Barszcz czerwony z uszkami
clear beetroot soup in the company of small ravioli stuffed with wild mushrooms

Karp w galarecie
aromatic carp in jelly, decorated with boiled vegetables

Sledz w smietanie
tasty herring in sour cream or oil

Kutia
poppy seed roll served with honey and dainties

Day 2
Warsaw / Nowogrod / Mikolajki

Dozynki - Poland's Bread Holiday
Our culinary adventure will be started with excursion to the north-eastern Poland, distinctive Kurpie Region and idyllic nature known as the Land of Thousand Lakes, a veritable paradise for fish gourmet as their huge variety in Masurian lakes, is not often encountered elsewhere.

The Kurpians called also the heathlanders, were courageous hunters, excellent marksmen, skillful bee farmers and fishermen. Strong bonds within territorial community were in evidence, as also were their love of freedom and justice, and their passionate patriotism.

This day is dedicated to bread which is a traditional Polish food and has always had enormous symbolic importance to Poles. After summer harvest in villages all over the country farmers have a special celebration day called Dozynki. On that day, people gather together to sing, dance, thank God, and taste the first bread made from the 'seeds of the summer. The symbol of Dozynki is a Wieniec, [harvest wreath] made of a mixture of wheat, decorated with flowers, ribbons, hazelnuts and fruit.

Our scenery for Dozynki celebration will be the Nowogrod skansen, the second-oldest ethnographical park in Poland with rich collection of enchanting Kurpie cottages, manor houses, barns, granaries, mills, old beehives including ancient hollow tree trunks. Its spectacular location on a steep bank of the Narew river gives undoubted charm. Traditional bread baking presentation, local artists' show (wickerwork maker), a story-teller, treat with regional fresh-made cake - pampuchy - and a unique juniper beer. Continue via Masuria to Mikolajki, a major holiday resort, for overnight.

Day 3
Warsaw / Kiermusy / Bialowieza

In the circle of Polish cuisine symbols
After an enjoyable boat cruise and having tasted local Masurian fish, eel, pike or perch, still admiring unspoilt landscape, we will take a drive east to a multi-cultural region settled by Poles, Belarusians and Ukrainians, who shared a lot in the past.
First stop will be Kiermusy. In the scenery of this lovely manor whose owners long to preserve Old Polish hospitality traditions, we will have a talk with a chef restaurant about cuisine rooted in this region, could observe pierogi - dumplings making and taste their two other kinds:

Pierogi ruskie: stuffed with cheese potatoes and fried onion
Knedle: stuffed with fruits, a popular dessert in Poland

Continue to Bialowieza, an area of dense woods, marshes and peatland, included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Walk along Royal Oak Route with trees that reach spectacular sizes, some of them more than 500 years old. Visit to the Bison reserve.
For dinner we will meet at a camp, tasting known worldwide Polish specialties:

żurek: delicious fermented rye soup with mushrooms
chlodnik: soup served cold and made of soured milk, young beet leaves, beets, radishes, cucumbers, chopped fresh dill served with egg
kiełbasa: excellent smoked sausage
bigos: stew of sauerkraut cabbage, variety of meat, mushrooms and spice
ogorek kwaszony: pickled cucumber preserved in brine
smalec: dripping with aromatic herbs
żubrówka: bison grass vodka
sekacz: pyramid cake. What smoked eve's milk cheese is to the Highlander, the pyramid cake is to the inhabitants of eastern Poland, being a very popular regional specialty. A real pyramid cake requires a large number of eggs (50 to 60 depending on size) and a couple of hours to bake it of around one meter in length.

Day 4 
Bialowieza / Kazimierz Dolny / Naleczow / Lublin

Jewish tradition in Polish cuisine
Excursion to Kazimierz Dolny, which thanks to its much charm, atmosphere and a pleasantly bohemian flavour, is commonly called Mekka of artists. This Renaissance town is known for its Jewish background. From the Middle Ages right up to the Holocaust, a large part of its inhabitants were Jews. We will visit the Museum of Goldsmithery which boasts a large collection of gold and silverwork including Judaic cult silverware and jewellery, mostly from the 17th to 19th centuries.
Continua to Naleczow spa, where famous mineral water "Naleczowianka" is produced. The spa park is adjoined by the bottling plant of the Naleczowianka mineral water, pumped from a depth of 180 metres. Situation of Naleczow in the loess valley system, with luxuriant and rich greenery, shaped the character of the town looking like a garden with interesting monumental architecture. Transfer to Lublin, the biggest city east of Warsaw.
We will discover a wide variety of Jewish cuisine at dinner and enjoy nostalgic Klezmer music concert.

