Sandomierz, pompously known as Little Rome, is one of my favorite Polish cities. It has a rich history, with legends wandering its charming streets. At the same time, it is a small and friendly town - during the weekend you can quickly get to know the historic center.
Last year I wrote two texts about this city:
A city on seven hills - let's take a walk around "Little Rome"
Like six hundred years ago - let's go on a cruise on the medieval riverboat.
Today, I want to take you for another walk, to the side streets to bypass the most crowded places: the market square with a town hall and the royal castle. To recall the atmosphere of these famous places, I have prepared a mix of photos from my first article about Sandomierz. Don't be deceived by the empty streets - I took photos early in the morning, so there were no tourists yet.
Ok, let's take a walk down the side streets then.
On the first day of my stay in Sandomierz, I met Wiedźmuchy, a women's art group. They say about themselves: They call us witches, sorceresses, hags - we are an artistic group, not an occult one.
They travel all over Poland and participate in performances, charity, and sports events. Laughing, energetic women of different ages who do a lot of good. Unfortunately, some extremist individuals tried to block their activities, claiming they were spreading the occult. Well, some people still miss the piles of inquisition. Fortunately, the confusion only made Wiedźmuchy famous.
When they noticed that I was watching them, they surrounded me and asked if I wanted to join them 😃.
Then disappeared into the fog, and I went my own way 😉
These quiet places are only a few or a dozen minutes' walk from the market square, yet tourists usually avoid them. I was surprised at first, but later realized it was probably because of the stairs! The historic part of the city is situated on several hills, so no matter which way you go, you have to climb many stairs.
You can sweat just looking at the photos 😅
After such a great effort, you can eat something good and relax with a glass of local beer without remorse.
For a starter, I suggest the queen of polish street food (since the 70s) - zapiekanka. It's still very popular despite the varied competition, which came after the political transformation in 1989. The classic version is a half of a baguette with onion, mushrooms, and a lot of cheese. Currently, zapiekanka comes in countless versions :)
Zapiekanka is great for quickly satisfying your hunger, but if you want to eat a delicious dinner in an exciting place, you must stop by here:
The place is located a few steps from the market square and is called "In The Old Bakery." (W Starej Piekarni) It's actually a bakery with limited hours for lunch, and it's open from noon for several hours. The menu is concise, but you can find extraordinary, delicious dishes. While waiting for the order, you can treat yourself to freshly baked bread and various additives, such as onion lard, pickled cucumbers, or homemade smoked sausage. You can also buy them to go.
Guest can eat at long, communal tables, like in some old tavern.
The menu is short, but it's still hard to decide what to choose - stuffed cabbage, dumplings, traditional soups (sour rye soup and zalewajka), or zalepieńce, which I had never eaten before. It's a kind of large, baked dumplings with various stuffing, served with lots of garlic sauce. They look a bit like empanadas and are very filling.
Sour rye soup with sausage and freshly baked bread.
Zalepieńce.
I wish I had discovered this place earlier and try more dishes. Next time I visit Sandomierz, I will eat at the old bakery again :)
Long walks increase the thirst, so that's why I was drinking so much beer ;) I always choose those from local craft breweries - trying new flavors is the best fun.
Some bottles had beautifully designed labels.
It's significant that from my stay in Sandomierz, apart from memories and photos, I brought only two souvenirs - a bottle of beer (I bought it because of the label) and proziak, which I had never eaten before.
Proziak is a simple flatbread consisting of flour, eggs, sour cream, water, salt, and baking soda. It tastes best when baked on a tray of a traditional wood-fired oven. It turns out that the recipe comes from Subcarpathia Province (southeastern corner of Poland); I don't know how it got to Sandomierz :)
Well, it's over for today, although I still have a few stories about Sandomierz up my sleeve. Another time!
