Overland to visit The Great Escape Museum in Poland

[XCovlov70]

Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.

The other part of yesterday spent in Kłodsko Old Town…

Along this street which came in handy was a Bank & ATM to be able to get some Polish Currency to pay for the car park and a few other items!...


Then after getting the cash we head over to the town square….


With this elongated Ice Cream, Coffee, & Hot Dog Truck that looked like it had never moved in a long time as the front tyre on the other side was nearly flat!....






Then after going off down one of the side streets we come to….




With the view on each side looking down and along the river….




As we look back the other way we can see one shop on the left hand side at the end of the bridge that specialises in second hand clothes brought over from the UK and being sold for higher prices here, while there is a second shop on the opposite corner with more designer labelled clothes in from the UK!....


Next was a church with a turbulent history, of which there seem to be a number in different towns/cities!....





In Grottger Street, at the height of the second floor, you can see this Wolf with its tongue hanging out. A legend said that there would be a time when the wolf will drink water from the Nysa river, and it happened in 1977, when the river rose over 8 meters!...








A little Fiat ‘Hot Rod’!….


Another bridge into the town centre….




This doorway entrance was rather strange as it was set forward by around 2 feet as though the rest of the previous building fell down and the house behind was built but the doorway was never removed!....


Lunchtime, and it was a late lunch of Polish Goulash Soup followed by a Spinach & Cheese ‘Pancake’ with Salad, while to drink which I forgot to include in the picture was a drink made of Celery, Kiwi & Apple Juice and it was rather nice, while the food was very tasty and filling! Cost was under £4 ($5.60)….


Lunch over and as we went back in another direction we see this other building….




The front of the Town Hall….


Then along the side of the Town Hall….




We then turn left at the second side street which shows us as we get to the end a short Tunnel….


While directly in front is the side gate to another church….




After reading the information on the plaque we went inside….








Then it was back to the carpark and head off to the Supermarket for some fresh vegetables before we went back to the campsite….

[XCovlov70]

Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.

The trip to Wambierzyce which has a Basilica based on St Peters Church in Rome…


As we came into the town we could see the Basilica up ahead along with the ‘P’ parking signs which after finding a place we then found out that the charges were 3zl/hour while in Kłodsko it was 2zl for the day!

No wonder they welcome the tourists and Large Buses here….


One of the Town Gates!....


The centre of the town….


The Basilica….


As we then ventured up the steps to the entrance to the Basilica on our right were some alcoves with statues depicting various Bible scenes but the light and faded colours on the statues did not lend itself to taking pictures….


So we then set off up the remaining steps….


Turning left as we got to the top of the steps as that was the suggested ‘tour route’….






As we went along the passage way and turned right we came to 2 small chapels….












From there and turning right we enter the centre of the Basilica….




On either side of the Altar we see 2 cases with small carved silver ornaments in but no information as to what they were.
Having never seen this before we asked a lady what they represented, and after 10 minutes we spoke with a man who explained that they were given to the Basilica by parishioners as a memento….


The central altar….


The second case….


The ceiling of the Basilica….


As we then moved out into the side corridor we see this what looked like a very old set of small paintings in a frame behind glass depicting various scenes….




Then further along the corridor we came to a special alcove whom the face of the person there in the plaque I don’t think anyone will fail to recognise….


Then along another corridor….


As we emerge into the outside….


If you then go down the steps on the left hand side and between the alcoves you will come to this area at the side of the Basilica which is also another entrance….


As we made our way back to the carpark we spot another Town Gate….


As we then see one of several small ‘roadside chapels’ in various places around the centre of the town…


Back in ‘Flameco Red’ and off to a small town we passed on the way, so we decided to call in and have a look on the return trip and we arrive at the Town Hall of Radkow….








The small stone plaque above the window in this doorway gives a date which looked like 1577, while the condition of the door looks about right!!!....


While on the other side of the town square is this other doorway that looks in much better condition but has no visible date….


Interesting wooden side addition to this house….


This building looked a bit like a barn, but was clearly occupied by people with the satellite dish and net curtains on the windows….


One of the town churches….


Interesting fungal growth on this tree branch, but not sure if we could cook and eat it so we left it alone….


Unoccupied and sadly now starting to fall apart building that as we looked at the plaques on the side wall led you to think that at some time it has had a significant past life….


The ‘Dividers & Triangle’ in this wall plaque ring bells with me but I cannot remember where I have seen that sign before, while Google is also not helping!!….






Time to head off back to the campsite which after 30 minutes after we got back the sky looked like this….