Day 5
Lublin / Zamosc / Lancut / Baranow Sandomierski 

The medieval feast
We are traveling south, remaining still in the area which boasts pristine nature but also historic relics including beautiful aristocratic residences. Today it is time we tasted Polish vodka. Poland is one of the world largest producers of quality vodka. We will visit the local distillery, founded by Duchess Lubomirska in Lancut.

The Distillery Museum has an original document attesting to the distillery's existence in 1784. Inside the museum, we can trace the distillery's growth. There are photographs, old documents, diplomas, labels from the past, bottles with sometimes ornate shapes price lists, measurement glassware. Closing the circle we have traveled, the exposition features a collection of the beverages produced today. At present it is one of the leading Polish producers of alcoholic beverages, mainly vodkas, most famous are Biala Dama and Polonaise but also herbal and fruit liqueurs prepared on vodka base, rosoglios. Vodka tasting.

Continue to the Lancut Castle, magnificent, aristocratic residence, with one of the most extensive collections of art. Among the most interesting interiors are the Ballroom, the Library furnished in late Victorian style and the Theatre. Of particular value is the Carriage Museum with horse-drawn vehicles representing every type, another gem is the collection of Orthodox church art, the largest in Poland.

En route to Lancut we will have a stop in Zamosc, charming Renaissance town, whose urban design is the work of one artist Bernardo Morandi. Zamosc is called Padua of the North and is on the UNESCO List of World Heritage.
Transfer to Baranow Sandomierski Castle, erected for the Leszczynski Family, in whose fine interiors we will enjoy the medieval feast.

The medieval feast was an art. The cooks molded pastries into elaborate scenes. Even blackbirds were hidden in the pies. They would fly out and amaze the guests. Each new dish was announced by trumpets and drums. Music and singing were part of the meal. Juggling and dancing were also forms of entertainment between courses of the meal. As the Polish would say, "Jedzcie, pijcie i popuszczajcie pasa" "Eat, drink and loosen your belt".

Day 6
Baranow Sandomierski / Zalipie /Krakow

Flower motives of Zalipie
Transfer to Cracow via Zalipie, a famous "painted village", unparalleled in Poland, perhaps even in Europe. The cottages, farm buildings, fences and dog kennels but also coffee pots, plates, aprons, and tablecloths, everything in this village is painted by local women in colorful flora patterns.

The tradition of adorning the cottages in the region, dates back to 1948. Since then, every year after the Corpus Christi Festival, Zalipie holds its "Painted Cottage" competition. We will pay visit to a workshop of painters and learn about this tradition.

Arrival in Cracow former Poland's capital, a cradle of Polish culture, famous for its priceless, historical monuments of art and architecture, being also a tourist horn of plenty, place where legends, history and modernity intertwine.  Time free.

Dinner at a legendary Wierzynek Restaurant. In the year 1364 Mikolaj Wierzynek, the city councilor, held an unforgettable feast for the rulers of Europe due to the wedding of King Kazimierz Wielki 's granddaughter. The legendary feast was immortalized by Jan Matejko, the greatest Polish historical painter, in his painting "Uczta u Wierzynka". Treating its guests to rustic Polish cuisine, Wierzynek carries on the traditions of the royal feast. Feast with Wierzynek has been until now a synonymous of splendor of the former ages'.

Day 7
Krakow

Lesson on The Galician cuisine, meeting with a cuisine expert
Under the partitions, cuisine of Poland became heavily influenced by cuisines of the surrounding empires. Cracow takes pride in Galician cuisine which refers to the times of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy when Cracow was the major town of the Galicia province. It abounds in rich and vegetarian food. To the most recommended delicacies belong: borsch (a kind of beetroot soup), potato pancakes with goulash. A good example is also one cold starter: fatless pork brawn served with cold mustard sauce, Popular desserts include cheesecake, topped with vanilla cream or chocolate and known as Viennese cheesecake (sernik wiedenski).

