Japanese bento is a simple dish often packed in a box to take with you for lunch. Composed in sets full of flavor and color, they are not only pleasing to the eyes, they are also a source of culinary delights. Bento boxes are small, surprising and offer many possibilities. Like two wooden houses that you can reach in 25 minutes from Warsaw. They are small in size but complete in every detail. They have a king-size bed with a mountain of pillows, a kitchen and a bathroom with a shower. There are books, board games, a table for feasting or working, a warming fireplace, windows to nature, and terraces in front of them. You can come alone or in a group to breathe in the forest, breakfast in bed, dinner on the terrace and barefoot walks in the meadow or forest floor. Your favorite playlist loses here to the sounds of nature, you can spend the day in bed or get on a bike and go to the reserve, where you might meet a moose. Drop into the middle of nowhere that all roads avoid and see how you find your way here.
Bento Houses are two xs wooden houses standing on the edge of the forest - each of them has 14 m², and inside:
- a comfortable king size bed with a mountain of soft pillows,
– a fully equipped kitchen and a bar table on wheels with two stools,
– a bathroom with a shower and a Swedish separation toilet.
There are large terraces in front of the cottages where you can start and end your day. The cottages are equipped with air conditioning and a fireplace, they are available all year round.
The houses do not stand in the immediate vicinity of each other, nor do they face each other. One is in the meadow, by the pond and on the edge of the forest, and the other is hidden among the trees. Everyone has their own entrance to the plot so that you can enjoy full privacy here.
You can reach Kącko in 25 minutes by car from Wilanów, but I also recommend the option of arriving by train with bicycles (train to Halinów, and then 7 km by bicycle).
The kitchen, although mini in size, is fully equipped (it has: a two-burner induction hob, a fridge, a set of pots and pans). For those who cannot imagine mornings without coffee (here most often drunk on the terrace), there are: aeropress, chemex and a coffee maker.
In season, the surrounding forests are full of berries and mushrooms. If you feel like picking some of them up, but you don't want to collect them, there are numerous pickers' points in the area that sell their harvest.
In the season I will share with you the crops from my garden, you can count on tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs. You can get fresh eggs from Mr. Edek (he lives in the house at the intersection, on the left), and milk, cottage cheese and cream from Mr. Jurek (every Friday, but the order must be placed by Wednesday). I'll show you exactly where to find them. Below I leave you the directions for the surrounding farms, where you can go for fruit and vegetables. Sometimes it is possible to harvest, for example, tomatoes straight from the field.
You don't need to make plans, they are born here by themselves. And if they do not arise, I keep my finger on the pulse of local events and I will be happy to tell you about them (maybe there will be a cheese workshop or an all-day bat observation?). Unusual things are happening in Kącko and its surroundings.
The space of the house and its immediate surroundings
If I had to describe the atmosphere here in one word, I would choose the word: idyll. The houses smell of wood and, despite their small size, are full of comfort. Air conditioning will take care of your comfort in the summer, and the fireplace - in autumn and winter. You can: stay in bed before noon (in summer you will sleep in linen sheets, and in winter you will be wrapped in Egyptian cotton), wrap yourself in a duvet and start the day on the terrace, after breakfast jump into a hammock with a book or headphones with your favorite podcast, do a few asanas in grass, end the day with a candlelit dinner. Large windows make what is inside flow smoothly into what is outside. The border is blurred, and you can feel the extraordinary and soothing closeness of nature. Inside, I leave you a selection of books and board games (dominoes, jenga, who is it and a card game - exploding cats). And for sitting on the terrace - chairs and an umbrella (Bento One) or fold-out couches (Bento Two). At Bento Two, two hammocks hang among the trees.
Rural landscape, fields, meadows and forests
Kąck is a village very picturesquely situated among meadows and over the Mienia river pool. The name of the river probably comes from the metallic flashes in the current - there is iron ore in the bed of the river. The section of Mieni near the houses is shallow - the river is more like a stream that stretches through the fields. You can have a picnic on its shore. You can pick bouquets in the meadows, berries and mushrooms in the forests. During walks among the fields and forests, you can also encounter the inhabitants of the area - roe deer, and if you are lucky, also elk.
A network of bicycle trails entangling the area (two bicycles are waiting for you on site)
You can come here on two wheels. It is enough to take a train to Halinów and from there go straight to the forest. And when you feel like going on trips, choose a nature reserve on peat in Karczew or the Bagno Bocianowskie nature reserve as their goal. You can also go for culinary conquests and visit: Barek na Dakowie (seasonal), El Camino Arizona and Mexican Bar and the Blue Zakątek fishing and fish shop (also seasonal). The Wiązowna commune, where Kąck is located, is connected by a path with the communes of Halinów and Józefów. From Duchnowo, through Pęclin, Dziechciniec, Malcanów, Lipowo to Glinianka, there is a 12-kilometer bicycle path. A map of bicycle routes and a description of tourist trails can be found on the communal website (tuwiazowna.pl/szlaki-turystyczne/). They will allow you to plan a trip around Warsaw's suburbs. How close the beautiful forest complexes are to the capital, how high the dunes are here, how charming peat bogs are, can amaze and delight.
Canoeing
The Mienia River is a tributary of the Świder river, which can be kayaked. Even novice kayakers can try their hand at it, because both variants of the route to Józefów (from Wólka Mlądzka and Wola Karczewska are easy and without transfers). Part of the river bed (together with the banks) is protected by the Świder nature reserve, which is open to tourism.
Other pleasures
– In Kącko there is a swimming pool with 3 ponds, which was created after a sand mine. You can swim there, swim on a pedal boat and fish (each reservoir is dedicated to a different activity). It's crowded on the weekends, but during the week you can find a quiet space for yourself.
- Within walking distance, in Ruda, there are fish ponds stretching to the horizon. It is a wild, desolate and very phenomenal place.
– For horse riding lessons or training, go to the Horses and Family Foundation (which saves 40 horses and ponies) or the Górki stable.
– I let anglers know that there is a fishing spot very close to the houses (at Sokołów).
– In autumn and winter, go to the mobile outdoor sauna on the Świder River – Zdrowo Nagrzani.
What’s there for employees?
Super fast fiber optic internet, great view outside the window.
