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Trail Of The Eagles' Nests 2013

April 20th – May 4th

By Watracz Is Traveling

Day 1: Korzkiew, Ojców, Rabsztyn

April 20th, 2013

View day 1 route on Google Maps

Shortly after I bought my motorbike, I began to take plenty of rides around Krakow to look for picturesque, interesting spots and for good biking routes. I’m particularly impressed by the routes that snake through the Trail of Eagles’ Nests, and the ruins of castles and fortresses there. When I get a visit from my friend Paweł, a more experienced biker, we set out for a trip around the area, to see as many great places between Krakow and Częstochowa as we can.

Korzkiew

We ride northward from Krakow, towards Skała. Our first stop is Korzkiew Castle (a knights’ fortress from the 14th c.), which sits less than 15 kilometers from Krakow. We park our bikes in front of the castle’s main gate, take a quick tour and a breather, and get on our way, towards the Ojców National Park.

Ojców

The next spot we visit is Ojców Castle, built by Casimir the Great in mid-14th century.

Pieskowa Skała

After a brief spot of sightseeing in Ojców, we ride to Pieskowa Skała. The road here is great for bikers: the surface is really good, and the ride is a ton of fun because of the many sharp turns. The visibility is limited, though, because there are so many rocks by the sides of the road; you have to be really careful. We slalom like that for a couple of kilometers, and arrive before the Club of Hercules, a bludgeon-like formation of hard limestone rock, some 30 meters high; beyond it, Pieskowa Skała castle sits on a steep hill.

Pieskowa Skała castle was built in early 14th c. by Casimir III the Great as part of the defensive chain of the Eagles’ Nests castles. We stop at the parking lot at the foot of the castle hill. It’s getting a bit late, so we don‘t go in, we just take a few photos from the outside and move on.

Rabsztyn

From Pieskowa Skała we ride for Olkusz, and then to Rabsztyn. We’re not far from the Gothic castle whose name comes from the German “Rebestein”, or Raven’s Rock, when Paweł’s bike starts to give him trouble. Turns out that the clutch line has broken, which makes it impossible to start, stop, or change gears in any convenient way. Fortunately, Paweł has a spare, and as he starts to work on replacing the line, I walk around the area and take photos.

Half an hour later, the line is replaced, and the bike is back to normal. We take the steep, rocky, and unpaved road all the way to the main entrance to the castle, where we stop and take some more pictures.

It’s getting pretty late, and Paweł needs to get back to Rzeszów before the end of the day, so we take our helmets and ride back to Krakow. We separate at a crossroads in Krakow – I’m going to my place in Prądnik Czerwony, and Paweł rides on to Rzeszów.

Day 2: Wolbrom, Smoleń.

April 22th, 2013

View day 2 route on Google Maps

Wolbrom

Two days later I have an afternoon off, so I get on the bike and go see the further part of the Trail of Eagles’ Nests. I pass Olkusz and Rabsztyn and stop for a quick rest by the Wolbrom lake.

Wodąca Valley

A couple kilometers further, near the settlement of Strzegowa, I turn left and take a dirt road towards Wodąca Valley. I reach the forest, but there’s too much mud on the road, making it too slippery for me, so I turn back and ride to Smoleń Castle.

Smoleń

The Gothic-style castle was built in mid-14th c., but only the castle tower has survived to this day in a reasonable condition; the rest is just stone ruins. The castle courtyard has a deep well, which, according to legend, was dug by Tatar prisoners, and is 200 meters deep. These days, the well is filled in, leaving it only 26 meters deep. Going through all of the ruins, along with taking photos, only takes me some 15 minutes.

I eat my sandwiches in the parking lot, and get ready for the return trip. When I’m getting the bike off the center stand, I lose my balance, and the bike falls over, breaking the seat of the right rear-view mirror, and bending the brake lever, which makes it impossible to break. And I won’t even mention the scratched paint. I’m pissed off on my way back to Krakow; on the way I stop at a garage where we’re able to straighten out the break lever using a thick metal pipe.

Day 3: Ogrodzieniec

April 27th, 2013

View day 3 route on Google Maps

My previous trip to Smoleń ended up with my replacing a rear-view mirror (luckily, not that expensive). On my way to Ogrodzieniec from Krakow, I pass by the familiar spots form my previous trips, including Pieskowa Skała and Wolbrom. The Ogrodzieniec Castle is located just 65 kilometers from Krakow, but the road takes me about an hour and a half, since it leads through small settlements, and I’m sightseeing, not racing.

The ruins of the castle built in 14th-15th c. sit on the Castle Hill (515.5 m.a.s.l.), the tallest peak of the Krakow-Częstochowa Upland. I leave the bike at a paid parking lot, I take my pack and the camera, and move on to the hill.

The castle makes a huge impression on me; I think it’s the most beautiful castle of the Eagles’ Nests that I’ve seen so far. The castle ruins are surrounded by a tall defensive wall connected to fantastic monadnocks, dozens of meters high.

After a tour of the castle, I take the footpath that goes between the rocks around the castle hill. Under one of the rocks I see a group of rock climbers.

Day 4: Pieskowa Skała, Ojców

April 28th, 2013

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A one-day excursion to Pieskowa Skała Castle, and a short walk around Ojców.

