Rally Poland-Slovakia-Austria
Winter ...the peasant triumphs. And we, in a team of 2 people and a four-door "C" class sedan, went on the first car trip in Europe, driving 3000 km as a result along the winter roads of Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia and Austria.
Let's start from the end, summing up: 1. Winter roads are fraught with a lot of surprises, so driving in winter is not comfortable. However, a significant advantage of a trip at this time of the year is the lack of traffic on the road and the crowds of people near the main attractions. 2. In terms of money, the trip is not cheap, something like flying there and back by plane, taking into account the cost of gasoline, toll roads and various unforeseen expenses along the way. However, the high cost is offset by the ability to easily move anywhere in the country and change the route any number of times. 3.
For comfortable movement with a full-fledged sightseeing, it is necessary to correctly calculate the travel time and the number of days, so that the rally "gallop across Europe" does not turn out. In any case, given the distance, it is not worth going for less than a week. If time permits, take two. 4. Navigation. In the process of preparing for the road, we purchased a high-resolution atlas of European roads and took a GPS navigator with us, which helped us a lot in orienting ourselves on the ground.
The first day. Ukraine (Kyiv) - Poland (Pshemysl). Mileage 644km.
We left on the road at 11 am, on the border with Poland "Shegeni" were around 21-00, the road to the border was under repair in some places, so it turns from a four-lane into an ordinary two-lane. But in general, there are no complaints. We crossed the border in 25 minutes, there were no cars in the queue at all. The Pole at the border apparently liked our car very much, because he asked everything in detail and kept repeating "motsna" and "duzha" all the time : )
We spent the night in Przemysl, Gromada 3* hotel. The hotel is very well located - 7 minutes to the city center, river view, however, it is not cheap - PLN 205, including breakfast and car parking. The hotel is pleasant to stay, but I probably will not recommend it because of its high cost.
Second day. Poland (Pshemysl) - Poland (Zakopane). Mileage 331km.
In the morning we walked around the city, it was snowing wet, so the walk was reduced to one hour and headed towards the ski resort of Zakopane. Przemysl was not surprised by anything. Maybe because the snow didn't really let you see anything, or maybe because there wasn't much to see in this small town. The road in Zakopane turned out to be difficult and mountainous, some sections had to be driven at a speed of 30 km / h, taking into account sharp turns and rises, besides, the road was poorly cleaned, which made our movement even more difficult.
As a result, we got to the resort late at night. Having had a quick dinner in one of the local "huts", we were surprised to find that there were not so many free places for spending the night. As a result, we spent the night in one of the "Pensions" with an old Polish woman, who rented us the last room somewhere almost under the roof of the house, taking 80 zlotys from us. As it turned out as a result of inquiries, for one night they take from 100 zł per room. The room has everything you need, we had everything in wood, tablecloths and pictures, in general, very colorful : )
Food in Zakopane: just huge portions, a whole trough of meat, potatoes, salads and sauces (18 zł ) - I advise you to take only for two, in general, dinner from the first and second with a snack for two cost 40 zł.
MC'Donald's: It's very convenient to stop at this chain establishment on the way, using the toilet and Wi-Fi, which is always free here. By the way, a light snack will cost 20 PLN.
Poland (Zakopane) - Poland (Wieliczka) - Poland (Krakow). Mileage 135 km.
In the morning of a new day, we decided to get acquainted with the resort and went to the Harenda ski area. Unfortunately, I can’t describe the difficulty of the track, because we don’t ski, but the view from the mountain is very beautiful. At the same time, it is the newest ski resort with a well-developed infrastructure. One-time ascent and descent per person costs PLN 5. But we bought a wonderful sledge - a plastic trough on a rope and set off again.
Velichka. Salt mines.
In order to descend to a depth of 135 meters and walk two kilometers of drifts underground, accompanied by a tour guide, you need to come up in advance and select the group of interest by paying the entrance ticket. The mine is open to the public from 7.30 to 19.30 in the spring-summer period and from 8.00 to 17.00 in the autumn-winter period.
