August 13

It was very foggy when we woke up but, by noon, the fog lifted and we headed off to Poland to visit Karpacz and Kowary, two small towns that Pavel had recommended, less than two hours from the Polish border .

Karpacz, situated in the Karkanosze mountains, has become an important center for hiking and skiing in Poland as an alternative to the Alps. The first settlements in the area of Karpacz, probably of Celtic origin who came in search of gold, date back to the 3rd or 4th century BC. However, the first mention of a permanent location, within the current boundaries of the town, dates to the beginning of the 15th century.

When we drove into the town, the traffic was bumper to bumper and then we heard the roaring of, what seemed like, hundreds of motorcycles. We saw a big banner across one of the main streets and realized that there was some kind of Harley Davidson festival or rally going on. So, rather than fight the traffic, we turned off and drove up to the top of the town to visit the Wang Church.

Wang Church was built at the turn of the 12th century in Vang, Norway, which accounts for it's present name . About a thousand wooden (stave) churches were built there at that time but, today, there are only thirty one that survived in Norway and this one in Karpacz. In the nineteenth century, Wang Church proved too small and in need of costly renovation, and so a decision was made to sell the church. Owing to the involvement of Countess Frederica von Reden of Bukowiec, in the spring of 1842, the church was moved to the Karkonosze Mountains, journeying on barges along the river Odra to be later hauled by nine horse wagons, so that it could be of use to the Lutherans living in Karpacz and its surroundings.

Built in the same way the Viking longships were, out of Norwegian pine without a single nail and using wooden bolts and dovetails, this unique work of the old Nordic art is one of the best examples of the Scandinavian sacral architecture and the world's most visited stave church.

We spent some time admiring the simplicity and workmanship of this little jewel and walking through the adjacent historic cemetery to see the spectacular view of the valley below . The church borders on the Karkanosze National park with six trails that lead up to Mt. Sniezka on the Czech border.  We took a lovely hike, part way up one of the trails, before finding a place to eat lunch. We happened upon an outdoor restaurant, overlooking a little gorge, and had a fabulous late lunch while being entertained by a duo of musicians playing traditional Czech music as well as American favorites. They were quite good and this festive atmosphere was a perfect way to end our visit to Karpacz before heading to Kowary.

We were expecting to find one of the famous castles in Kowary but, instead, there was a theme park, more for kids, and a section that had miniatures of the castles in the area. Instead of paying to view this Disneyland type park, we decided to find the real castle later in the week and headed back to our beautiful mountain retreat.