Family Reunion near Tarnow Poland - extra days afterwards in Poland
 

My husband and I are attending a family reunion in a small town called Mikolajowice (near Tarnow) in mid May. After the reunion we have several days before we head home to Canada. We were in Krakow several years ago, enjoyed it a lot, we don't want to spend more time in Krakow, would like to see something new. We were thinking about a few days in Tatras mountains, Zakopane is one option. Does anyone have suggestions about sights to see in the area? We like history, natural sights and we will have a car. I have been looking at Zakopane, found Zakopane Tours and Gothic Trail Tour which looks interesting. Has anyone out there visited this area of Poland and have suggestions to offer?

I have visited Zakopane last fall and was very disappointed in the town. It's full of tacky souvenir vendors and cheese vendors and all the vendors sell the same cheese. The street is line with the vendors up to the funicular.

If you have a car and can get outside Zakopane you might enjoy the area. The wooden churches are wonderful - there's one in town and one just outside Zakopane (too far to walk from the town so you would need transportation to get there).

The tour we were going to take was advertised on a Zakopane web site but a few months after the tour was no longer offered so don't get excited about any of the tours because they seem to change.

I don't know where Tarnow is located in Poland and my internet at work is so slow I can't pull up a map. There was a trip report a couple of years ago on the SE portion of Poland and several places mentioned in the report looked interesting. If Tarnow is in the SE part you can look for the TR (there aren't that many TRs on Poland so it should be easy to find).

When in Krakow I did a tour of three wooden churches that are on the UNESCO heritage list. They are quite a ways outside of Krakow but you could check the UNESCO list and see if there are any sights in the Tarnow area.

I think one of the churches I went to was Debno.

I finally got my photos to come up. You can scroll down and find Zakopane and the wooden churches to see what they look like. I thought this was a great day.

http://modigliani.shutterfly.com/poland2011

thanks for the advice, I will check the trip reports. Also appreciate hearing about the UNESCO list, will look there as well Thank you again

If you visited Krakow several years ago there are some new things such as Krakow Under the Occupation Museum and the excavations under the Cloth Hall. I absolutely loved Krakow and could easily go back.

Susan,

You mentioned a “family reunion.” Are you related to the Tarnowski family? A few years back I read THE LAST MAZURKA, A Tale of War, Passion and Loss by Andrew Tarnowski.


It was a fabulous account of a noble Polish family buffeted by the vicissitudes of two world wars.

To quote from a book review:

“Love and passion, jealousy and violence, hidden secrets and betrayal are set against the backdrop of the two world wars, with snowy landscapes, wolf hunts, silks and furs, and a healthy splash of vodka.

Before 1945, Poland was an almost Tolstoyan world of extravagant opulence, set alongside great poverty and a semi-feudal peasantry, in a landscape of frozen fields and dark forests. Broken by war, it was reduced by communism to drab uniformity and a way of life was lost forever.

This in combination with the extraordinary family events detailed in the book makes it a highly interesting and informative, as well as a moving, read.”

I have not yet gone to Poland, but it is on my list. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the noble and tragic history of Poland. Good luck...

thank you late day Traveler - No relation to the Tarnowski family; my husband's family have farming history, no ancestors accustomed to opulence that I have every heard about! Salt of the earth folks nevertheless and it will be a joy to meet more of the family this time.
The book looks interesting, will look to find it before we head over. One of the best ways to get ready for travelling is to read a book about the place one is going to, I find.
Susan

Susan and your husband:

You said the magic word...Tarnow(v)...stumbled into the unique painted village of Zalipie quite close to the big city of Tarnow(v). Your family most likely will know it well...it was still off the tourist track back then. Enjoy Poland...

Stu Tower


Zalipie - Picturesque Village in Poland Photo Gallery by Franz Bauer at pbase.


Poland Zalipie - Painted houses - YouTube


Studio G, Garden Design & Landscape Inspiration » Garden Design Destination: Z

Susan...sorry web pages didn't take...just go to Zalipie, Poland and you will find those sites.

stu

http://www.pbase.com/bauer/zalipie_p...village_poland

Here's one that I could get...
stu

Thank you Stu for this tip, who knew?
The pictures are amazing, we will certainly look up and visit Zalipie.
This is the first time I have asked for help from the Fodor Forum and the responses have been great.
I enjoyed the pictures of the wooden churches that are UNESCO heritage sites, they are on our 'to see' list now. Also appreciated the tip about the Last Mazurka book.
And we will take in the Krakow under Occupation Museum and the Cloth Hall excavations.
Thank you to all of you for your help!
Susan

Not sure how many days extra you have - but since you will have a car I would check Lancut and it's castle ( east of Tarnow ) then go south to Sanok and area ( south east of Tarnow ) and then staying south drive to Zakopane stoping at Niedzica / Czorsztyn, and doing a Dunajec Rafting on the way http://www.travbuddy.com/Dunajec-Riv...ng-Trip-v10226

I think you should see a beautiful castle in Niedzica http://zamki.net.pl/zamki/niedzica/niedzica07.jpg :) It's about 40 km from Zakopane

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Several very good options for us to pursue! Susan

susan - would love to hear how your trip was. I'm interested in visiting Zalipie. Did you end up going there?