Within 7 hours you can fly to the Cape Verde Islands and drive along the whole of Poland. You can also - and it was my choice - spend this time thoroughly cleaning the old lamp with a toothbrush. However, not only the lamp required a strong refreshment, because in fact all the things we use are second-hand. The house itself, too. And although it's hard to wish for life to be turned upside down on his 90th birthday, our post-German old man managed it: he really regained his youthful glow.
As befits a health resort with traditions, Szczawno-Zdrój combines great architecture, proximity to trails - in this case the Central Sudetes, and a solid portion of culture. You can gather up to 8 people to visit it, but I will calm down introverts and childless groups right away. Inside the house there are two separate spaces that can work as a whole, but also give you the opportunity to relax in your own, closed space.
It's a bit mountainous, a bit unhurriedly urban. It's just fun!
Our fancy house is a four-story semi-detached house from 1932. After a complete renovation of the house inside, we created two separate spaces that function as a whole, but can easily work as two separate apartments.
When booking up to 4 people, the upper part of the house is at your disposal. Above 4ch, we also provide the bottom. Don't worry, there won't be anyone else during your stay at home anyway!
Outside, the house is practically preserved in its original condition, because it is under the care of the local conservator. Throughout the house, we used a lot of original elements and second-hand items. In addition, a lot of contemporary, mainly Polish art, sculptures and furniture gems from the 80s. During the renovation, our priority was to preserve as many original elements of the house as possible, old floors, a bay window in the bedroom, some doors. We used a chest of drawers found inside for a bathroom cabinet, renovated a cast-iron sink, and used demolished bricks to build new walls. Even the window sills are made of boards that were previously parts of the windows. Sometimes it took twice as much work from our repair crew, who kept looking at us as if we were aliens.
There are a lot of stairs in the house, it's 4 floors after all. Although, in our experience, they run without any problems, they can be a challenge for small children and people with injuries.
A separate apartment is made downstairs - it is an adapted basement, so it is very pleasantly cool in the summer, and warm in the winter thanks to underfloor heating. A tiny, cozy bedroom and an eco-bed made of cardboard (140 cm), where you sleep with the windows closed as if in a deprivation chamber. Kitchen with living room and sofa bed, bathroom with shower and lots of art. You can be independent from the upper part, because there is also a separate entrance. A great idea for a trip with two families.
Upstairs, the space begins with a large common area, with a perfectly prepared kitchen, small toilet, dining room and fireplace, and our insanely comfortable, thirty-year-old sofa. We recommend lying down and doing nothing.
From the kitchen you can go out to the terrace and watch squirrels or woodpeckers darting around the trees of the neighbors.
Upstairs there are sleeping floors, a library, a master bedroom (160 cm) with its own bathroom, where the sunrise peeks in the morning, a dressing room and a lot of creaking floors. At the top there is an attic with an eco-bed made of cardboard (140 cm), its own bathroom with a free-standing bathtub and a view of the nearby parks.
Our garden is still a work in progress, but give us and nature time, and it will only please the eye more and more.
There are two well-equipped kitchens at your disposal. As we are passionate about cooking ourselves, we prepared everything so that you could cook without limits. The kitchens have top-class cooking equipment, you can even cook sous vide on an induction hob :)
In case you run out of ideas, there are plenty of cookbooks and cooking magazines at home. If you don't feel like poking around in garages, there are some excellent restaurants in the area. You can also order food through the delicious.pl portal with delivery to the door.
The nearest shops are 400 meters from the house, and for larger shopping you can go to Biedronka, Lidl and other supermarkets. However, we especially recommend our beloved Eko-shop, where you can buy e.g. amazing cheeses and dairy products from Wańczyki or local spring water Anka.
Next to the Spa House, there is the Bohema cafe, where lavender and carrot flavored ice cream is served, and their creator is the vice European champion in the production of desserts. Another undeniably charming place is the Czarna Owca cafe - smaller than Bohema, but run with great heart and taste.
Szczawno-Zdrój is a town with a long pre-war tradition as a health resort. 600 meters from us there is a pump room with 4 spring intakes, each of which cures different ailments. The water itself is delicious, we regularly take it to Warsaw.
Since we are in the Central Sudetes, there are plenty of trails for walking and light trekking around. The closest is Chełmiec (about 800 m above sea level), which can be reached in 2-3 hours without excessive exertion, basically starting from our living room. In winter, you can look for entertainment on the slopes. Rzeczka is the closest, Karpacz is a bit further, and 25 km from the house there are the Czech Republic and lots of Czech slopes, which in the summer turn into bicycle and walking trails.
In addition, Szczawno has everything not to get bored: indoor tennis courts, a horse farm, a swimming pool, a gym, parks and cafes. And it's within walking distance from our house. If you want to go a little further, we recommend the Książ Castle, the Palm House in Wałbrzych and the Sanatorium in Sokolowsko, which Olga Tokarczuk writes about in one book. In addition, the Abbey in Krzeszów with amazing art and architecture and the baroque wooden Church of Peace in Świdnica.
Other tour ideas include:
- an observation tower in Dzikowiec (10 km),
- Lake Daisy nature reserve (11 km),
- the palace in Jedlinka (15 km),
- the Waligóra peak with a cake in the Andrzejówka shelter (17 km),
- the ruins of the Rogowiec castle (21 km),
- a flooded quarry in Głuszyca (23 km),
- the underground city of Osówka (26 km),
- Głazy Dwarfs nature reserve (26 km),
- Czech rock town in Dolní Adršpach (29 km).
What’s there for children?
There are a lot of board games, comic books and children's books in the house. Please note we have quite a few steep stairs so be careful with younger children.
A travel cot with a set of bedding is available. You have to lay them out, you can put them in any room.
We highly recommend the newly opened, very cool playground in the Swedish Park, it will take you 5 minutes to reach the playground, it is only 200 meters from the house.
What’s there for employees?
At the moment there is moderate GSM coverage in the house and weak wifi coverage (wifi is with GSM). The Internet allows Netflix, but it may not be able to handle long video conferences.
