Pokrzywnik 11 (Alternatively through Poland)

Pokrzywnik 11 reveals itself over time and with patience. You can't just come here, just like that, and fall in love with it. Everything is done gradually, exactly as it should be in the idea of slow (travel). So if you like rushing and being busy (doing just anything), this is not the place for you. Don't worry about the impressions though, because the owners Aneta and Stefan will take care of the excitement for you with care. You will enter the house and smell the cooked vegetables or baked yeast rolls. You will enter the kitchen and the warmth of the fireplace will surround you. You will go to the first floor and the beautiful decor will give you comfort. You will go out into the garden and nature will suck you in. You will look out of the window and see the grazing cows. Suddenly, it will turn out that everything you were looking for was so close at your fingertips, all you had to do was sharpen your senses.

POKRZYWNIK 11

Aneta and Stefan's guest house is a real veteran, one of the first places of this type in Poland. What made it stand out from the very beginning was the interior decor. This has never been the agritouristic accommodation that has been associated with a country house providing rooms to rent a decade ago in Poland. These, as a rule, had one, maybe two furnished bedrooms with a shared bathroom, and let's be honest, they were far from guaranteeing aesthetic experience. And Pokrzywnik 11 has bet on such sensations. That is why it still hosts crowds of people eager for rest, the number of which increases every year. What's more, often celebrities, artists and the press (more or less welcomed) come here. How many articles have already been written about this place? It's hard to count... certainly in one of the magazines in your room at least one of them will be found. But the owners won't tell you about their popularity, at least not immediately. Both the owners and the house itself are characterized by modesty and pride, between which it is so difficult to find the balance. Here, however, you feel it naturally, no one asks for applause, but when it can, it shows the best. And the best in this place, apart from the house itself, is food! Ladies and gentelman, prepare your stomachs! :)

FOOD

I've heard about Pokrzywnik 11 for the first time because of the food. I saw a post on Facebook and thought to myself that it would be fantastic to visit this place and try what kind of goods serves. And it worked!

In Pokrzywnik, home-made vegetarian cuisine dominates, also vegan on request, prepared with local products, which either grow in the home garden or at the neighbors'. Ecological awareness is expanded and cultivated in this region, which is why this food tastes so good! A "real" tomato doesn't need salt, and the garden rocket is a sufficient ingredient for a delicious salad.
Breakfast and dinner are very sumptuous in Pokrzywnik. It's not about expensive tableware, it's about variety. In the morning, you can expect homemade bread, freshly baked yeast rolls, vegetable bread spreads, homemade jams and insanely good peanut butter! Local cheese, fresh vegetables and fruits will also be on the table. You will certainly not go out hungry after such breakfast!

Dinners are a three-course feast, so it's good to spend the day outdoors and prepare your stomach. During our stay we had the opportunity to try vegetable cream soup with black cumin, Silesian noodles with mushroom sauce, cucumber soup with coconut milk, vegetable chops with butter potatoes, salad with parmesan cheese, beetroot carpaccio with goat cheese, cheesecake with Oreo base and very chocolate cake. I probably made you hungry, didn't I...? ;)

ACCOMMODATION

Interiors in Pokrzywnik are characterized by brightness, naturalness, comfort and practicality. The owners eliminated plastic almost completely, which is why wood, stone and brick dominate everywhere. The collected post-war furniture creates a rustic character. The rooms and apartments are cozy and you shall sleep well in them, also because of the linen sheets and pillows filled with buckwheat, sewn by a girl from the village next door (you can see Konstancja's products on her Instagram HERE, and soon you will be able to order them online). The house offers three rooms of different sizes and two apartments. Their names come from the type of tree from which the furniture in them was made. All rooms have a private bathroom with a bathtub or shower.

The hosts have their own home sewage treatment plant, and the water comes from their well. In the winter, the entire house is heated by a modern coal stove. This is a great example of how you can combine the best of the past with the best in modernity.

HOW TO BOOK YOUR STAY INPOKRZYWNIK?

Pokrzywnik 11 doesn't advertise itself and doesn't use websites such as Booking.com or Slowhop. It doesn't really have to, because it uses the best possible form of marketing: by spreading a word. For over a decade, this place has won over many returning guests, and in the last two years, also a large group of new ones.

The easiest way to contact the owners is by phone or email:

tel. 695 123 077 lub 691 079 391

e-mail: anetagieysztor@op.pl

The price for bed and breakfast is PLN 100 per person, however, it will change from 2020.

Half board costs an additional PLN 50 per person.

It is not possible to book accommodation without breakfast.

For more information, please visit Pokrzywnik's website HERE.

What to do when in Pokrzynwik?

*1. "MOUNTAIN TASTES" MARKET IN SIEDLĘCIN*
If you are in Pokrzywnik for the weekend, be sure to go to Siedlęcin, located 13 kilometers away, where a market with local products takes place **every Saturday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.** At the market you will find mainly food products, but also handicrafts, such as buckwheat pillows, which I mentioned above. Last time we went we bought such delicacies as mirabelle jam, nettle bread spread with wild garlic or healing, natural pillows.
You will get there without problems following the signs, or head for the Prince's Tower.
Find out more about Mountain Flavors HERE.

*2. THE PRINCE'S TOWER IN SIEDLĘCIN*
The tower is located next to the marketplace and is an example of a medieval residential tower, one of the largest of its kind in Europe. It is worth going inside to see the only paintings from the fourteenth century about Sir Lancelot, one of the most important members of the Round Table. More information can be found HERE.
Normal ticket: PLN 7
Opening hours: May-October -> 9: 00-18: 00; November-April -> 10: 00-16: 00

*3. WILD GORGE*
It is a picturesque route connecting Pokrzywnik with Pilchowice, leading through a forest-covered gorge at the bottom of which a stream flows. The crossing takes about an hour and is very easy. You can get on the trail directly through the garden of Pokrzywnik 11, but you have to have trekking shoes because the path is overgrown.

*4. DAM AND WATER POWER PLANT IN PILCHOWICE*
I've already mentioned the dam on the blog before, when I wrote about Wild Roses: HERE.
However, it is much closer from Pokrzywnik 11, only three kilometers away, so you can easily get there on foot. Last time when we were there we admired the sunset, but this time we decided to see what the sunrise looks like and... it's hard to decide at which time of the day this place is more beautiful!

POLAND FOR THE WEEKEND - SUMMARY

This trip almost didn't work out for us, but it was not known when we would be able to visit Pokrzywnik again, because all weekends by the end of this year are booked. Were it not for Aneta and the announcement of beautiful weather, I would not have decided to come with barely treated stomach flu. In the end, I honestly don't regret this decision, quite the opposite! And although I could not fully enjoy the food, participate in the evening talks over wine or run in the mountains, I rested and healed myself, and my slightly dormant artistic soul.

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