July 17, 2025 – Dukla to Gorlice – 47 kms (in the rain) – U Schabińskiej – Pałac w Gorlicach

July 18, 2025 – Gorlice to Tarnów – 59 kms – K2 Apartment 

Ruth: The small cities of Poland are the places to be. Far from the crowds of Krakow, Tarnow is my new favourite city. Some describe it as a mini Krakow, with its central square full of arcaded Renaissance buildings surrounding the Town Hall in the center. It also still has the medieval town layout of alleys and streets, minus the old city walls. The walls were destroyed in the 19th century, seriously?!?!  

Beyond the beauty of the place, it’s the accessibility of cultural activities that makes cities like Zamosc and Tarnow really win my heart. Today we saw  a poster announcing a New Orleans Jazz Band Parade from the square, followed by an evening Jazz concert near by. I love stumbling into things like this. After following the parade through the streets and dancing we settled into the open air amphitheater for some classic and swing Jazz.  

The day before arriving in Tarnow we didn’t leave early. Instead we sat and watched the rain pour down onto the central square in Dukla.  It was going to be a wet one. I pulled out my sketchbook for the first time in awhile and painted one of the wooden churches while we waited. There are lots of images I would like to paint, but we have been so busy, and by the time I settle into a place for the night I just want to relax.  

We rolled out before 11:00 and headed down the highway. Not only was it wet but we were sharing the road with a lot of trucks. It was noisy and stressful but the majority of drivers were very courteous. The trucks were spraying a lot of water, but they would generally  pull over and slow down.  After 12 kms the rain picked up and we dove into a bus shelter. We spent an hour and a half there, but the rain  lessened and we continued on to visit our last UNESCO  church in the town of Sékowa. By this time my feet were sloshing in my shoes so I stopped to pull off my socks and ride without them. Much better. 

At last the rain quit and we stopped at the church, a jaw dropping sight on another day, but yesterday I just wanted to get clean and dry. After a quick visit we continued a kilometre further to see if there was a room available for the night at the Palace. And there was!!! We had a beautiful room (well, actually, a three room suite) in the only Art Deco palace in Southern Poland, for considerably less than a  double room (with included toilet paper) at the Jericho Beach Youth hostel in Vancouver. Now that’s the way to end a rainy day!

We have only two more rides before Krakow and then we fly home on Tuesday.