The warm weekend is coming …. 馃檪
Do you have your list of moto trips you want to take? We do 馃檪 It is long, we are expanding the list all the time, but so far, we managed to tick off a few points. And so, because a beautiful warm weekend was coming, over a week ago, we decided to give it a shot and ride along The Trail of the Eagles’ Nests. Daniel planned the track and we left on Saturday morning towards the south of Poland. There is probably no more beautiful season than the Golden Polish Autumn we can experience on our bikes. The leaves begin to fall, the grass changes color from lush green to darker and the trees are showing beautiful colors, yellow, red, and purple. All that was waiting for us that weekend and we were so eager to see it and share with you later on.
You will find our interactive track here:
The Trail of the Eagles’ Nests
The trail is located in south-west Poland, ranging from Czestochowa to Cracow. 25 medieval castles constitute it plus ruins of watchtowers. Castles date mostly to the 14th century and have been constructed probably by orders of Casimir the Great, Polish King. Most of the castles are located on tall, large rocks of wonderful Polish Jura Chain, featuring cliffs, isolated hills, surrounding forests, and wide valleys below.
It is now time to take you with us on this beautiful adventure.
Saturday travel
As we were getting closer to Olsztyn, the landscape changed, and from the flat Mazovia, we entered the Silesian voivodeship filled with hills. The hills interspersed with valleys increased the hunger for adventure making us happier with each driven kilometer.
Reaching the first destination
By noon we reach our first destination, Olsztyn and its Royal castle. It is monumental, on a steep hill, rising above the village. We wandered there for a while, celebrating the magnitude of this construction and the wide-area surrounding it. Climbing up to the gate must have been a tough job for medieval knights. Close to the castle, in Zrebice there is a beautiful church of St. Giles. Wooden, from the 18th century. Silently integrated into the landscape, gave us a sense of old times, mystery, and long history of its neighborhood. A place where you step in and time pauses for a moment.
During the afternoon
We found a shed, where we could heat and eat our lunch, and with new energy drove to the next place – Bakowiec Castel. Hard to spot, located on a small hill, encircled by greenery, a camping spot, coffee shop, and a small resort. This castle looked simply cozy. And the greenery around made me feel like in a fairy tale for a moment.
We kept riding and heading towards Ogrodzieniec Castle, Daniel spotted a rock. We took an offroad track to get there and we ended up in a climbing spot. Many of them you fill find across the Jura Chain.
Ogrodzieniec castle was another monumental fortress in the medieval times. Situated on a high hill, seemed hard to access in historical times. Local folklore is saying it is haunted by a Black Dog at nights.
Closer to evening
Last for Saturday was Bydlin Castle. Small, now hidden in the forest, with the warmest welcome we could not imagine. As there was a weekend of festivals across the trail some places were hosting animations, medieval fights, food spots, and many other activities to attract tourists. We arrived there just before 7 pm, and when spotted by the organizer he grabbed us, feed us with grilled sausage and bread with grease (traditional food, grease with fried bacon and onion). We did not expect that. For sure we will remember this small castle for a long time.
It was late, so we jumped on our bikes and rode towards Rabsztyn Castle. We got there just after sunset, so took a short glimpse at the ruins, and headed in the Ojc贸w direction, nearby was our camping place for this night. Through night light we could just see shadows of soaring rocks, promising unforgettable views the next day.
Evening time
It became a habit that we land on camping when it is dark. Good that we are proficient in setting it up 馃槈
Camping Nasza Dolina, our sleeping place for this nigh, welcomed us with plenty of places to choose from, for setting up the tent, burning fireplace, and friendly company. Although the night was chilly we were sleeping like babies after a day full of adventure and long travel from home.
Sunday travel
The night was chilly and with high humidity, so despite down sleeping bag, I got a little cold somewhere early morning. A misty day welcomed us for early breakfast and delicious coffee Daniel made. Due to the temperature, we were quite fast with packing camping gear, to get warm and do some morning gym 馃檪
Morning places
From our nice camping place, we drove to Tenczyn Castle in the morning. There were just a few tourists there when we arrived, so managed to admire its beauty from a close look and distance. Although it took us 45 min to get there, it was absolutely worth it. Tenczyn Castle was the last one to the south we visited. Now it was time to take a way up.
Ojcowski National Park was the next stop and the Ojc贸w Castle of course. Situated on a rock, with a filar laid bridge guarding access to its gate in the old times. It is not a big construction but was very important to protect the southern border of the Kingdom of Poland.聽 Located in Ojcowski National Park, the smallest national park in Poland, surrounding the Pradnik River riverbed, creates a fairy tale atmosphere, especially if it is a warm, sunny day with still blooming greenery. We took some time to have a walk there, even changed riding boots to feel more comfortable 馃槈
Afternoon locations
There were two more castles to visit on our way up home. Located in one neighborhood I would say.聽 The first one was the ruins of Mirow Castle and connected to it, by a picturesque rocky trail and an underground tunnel, Babolice Castle. As the first one is still under reconstruction, the Babolice Castle is reconstructed and available for tourists. You can really admire its majesty.
Tired a little we finished the castles tour late in the afternoon and after lunch at a parking place, having our own food and cooker we just need some flat space, we started going home. But before that, we had to find an open petrol station. What happened to be quite challenging in that region 馃檪 The local station is all you can get. Fueled we found rode back, to stop in a few minutes trying to help a motobiker, unfortunately, our jump started was discharged and we could not start his engine.
Long way home
As you maybe remember we try choosing tracks away from main, national roads. It gives us this feeling of freedom, time to praise the surrounding nature, small villages we are crossing, hardworking farmers on fields we are passing. But it mostly ends up with us getting back home very late, extremely happy, full of new experience and impressions, and deadly tired 馃槈 It was no different this time.聽 The ride back took us 5 h. Finishing just before 10 pm in our garage. Was it worth it? Absolutely 馃檪 For all the stunning places we saw, the beauty of Polish nature, and the people we meet along the way compensates all the trouble we took. And in the end, we can share it with you. That does the job each time.
Trip in numbers:
- 2 days on the road – Saturday and Sunday
- transfer from Warsaw to Olsztyn: 239 km
- transfer from Bobolice Castle to home: 268 km
- 199 km on #thetrailofeaglenests
- total of 706 km
- 1 camping night
- 2 visits on gas station
All the photos you can see here:
Stay tuned as the trip video is on the way 馃槈