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travel in rural south-eastern Poland beginning of September, 2018

Hello, all.

My travel in Poland is less than a month away but I thought I'd throw this out to the RS community none-the-less. I don't believe our travel region is covered much in Rick's Poland book.

At the end of this month (3 weeks away), my husband has a conference in Krakow and I want to show him this lovely part of the world so I'm joining him there shortly after the arrives. Our travel to the countryside southeast of Krakow is scheduled for Sat., Sept. 1 - 4th (we need to be back in Krakow the night of Sept. 4th). We love the typical Rick Steves themes--history, local life, religion, hiking/walking tours. We are very active people in our mid-50s. I'm a former Peace Corps volunteer.

All my ancestors are Carpatho-Rusyn (Lemko) and immigrated to the U.S. from south-eastern Poland. I've been to some of our villages over the many years but last time (2005), I had the benefit of a Polish/Lemko host family who bridged the language divide (I don't speak Polish), provided logistical support, and took me in like a member of their family. It was like a Rick Steves video. This was in the Nowy Saczs/Galicia region, near Krynica and Zakopane and the tiny villages of Kamianna, Losie, Berest, etc.

**(FYI: Lemko people in Poland--"Wem-kee" in Polish--are non-Polish people from Ukrainian ancestry who settled in the Carpathian Mts in Poland hundreds of years ago and developed their own sub-culture. Migration and WWII forced most away but the south of Poland still has traces of our culture.)

ALAS, my former Lemko host family is visiting the US (how ironic) during this time so I have to plan this trip myself. The host family doesn't have any suggestions for lodging in the region and only has the typical travel ideas. (Their online English is limited.) They say there aren't other Lemko-focused hosts or guides like them and I don't doubt that.

I am an experienced traveler and have been in many tough-to-travel places in the world (Middle East, communist eastern Europe in the day). My husband is experienced, too. But given our short time frame and the language barrier (we can only do English and German) I could use some guidance!

If anyone has experience traveling in this region near Krynica in Poland, could you please suggest:

  • any specific B&Bs or farms to stay in?
  • can anyone recommend a local guide we could hire for a half or full day? (one with Lemko background would be great but someone good with history and local life would be good; WWII history, too)
  • any other recommendations for what to see and do beyond the Eastern Catholic/Orthodox wooden churches & spas? I know there are living history style museums. Would also love local events.
  • any car driving concerns/suggestions?

I apologize for this being a sort of vague and last minute request. I appreciate any help.

Thank you.

Elaine
San Jose, CA

Posted by
8378 posts

Elaine, I've not been east of Zakopane, and don't share Lemko ancestry, but I do know what you're talking about. I came across the subject while preparing for our trip to Poland a few years ago. I did some research out of curiosity on the history of the people. Cant answer any of your specific questions, but the only travel reference I found that touches on Lemko peoples was in the Lonely Planet guide to Poland. LP does have some good general info on the area. So it might be worth checking that out. At the time, I thought I had found a couple of Lemko genealogy groups on-line, but don't see them now. There seems to be a Lemko genealogy group on Facebook, that might be able to help with your questions. Might also be worth asking at TripAdvisor, if you can sort the wheat from the chaff.

Good luck, and please report back. Poland is woefully underserved by RS and it would be good to have more info.

Posted by
20 posts

Thank you for your advice, Stan. I believe I used the Lonely Planet book for my 2005 trip (though being hosted I didn't need much help). I will look at that again and check out the Lemko Facebook group you referenced.

I realize that I posted this in the wrong forum (couldn't see how to post to a specific country forum) and was about to delete and re-post so I'm glad it was up long enough for you to see it.

: ) Elaine

Posted by
20 posts

Thank you, Harold! I have just posted in the Poland section thanks to your link.

I don't post here a lot so I appreciate your helping in getting around.

: ) Elaine