Sanok, Poland

Sanok

Sanok was a very pleasant, relatively small sized city tucked away in the southeastern corner of Poland. The San river flows by, and there is a famous hockey team from here.

It has an attractive town square, and the city is a tidy and pretty place, offering a very nice square with fountains, and sidewalk cafes and restaurants available. There are old churches in town, as well as a castle.

We went to this city a bit on the trip, as it is the nearest relatively big city in the area. Basia used to go to Nursing school here, and it offers the most nightlife and activities in the area.

There is an open air museum, known as a Skansen, of very old homes and buildings in the Biała Góra district of town. Here, you get to see homes with thatched roofs, beautiful villages, and a glimpse of how life must have been dating back many centuries. It reminded me a little bit of the old Asterix comics that I used to read (and occasionally still do) when I was growing up.

This is a bit like a living museum, if you will. They really have tried to restore it to give the viewer a feel of the past, and it is famous throughout Poland.

If you find yourself in the area, I would definitely recommend it.

We visited the skansen, and I was very impressed! It really was beautiful, something to see! There can't be too many villages like this left in the world, and they really have gone to some lengths to preserve it! It is not quite like, say, Williamsburg, because I can't imagine that it attracts the sheer numbers of people that Williamsburg does. Yet, this perhaps has a richer and fuller history, stretching back much further. And the beauty of the place makes it stand out. It is probably not as commercialized as some places (again, like Williamsburg), but this is worth making a trip just on it's own, I think.

Sanok itself is a nice village, and we enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon there. The town square is very attractive, although it was strangely devoid of life for a late Friday afternoon. We enjoyed a decent meal and a nice cup of coffee, as well as strolling through the largely deserted cobbled streets, past shops closed for the day.

Not a famous city, and not even one that likely registers as a must see on many travel guides. But we had a wonderful time, and I definitely would love to come back! There was just something about this city that I really enjoyed!

The Skansen

This was the newer part, which was done up in an older style to keep the flavor of the place, one would presume.

Some of these homes were just beautiful! And it was such a beautiful day, weather wise (well, maybe a little bit on the hot side). These pictures mostly came out nice, but it is not quite like being there. 

You see something as charming as this, and you know you're not in New Jersey anymore. 

Basia posing by the rose garden. At least I think it was a rose garden, if memory serves correctly. I can't apparently rely on my eyesight serving correctly now, evidently. 

You see a scene like this, and you would probably be forgiven if you mistook it for Ireland, or perhaps old Brittania.

The orthodox church. This was, surprisingly, not as old as I thought. 

A Polish mailbox. 

The castle at Sanok. 

Looking out over the roofs of Sanok homes, to the foothills beyond.

The town square of Sanok, which I think was quite attractive, especially for a fairly small scale city.

No one thought this was a big deal, but I thought it was very attractive, and added to the town charm. 

The first moving pictures (it hardly qualifies as a video clip, now, does it?) ever featured on the Charbor Chronicles! Hey, how about that?