Polish Beskydy 3 - Wisla and Skoczow

On our last day in Poland, we will visit another well-known resort Wisla , followed by a short trip to Skoczow.

Wisla - Hotel Gołębiewski

We wake up before 8:00 to catch the bus that leaves the bus station at 9:00. The carrier is again Lajkovnik and the price is the same as for the trip to Těšín. The ride takes 50 minutes and the bus will take us in front of the Wisla Uzdrowisko train station. The very first thing that strikes you on arrival in Wisla is the view of the giant Gołębiewski Hotel, but we won't go there until later. Now the nearby Habsburg hunting lodge is on the agenda. This is a timbered structure built in 1897, which was used by the Habsburgs to host important hunting visits until 1918. In 1985 the castle was moved from its original location in the mountains to the centre of the Wisla River.

Wisla - Bus station

Wisla - Crystal Mountain Hotel

Wisla Uzdrowisko - Train station

Wisla - Hotel Gołębiewski

Wisla - The Habsburg Hunting Lodge

From the hunting lodge, we will walk to the city centre, which is not very lively at this time. The centre is full of restaurants and souvenir shops. Once we've explored the centre, we'll take a look at the nearby ski jumping hills. Wisla is in fact the Mecca of Polish ski jumping and the town is most famous for this, as Adam Malysz was born here. Just beware, the main ski jumps are not located here in the centre, but further away in a part called Wisla Malinka.

Wisla - Centre, 1. Maja street

Wisla - Ski jumping hills

We continue our sightseeing and reach Kopczyński Park by the Vistula River, which rises in the local mountains. Across the river there is a swimming pool.

Wisla - Park Kopczyńskiego

We will take a walk along the Vistula River promenade and walk to the Gołębiewski Hotel. It's a giant hotel with 500 rooms and its own water park.

Wisla - Promenade around the Wisla River

Wisla - Hotel Gołębiewski

This way we saw everything we wanted from Vistula and since we still have enough time, we will make a detour to nearby Skoczow on our way to Bielsko-Biala. It had its infamous moment of glory in the history of Czechoslovakia, when the Czechoslovak army reached its borders during the Seven Days War with Poland in 1919.

For the journey to Skoczow we choose the train. I will buy tickets in the Koleo app. It should be noted that a bus would be cheaper in these parts, but a train is just a train. The journey takes about 27 minutes. There are two interesting places to see in Skoczow. The historic square and the Kaplicówka pilgrimage site. We originally thought we would have lunch here, but the square is small and there are only a couple of pastry shops and one restaurant that didn't interest us.

Wisla - Pesa Elf unit of Koleje Slaskie

Skoczow - Pesa Elf unit of Koleje Slaskie leaves the station in Skoczow

Skoczow - Rynek Square

Skoczow - Rynek Square

So we leave lunch at Bielsko-Biala and move to Kaplicówka. It is located above the town and besides the chapel of St. Jan Sarkander there is a nice view of the town and especially the Beskydy Mountains.

Skoczow - Church of the Holy Trinity

Skoczow - Kaplicówka

With that we are done in Skoczow and we are going to the bus station to return to Bielsko-Biala. Only Linea trans shuttles run from Skoczow. The shuttles are old battered Mercedes vans that have seen their best days, but on the other hand the driver has a credit card terminal.

Skoczow - Bus station

In Bielsko-Biala, the shuttle does not go to the bus station, but stops a short distance from it and terminates at the Walowa stop near Galeria Sfera. We get off at the bus station and go to take our things to our accommodation. We don't stay there too long and go to Bar Pierożkowy Karolina on Cechowa Street for dinner. As I've mentioned many times before, here you can find traditional Polish cuisine at low prices. I had again a great bigos and Zanet had pierogi with strawberries. After dinner we visit Biedrunka and go to the hostel where we need to pack and prepare for our return home tomorrow.

Bielsko-Biala - Bigos a pierogy v Bar Pierożkowy Karolina

In the morning we pack the last things, have breakfast, return the keys and go to Galeria Sfera to wait for the shuttle. Unfortunately, there is no direct bus (Lajkonik) this morning and we have to take a shuttle through all the villages.

In the shuttle to Czieszyn

In Czieszyn, we'll go to Leroy Merlin, which is our equivalent of Hornbach, to buy assembly foam and to check the prices of building materials, which are of course cheaper here than here. Then we take the shortest way to Český Těšín and take the train to Ostrava. This is the end of our last trip, which Žanet and I took with two of us and from next time there will be one more of us.

Užitečné odkazy:

Czech Railways
Connection finder in Poland e-podroznik
Purchase Koleo train tickets
Lajkonik
Dom Turysty PTTK w Bielsku - Białej