styro
26.08.05, 01:46
Mily tekst - gratuluje Rzeszowiakom i zycze tlumow turystow odwiedzajacych
miasto nad Wislokiem ;)
travel.guardian.co.uk/countries/story/0,7451,1555521,00.html
Poland
A lot for your zloty
Poland is opening up to more cheap flights from Ryanair this autumn. But
would you want to holiday in provincial Rzeszow? Yes, says ex-Netjetter, and
budget flight specialist, Nick Hall
Thursday August 25, 2005
Poles apart ... A Hutsul boy in traditional dress, from the Carpathian
mountain region of Poland. Photograph: Nick Hall
The city of Rzeszow (pronounced Jeh-shuv) is the latest addition in a Ryanair
sweepstake of Poland's provincial airports, one the airline describes as
a "low-cost gateway to the south-east of Poland and the west of Ukraine". Its
proximity to Ukraine, following the recent "orange revolution", is one
motivation for making it this far east; and as beautiful and appealing as
eastern Europe's gothic old towns are, the eastern border of the EU promises
something a little different.
Until Ryanair start flying, Rzeszow is a two-hour train journey away from
Krakow through the shady, forested countryside of southern Poland. It came as
a shock to discover that the words "do you speak English?" didn't even
warrant a reply at Rzeszow's main railway station. At this point, I was
beginning to regret not having bought a guidebook.
The money saved on a guidebook was spent on taxis instead and I soon learned
just how far a few zlotys (there are seven to the pound) will stretch in this
part of Europe. I checked into the Hubertus Hotel, overlooking Rzeszow's old
market square, a good starting point for any visitor, with or without a map.
I asked Rzeszow's mayor, Ryszard Winiarski, how he felt about his city being
described as a low-cost gateway for a bigger journey: "It's true," he told
me. But, keen to put straight my obvious cynicism about Rzeszow, the mayor
began to tell me about all the delightful things his city has to offer its
visitors, which include a world-class riding centre, the "nicest" palace in
Poland, a national park proclaiming to be the "wildest part of Europe" and,
above all, a city that hasn't yet been fully discovered by historians, let
alone tourists.
An hour after knocking on the door of the town hall, I was flying over the
city in a police helicopter - proof beyond all rationality that the Poles
are, in fact, very hospitable people. Below me, while I held on for dear life
as the air cops demonstrated the versatility of Polish choppers, I could see
a beautiful and colourful city unfold.
"We know that the city has to be attractive for somebody to want to come
here," the Mayor said. As we flew overhead, I was able to get a glimpse of
what Ryanair passengers can expect to see when they descend in their hundreds
later this year. Rzeszow is a city that looks west for its inspiration, and
its residents have come together to repaint the soviet-style grey concrete
housing of the past, which is now a refreshing splash of colourful modern art.
Getting into the swing of things, I was beginning to realise that, as the
only British tourist in town, I was being spoilt by a hospitable mayor. We
landed at Rzeszow's flying club, also the only commercial pilot training
centre in Poland. After jumping in and out of a dozen light aircraft (all
Polish, I should mention), I was beginning to wonder if the mayor was in fact
having more fun than I was.
We left the flying club and crossed over the road to another place the mayor
felt I ought to see. Ostoya, sumptuous outside and even more so inside, this
hotel is where the president stays when he's in town. I was shown around by a
maid dressed in national costume and had a look at "the suite", their multi-
room apartment, in which everything is seemingly made of etched mahogany
complete with gold-leaf finish - fit for a president at only Ł100 per night.
A short drive from Jasionka, where Rzeszow's airport is based, is Lesna Wola,
a riding centre. With riding lessons costing just ?10, I had a novice trot
around the impressive grounds myself. Lesna Wola is home to some of Poland's
best racehorses thanks to its range of horse-pampering facilities, such as
the solar treatment room.
Back in the city, I began taking a look around on foot, starting with the
recently excavated, extensive network of underground tunnels. These were
discovered after a number of houses were evacuated due to weak foundations,
and subsequently collapsed. The people of Rzeszow have always known about the
cellars and tunnels that run underneath the city square, but now they are
labelled as "the underground tourist route" and grow bigger by the day.
A guide led me through the first 200 metres of tunnels already excavated and
open to the public. Every corner of the narrow labyrinth tells a different
personal story about the town's people. The cellars were originally built for
storing goods below the burgher houses (which mostly still stand today), and
later as an effective place for hiding Jews during the second world war.
Above ground, Rzeszow's main attraction is its town hall. Built in the late
16th century, this elegant building dominates the city centre and has been
altered frequently in its 500-year history to achieve the magnificent facade
it has today. It overlooks a lively city square lined end-to-end with
pavement cafes sprawling out of the pastel-coloured burgher houses,
frequented by many of the city's 50,000 students.
On Sunday, as the morning mass ended and the church congregations began
spilling out on to the streets in their Sunday best, I went out to Poloniny,
the name given to the Polish meadows at the foot of the Carpathian mountain
region. The Bieszczady national park is one of the wildest parts of Poland;
we drove for hours through the gentle, lush meadows and the heavily forested
hills. Beautiful flora lit up our journey through the valleys and a lucky
visitor may stumble upon any number of wild animals. Bieszczady is home to
the brown bear, European bison, wolves, and even some rarely sighted lynx.
The sight of some Hutsul horses finally brought us to a stop - this rare
breed is unique to the Carpathian region of Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine.
Herded and used by the Hutsul people, they make the perfect mountain
companions for anyone looking for a Carpathian off-road experience.
My last stop on the road through Bieszczady was at a small road-side barn.
Inside a woman offered me some of her freshly smoked sheep cheese, straight
off the shelf. Looking at the hand-carved, patterned balls of cheese and
nearly choking to death amongst the smoke inside her roadside hut, I began to
wonder whether this could possibly still be Europe.
I chose to wind down from this weekend by sitting back and seeing Rzeszow out
to the sound of traditional folk music, played by a popular Hutsul band. This
was Rzeszow showing its visitors just how much culture and spirit Poland
really has: a European city that offers much more than the bog-standard
continental cafe scene.
Way to go Ryanair start flying from Stansted to Rzeszow from October 30.
Until then, you can fly to Krakow (from Stansted with Sky Europe or Ryanair,
from Gatwick with Central Wings or from Luton with easyJet) and take a train
to Rzeszow.
ˇ Nick's Netjetting
