I love weekend trips. It’s really hard to catch us during weekends in Warsaw, especially in the spring and summer. This is when we travel across Poland. We let go of distant travels, we let go of European vacation and we enjoy everything that’s the best about what’s ours and what’s close. We used to go habitually to Suwałki Region, to our beloved Żegary right next to the border with Lithuania, we go to the Polish coast for waffles and fried fish, to Podlasie, to Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and to Zakopane, where we can walk in the valleys. We look for new places with delicious food in Polish towns and we discover new magical ones, the ones that turn our weekends into pleasant mixtures of enchantment and relax.
The discovery of the past weekend is POZIOM 511 Hotel in Ogrodzieniec, in the Polish Jurassic Highland, in the Eagle Nests Landscape Park. I’m not going to lie if I tell you that this is one of the most beautifully and intrestingly located hotels in Poland. It may even be number 1! It’s located in a remarkably great place, right next to the Ogrodzieniec Castle, amongst the green and calcareous stones typical for the Polish Jurassic Highland. Not only do the stones surround hotels, sometimes they even appear inside! It all makes it impossible for you to lose interest in the building’s (actually, it’s two uniqely connected buildings) architecture and its surroundings! If you add to that an amazingly located pool with spring water from deep-water intake and a SPA, you get a place perfect for relax, no matter the weather.
CUISINE
We came to Poziom 511 for lunch over 1,5 years ago when we went to the Polish Jurassic Highland for a weekend with friends. There were no enchantments, but there was a disappointment. There’s a new chef nowadays. She brought a new menu, new tastes and a new attitude. Right now it’s Oliwia Bernady, one of the 6th edition of TOP CHEF’S participants, who rules in 511.
In her menu there is a lot of typically Polish dishes, but not just that. You need to try steak tartare smoked with sawdust from an apple tree, with quail egg and marinated saffron milk caps. Tagliatelle with duck, pok choy, ginger, sesame, peanuts and cilantro tastes Asian and is very interesting. Żurek (soup made from fermented rye flour) is an absolute masterpiece – it’s served with cep mushrooms, quail egg and lamb sausages. The best we’ve ever eaten!!! You have to try it! We also loved breakfasts with a lot of options to choose from and a delicious bread from local bakery.
Since we were there with other bloggers, we got to try the chef’s degustation menu. Delicious duck with nettle, red gooseberry and lemon verbena, sturgeon with kohlrabi, green beans, yellow pepper, pumpkin seeds and sauce made out of pine tree sprouts and a perfectly soft veal loin with pork fat, new carrot and sorrel were included.
We fell in love with jurassic pieczonki (prażonki) – a dish made out of sliced potatos stewed in a big pot with lard, sausage, bacon, sometimes beets and carrots, covered with a cabbage leaf. They tasted great with semi-pickled cucumbers and local bread! You need to ask about campfire and miracles like these ones once you’re in Poziom 511!:)
Poziom 511 is a perfect place for hotel relax – SPA, pool, deck chairs, walking around, but it’s also a great place to stay if you want to explore the Polish Jurassic Highland! And there’s a lot to explore – enough for one weekend, maybe even for longer vacation – you can start with the Ogrodzieniec Castle, see Maczuga Herkulesa, Błędów Desert, Ojców National Park, Bobolice Castle, castle-town on the Birów Mountain or Olsztyn Castle! There’s so muuuuch to see!
So what do you say? Maybe the next time around you will choose the Polish Jurassic Highland for your vacation instead of Mazury, Warmia and the sea???? 🙂
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
Bonerów 33 Street
42-440 Podzamcze near Ogrodzieniec
Once you decide you want to go, you should read about how the building was made – do you know that it used to be a tourist hostel?
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