Saturday, 19 July 2025

Poland - Kasrowy Wierch and Nosal

Just a few miles from Zakopane is one of the main tourist attractions in the Tatra Mountains, the Kasrowy Wierch cable car, and Nosal mountain.  

The entrance to the national park close to the cable car with Nosal in the background.

Nosal is an easy walk.  Because of that, it was very busy,  Foolishly we were there at the start of the school holidays. 


The views are stunning.






From Nosal the top section of the cable car can be seen. 


The Kasrowy Wierch cable car is split into two sections and rougly half way up, passengers have to change to a second cable car.  The passengers who get into the first cable car last get into the second cable car first - and the views are much more impressive!







The first time we went up on the cable car, the cloud cover was variable. and changing rapidly







After straying into Slovakia - the ridge line was the border.


We decided to walk down - A descent of about 900m and around 10km - this was expected to take around 3 hours.  So we set off through the mist down the path. 


We hadn't been walking long until the cloud thinned and we were walking through a truly amazing landscape.



Looking back upto the cablecar around 20 minutes after we started





The vegetation was primarily bracken, with fir trees randomly spread across the slope



The path then passed the mouth of other valleys


)

We got a glimpse of where we had come from.  The cable car was on the farthest away of the four mountains


We were now close to where the vegetation changed from bracken and trees to forest


When we reached the ridge, we saw a lot of trees!


From here to the end we were walking through trees, which closed of the views.

This was a lot harder walk than expected.  Much of it was over an uneven rock path and steps.  It was harder to pick your route due to the sheer number of people walking up.  We must have passed several hundred.  

On our last day after going up Nosal we went up in the cable car again.  It was probably 10degrees warmer, the cloud was much higher and there was no wind.

We were able to just sit alone in the rocks for a while and enjoy the view.


 


When others started to find our spot. we moved down the path to find another spot.


We found another outcrop to sit on, which was probably in Slovakia and enjoyed views up and down the valley.



Then it was back to the cable car after a final look at the path we had started our walk down a few days earlier.


Kasrowy Wierch is very busy. It is a very beautiful area and easily accessible.  And there is no doubt that the Polish People enjoy hiking - there were as many walking up the mountain as down.

It was certainly a happy place for us.












France - Lille

We went to Lille primarily to see Bruce Springsteen, but ended up making a short break of it, with a few days in Lille, meeting up with my folks and a day trip to Ghent.

We travelled on the Eurostar which was a wonderful experience and one I would recommend to anyone.  As part of the embarkation process, passengers go through security, UK passports and  then French passports, so when arriving it's straight out of the station with no queuing.

From a tourist point of view, Lille is centred around the market square, with some wonderful buildings.

the town hall




The Opera

Some shipping containers on end and painted gold!




The old stock exchange


A worried looking sun!


The war memorial


And probably my favourite building that I saw.

The skyline around the market square is impressive


But then there was the unusual, the strange and pure madcap.

A flower display


A 15ft statue


A statue on the underground


My favourite building from another angle


A very large mirror ball in the centre of the old stock exchange.  The courtyard of the old stock exchange has been converted into a market for books and posters. 


I have seen a few rooftop gardens, but this was done very well and dominated the skyline near the railway station


Of course every city needs its street art


Then there was this building with lots of rotund figures hanging from it



That also cropped up in other parts of the city


The cathedral in Lille was only completed in 1999 after 145 years of building.

The rear of the building is very traditional




The front however is ultra modern.  Inside the cathedral there was a display including the plans for the original frontage.  This was far more elaborate and complex than Notre Dam in Paris, For some reason they could not get the funds.



The inside of the cathedral, belies the fact that most of the work was done in the 20th century


The altars at the rear of the church were stunning.  With craftsmen as good as this available it is not suprising they were able to repair Notre Dame in Paris.   


But it is looking the other way where the view is more unusual.  The frontage appears translucent and the rear wall appears to glow.



On the way to our hotel we had to pass a square bounded on one side by government buildings

and on the other by the art gallery


At sunset the art gallery caught the sun


At night, they were both lit beautifully





We stayed at the Moxy Lille City.  It was a wonderful hotel, with great staff, good rooms a nice bar in an old university building
.

That was lit well


And the hotel itself had a wonderful sense of fun!


The old town in Lille was well worth a visit, cobbled streets lined with shops and cafes




And the occasional bit of street art - An albino penguin!


 The old town led to the citadel, which was a pleasant place for a stroll..



And of course, when you are walking up the steps on a bridge to cross the main road you really expect to see a pond with pelicans!


Generally walking around the city there were some impressive buildings and views







Lille is the beer capital of France!  Not a single drink of Kronenbourg, but many French and Belgian brews I had never heard of, and enjoyed.


And of course Springsteen!

65,000 in a football stadium with the roof closed!


I would not hesitate in going to another gig in the city.

Lille was a lovely city and well worth a visit.  It would make a perfect weekend break.
  
It is 90 minutes from London on the Eurostar and we only paid £39 for our tickets.  And even the economy on the Eurostar is more comfortable than any plane I have ever been on.


Not Festering