Then this followed by a huge downpour and lots of Thunder!....


Tomorrow does not look hopeful in being any better!...

[ssicarman]

I have seen reports of flooding in Germany. Hopefully your rains do not get to that point.

Your tree fungus I suspect may have done bad things to you. I think that nature tends to let you know about bad food (animal or vegetable) with bright colours. Quick way of saying don't bother.
One of my vacation trips posted here had a few pictures of some bright red mushrooms that in small quantity sent you on a nice Alice in Wonderland trip. A bit to much and no more travel.

[XCovlov70]

I have seen reports of flooding in Germany. Hopefully your rains do not get to that point.

Your tree fungus I suspect may have done bad things to you. I think that nature tends to let you know about bad food (animal or vegetable) with bright colours. Quick way of saying don't bother.
One of my vacation trips posted here had a few pictures of some bright red mushrooms that in small quantity sent you on a nice Alice in Wonderland trip. A bit to much and no more travel.

I am getting concerned when I look at the weather forecast lately as it is becoming more unreliable.
At 06:00 this morning here we were supposed to be in 'Bright Sunshine' with no clouds, while it was in fact raining quite hard.

Maybe the weathermen are now learning about the term 'BS' just like the Politicians learnt about it years ago.

You are correct on the fungus, but having said that we were speaking to another person on the campsite after I saw him return to the campsite with some very large brown coloured mushrooms in a basket that he had picked.
He told me that while they are toxic, by cooking them in a very hot environment it removes the toxicity and they can be eaten!

When I asked him how long he had been identifying & picking fungi he told me 40 years.
Bit to late for me to start I think!

[XCovlov70]

Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.

The trip to Broumov…

Not very far away from the campsite is the town of Broumov which has a couple of interesting features….


After parking up in a Supermarket car park which seems to be the accepted practice we set off for the town centre as we passed these buildings on the way….






As we come to a ‘V’ in the road you can either take the right side or the left side up to the town square….


The Town Square….








Moving on through the Town Square and off down one of the side streets on the left side we come to a fairly large School….


While on the other side of the side street was this very large School….


Then a bit further along we come to this building which initially looks like a small narrow house, but was an old Electricity Distribution building….


The Town Hospital….


With the Ambulance on the left having just delivered a patient….


OK, how many car enthusiasts recognise this bonnet/hood badge?


We spotted it on a Wartburg which has a 2 stroke engine and is in excellent condition considering it would now I guess be classed as a ‘Classic Car’….



Off down another side street as we pass an old factory that is falling apart….


As we then come to a Church/Cloister that has been turned into Broumov History Museum….






The entrance doors are interesting as they can be closed while a small section in the lower middle can just be opened instead of the full doors….




Moving inside as the ticket office is for some reason on the first floor we see a number of paintings on the ceiling as we climb the stairs….




The Museum Entrance Sign….


Then we get inside to see the exhibits and in the first room is a model of a very old completely wooden church that we will visit later….


Moving around and through the different rooms we see items that are from the history of the town ….










A very old Typewriter from early 19th Century….






That nice room from the opposite side....


While these two sections of Tree Trunks were very ornately carved….


This one with a carving of St George & the Dragon….


Then on both of them when you looked around the back they were Bee Hives for Honey Bees as the rectangular wooden frames were still inside…..


As we then found two rooms dedicated to collections of Firemen’s Equipment and helmets, with this interesting small hand pump that needed to be pointed in the right direction as the water nozzle was fixed in position….






While getting back outside and into the grounds you could get some idea of the size of the place….




Moving on then into another part of the town we pass over the river that runs through….


With another disused factory on the riverside….


On the other river bank was this second Hospital with a number of people outside who were carrying small metal containers which we had seen before as they are normally used to carry hot food as we had seen people carrying them away from a restaurant next to the Husqvarna Factory in Vrbno....


OK, time to head back to the Wooden Church, which is the oldest in the Czech Republic and dates back to the 12th Century while the church is still in use....








Back on the road to our next campsite tomorrow while at the moment the Overhead Watering Can has been turned on again and it sounds like it will be pouring down all night long!....

[XCovlov70]

Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.

Boranova to Vrchlabi and our next campsite…

As we set off this morning the after effects of the overnight rain were still to be seen with all the very low cloud all around us, but at least the roads were clear and we are soon rolling along towards Vrchlabi & Euro Air Camping (GPS 50.624167 N 15.640556 E)….
For a brief second as we passed this house we thought we had somehow taken a wrong turn and ended up in the area of Brittany in France as the property there is very similar…


It seems that every village over a certain size at one time had its own little Fire Station, and this is another one….




