Góry Świętokrzyskie

On the 7th of september, I had a new visitor arriving :-): my friend Anne, my best travel mate, who I met in Dublin about two years and a half before and with who I travelled extensively in the last years and who perfectly matches my travelling habits :-).

So, I pisked up Anne on a Friday evening at Krakow airport, on a very rainy day :-(. I came from Kielce by train... It was supposed to be a quick, but as often in Poland the train suddenly stopped, in the middle of nowhere, for a few (many) minutes, the passengers not having any notice from nobody. So, finally it took even more time than a slow train but people compleined a lot... but it so often happens! I definitely prefer buses to travel in Poland :-)

Arrived in Krakow, I ran to the hostel to confirm my booking, put my backpack and then I headed to the airport and finally we were both back to the hostel, all wet. In the train going form the airport to the city centre we met a Mexican guy, with his family. He was studying in France and I gave him some informations about Krakow... Under our proposition, we took a taxi together but our hostel was the 1st on the road and we a bit forgot to pay our part :-(

The following day was dedicated to the typical touristic tour of Krakow and in the evening we got back to Kielce. On the next day it was still raining a lot by it was our only full day together in Kielce, so we had to do stg. Kama advised us to go to the Swietokrzyskie mountains, what she told are the oldest mountains in europe!?

When I first arrived to Kielce and was the name of the Voivide (province) written, I got like a heart attack: Swietokrzyskie. Impossible to pronounce and to write!! Then on a French brochure I realise that the French translation was "Saintes-Croix".. Of course!! Swiete = saintes + Krzysy = Croix!!

We took a bus and, as indicated by Kama, I told to the driver that we wanted to stop in front of the three Crosses. "Trzy krzysy"?? The driver seemed either not to understand me, or not to know the place.. Strange??!! Neither anybody else in the bus knew what we were talking about. Suddenly we saw three huge crosses, at the entrance of the forest. they were so big and the place was so.. wide, that it was impossible to miss them. We got out there. I still do not understand the misunderstanding!!

It was still raining a lot... We began walking, following the road, up to the montain. In the way, we saw a TV aerial. No surprise, as it is the highest place in the area. And then finally we got to a Monastery! In spite of the weather there was a lot of people, a mass going on. We visited the inside of the monastery and some rooms, very beautifully decorated and painted. We also saw one of the most awful and "gore" thing I never saw in Poland. in a crypt, the was a the body of a former religious guy.. The body was in a box but the box was... opened!! It was possible to see the dead body, all the bones,.. Brrrr!! We quickly got out of there.

On the opposite side of the mountain was a pilgrimage way, leading to Nowa Słupia, well-known as a brimstone city. The way was very "sharp" and slicing because of the rain. And, what may happen happened... et c'est le drame.. I fell down!! then my trousers and my coats were all covered by sludge!! We finally managed to reach Nowa Slupia, headed to the bus stop and caught a bus to Kielce, being all wet.

Arrived to home, after such day, we were dreaming of very simple things: having a rest and eating!! After such a day, we deserved some red wine and pierogi :-)