Poland’s gardens and nurseries – travel two pensioners on the field

We, Tatiana and Sofia, long fond of gardening and park design. In May 2019, we decided to visit the Gardens of Poland. This is a country with a very developed garden business. We went to Poland by car.

Why Poland?

Not too expensive and not too far. You can go to Poland on your car. We are both pensioners, not very ancient, but I have difficulties with movement. Public transport is not always convenient. And Sony "Niva Bronno", which still rides. Experience in Europe in Europe on rented cars.

Training for the trip:

• Mapping a route through interesting gardens and Poland nurseries. The main thing here is not to outline more than you have time to visit, and calculate time for moving. as close as possible to points of interest, cheaper and, if possible, without stairs.
• Buying a thick paper guide (for example, from the Lonely Planet series), paper cards and the installation of navigators in the tablet.
• I also bought a thin phrasebook, because in Polish none of us say. We know English and fragments of different languages, but the language barrier did not interfere anywhere else. Especially in Poland, where many people work from Ukraine and Belarus, there is always a translator. . Through the visa center it is not difficult.
• Prevention "Niva". Pure symbolic action.

Driving through Domachevo, We quickly passed both gearbox, hitting the border guards view of an SUV with a pair of pensioners.

Route in Poland

For 20 days released by a visa, we drove:

• CPP Domachevo
• Lublin (Botanical Garden),
• Zakopane, Krakow (Botanical Garden and Salt Mine in Great),
• Wroclaw (Botanical Garden),
• Zaniemysl neighborhood (Zaniemysl, Arbourria in the torn and town of Biskupin),
• Koszalin (Ogrody Hortulus Spectabilis Park),
• Vintage City Hoynice (Nursery Frank-Raj),
• Malbork (Castle),
• Torun (in the UNESCO Heritage list),
• Warsaw (Botanical Garden),
• CEZHUNUV (Kennel Schmita),
• Rogow (Arboretum).

It was interesting everywhere.

Botanical Gardens and Arborets Poland are well-groomed, have a lot of quiet places to relax.

Cafes and toilets are in all city gardens. Plants are signed, you can do without a guide. I will not describe everything, only briefly about the most remarkable: Zakopane, Ogroidy Hortulus Spectabilis, Kennel Schmit.

Zakopane

Town in the foothills Tatras, next to which entrance to the National Park.

Except through the park in the mountains not to fall at least officially. Routes only hiking, can take several days. But everywhere, where you can get the day, a huge number of visitors. Especially school excursions.

In search of a relaxed setting, we traveled around the surrounding area. There are peculiar villages with wooden houses and pure local architecture.

Old buildings are made of logs of a huge thickness – now they are not already building

New houses are more similar, but save the same style.

Everywhere you can find local sheep or goat cheese. Looks like Suluguni – the same rubber, hard and salty.

Garden Hortulus Spectabilis

We drove from Koszalin to the village of Dobzhitsa (Dobrzyca), and from it on the sign 2 km to the garden himself. There is a cafe and shop with all sorts of garden decorations. The garden has a website where you can get acquainted with the schedule.

This is a new project of authors of the thematic nursery gardens Hortulus.

Mecca landscape architects, where on the square more than 35 hectares are different directions of garden-park design. Anyway, so conceived, but the idea has not yet been brought to the end. Now the individual sites, samples of regular gardens and a grand, more than 3 km long, a short-range labyrinth.

Labyrinth and surroundings can be observed from a 20-meter tower

In the labyrinth you need to buy a separate ticket. There is impossible to pass with a carriage (pediatric or disabled), so it is not available to all visitors.

Sometimes modern sculptures come across. Not always a pleasant look

Kennel Schmita

The one who does decorative gardening is well familiar with the Schmitt catalogs. In the nursery there is a garden where all the striking rarifices grow. Ideal order – that’s what amazes. Gardens of Poland, including private, very well maintained.

There is a site with a our-speaking version. Travel from Ciechanuva to Pechcin.

In the Schmitovsky nursery perfect order

Where we lived

We moved almost every day and rarely, where they remained for 2 nights.

Places overnight stays were booked and paid by half to get Schengen. Chose accommodation at a price of up to 1700 rubles, preferably with a kitchen and without stairs. Booking has the advantage that guarantees housing at a famous price. Can be found overnight and in the "free flight", but then you need to start looking for after lunch. Otherwise, only the most expensive hotels will remain in the evening. Especially in no-season, when much is still closed.

Once a reserved overnight stays turned out to be broken, and after 3 hours of search managed to find a number for 6000 rubles with a worthless luxury. Another time – for 3500 rubles, a very beautiful place at the lake with swans. But for overnight expensive.

One of our hotels

If you stop in the suburbs or small villages, then for the price in the range chosen by us, you can find excellent housing. Most of all, we liked the cozy villa under the nut (Zaniemysl), where each room was isolated from other blooming bushes and flower beds.

Villa under the nut

Of interest in agritourism, lived on the farm hotel Chata Za Wsia near Nowe Skaszewo. It was worth about 2000 rubles, but there are rabbits there.

With caution it is necessary to choose the night in student towns. May be a disco under the windows and completely scored parking.

What and where we ate

We did not indulge in the gluttony, so gourmets can miss this section.

In the morning and in the evening they prepared themselves, the benefit of the kitchen, personal or common on the floor, were in all places overnight stay. Products in network supermarkets are no more expensive than in Moscow.

In the afternoon ate in the cafes, choosing cheaper. You can navigate the name &# 171;Obiy Domowe&# 171;. Though Zajazd, Karczma or Restauracja may be inexplicated.

For my taste, the Poles are abused by sauerkraut. It comes across all combinations.

My duty dish was the thick soup of Zurek.

Polish soup Zurek is universal, like Lagman in Russia. Offer it in different versions, including with a large whole sausage, which sticks out of the plate. Price 10-12 zlotys (about 200 rubles) for a plate. The size of the portions is such that the second is no longer necessary.

Sonya preferred second dishes, but meat like Bigosa (Goulash with sauerkraut and potatoes) cost more than Boguene.

Pottoers need to take into account the local feature – on weekends, large restaurants outside the cities are rented under the wedding. It is difficult to find an institution to eat.

Communication and Internet in Poland

For calls and navigation, we used tablet.

Bought a card operator Orange, Which is popular here. Interestingly, the card starts to work only a few hours after installation.

And there was also a trouble making money – I had to contact the hotel administrator for help. Wi-Fi works almost in all hotels. Calls were needed only to warn arrival at the next hotel. Internet – for navigation.

From several navigation programs uploaded in Moscow, only MAPS app practically worked.ME, which does not require communication with the Internet. But for him you need to download cards in advance. So regular evening occupation on the site of the night began to download the map of the next voivodship.

Money and expenses

For gasoline, food and other purchases we paid the card.

But without cash, too, do not do. In the tourist centers of large cities, it is easy to exchange rubles, dollars and euros in the canthers (exchange offices). There is such a gearbox, but not always open. Where there are no tourists, no kantors. They say, you can change in banks, but we did not try.

In general, with a deduction of souvenirs and consideration of a visa and armor, a trip for 20 days cost about 46-48 thousand rubles per person.

40% went to gasoline. In Poland, it costs about 90 rubles / l. The rest is spent on housing and food.

Museums we did not attend. Gardens and Arndraria Poland, except for Ogrody Hortulus Spectabilis, are free for disabled and accompanying.