Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Monday 8th of July
08.27 Good Monday morning from Hotel Flisak (https://flisak.eu) in Sandomierz, Poland. A new week has just begun. Around this date it usually feels like we are at the deepest point of our summer vacation. Outside someone can be heard and a lone pigeon cooing. Today we will return the backpacks again for a number of hours. However, there will be no excursion to another city today. We will look around here in Sandomierz and then travel on by train in the evening.
08.44 Christer has just received a message with the codes to get us into the next accommodation tonight. Now we just have to get there. Before that, there are other things we have to get to. Next, the breakfast table awaits.
09.45 After we´ve had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we will now pack up what we will be leaving here for a few hours. In addition, the smaller backpacks must be brought along. Soon we leave yet another hotel to see yet another city.
10.08 It went just fine to leave the big backpacks in an office near the room where we slept last night. Now we have a few hours to spend here in the city. Right now we are sitting at a large brick gate called Brama Opatowska. Diagonally above us, a sculpture stands/walks on a rope.
10.22 We have moved to a bench near a bus stop. From here, we intend to study how traveling by bus works. We are thinking about which bus to take, whether we can pay by card or whether coins are needed. It is also good to know how often they depart. We are not too eager to walk all the way to the train station again. It was difficult to say the least.
10.42 We are not much wiser about the bus. Instead, we walked towards more central parts and sat down on a bench in Rynek Starego Miasta (Old Town Square). From here we hear a guide who tells us something in Polish to what we assume are tourists. Next to us is also a long line of electric cars waiting to drive tourists around the city.
11.00 The church bells are ringing from the city's cathedral and we are currently looking up at the city's castle, Zamek Królewski w Sandomierzu. We still haven't decided how to get to the train station.
11.10 Indeed we have managed to find a new bench to sit on. We are in a small park near the cathedral. Is it on this bench that we will succeed in solving the transport problem? Around us there is little activity by park workers. At the beginning of the park there is also a memorial stone dedicated to the residents of Sandomierz who died during World War II.
11.30 There is a plan. We have relaxed so much today that we made new plans. It will actually be a needed walk to the railway station again during the afternoon. The park workers have now received reinforcements in the form of crews and a small excavator.
15.47 We were served an appropriate amount of food but it was nothing extra, actually one of the worst meals of the trip. Then the drinks were all the more interesting, local beer from Bałtów, about 50 kilometers north of Sandomierz. Now it's time to hopefully pick up the backpacks.
20.12 Our train has been stationary for a while. It has been disconnected. Some carriages continue north towards Lublin, but the carriages we are in continue east to Zamość.
Tuesday 9th of July
Peter is having breakfast at Hotel Flisak.
Brama Opatowska, Sandomierz.
Peter on Opatowska street.
A sculpture walks on a rope.
The Town Hall (Ratusz) in Sandomierz behind the pillar of the Immaculate Virgin.
Tourist vehicles on the main square.
The city castle, Zamek Królewski w Sandomierzu.
Here you can learn about what it is like to be a knight.
The Gothic Town Hall in Sandomierz.
Restauracja Lunch Cafe, Sandomierz.
The drinks have arrived.
We are eating pierogi for lunch.
Rynek Starego Miasto (Old Town Square), Sandomierz.
Afternoon spent in Plac Jana Pawła II.
A tourist car passes our dinner restaurant.
Waiting for the train in Sandomierz.
Time to change trains.
We navigate through the darkness towards the center of Zamość.
08.21 There was a great need for sleep after the intense day yesterday. We're actually not going to go by train today. It had been a long time since we were actually stationary for a whole day. It hasn't happened since in Budapest.
09.48 Today, as I said, will be a quiet day. It has started with breakfast. From the breakfast room we had a nice view of the church outside the hotel. 10.51 Even if we are not going to travel today, we have to travel and go out. It will be interesting to see Zamość in natural light. Zamość is not just any city. It has a special history. The city was founded in 1580 as a planned city by the Polish magnate Jan Zamoyski. He commissioned an Italian architect to create the perfect city that would outshine Kraków. It was built on the trade route between the Black Sea and northern Europe and is considered a perfect example of a Renaissance city. Today, 66,034 inhabitants live here. 11.01 We have left our windowless existence in the hotel and stepped out into the street. We start the city tour by looking at and photographing the church Kościół Rzymskokatolicki pw. Zwiastowania NMP. 11.18 It is a warm and thankfully also a bit windy day. On the beautiful square Rynek Wielki stands a guitarist. It is a square surrounded by beautiful colourful houses. As so often in Polish cities, the heart of the city consists of a beautiful square, but this is probably one of the nicest we've been to. 11.36 We have walked further through the city center and have reached the city wall. Behind me is the fortification and the wooden bridge to the Lublin Gate (Brama Lubelska). It is a lovely Polish summer day today, +29°C.
