Excursion to the Table Mountains, June 28, 2005

One day we decided to go to the Góry Stołowe, or Table Mountains, to explore the Błędne Skały, a fantastic rock labyrinth formed in the sandstone slab which caps Skalniak Mountain.



The train arrived right on time.



That it was so punctual is rather remarkable, as this is a very unusual train. A small train with few wagons, it travels daily all the way across Poland, from one small town, Hel, on the Baltic coast, to another small town, Kudowa, on the border with the Czech Republic. Even though its journey takes 14 hours, there is no sleeping wagon, only 1st and 2nd class and a bar car. If you want to see a slice of Poland, this is the train to take. Here are the stops and departure times of train P 55504 :

Hel 20:45 Jurata 20:59 Jastarnia 1:06 Jastarnia Wczasy 21:12 Kuźnica (Hel) 21:21
Chałupy 21:30 -Władysławowo 21:44 - Puck 22:02 Gdynia Główna Osob. 23:23 Sopot 23:33 Gdańsk Oliwa 23:38 Gdańsk Wrzeszcz 23:44 Gdańsk Główny 23:54 Tczew 00:23 Laskowice Pomorskie 01:12 Bydgoszcz Główna 01:53 Inowrocław 02:30 Gniezno 03:17 Poznań Główny 04:09 Kościan 04:44 Leszno 05:09 Rawicz 05:33 Żmigród05:50 Oborniki Śląskie 06:05 Wrocław Główny 07:01 Strzelin 07:29 Ziębice 07:58 Kamieniec Ząbkowicki 08:20 Bardo Śląskie 08:32 Kłodzko Główne 09:07 Kłodzko Miasto 09:12 Kłodzko Książek 09:16 Kłodzko Zagórze 09:20 Stary Wielisław 09:26 Polanica Zdrój 09:37 Szczytna 09:50 Duszniki Zdrój 10:07 Kulin Kłodzki 10:18 Lewin Kłodzki 10:35 Kudowa Zdrój 10:43




Our ride lasted only about 30 minutes, but it had to be one of the most scenic train rides in all of central Europe.



We got off in Kudowa, and hired a car to take us to the top of Skalniak.



At the top we were rewarded with a magnificent view westward into Bohemia.



Deep in the forest, we found the entrance to the labyrinth.




Louise enters the maze.



The crevices were very tight, and 6 or more metres deep.



Here's an unusual formation that looks like the bow of a ship (or the head of a turtle).



A massive boulder fell and nearly crushed us, but with my amazing strength I caught it and tossed it aside like a pebble.