Zamość the Magnificent

Day three of the road trip brings in Zamość; I've been here before a few times, it's a fantastic place to visit. (An introduction to it here.)

Stunningly beautiful, unique in Poland in its scale and splendour, Zamość was designed as the ideal Renaissance city. Ain't it beautiful? Just as Edinburgh or Prague are best visited on gloomy days in late November or early February's perpetual dusk with street lights reflecting off the wet cobblestones, so Zamość, Sandomierz and Portmeirion should be visited on cloudless blue-sky days that suggest the Mediterranean. Below: the town hall dominates the northern side of the market square.

Below: the square of the Great Market (Rynek wielki), around which Zamość was planned in 1580, is flanked by merchants' houses with colonnaded arcades. 

Beauty overload. Down every side street a new vista.

A walk through the historic centre of Zamość is so rewarding. Italy has been brought north by Paduan architect Bernardo Morando, commissioned by Jan Zamoyski to design a Renaissance 'ideal city', the only one in Central Europe.

Below: classical perfection, proportioned with the humanist ideals of the Renaissance in mind. The Great Market is popularly said to be exactly 100m by 100m although the metre was not being defined for another two hundred years as one ten-millionth of the shortest distance from the North Pole to the equator passing through Paris. And yet a quick check with the 'measure distance' tool on Google Maps shows that it's pretty damned close!

Below: not just streets, but courtyards and communal gardens set back from the thoroughfares. Pop through this arch, and enter a more private space.

Below: over three hundred years before Ebenezer Howard came up with the concept of the garden city, Zamość was providing its citizens with a quality of life that Victorian Britons would have envied.

Church architecture fits in perfectly. The Baroque Franciscan church dates back to the late 17th century.

Whilst I have bewailed the overtouristed nature of destinations such as Prague, Kraków, Sandomierz and Kazimierz Dolny, Zamość as yet has to fall victim to its own attractiveness. The holiday season is in full swing, yet the crowds are not here. There are plenty of places to sit down and eat, and the side streets are not choked with throngs of gormless folk grazing on ice cream and fizzy drinks.

It's quiet and peaceful, and I love it. The optimal tourist/attraction ratio.

As night falls, the sky remains immaculate, the town remains peace with itself. 

A beautiful town that has maintained its soul. The atmosphere takes on a dreamlike quality, real and surreal in equal measure, like a Giorgio de Chirico painting.

Morning calls for another circuit of the old town; an exploration of the fortifications which ring Zamość from the south and east.

Below: Zamość skyline from the top of the defensive wall.

The Franciscan church, this time from the back, this time in the morning.

Another visit is in order; but the weather must be like this to get the vibe right.

This time last year:
Assessing the passage of time while asleep

This time two years ago:
Summertime dreamland

This time four years ago:
Getting our heads around UFOs

This time seven years ago:
Bristol-fashioned

This time eight years ago:
The imminent closure of Marks & Spencer in Warsaw

This time 13 years ago:
Along mirror'd canyons

This time 14 years ago:
Mad about Marmite 

This time 15 years ago:
Komorowski wins second round of Presidential elections?

This time 16 years ago:
A beautiful summer dusk in Jeziorki

This time 17 years ago:
Classic cars, London and Warsaw

Ride to Roztocze

A two-day motorbike journey to the Roztocze hills of south-east Poland. The weather was ideal - no rain forecast, hot - but not scorching. Jakubowizna served its purpose; giving me a base outside of Warsaw's exurbs, so I didn't have to negotiate Saturday-morning shoppers in Piaseczno before getting out onto the open road. Total distance there and back: 662km (411 miles).

The route: Jakubowizna - Warka - Głowaczów - Brzóza - Pionki - Sucha - Zwoleń - Chotcza - Boiska - Solec-nad-Wisłą - Kamień - Wandalin - Boby - Urzędów - Kraśnik - Rudnik - Wysokie - Frampol - Biłgoraj. Backroads as far as possible. Main roads are boring. When the engine revs stay the same mile after mile the noise becomes a monotonous drone. But backroads are so much more rewarding. Winding, rising and falling, passing through villages (slow down!) requires a constant change of throttle and frequent gear change. Then you can really savour the exhaust note!

Below: the Road favoured by few. A typical Droga Gminna, no kilometre markers, no verge. But now, new asphalt. And most important - hardly any traffic. Downside of travelling these roads is frequent map-reading stops, but in a way, that too can bring joy. This is the forest west of Kozienice, around Przejazd. Looking at this same stretch on Google Maps Street View (dated 2012), one can see huge progress.

The face of Poland's roads is changing as EU money makes its way down to the smallest local administrative level. New asphalt makes riding old motorbikes more comfortable. Below: "I got a new road, I got it good" - south of Opole Lubelskie. Road awaits markings.

This is not travel for the sake of blasting quickly from A to B. It is to get to one's destination gathering as many qualia - subjective conscious experiences - as possible. Travel should involve taking the bare minimum. No more than a small rucksack. Camera and two lenses, toothbrush and credit card.