A teddy bear at Hotel Sukcesor.
Kościół Rzymskokatolicki pw. Zwiastowania NMP.
Hotel Sukcesor, a brand new hotel in Zamość.
You can cool off in the square.
Ratusz w Zamościu, the town hall.
Colourful houses on Rynek Wielki.
11.49 Between us on a sunny bench made of metal and wood and an equally sunny city wall and brick fortification, two gentlemen drive around a little randomly with their lawnmower tractors. Here we sit really comfortably. A breeze means we don't feel the heat from the sun. At the same time, it's a bit dangerous, you can easily sit here for too long and burn yourself.
12.14 Some distance away, a man drives a model airplane that goes around in reasonably regular turns. We ourselves take it easy on a shadier bench. Soon we are heading towards the center again. 12.43 Restauracja Muzealna Ormiańskie Piwnice (https://ormianskiepiwnice.pl), an Armenian restaurant, has been visited. Among the visitors are two gentlemen from Sweden. We decided it was time to have lunch. We sit in a perfect location at an outdoor restaurant on the beautiful square. 13.30 The two Swedes enjoyed Armenian food and drinks in the Polish city. In addition to Armenian dishes, we also managed to find beer from Armenia, Kilikia. 13.50 It is calm and relaxing in the city park, Park Miejski. The birds are active in the trees. Visiting parks is a great way to relax. As so often, we reflect on why Sweden lacks these wonderful parks. Is it because of the climate or are our cities too small? 14.40 After quenching our thirst for reading and ordinary thirst, we are now on our way out of the park. On our way we have passed a bridge with sporadic love padlocks. 15.03 We have not yet been able to completely tear ourselves away from the park. It's nice here and also shady. 15.17 Now that's enough park time. It's time to try to find your way home to the hotel. As I said, parks are good to have.
Rynek Solny, Zamość.
The city wall that protected the city from attacks, from Swedes and others.
Brama Lubelska, one of the city gates.
Brama Lwowska Stara, the old Lvov Gate.
It will be Armenian lunch today.
Armenian food in various forms.
15.29 We have walked along the city wall on our way home. We just came to the beautiful city gate that we saw in the dark last night. It's called Brama Szczebrzeska.
16.00 After a visit to a shop (Swojak Market) near the hotel, we are now back home. The room is not cleaned, but the rubbish is gone. In addition, we have received a new toilet roll. 16.47 It's a real mess when Christer is going to buy train tickets for upcoming trips here in Poland. He cannot access the mobile bank ID required to confirm the payment. 17.41 The ticket app that was messed up has been reinstalled. Fingers crossed that it works now. Nah, same now. We really need to get the tickets. Maybe another app works? 17.56 OK, same devilry even with another app. Can the payment method be changed? 18.01 There are continuing problems with ticket purchases. We really need the tickets. Some of the ones we are trying to buy are almost out of stock. Extra diabolical is that in the distance we hear a train honking its horn. 18.50 To hell with everything. I too have failed to purchase through the app. In the tennis at Wimbledon, as it is customary to watch, the Russian Daniil Medvedev has beaten world number one Jannik Sinner from Italy 3-2 in sets.
We visit the city park, Park Miejski.
We continue to discover the park.
Flowers and water in Park Miejski.
Brama Szczebrzeska, the southwestern city gate.
A footbridge over the railway.
Folk music during the Eurofolk festival.
19.29 There was a change of tactics to solve the ticket problem. Tickets were bought on Christer's mobile with my card details. Then the other device option was clicked. The QR code was scanned with my mobile and suddenly we had our tickets. There is more than one way to cut a cake and skin a cat.