Today we will get acquainted with Cracow, which retains the largest in Poland concentration of historical monuments and cultural treasures, and was named the European City of Culture, 2000. We will visit the Wawel Hill listed on UNESCO List, with its Castle and Cathedral where Poland's kings were once crowned. The most valuable items are the magnificent 16th c. Flemish tapestries, probably the largest collection of its kind in Europe.

Time free to explore Cracow on your own. A highlight today will be a visit at a lively, colorful, vegetable market Stary Kleparz, where you can buy farm-fresh food, one of the oldest markets in Poland, dating back to the 14th century. Jozef Pankiewicz, the Polish postimpressionist painter of international renown in his lifetime (1866-1940) and friend of Pierre Bonnard's, lived mostly in France. He painted Krakow's Kleparz market c. 1930.

Accompanied by the cuisine expert we will enjoy presentation of Galician specialties.

Day 8 
Krakow / Szczyrzyc / Koniakow / Chocholow / Zakopane

Decoration of Polish table - Koniakow Lacework, Handmade lace serviettes and tablecloths

Today we invite you to a fascinating trip through Podhale region. As so-called abbey beers gained a great popularity in recent decades, we will start it with visit with the Cistercians in Szczyrzyc. The beer brewed by Cistercians is produced in accordance with an original recipe over 370 years old. Years and years of the accurate and careful study allowed monks of Szczyrzyc to create an unique recipe - an ideal combination of the 4 elements (malt, water, hope and yeast), which has been brought back to life as the "Frater" beer.

We will continue to Koniakow. Lace from Koniakow, have made this little village, living its own life, famous worldwide. Oval or round tablecloths, made with cotton twine with tremendous patience and skills using motives brought from fields and forest, reached tables of kings, aristocrats, bishops. Lace exhibition (tablecloth, gloves, and a wedding dress) may be seen at the house of Maria Gwarek. Opposite there is a gallery of contemporary folk art.

Drive to Chocholow village, most distinctive in the Podhale region, being a natural, live open-air museum of fine, wooden architecture. The idea of pickling is very popular in Poland. Pickled vegetables such as cucumbers and cabbage (sauerkraut) have become important constituents of the Polish cooking tradition. Pickling presentation.

En route to Zakopane stop to see the wooden chapel in Jaszczurowka, widely regarded as one of the finest creations of Stanislaw Witkiewicz, a developer of the distinctive "Zakopane" style. Arrival in Zakopane, picturesquely situated at the base of the Tatra Mountains. Time free. We recommend a walk along Krupowki Street and shopping on a local bazaar which is gathering hundreds of local craftsmen and folk ensembles. Nice ending of the day will be K. Szymanowski piano concert at the Atma Villa. Music of Szymanowski, Polish national composer is deeply rooted in the Podhale region.

Day 9
Zakopane 

Traditional highlander cooking
The base for traditional highlander cooking are cabbage and potatoes. Making sauerkraut is a traditional local custom with every house producing at least several barrels ready for the winter months. You can taste regional sauerkraut soup, kwasnica. Highlanders are best known for their smoked sheepcheese, oscypek, the secret of the recipe passed from one generation to the next. Worth tasting is the local lamb meat. We recommend roasted mutton or mutton cutlet with sheepcheese, kotlet barani. For tired travelers a highlander-tea (with vodka) and sliwowica lacka - strong plum brandy will be served.

Guided tour of Zakopane, home to a rich folk culture, and the centre of a proud Polish highlander tradition. Apart from all the thigh-slapping dancers, this is most clearly noticed in the colourful and highly decorative folk costumes, the ever-present goralska muzyka (Highland music) and the distinctive Zakopane mountain architectural style, pioneered by Stanislaw Witkiewicz, and often referred to as the "Zakopane" style. Zakopane has also become a favourite with painters and sculptors, many of whom are graduates of the Zakopane Academy of Fine Art. We will visit the Doctor Tytus Chalubinski Tatra museum the oldest and largest local museum which presents the history and ethnography of the Podhale and The Tatra nature.

Time free or Optional raft expedition.

Shooting the rapids off the Dunajec River gorge in the Pieniny Mountains, requires no special qualifications, yet there are few such attractions in all of Europe. Highlander's rafts take passengers on an unforgettable journey on a swift-flowing mountain river though a sheer rock canyon, with cliff faces towering up 300 metres on each side. Rafting expedition, has been a tradition since the 19th century.
Dinner with highlander delicacies and music.

Day 10
Zakopane / Promnice / Opole / Wroclaw