What I’ve got to appreciate in my car journeys, is
how Catholic Poland really is —so densely Catholic in fact, that a Google map showing Catholic parishes in the country has barely any empty space. 
Whether it’s a church building, a cross-roads wayside chaplet or a statue on a green mound in the middle of nowhere…there’s always a prayer reminder within metres.
While in Sanok, the no.1 thing to do is visit the Royal Castle and see the special gallery wing dedicated to Zdzislaw Beksinki – a 20thC Polish painter, photographer and sculptor, specializing in the field of dystopian surrealism. (Dystopias are often characterized by dehumanization, totalitarian governments, environmental disaster or other characteristics associated with a cataclysmic decline in society).
Beksiński had no formal training as an artist. He was a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Krakow Polytechnic with a Master of Science received in 1952. Beksiński undertook painting with a passion, working intensely and only whilst listening to classical music. He soon became the leading figure in contemporary Polish art. 
October 6, 2017
by Lids
Comments Off on 5/10/17 Sanok and surrounds
5/10/17 Sanok and surrounds
Sanok, in south-eastern Poland lies directly below the Carpathian Mountains. Once settled by Poles, Jews and Lemkos (a minority group within the Ukrainian community), the town’s history goes back almost 1000 years when it was part of a medieval trade route. The region also features a 70km trail for hikers and cyclists.I spent some time travelling around villages looking for old wooden Medieval churches, deeply influenced by the Greco-Catholic and Orthodox presence in the region.Some display a Greek Cross and onion domes, but the most interesting of the churches combine these features with the Roman forms with elongated naves and steeples. Also some lovely old wooden houses…
In the late 1960s, Beksiński entered what he himself called his “fantastic period”, which lasted up to the mid-1980s. This is his best-known period, during which he created very disturbing images, showing a gloomy, surrealistic environment with very detailed scenes of death, decay, landscapes filled with skeletons, deformed figures and deserts. These paintings were quite detailed, painted with his trademark precision. At the time, Beksiński claimed, “I wish to paint in such a manner as if I were photographing dreams”. He credited music as his main source of inspiration. Beksiński avoided concrete analysis of the content of his work, saying “I cannot conceive of a sensible statement on painting”. He was especially dismissive of those who sought or offered simple answers to what his work ‘meant’.
Muszyna (pronounced “Moosh- ina), is a small rural spa town in southern Poland of about 5,000. Great air, great natural mineral waters found here. They are rich in bicarbonates and oxalates of calcium, magnesium, sodium and iron. They also have traces of lithium and selenium. My great grandmother lived here and Mum used to visit her in holidays. Great gran was part of a network of ‘alternate therapy’ practitioners (in her day, aka…herbalists).
Krynica (pronounced “Cri – nee – tsa), a few kilometres down the road, is the biggest spa town in Poland; often called “the Pearl of Polish Spas”.
Its mushroom picking season apparently. A very pretty town with lots of cafes, restaurants, gardens and water features. 
I heard a lot about Wieliczka Salt Mine from my Mum and wanted to visit. It’s history is that it opened in the 13thC and produced table salt continuously until 2007, being one of the world’s oldest salt mines. It reaches a depth of 327 metres and is 287 kilometres long. The rock salt is naturally grey resembling unpolished granite. It used to generate a third of Krakow’s city revenue back in the old days! One kilo of salt was worth half a kilo of gold. Horses lived in stables underground and were used on a treadmill to haul the salt to the top of the surface. 
Zakopane is a resort (and highest town in Poland), at the base of the Tatras. My Mum used to come here for both winter sports and summertime mountain climbing and hiking. Tatra’s highlanders, Gorale, have vibrantly decorated clothing, a unique dialect and folk dancing. 
Quite a few horse-drawn carts with guys in full traditional dress, take tourists for a tour in down-town Zakopane. A few kilometres out of Zakopane is the Mt Kasprowy Wierch cable car. So glad I booked a cable car ticket yesterday. The 200m long (non-booker) queue was ridiculous this morning when I arrived. 
Glorious weather to take the cable car to the summit at 1985m, for some awesome and sweeping views ….but a bitterly cold and strong wind hit you as soon as you got of the cable car!! Glad I had the presence of mind to bring beanie and scarf. Mt Kasprowy in the Western Tatras, is one of the most popular skiing areas in Poland. Today just fearless trekkers, not enough snow at present for skiing.
My afternoon adventure was to see “The Eye of the Sea” (Morskie Oko), the largest and 4th deepest moraine lake in the Tatras. I accessed it through a 1 and half hour journey by horse-drawn cart in the Tatra National Park and then a very huffy puffy half hour uphill walk.
The peaks that surround the lake rise about 1000 metres above its surface. Many a hardy climber was trying to scale the heights of Mnich, ” the Monk”, ( you need a special certificate from the mountaineers association to do that one).
You must be logged in to post a comment.