Heading towards the city of Trutnov we come into an area that is one of the ski areas in the Czech Republic but is also one of several National Parks and is well visited by tourists….






Behind the hotel in the centre of the next picture are some rock formations and the area has a number of these which are also a tourist attraction with their strange shapes….




This rock has steps that you can walk up and into the centre of the rock where it has split….




While behind this house but a bit difficult to see in the trees and rolling along at 30mph are rocks that are shaped like pinnacles and are an attraction to climbers….


After then doing bit of ‘mountain road climbing’ with the outfit we then come over the top and start going down the other side while being confronted with a number of hairpin bends of which I guess around half of them are in the next picture!….




This section had a sign that told you ‘When the road is wet it’s slippery’ and it was on both counts, but we remained sure footed with the tyres on ‘Flamenco Red’


Over the railway crossing….


Then after a couple more hairpin bends we come into the village of….


Looks like this little fella has had a long wait for the local bus service!….




As we then see this wood carving of a Shepherd and his two Sheep…


Then a short while after and we reach the town sign for….












As we then get to the other side of the town we find the road has a wee ‘problem’ but there is a short diversion in place as we go off to the right and across a steel bridge….


As ‘Jane’ (GPS Voice) tells me ‘In 500yds turn right’ so I did towards Vrchlabi….


Passing what to us looks like a Dutch Barn style house a bit further along the road….




The just left of centre in the next picture we see these cables and ‘things’ moving across the sky!....




Didn’t see the beginning or the end of the cable run but it looked like some sort of ore extraction which was then being shipped to the processing plant via the overhead cable run….


While shortly after we get to Euro Air Camping….








Just after we got set up the big black clouds came over and once again the heavens opened up with a huge downpour which made any conversation impossible….

Let’s hope tomorrow’s weather is a bit better and we can get into Vrchlabi for a look around!

[XCovlov70]

Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.

Our trip into Vrchlabi…

I am not sure if Sunday ‘lie ins’ are allowed over here, but we missed out today?

At 06:00hrs a Farmer and very noisy Giant Tractor came into the field at the side of the campsite to mow the long grass for Haymaking!


While after breakfast we set about getting some clothes washing out of the way as it seemed that the morning was ‘reported’ as remaining quite dry which actually was for a change correct, later was much worse!....

Then having got the cycles ready and ourselves we set off into Vrchlabi for a look around passing this small weir on the way into the ‘Centrum’….


Rather nice house on the other side of the road, with an ominous sky above! ….


As we follow the ‘Road Sign’ for the Centrum….




Then we come to the road that goes through the town centre….


As we then arrive at the town square….




On the rear side of the Square is this place….


With this rather elegant and clearly well looked after Zamek/Castle….


On the right hand side of the ‘Zamek’ is the Police Headquarters Building….


After a further short walk into the park we see a small lake in which there are….


With what look like Black Koi Carp further out in the lake….


The concert/exhibition hall ….


We then see a very large cage with some movement inside and as we got closer we see these birds of prey inside who kept dodging the camera unless you were very quiet with your footsteps and also very slow in your movement to get closer ….


‘OK Bud who you looking at, and if you don’t go away then my talons are going to come in very handy!’….


So we left the birds alone and moved into what we found later was a Monastery and the flower/vegetable gardens….












Oops! It looks like the Rhubarb has gone to seed….


While here is the description of the Monastery, which I found behind the front doors that were open, the church itself was closed as the inner doors were locked so all you could do was look through the section of iron fencing that was fitted to the upper part of the doors….








This looked like an interesting 3D model of somewhere but was partly obscured by the 2 signs placed in front….


The view up the hill from the Monastery….


While the view along a public pathway going the other way was slightly different....


On our right as we then went down this pathway was the rear of the Fire Station with the viewing dome on top….


Then we saw what looked like a Honey Bee Hive between the two houses….


As we got to the end of the pathway and out the other side is this other church which was completely closed up…..


While on the right of the pathway door was this Tourist Information Office that had very little information in English when we asked as we got a very blunt ‘Deutsch only’ when we asked if they could speak English and had any leaflets so we settled for the German leaflets….


With this very large wooden carving next to the doorway to meet you….


The two buildings on the left and the other building on the right of the Tourist Information Office were part of the Krkonosske Muzeum and each building ad different exhibits but surprisingly they were also closed today!...


