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Wolf Seminars

The area
Seminars will take place in the Żywiecki Beskidy Mountains (part of Carpathians), in the Romanka Mountain range (altitude 600-1300 m), which is located in southern Poland adjacent to the border with Slovakia. The landscape is diverse, with densely forested slopes interspersed by high altitude meadows, natural mountain streams and rocky caves. This habitat is a refuge to many species of mammalian predator, ranging in size from bears, wolves and lynxes to stoats and weasels. The forest is also inhabited by red deer, roe deer and wild boar, which are important prey species for the large carnivores. The beskidy Mountains supports a wide variety of flora and fauna, including many rare and protected species.

Accommodation
The group will stay in a nice private pension, located on a mountain meadow called Plone (near Wegierska Gorka village), in the Zywiecki Beskidy Mountains area, 200 m from a wolf area. The accommodation place is cosy and warm. Rooms have a very simple arrangement with 3-4 beds (with bedding), table, chairs and wardrobe, and a private bathroom. Some rooms have a nice bathroom in the nearest hall. There is a big dining room with a fire place, TV and a well equipped kitchen, which is for guests only.

Your basic equipment
You need good boots, comfortable strong trouses, waterproof jacket, warm flees and underwear, gaiters (gamaschen - to protect your boots and trousers against deep snow), small backpack, box for sandwich, vacuum flask, torch. You must take a towel (there are no towels available in rooms), home shoes to feel comfortable after your comming back from the forest. Note: You do not need sleeping bags, there are beddings.

Weather conditions
We can expect 50 or little more centimetres of snow, but it is not guaranteed :). The temperature can fall to 15 degrees below zero, but can be much higher, of course. So, be prepared for real winter. We will write you before your coming what's going on with the weather. We can split into two groups, less and more advanced, not to force to much these person, which fitness is little worse.


Travel details: The destination place is Żywiec (about 20 km South from Bielsko-Biała).
You can come:

  1. to Bielsko-Biala with a long distance coach, and then to Żywiec by train. There is a regular bus connection from different German and English towns through Katowice to Bielsko-Biała.
  2. by plain to Krakow and then to Żywiec by bus PKS (see below). Note: do not travel from Krakow to Żywiec by train, it is very long trip
  3. by plain or train to Katowice (airport Pyrzowice), and then by train through Bielsko-Biała (biggest town in the Beskidy Mountains) to Żywiec railway station (in a blue ring on the attached map). As we know two trains from Germany come to Katowice every day, from Hamburg and from Poczdam

In Kraków both, railway station and bus station are at the same place of the town (in a center), a regional bus station is at the back site of the railway station.

In Katowice, the railway station is in a center of the city, there is a direct mini bus connection from the airport Pyrzowice.

The train connection from Katowice to Żywiec, or from Bielsko-Biała to Żywiec you can find on a web site (remember in Polish we write Żywiec using a special letter Z with a dot at the top, so you must choose such letter in the web site, the second part of Bielsko-Biała name, we write with letter L crossed) - See web of Polish Railways. Choose an English version and then click on trains time table and then follow the description. Remember: choose Żywiec DA (not Żywiec Sporysz), and Bielsko-Biała Głowna.

The bus connection from Kraków to Bielsko-Biała or Żywiec you can find on the web. Connections to Bielsko-Biała are on the first page, connections to Żywiec you can find clicking on letters Z-Z with a dot on a top. You need about 40 minut to reach Krakow or Katowice from airports, 2,5 hours to get from Krakow to Zywiec by bus, or 2 hours to get from Katowice to Żywiec by train, about 0,5 hour to get Żywiec from Bielsko-Biała by train.

We will wait for you on the railway or the bus station in Żywiec and pick you up to a pension in Płone (in smaller red ring on a map), an upper part of Żabnica village. In Węgierska Górka village is a nearest money machine and good shops. There is also a nearest railway station from which you can manage your departure, or you can do it from Żywiec. Check please all these possibilities, and send us details. When we will already know your arrival time to Kraków, Bielsko-Biała or to Katowice, we will can send you the time table of train or bus connection to Żywiec.