19.59 Eurofolk, The International Folklore Festival (https://zamojszczyzna.com.pl/en/eurofolk/), offers folk dancing and singing from a stage in the square. We have been enjoying the wonderful atmosphere here on the square for a while. A few young nuns also stood and danced shyly to the music. Now we are at Restauracja Bohema (https://bohemazamosc.pl) for dinner. Here we have made an order of deer meat and will drink green beer, Zielone Biłgorajskie. 20.40 The green beer had a weird taste but it was a heavenly taste when we enjoyed the deer with side dishes. We chose a table directly facing the square and had a really lovely restaurant experience with good food and folk music in the background. 21.03 Satisfied with the evening, we now watch the penultimate semi-final in the football European Championship, Spain plays against France. 21.09 A cut-in, a jump, a header and it's 1-0 to France through Randal Kolo Muani. There is a good tempo in the match. 21.23 A new goal has been scored which also guarantees more goals in the match. Spain have equalized through the youngster Lamine Yamal. 21.26 Here it goes. Now Spain leads the match with 2-1. Dani Olmo is the goalscorer.
A lovely evening on the square.
There will be green beer for tonight's dinner.
Christer visits Restauracja Bohema.
Tonight's dinner was of the highest quality.
Peter is enjoying a good dinner.
Bohema's lantern shines at dusk.
21.53 There is a break in the semi-finals. It is time for the players who have been on the pitch but also for us to recharge.
22.04 We do not know what the players and referees have done during the break. However, we have had time for coffee and cookies. Now the second half has started. 22.29 There are chances both ways but no serious attempt to score any more goals. 22.55 Paella has defeated escargot. Spain has reached another championship final. Now we have more train tickets to buy. 23.31 Now we have booked two tickets each for upcoming Polish train journeys. Luckily we finally found a working way to book.
Wednesday 10th of July
08.40 This day is also starting so slowly. Today everything is back to normal. Today we will use a train to change hometowns. But a lot will happen before then.
09.05 Now we are ready to eat our breakfast two floors up here at Hotel Sukcesor. Is breakfast ready for us? 10.11 The breakfasts were certainly ready to be received by us. Most of it is now ready. However, there will be a small time gap between check-out and departure, but we will fill that in somehow. We'll probably eat lunch before we get on the train. 11.04 Calmly and quietly we left the hotel, walked through the warm city and are now on a bench in the city park, Park Miejski. On the way here we looked at two sights we missed yesterday, partly the statue of the city's founder Jan Zamoyski but also the cathedral that Zamoyski had built. 11.43 It's hot today too. It is certainly relaxing to read our books, but the heat weakens the desire to read. Representatives from the local population and perhaps others regularly pass by us. 12.24 Here at Parkowa Caffe in the middle of the park's greenery, I ordered beer, pilsner lager in a bottle when I wanted a draft beer. I got the last bottle of Duma Wschodu Lager. Christer received a draft beer of the Zwierzyniec type. Well, got and got, he'll probably have to pay for it. In addition to beer, we have also ordered our lunches. 13.16 After lunch, we started moving towards the place where trains roll in and out. Right now we have made a stop on a bench. Soon we will continue walking.
Breakfast at Hotel Sukcesor.
Jan Zamoyski, founder of the city of Zamość.
Zamość Cathedral.
Back in Park Miejski.
We have lunch at Parkowa Caffe.
Back at the railway station in Zamość.
13.42 It was easier to walk to the railway station in daylight. The troublesome thing this time was that it is around +30˚C hot. We are now at platform 1 and waiting at track 1. Soon we will get on the train that will take us north to Lublin, a city we visited before. We spent the night there both in 2000 and 2002.
13.54 Thank you that there is plenty of room in the cool train. There is room for us and our backpacks. 14.53 Forest and cultivated land pass outside. We take a slow regional train that makes lots of stops. Now we stop in Wólka Orłowska. 15.37 We are getting closer and closer to old hunting grounds, a familiar place. 16.20 So after twenty-two years we are back in Lublin, south-eastern Poland's largest city. After buying drinks, we now stand outside the Lublin Główny railway station and look towards the building where our old accomodation Piast was located. The sign is still there but it is doubtful that there is any business there now. A group of addicts has gathered outside the door we entered through when we checked in there many years ago. This time we will stay somewhere else. To get there we have to start walking. 16.46 There are benches in the large Park Ludowy. It's a park we used to sit in, a park where people are out jogging. The last time we were in the city, we visited the Majdanek concentration camp on the outskirts of the city. We intend to make a return visit, but we will get details about that later. Lublin, which has a history as a multicultural city, has been designated European Capital of Culture in 2029. There are 328,413 inhabitants here. 17.10 It is not so easy to find the right way to the accommodation, but now I think we have a handle on it.