Below: I took an road atlas, published around 2010, easier to refer to than Google Maps on a phone (hard to see the screen in harsh sunlight). So much has changed since then. I crossed a new bridge near Solec nad Wisłą, a little south of Chotcza Dolna, where I took this photo (below).

 

I stay the night in Biłgoraj. Devastated by war, there's little of heritage value to see here - but there will be. Below: a nicely done Kresy-shtetl theme park is nearly complete; as well as a restaurant and hotel (opening next month) there are apartments to buy or rent in the same style. The architecture is compelling. This is, after all, the town where Isaac Bashevis Singer spent some of his childhood. I'd have loved to stay the night, but was too early. So I stayed in a motel by a petrol station across town, paying a mere 120 złotys (£25) for the night with a good and massive breakfast.

The next morning, I set off to Zamość, avoiding the main road, taking in the Roztocze National Park along the way and stopping off at Zwierzyniec, a popular tourist spot, to see the old brewery there. 

Built in 1806 for the Zamoyski family, the master brewer who set it up was a Scot, John McDonald. Currently part of the Perła - Browary Lubelskie business, the Zamoyski family is still trying to get the place denationalised. While taking snaps, I could hear native English spoken - and could see a full car park. Tourism is returning (though so, sadly, is the pandemic - second weekly rise in the number of new infections).

I continued through the National Park, taking the scenic route to Zamość, one of Poland's must-see towns. Also built by the Zamoyski family, Zamość is a perfectly conceived Italianate Renaissance town, a precious gem of European culture. I last visited in (again on my motorcycle) in June 2016, to get over the shock of the Brexit referendum result. That visit was longer and more memorable - crystalline blue skies are essential to get the Mediterranean feel of the place. That and the fact Zamość was hosting the Festival of Italian Song during my first visit. This time, the sky was slightly overcast; the sunshine charm wasn't quite there.

I pushed my bike, engine off, of course, across the square to get this shot. As always, it attracts admiring glances. Like Zwierzyniec, the tourists are back; I hope the holiday season Covid blip is just that rather than the start of a second wave... Click here for fuller pictorial coverage of the splendour that is Zamość.

Along the way, I seek, as ever, the Perfect Stretch. Just as surfers pursue the Perfect Wave, I search for the ideal stretch of road. Winding through a forest, rising over views of wheat fields - or just dead straight and flat, under a big sky. The Perfect Stretch depends on lighting - weather, season, time of day. You can find it on the Droga Wojewódzka something-or-other between two small places. Come back again and the magic's no longer there - the sun's at a different angle. But come back yet again, and the magic can be even stronger.

Below: I'll always stop for a plane or train mounted on a plinth. But just look at this one! It's a TS11 Iskra trainer, commemorating the Polish Air Force's technical school (Szkoła Techniczna Wojsk Lotniczych), which was here in Zamość between 1944 and 1995.

Below: a view looking north from the DW837, a beautiful stretch of road starting just north of Zamość and heading north-west; hardly any traffic, rolling scenery to please the eye. Puts me in mind of Eric Ravilious. Frequent stops for landscape photography.

Below: looking west along the DW837. PAFF! Instant past-life anomalous memory flashback xenomnesia event big time! Kentucky!

This stretch of road is also notable for garlic. Every farmhouse has a sign outside saying czosnek. Like the stretch of the DK48 between Klwów and Potworów is famous for its red peppers.

Below: the sleepy town of Urzędów. I drove through on Saturday and thought - a nice enough little place - will have to return. Which I did - on a Sunday. Everything's locked shut with the solitary exception of a Lewiatan grocery shop; tiny, yet crammed with people like a rush-hour tram. Mostly buying ice cream in five-litre tubs. I'd have happily stopped in Urzędów for lunch, but there was nothing. This picturesque small town is developmentally retarded by not having a cafe or restaurant on its otherwise lovely town square. Result - no life, no vibrancy; people scoffing ice cream at home rather than partaking of social life and creating a sense of community. And so I rode on a further 24km to Annopol and had a pizza there in a little restaurant filled with families and young people enjoying their ice cream and cold beers.

Local authorities should do more to encourage entrepreneurs to open what's called 'mała gastronomia' ('small gastronomy') - it does wonders for the economy!

Below: Poland has some great village names! There are three named Babilon - this one's just outside Lipsko, southern Mazovia.

Journey back: Biłgoraj - Zwierzyniec - Zamość - Krzak - Płonka - Wysokie - Dębina - Popkowice - Urzędów - Księżomierz - Annopol - Kamień - (cross Vistula, boring part of trip to get to Lipsko along DW747 then up DK79 to Zwoleń) - Sucha - Pionki - Głowaczów - back onto the DK79 but far nicer, less traffic and lots of forest, plus the allure of dusk), Grabów nad Pilicą - Warka - Jakubowizna.

The level crossing at Chynów, 600m across the tracks from my działka, is still closed as the finishing touches are being added. This necessitates a 12km detour to get home from here, because I can't get across 12m of unfinished crossing! A bigger problem for my neighbour, who drives an ambulance.