Day 5: Zimny Dół Nature Reserve, Tenczyn

April 30th, 2013

View day 5 route on Google Maps

Zimny Dół Nature Reserve

Looking on the Web for interesting spots around Krakow, I stumble upon a mention of the Zimny Dół Nature Reserve, close to the settlement of Czułów, some 25 kilometers from the center of Krakow. The reserve is a part of the Tenczyn National Park. I take the route through Kryspinów and Cholerzyn, I turn towards Mnikowska Valley in Mnikowo, and then go on towards Baczyn. Zimny Dół Nature Reserve is a couple of kilometers from Baczyn. I leave the bike at the parking lot before the entrance, and take the backpack and the camera.

The reserve is very small, but it looks very picturesque, with its large boulders, and labirynth-like rock formations scattered all over the reserve. Going to the end ofthe reserve and back takes me under 40 minutes.

Tenczyn

Just 15 kilometers North-West of the Zimny Dół reserve, I stop to take a tour of the ruins of Tenczyn Castle, built in the 14th c. The castle was built on an extinct volcano (411 m.a.s.l.), the tallest peak of the Tenczyn Ridge.

The ruins are definitely worth seeing, even though, sadly, the majority of the castle is in terrible shape. Most of the rooms (including the castle tower) is closed for visitors due to the poor condition of the ruins.

Day 6: Mirów, Olsztyn, Częstochowa

May 3rd, 2013

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Błędów Desert

Early Friday afternoon I leave Krakow, going north and passing Olkusz. The weather’s warm, but there is a light drizzle. An hour on, I stop near Błędów Desert, not far from the town of Klucze. The long May weekend is drawing out a lot of bikers. There are already over a dozen motorbikes at the parking lot by the desert, and you can hear ATVs roaring in the nearby woods.

Błędów Desert is the largest desert in Poland, with a surface area of approximately 32 km². Much of the desert is used as a firing range by the army.

Karczma U Stacha Restaurant

Lunch break, with seriously good food, at a restaurant in Zawiercie.

Mirów

Less than 30 minutes later I arrive at the amazing Mirów Castle. I leave the bike at the parking lot of the restaurant opposite the castle. It’s been raining for a couple of hours now, so the entire lot is full of puddles and mud. I park the centre stand on higher ground, so that its narrow metal feet don’t go deeper in the mud – I don‘t want the bike to tip over.

The castle was built in mid-14th c. by Casimir the Great. The ruins are accessible to the public only on the outside; the inside is too dangerous, because the walls are in bad shape, and could collapse.

Bobolice

Less than a kilometer from Mirów castle stands Bobolice castle. The two castles are linked in a tragic legend.

Hundreds of years ago, the castles were ruled by twin brothers, Mir and Bobol. Their brotherly bond ran deep, so they dug a tunnel between their castles, where they could meet to discuss their business in secret. One day, the lord of the Bobolice castle brought home a beautiful princess as bounty from one of his war raids. His twin fell in love with the princess at first sight. The brothers wanted to divide the plunder fairly, so they drew lots on who would get to marry the girl. Fortune was kind to the lord of Bobolice. But alas, the girl returned the love of the other brother; the lovers began to meet in secret in the underground tunnel, to avoid prying eyes.

One night, the master of Bobolice was woken by a barking dog; he noticed that his wife was missing, so he went down to the tunnel and saw the lovers: his wife and his brother. He took out his sword, and struck down his brother in anger, and had the princess walled in alive inside the tunnel.

The legend says that the girl still walks the castle’s ruins as a white lady.

Olsztyn

I reach the castle fairly late, around 6 pm. I park the bike, take the camera, buy the cheap (only PLN 3.5) entry ticket, and take a walk around the huge royal castle.

I walk around, and through a narrow stone entrance to a huge, gloomy, cave-like chamber. I’m completely alone there, but I hear some strange sounds from inside the chamber. Clearly, someone is trying to scare me (unless the legendary ghosts here are real…). I set my camera to bright flash, and take photos with a sharp, bright light shining into the cave. Turns out there was a pair of teenagers hiding inside the cave and playing at scaring people. Well, they failed at it this time.

Częstochowa

The last point of my itinerary. I reach Częstochowa at sunset. The city is totally jammed. There are a number of roadworks going on, some of the main roads are impassable, and you need to take numerous detours. I don’t have a GPS on the bike, so I ride in circles in the city for a while, before I’m finally able to follow the signs to my destination.

I park my bike at a paid parking lot, close to the Jasna Góra monastery, and move out. There’s a crowd of pilgrims and tourists at the monastery. In order to move through each of the monastery chambers, I have to squeeze through a mass of people. I reach the Chapel of Black Madonna of Częstochowa, where the famous painting hangs, protected by thick metal bars. I can’t get any closer because of the crowd. And it’s getting later and later, so I slowly turn back and start on my way home.

The sun sets fast. As I leave the city, the dusk falls, and it gets colder, so I put on my fleece jacket. It’s 150 kilometers to Krakow, which makes it about a two-hour ride. I ride slowly from Częstochowa, towards Dąbrowa Górnicza, then Mysłowice, and then I hit the highway all the way to Krakow.