We had to pay PLN 136 for a tour in English, unfortunately, excursions in Russian are not held here during the off-season. Tourists go down the stairs (380 steps) to the I level (64 meters) into the salt mine. The ascent from level III (135 meters) to the surface is carried out by an elevator along the Danilovich shaft. Even if you are not impressed by the underground world of the dwarves, at least for the sake of this wonderful structure it is worth going underground once : )
We arrived in Krakow in the evening and settled in the Hotel Swing 4 *. I really liked the hotel. Its main advantage, perhaps, is its location next to the Aquapark in Krakow and its relatively inexpensive cost - PLN 200 for two with breakfast. This price includes free access to the sauna in the hotel and 1 hour in the Aqua Park for each resident. The rooms are clean and well maintained, the breakfasts are European, quite decent.
The only drawback I can call its location - it is far enough from the center and is designed for group bus tours, so the hotel is always full of guests.
Day four. Poland (Krakow) - Slovakia (Zilina) Mileage 230 km.
In the morning in Krakow, we decided to go to the Aquapark. For those who doubt whether it is worth visiting - if you live in the Swing Hotel or go on a long journey and pass through Krakow - it is worth it to freshen up or use your "countermark". But it's not worth going here. The water park is small in size, while a third of it belongs to the children's aqua zone, the slides are ordinary, the water is cool and full of local grandparents. It is extremely popular among the Poles, apparently because nothing new has been built yet.
Krakow. The walk around Krakow took several hours. We walked around the old part of the city, went to a local restaurant, a coffee shop, and set off again.
In the city, we found a free parking lot near the Krakowska Gallery hypermarket, which is an abandoned wasteland with several hundred cars, mud, puddles and a rutted primer. But absolutely free : )
On the way to Slovakia, heavy snow began and we were forced to spend the night in Zilina, having difficulty finding an adequate place to sleep. In Slovakia, we were unpleasantly surprised by housing prices - for 3 stars of a mediocre hotel they asked for at least 100 euros, so having found 3 stars of the Slovan Hotel at a super discount of 56 Euros in the back alleys, dissatisfied and tired, we stayed the night.
Vignette: In Slovakia there is a network of toll roads, so immediately after crossing the "border" we bought it at the minimum cost - 10 Euros for 10 days in the nearest shop on the highway. You should not abuse the hospitality of the Slovaks: you can drive more than one hundred kilometers and suddenly “run into” a police search.
We saw one of these at the exit from the toll road to the regular one, where a police patrol checked every car. The fines here are simply huge, so people follow the rules, we specifically checked such “stickers” in the parking lot of local cars.
Border: The borders between European countries in the Schengen area look very interesting. Checkpoints remained, only now no one stops there, well, except for a cup of coffee in a nearby shop.
Day five. Slovakia (Zilina) - Austria (Vienna). Mileage 290 km.
Considering that breakfast in this “hole” turned out to be disgusting, we hurried to leave this unpleasant place as soon as possible. Vienna was ahead of us.
We reached the capital of Austria in the afternoon. We had to circle around the city for a bit before we figured out how to park the car.
The fact is that in Vienna all parking lots are paid, for improper parking they put a blocker on the wheels or take them to a penalty area. Even here, fines are successfully practiced, which are issued for EVERY hour of parking. But we did not find parking meters to purchase the necessary parking ticket. As it turned out later, we had to look for kiosks and small shops with the inscription TABAK / TRAFIK, where we could buy our right to park. Parking in the city costs an average of 1.3 Euro / hour. At the same time, all cars are parked neatly and do not interfere with traffic, which is strictly monitored by police cars plying around the city, of which there are a lot.
We decided to break our walk around the city into two parts - to go part of the route in the evening of this day and devote the whole next day to Vienna. It is very convenient to travel around the city by metro, a one-time trip costs 1.8 Euro. At the same time, no one checks the tickets, the turnstile is open for entry and exit.
Naturally, if you run into the controller inside, the fine will be very high. It is convenient to start the tourist route from Stephansplatz, where St. Stephen's Cathedral is located. Entrance to the Cathedral is free, it is very beautiful inside - the whole hall is illuminated by multi-colored rays, which are given by stained-glass windows on the windows. In general, I recommend going to all the churches that will be on your way - each of them is individual and does not look like the others! In Vienna for the first time I tried roasted chestnuts, it turned out to be very tasty. To taste, this masterpiece resembles a sweet potato. Already late in the evening we reached the opera and had dinner at one of the local restaurants, ordering a Viennese schnitzel and apple strudel with mulled wine (30 Euros for two). Be sure to try!