For the journey, I used 20.9 litres of irreplaceable fossil fuel, giving me fuel consumption of 3.15 litres/100km (89.5 miles per UK gallon).

I got back to the działka, locked up the bike, and headed for the shower. Shock. I have sunburnt skin between the left cuff of my motorbike jacket and my left glove. When I stretch my arm, it looks like the flag of free Belarus - white fist, red wrist, white forearm!

The most important takeaway are the memories: "For oft when on my couch I lie/In vacant or in pensive mood/They flash upon that inward eye/Which is the bliss of solitude". The Road shall come back again and again.

I give thanks for the safe journey.

This time last year:
Poznań and Wrocław - two boomtowns

This time seven years ago:
Scaling the highest peak in Wales

This time eight years ago:
Beaches of the north coast of the Llyn Peninsula

This time nine years ago: 
The Accursed Soldiers - a short story

This time ten years ago:
Driving impressions of the Toyota Yaris
[Ten years on - still no imperfections to report whatsoever]

This time 12 years ago:
Poland's dry summer

This time 13 years ago:
The UK's wettest summer ever

Zamość - beautiful must-visit town of Poland's east

Time to de-stress, get away from the trauma of last week and seek solace in the beauty of Poland.

I've long promised myself a return visit to Zamość, which I passed through 11 years ago on business, though the visit had to coincide with a period of Mediterranean weather.

For those of you who've not been, Zamość is a UNESCO world heritage site. This is what UNESCO says about the town: "Zamość is a unique example of a Renaissance town in Central Europe, consistently designed and built in accordance with the Italian theories of the 'ideal town', on the basis of a plan which was the result of perfect cooperation between the open-minded founder, Jan Zamoyski, and the outstanding architect, Bernardo Morando. Zamość is an outstanding example of an innovative approach to town planning, combining the functions of an urban ensemble, a residence, and a fortress in accordance with a consistently implemented Renaissance concept. The result of this is a stylistically homogeneous urban composition with a high level of architectural and landscape values. A real asset of this great construction was its creative enhancement with local artistic architectural achievements."

I stayed at the three-star Hotel Senator, on Plac Solny (like Wrocław, Zamość has its main square and a 'salt square' set off it, for salt trading). My apartment had splendid views and cost a mere 240 zł (about £45 even after Friday's devaluation of the pound) for the night.

Below: the Town Hall, and the main square. By coincidence, a festival of Italian song was taking place that very evening. The stage and seating are visible to the right of the frame.

A hot day. I arrived around 5pm, it was still over 30C. And that Italianate architecture... like a real Portmeirion, set out on a grand scale, made me feel I was a thousand kilometres to the south-west.

Colonnaded walkways line the square, which is full of bars, cafes, patisseries and restaurants. The entire town is evidently well-policed aesthetically; no garish signage is allowed to advertise premises.

Left: Many people watched the concert from the steps of the Town Hall. Ticket holders sat in an enclosed area in front of the stage, but the amplification was loud enough (not too loud) to ensure that everyone in the square and the side streets could hear the songs. Italian songs attract listeners of all ages, the audience included the very old and the very young.

A magical atmosphere descended on the town. Once you leave the main square and the concert, the other streets are almost empty, I feel I have Zamość to myself.

Left: as day turned to night, the town hall was lit up. The music, provided by various tribute bands backed by a proper orchestra, was to be heard right across town, adding to the Mediterranean feeling. As did the fact that it stayed hot, around 23C at 11pm. Note the pristine walls - a zero-tolerance to graffiti on the part of the local authority.

Below: view from my hotel window at dusk...

...and shortly after dawn. I was woken at 06:35 by the chiming of bells from that church tower visible on the skyline (below).

One small gripe about Zamość was the total lack of interesting beers. All I could see was Perła and the usual Lech, Warka Żywiec and Tyskie. Not one pub or bar with craft ales, no IPA to be had. At all. Yet the Perła cost but 5zł (92p) for a half-litre; when I told the proprietor that beers can cost 20-26zł in Warsaw, he could not believe me.

Everything else being fine, if Zamość could go up-market and move with the times in terms of its culinary offerings, I'm sure it could extract more earnings from the tourists' wallets. I ordered a pizza in a restaurant on the main square called Bohema. The most bohemian beer I could order was a Żywiec wheat beer on tap, and the pizza diavolo contained ham (rather than chorizo) under the chilli peppers, cheese, and tomato sauce. Would happily pay more for something more autentico!

Below: view of Plac Solny with my hotel in the distance. My windows are in visible in the roof. Room 301, worth asking for it. Breakfast at the Hotel Senator was commendable; sausage and scrambled eggs, various salads and lots of fresh fruit.

Zamość is definitely worth visiting!

This time last year:
Voting closes in citizens' participatory budget

This time two years ago:
Beginning of the end of PO [Civic Platform]

This time three years ago:
Where's the beef? Fillet steak in Warsaw

This time four years ago:
W-wa Zachodnia spruced up for the football, W-wa Stadion reopened

This time six years ago:
Literature and biology

This time eight years ago:
Old Nysa van spotted in Grabów

This time nine years ago:
The oats in the neighbouring field rise high