first time skiing I would say that you shouldn’t give up on it and keep going because it’s a lot of fun (how cliché eh?).

After skiing we would head down to the centre and have a meal at a nice restaurant simply named “pizza pub” which was always full and offers some nice traditional food and of course pizza.

Just like in Zakopane - Krynica has this salty mountain cheese which they call serek here, you can buy it from sellers cold or cooked with bacon inside (which is much nicer) and you can also buy warm honey beer or my favorite mulled wine, a cup of this can make a night so try it at least once. They have a supermarket and a few smaller shops for buying everything you need but one of the most surprising things in Krynica for me was the 3D cinema which is inside a tiny building, I didn’t go inside but out of curiosity wanted to.

Main Krynica attractions:

The museum of Nikifor who lived and worked here, he is called a naïve or primitive painter (nice way to sell his art eh?) which is a blue building in the centre and doesn’t charge much to enter (around 5zl). The museum features a lot of his items such as his walking stick, pictures and glasses e.g as well as a room filled with traditional Polish costumes and of course the paintings which you can judge for yourself.

A big glass building filled with plants and little souvenirs which you can sample different mineral waters inside, you buy a plastic cup and choose the water from around 8 on offer for around 2zl. The ladies who pour the water dress in white jackets like doctors and if you know Polish you can read which different minerals are in the water and the description of what the water cures (stress e.g.) the whole scene is set for you to believe, buy and then take a bottle home with you. My favorite part of the glass building (apart from the warmth) is the little bakery inside, you can buy little cakes which are pretty cheap and then enjoy on one of the many seats around.

You can get a train up the mountain (12zl return) which I’m sure holds great views on a clear day but not on the one when we was there, they have a little café and some slides up there which would be nice in summer.

Ok so let’s price it up:

Bus from Krakow to Krynica: 24zl PKS (or 22zl depending on the bus line)

Guest house: 40zl per person per night (you can find cheaper)

Ski Rental: 25-30zl per day

Ski pass: 5zl (£1) per ride or 45zl for 3 hours 55zl 4 hours

Feeling of taking the ski boots off: Priceless