As we then walked past the other church we saw the small garden with the ‘Wildflower Garden’ and the assortment of colours from the different wildflowers that were in bloom….


Moving back towards the centre of town we pass this street with its old wooden buildings….


While in another street are these buildings…


At that point we felt several drops of rain start to come down and as we were not far from a café, took shelter there with a coffee until the rain stopped and we could then make our way back to the campsite, when we got back just in time before the Thunder rolled through and the rain came hammering down, including a number of hailstones, which put paid to any further exploring today!

[XCovlov70]

Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.

Finally in some sunshine we make a bike ride!...

So this is nearly all just a picture trip as we set off from the campsite to the villages of through Lanov & Dolni Dvůr…










Then we see this sign pinned to a pole….
The translation that was rather confusing is something along the following lines:

“This object is a former German old residents who in 1875 built school. We intend the original look of the facade and the room layout to preserve likely should there be a small family pension house.
I would be very grateful for your quiet financial support, eventual would be happy, if you could ask for outside support to our State.”

From the condition of the building it does not seem that the support was obtained….


As this is the building….














Refurbishment in the process….


















This little fella was found as a ‘Strimmer’ was ploughing through some long grass and he jumped into the road where the strimmer operator encouraged him to get onto the path at the side of the house, so he did….














For the ‘strange shaped’ building we have no clue as to what it is or was used for....


One of several small vegetable growing plots we saw on the ride….






Built in 1901 with a bit of TLC this house could be very impressive in this area, sadly not at the moment….




As I cycled up the road I saw movement up ahead and thought it was a Deer, so stopped and waited with camera ready and then the chance came as it looked out and took off for the woods!...




WOW!






1929 Build….


Ostriches? We could not believe it, but they were there!....


While the ‘eyesore’ if you like was this disused factory at the end of the village….


Grocery shopping tomorrow as it is our last day here before we head off into Poland….

[XCovlov70]

Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.

Back on the road today from Vrchlabi in CZ to Jelenia Gora in Poland as we went up over the mountain range between the two places and across the border on top of the mountain up in the Ski Area with a noticeable difference in the road surface/condition between the two countries, PL being considerably worse than CZ …










As we enter the….






Every carpark that we passed by in this area was gated and a payment was required when leaving based on how long you had been there!....


The front of another now disused and abandoned factory as we came out of the National Park and joined the main road to Jelenia Gora….










Old small Monastery that is now up for sale!....












Nearly at the top of the Mountain and the Border with Poland while for the Bus up ahead it was also the end of his bus route….


Up over the top as the good tarmac finished and we came to the Border Sign for Poland and the rough road surface started….


As we then start to go down through the road through the Forest which was also noticeably narrower than the CZ side coming up, but then that means less road surface to maintain!….










Interestingly this was the second bridge where the 2 way traffic had been restricted….


A bit further along we see all this Army Radar Equipment parked up in a field….


City signpost….




The campsite is Autokamp Camping Number 130 (GPS: 50.89651 N 15.74230 E), with a few pictures tomorrow….

While this evening I was sat here doing this update as we go through yet another Thunder & Lightning Rain Storm!
If the rain came down any heavier I am sure it would be punching holes in the roof of the ‘TinTent’!

The noise is horrendous and we cannot hold any sort of conversation!

1 hour later it is still rolling around with no sign of diminishing….

[XCovlov70]

Overland to visit Stalag Luft III.

Our first day in Jelenia Gόra…

The campsite….






As we set off then down the main road into the centre….






Concert Hall….


Interesting way to replace the windows in this building!....


BIG Town needs large Fire Station, while I found the ‘Solar Water Heating Panels on the side of the building an interesting addition!....




As we get to a corner of the Town Square….


Then enter into the Square….






As we went along the side we spot this group of school children who were using coloured chalk sticks to colour salt which was then tipped into small jars so that each layer in the jar was a different colour, and this took place on the sidewalk under the arches in the square! ....


Next up was….




As we then see the plaque about the houses around the square….










The Towns ‘Twinned’ with Jelenia Gόra ….


As we moved out of the Town Square and down to the bottom of the town we came to this tower which was open and free to enter….




So up we go!….




As we pass one of the lower windows….


Then we are at the top while outside the view is quite something….


















Having completed the 360 Degree ‘Panoramic’ by walking around the outside, it’s time to go back down….


We pass part of the old wall of the town….


As we then come to another smaller tower which is all that is left of one of the town gates….


Back for part 2 of our time in this town tomorrow….