Autumnal Adventures
If you've got a bit of time on your hands this week it really is worth going to Ojcow. The trees are showing their richest colours and the valleys are ablaze with reds, oranges and yellows.
If you don't have time, then just pretend to your boss/professor that you've been struck down by that terrible bout of flu that's going round, and that you simply can't bear the thought of passing it on to your fellow students/colleagues.
In the meantime, pick yourself up a map of the Ojcowski National Park (Matras Bookshop on the Rynek stock them) and hit the highway to Ojcow.
Once there we'd recommend a stroll up to the old castle ruins, which offer a fine view over the village and the surrounding countryside.
Better still, follow the yellow trail and go for a walk through the Dolina Saspowska (Saspow Valley). It's a marvellous walk at this time of year. After about five minutes or so you will emerge from the trees into a dreamy glade - you half expect Gandalf the wizard to emerge from the undergrowth, blowing a few smoke rings from his pipe.
Carry on for a while and the glades get ever more wide and impressive. It's the perfect way to spend an afternoon over the next few days. But hurry, as in a week or so's time the best will be over. We reckon that by about 20th October the richest colours will have passed.
To get to Ojcow you can take a bus from the main station (at the moment this means in front of the eastern wing of the train station, due to renovation works). The journey takes about forty minutes.
After you have finished your adventures in the forest, we'd recommend a hearty lunch in the old 'Bat' (Nietoperz) Tavern. They serve an excellent Zurek soup that's sure to warm the cockles, and the Zywiec beer doesn't taste at all bad either. God Speed dear wayfarers!