I will tell you the address of a hideout tightly hidden in the forests northeast of Warsaw. There was once a royal town here of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland - Kamieniec Mazowiecki. A thriving rafting center with a fortified castle, town hall, cloth hall and the convent of the Visitation Sisters. Today it is simply Kamieńczyk, a summer resort village with an official population of 666. On Grzybowa Street, on the edge of the forest, you will find a house designed for escaping from the city. Inside there are: two double bedrooms, a living room with windows overlooking the pine trees and a bathtub in the bathroom. And the smell of wood, which is a constant companion here. Nearby, the Liwiec River flows lazily and the Bug River meanders wildly. There are forests of the former Kamieniecka Forest around, and a bit further, elks walk in the Bug Landscape Park. Although the atmosphere here is unhurried, the surroundings are conducive to activities. For a good start, I suggest: competitions for a place in front of the window with pillows, races to the hammock and a competition for the longest time without breaking away from the book. Ready? Start!
In the house located on the edge of the forest you will find: a spacious and cozy living room with a sofa bed, table and TV, kitchenette, two bedrooms (one with a double bed, the other with two single beds) and a bathroom with a shower and a bathtub.
Inside, it smells of wood, which is the basis of the decor. It refers to what is outside - a pine forest, which you can look at from a comfortable space organized next to one of the windows.
In front of the house there is a large terrace created for relaxing and eating meals with a view of the forest.
There are several ways to deal with boredom, although in Kamieńczyk no one chases it away, rather it is given over to it with bliss. Woodland is a home of escape, when you come here, expect to empty your mind of all the thoughts that are tangled in them, and enjoy the sun on your face, the view of the pine forest and peace.
In the house and its immediate surroundings you can:
- warm up in the sauna*,
- read books in the cosy space in front of one of the windows,
- eat breakfast on the wooden terrace and sit there with a book,
- play board games,
- take a relaxing bath in the bathtub,
- have a barbecue or a bonfire in a designated place,
- go to the forest,
- walk along the Liwiec River (and stop for a soak, a picnic or a swim),
- float down the Bug River,
- ride a bike on the nearby roads or in the forest,
- go cross-country skiing in the winter.
There are several interesting points in the area:
In Kamieńczyk there is a private Ethnographic and Historical Museum, run by an enthusiast. Henryk Słowikowski, who has gathered numerous collections, you will see old wooden houses there, a model of a raft (in the 19th and 20th centuries Kamieńczyk became a raft settlement) and eat delicious pancakes in the inn.
In Łochów there is a palace and a farm and craft workshops are held, in which you can take part (check the program on fb). You can also see a historic railway station from 1862, which was part of a larger complex (built with the Warsaw-St. Petersburg Railway in mind). The Łochów cycling trail, 55 km long, begins and ends in Łochów.
Nadbużański Landscape Park located in the lower Bug valley, visit to walk, ride two wheels and observe (if you happen to come across them): moose, deer, roe deer, wild boars, badgers and foxes, as well as beavers and otters. Birdwatching fans, beware! The park is a shelter for about 200 species, you may be able to spot: black stork, kingfisher, curlew and crane.
Szumin, where the famous house of Zofia and Oskar Hansen is located - a manifesto of Open Form and a branch of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. To visit the Hansens' summer resort, you must make an appointment in advance using the application form, which you can find on the Internet.
In Gwizdały there is the Gwisdek Museum with a thousand exhibits.
*one-time fee for the sauna and hot tub is: PLN 200 (for this amount you get unlimited access to the sauna and hot tub, wood, towels, essential oils).