Vienna is an expensive city, so you could not count on cheap hotel accommodation.
However, we were lucky, and after searching for 3 * (96 euros without parking), we stopped right in the city center, a few dozen meters from St. Stephen's Cathedral at the Hotel Royal 4 * for 108 Euros (the hotel had a discount), paying for parking another 35 Euro (what can you do, Vienna... ). Family hotel, network. Small and very cozy, classic 4 * with a delicious breakfast, polite staff and a great location. True, the hotel does not have its own parking, but there is a service - delivery of a car to the hotel door for a certain time.
Day six. Austria (Vienna) - Slovakia (Povazhska Bystrica). Mileage 240km.
We were lucky with the weather today - it was sunny all day +8. Apparently, this is also why Vienna was remembered as the brightest day of our trip.
After spending about 3 hours to see the main sights of Vienna (Kohlmarkt, Graben, Karntnerstrasse - the three main streets of the historical center, the boulevard ring - the Ring, the city park, the Parliament building, the City Hall, the Hofburg royal palace, the Stock Exchange, the twin museums ... ), we went to Schö nbrunn.
Schonbrunn Palace (Schonbrunn), the summer residence of the Austrian emperors. How to get there: From the Schwedenplatz stop in the direction of Hutteldorf, take the green subway line (U4) to the Schonbrunn station in about 20 minutes.
I must say right away that it will take at least one day to see all the sights, including the museum in the palace. Therefore, we walked around the territory with an ascent to the observation deck and visited the zoo (28 Euro). The zoo is just wonderful - small, compact, with beautiful well-groomed little animals. Recommend!
Hundertwasser House. How to get there: Take tram 1 from the Schwedenplatz stop in the direction of Prater-Hauptallee to the Hetzgasse stop.
The house is very original, with its unimaginable mixture of styles, it resembles a fairy-tale hut-palace. The hut opposite has its own museum where you can buy all sorts of funny little things and go to the toilet ...go in, it's in the same style: ) The toilet is paid, but very original.
Horses. There are a lot of horse teams in Vienna. The horses are clean and well-groomed, but a ride through the streets of Vienna is not cheap - 40 Euros 20 minutes on the shortest route.
Souvenirs: The Viennese honor Mozart very much, so images of the great maestro are literally everywhere - from cheap Chinese cups, sweets, liqueurs, to expensive exquisite things. The Viennese Sachertorte, an invention of the Austrian confectioner Franz Sacher, is sold in special wooden boxes. The cake is very popular. It is stored for several weeks, made from dark dark chocolate, cognac, apricot jam and biscuit dough.
The price of a masterpiece is from 15 euros, but I didn’t like it - apparently a matter of taste : )
The rest of the day we were on the territory of neighboring Slovakia, where fog and sleet awaited us. I had to spend the night in the nearest town - Povazhska Bystrica. Bearing in mind the prices in Slovakia, we easily found a hotel (Bothe) for 51 Euros. The hotel at the entrance to the city, resembles a roadside motel, quite suitable for one night.
Day seven. Slovakia - Poland - Ukraine. Mileage 530km.
We spent the entire seventh day of our journey on the road, returning to the border with Ukraine. Our plans were to cross the border and spend the night in our native land. Having reached the Polish-Ukrainian border "Krakowets" at about 10 am, we crossed the border in about 4 hours, given the length of the queue and the throughput of customs. It was not difficult to find the hotel - about 1 km from the highway there was a sign to the ARTA motel, where we spent the night.
The motel is a wooden frame - the main building and wooden houses inside the courtyard with 100% audibility of the walls. It felt like we and our neighbors on the left and right were living in one big room. The price of such a pleasure is 200 UAH, including breakfast - two slices of bread, butter, 3 eggs and tea / coffee to choose from. Here it is, Motherland!
Day eight. Kyiv. Mileage 600km.
Well, here we are at home. After driving more than 3000 km, tired but satisfied, we returned home.
