Below: This picture of Ogrodzieniec Castle gives an idea why the trail which links this to similarly-situated ruins is called the Eagle's Nest Trail.
Fire and ice
It was snowing when we got to Katowice. The days had gotten appreciably colder since Warsaw, where we first felt the bite of winter (it was -10°C when we left Wroclaw). The following day dawned cloudless and colder. Even the train carriage to Zawierce, from where we would get a connecting bus to Ogrodzieniec Castle, was chilly.
The bus stop just outside Zawierce's train station that morning was the scene of a small commotion. By provincial standards, the coming and going of public and private buses constituted rush hour. One bus, parked near a road crossing, didn't move. We were about to cross near it, looking for our bus, when we paused to ask a fellow commuter for directions. Moments later, a little explosion startled everybody. It came from the rear tyre of the stationary bus. That brief conversation had saved us from straying too close. There was smoke, lots of it, a small fire, and a second burst which issued from the front of the bus.
The fire department was on site within minutes. As we watched the firemen carry out their jobs competently, I felt a sharp jab against my shoulder. A shrill voice cried out, Minus sixteen! Why didn't you tell me!
The day's temperature was laid bare by an electronic board behind the bus stop.
Ice and rock
We got off the bus at Podzamcze to a gust of wind. Podzamcze was a village strung out on both sides of a two-laned road, just below the castle's grey ruins. It seemed nobody came in the dead of winter - every other yard held a barking dog unprepared for visitors. Even the wind grew in strength with each step we took towards the castle. When we crested the hill this smote us with icy ferocity. Almost like climbing Everest, Mary grumbled. My only anxious thought was that my socks were too thin.
Below: The wind absolutely battered us as we walked up this road. And the cold burned.
The castle, as you might have guessed, was close. We contented ourselves with going on the trail which went around the castle hill. This wove in and out amongst the feet of rocky outcrops standing like sentinels around the castle. The castle walls were built skilfully to harness the natural defences proffered by the topography of the land. Walking right up to one outcrop and looking out over the battlements, we understood why the trail was christened Eagle's Nest.
Above (top to bottom): Sights on the path that went around the castle - rock sentinels into whose torsos the castle walls were skilfully built; the rolling Polish Jura uplands all around; a disused concrete bunker testifies to the natural defensibility of the terrain...
Below (top to bottom): ...What bravado amidst wintry conditions looks like; Another outcrop that looks suspiciously like the Merlion.
Ogrodzieniec Castle and many of its sister strongholds along the trail were built by King Casimir III, known also to posterity as the Great who was bequeathed a Poland made of wood and bequeathed to his heirs a Poland made of stone. The line of keeps were meant to guard Krakow (the royal capital then) and the nearby border with Bohemia, which at that time controlled Silesia (Wroclaw is Silesian) to the west and south. Vigil was kept, until neglect and war consumed the castles.
At the tallest outcrop northeast of the ruins we paused. I wriggled my toes, and felt nothing. Morning was turning to be brilliantly clear. There was perhaps two-thirds of the circular path left to go, but my shivering subconscious half-imagined severed toes bouncing like beans in my boot. I looked at Mary. There was frost on her glasses. If we stayed out in the open any longer there would have been frost in her eyes. It was too much. We turned back, poked around a little bit more at the base of the castle rock and walked back down the hill.
Below (top to bottom): Standing at the base of the castle, like children playing at the feet of sleeping stone giants; a view of Mount Birow, south of Ogrodzieniec Castle, the pitted terrain of which was occupied as far back as 30,000 years ago. Birow was originally in the day's itinerary, which was scuppered by a conspiratorial mutiny of my subsconscious and toes.
Back in Podzamcze, we searched high and low (literally) for a cafe or a restaurant that was open. A banner promised food 800 metres away. It was a simple countryside hotel, but in our circumstances it felt like a palace.
Logistics
We took the train from Katowice to Zawierce, from where Bus 7 runs to Podzamcze, just below Ogrodzieniec Castle. If you miss the bus, or would like to return to Zawierce earlier, there are frequent private buses that ply the same route. The castle is visible from just about anywhere in the village. For the best views of the ruins and the surrounding countryside, follow the trail that leads around the castle. Pod Figurą Hotel & Restauracja provides accommodation and decent food year round.
Above: a map of the trails around the castle.
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