Peter is waiting for the train to Lublin.
We stayed in this building in 2000 and 2002. The accommodation was called Piast.
Lublin Główny railway station.
Bystrzyca flows through Lublin.
Finally arrived at our accommodation.
hostels-iroom, Lublin.
17.14 It is not entirely easy to find the accommodation we have booked. We followed Google Maps suggested walking route and ended up in some narrow back streets where some elderly locals looked at us in surprise. Apparently this must be the right way after all. We continue forward.
17.28 Our accommodation is called Iroom (https://iroom.pl), our room has the number I01. We stay in the basement of a new modern building with self check-in. In addition to our room, we have access to a small kitchen and a laundry room with a washing machine, excellent. 18.48 With showered bodies and fluids topped up, we will become more familiar with the accommodation and also with the surroundings. 19.11 Indoors, we took a closer look at both the kitchen and the laundry room. These will be studied in more detail later. Outside, we found the restaurant Chata (https://chata.lublin.pl) a little further away. Here we have ordered food (grilled skewers) and beer. The restaurant with regional Polish food is supposed to represent an older wooden house and there is a cozy atmosphere in here among the wooden tables. 19.57 It was another delicious dinner. We were each served a huge barbecue skewer with a smaller vegetable skewer as a side dish. Even the beer spread joy. 20.33 The joy from the dinner seemed to wear off when it comes to the purchases at the Lewiatan supermarket. The selection was meager to say the least when we tried to buy tomorrow's breakfast, but at least there was something to eat. Now we are preparing for the second semi-final of the football European Championship, England will play the Netherlands. 21.02 For the second time in my life I see an important football match in Lublin. In 2002 it was the World Cup final between Germany and Brazil. Then a drunk Pole fell on top of me. Now it's the semifinals of European Championship 2024 and there is not a Pole in sight. We watch the match in our room. 21.08 The orange-clad from the Netherlands get off to a flying start and make it 1-0 through Xavi Simons.
Chata, Polish restaurant in Lublin.
Peter awaits food and drink.
Christer has dinner at Chata's.
The food has arrived.
We say thank you and goodbye to a nice restaurant.
Beer and football in our room.
21.11 After a VAR review of a situation in front of goal, England receive a penalty.
21.18 Harry Kane scores without any frills. There are different opinions about the punishment. Who really kicked who? 21.41 There is a certain English advantage in the match and it is hot in the room. My pens are not feeling well. 21.49 It's half-time in the semi-finals and the air is completely still in our room. We would have liked to have a classic AC equipment here. 22.33 There is varied ball possession and chances in the second half. 22.52 In the final seconds of regular time, England suddenly make it 2-1 through substitute Ollie Watkins. The Netherlands does not have time to recover from this. 22.56 Will the Spanish Armada shake up England in the upcoming final on Sunday? My replaced pen works better than the predecessor.
Thursday 11th of July
08.15 It has worked for us to sleep in this room as well. Now we are ready to tackle today's tasks. We'll see if we manage to get to the Majdanek concentration camp. It's a long way there and the day will be very hot. We'll see what we're up to.
09.01 It's time to go into the kitchen and fix the breakfast we bought yesterday. 09.28 It wasn't the most advanced breakfast because of the meager selection in the store yesterday. The juice had a taste that reminded me of industry. 10.30 Now that the day is reasonably planned, we will now go out into the city's streets and try to find where we want to go. 10.44 Christer has had problems with an ear. Possibly, it is a wax plug that causes problems with hearing. Because of that, we are looking for a suitable pharmacy. There should be various products with olive oil that can hopefully solve the whole thing. 11.01 It is hot on our walk towards the central parts of Lublin. Can we really make it out to Majdanek later today? It's a number of kilometers to get there and the heat is already making us tired.
A simple breakfast in the common kitchen.
A hot day on the streets of Lublin.
Krakowskie Przedmieście, Lublin.
Brama Krakowska (Kraków Gate).
We walk into the Stare Miasto (Old Town).
Christer has located a pharmacy.
11.18 We have reached a well-visited pedestrian street in the city center. It is called Krakowskie Przedmieście. We have walked here before. We remember an incident from a previous visit when I mistook a list of names for a leaflet. I took the paper and left. The person collecting signatures didn't like it.
11.23 We need shade, coolness and coffee. A little way from where we are sitting, there is a city gate into the Old Town, Kraków gate (Brama Krakowska). 11.31 We entered through the gate, passed a girl playing the guitar and entered the cozy streets of the old town. There is probably a cafe here, let's hope. 11.55 We found no suitable place with coffee, only restaurants. It was time to go out the gate again and pretty soon the coffee chain Cofix appeared. Now it will be coffee with snacks. 12.43 Satisfied and happy, we left the café. There will be no camp visit to Majdanek. It's way too hot and besides, time is running out to get there and also see it properly. Instead, we have walked to a pharmacy in the Doz chain. It is located in the Old Town just after Kraków Gate. As I said, Christer needs to find something that can fix his swollen ear. 13.08 The girl behind the counter did not understand what Christer meant despite a written note in Polish. She thought he wanted earplugs to block out disturbing sounds. He took help from Google to get the name of a product which led to a purchase of the spray Aurivox. Now we are on a bench near the castle Zamek w Lublinie. A first dose of Aurivox has been applied to the ear.
Rynek, Old Town's market square.
Plenty of restaurants but no café.
Grodzka Street in the oldest parts of Lublin.
The remains of Michael's Church (Kościół św. Michała Archanioła)
Finally we found a café.
Christer visits Cofix.
13.34 Now flowers are blooming in the flower box next to me. We are at the brewery pub Browar Grodzki (https://grodzka15.pl) for lunch.
14.25 The beers weren't bad and the food wasn't bad either. However, slightly cooler surroundings would have been fine. It is +34°C today here in Lublin. 14.34 We are back on the Krakowskie Przedmieście pedestrian street. There are a lot of people on the move. We follow the street in the direction of our accommodation. 14.39 We have stopped by and photographed a declaration of love to the city. I love Lublin is written in large letters on the square Plac Litewski. Nearby there is also a large fountain and a statue of Poland's first head of state, Józef Piłsudski. 14.45 Now that will be enough outdoor walking. Now the journey home is imminent. We have quite a long way to go before we reach the accommodation. 15.33 On the way home we made various purchases in a Żabka shop. Now it will be siesta. 17.21 Now we have launched two projects, we have boiled water in the kettle for the coffee and started the washing machine for Christer's laundry. If he succeeds in that, I will do the same while his laundry tumbles. It is rare that we machine wash on our trips. It is important to take advantage of it when the opportunity exists.
The castle in Lublin.
Here was the border of the Lublin ghetto that the Nazis established.
Peter takes notes before ordering lunch.
Plenty of beer bottles at Browar Grodzki.
We leave the pleasant brewery pub Browar Grodzki.
A declaration of love to the city.
18.29 Christer's laundry is done. What we thought was a dryer was a second washing machine. In the first machine, my laundry is now running.
19.31 Now that my laundry is also done, we are soon ready to head out into the warm Lublin summer evening. 20.26 On the way to dinner I visited a mall, Lublin Plaza. There I bought four pens that I hope will work better than the ones I already have. Now we have arrived at the Ukrainian restaurant Kalyna. My dish, pork medallions, was not available so I ordered the same dish as Christer made. There will be homemade sausages. Of course, we also take the opportunity to drink Ukrainian beer, Lvivske 1715. 21.20 It took some time to get the long-awaited food. Now that it is here, I can state that it is good, so good that this note will be short. 22.08 On the way home from the Ukrainian dinner, we bought some products for the early breakfast tomorrow morning. Now we are at home and will get ready for tomorrow. 23.26 Tomorrow a long journey to the next Polish city awaits. Before it starts, some things have to be done, among other things we have to sleep. That's something I'm going to get ready for now.
A beautiful monastery at Plac Litewski.
The fountain Multimedialna w Lublinie.
Beyond the flowers, Józef Piłsudski sits on a horse.
Tonight we´ll visit the Ukrainian restaurant Kalyna.
The interior of the evening's dinner restaurant.
Peter is eating Ukrainian sausages.
You can see 44 photos from July 8 in this photoalbum.
You can see 69 photos from July 9 in this photoalbum.
You can see 32 photos from July 10 in this photoalbum.
You can see 64 photos from July 11 in this photoalbum.