ZAKOPANE Poland 9-3-2010

Zakopane Poland



Zakopane is the most interesting place. Houses are distinct here with high pitched roofs to ward off the snow in the winter. This is a ski town with all the charm and vitality of the young people it attracts to the locals happy to bargain and sell their wares.

The main street have a delightful selection of local craft, smoked goat cheese pressed into tubes and other shapes with Polish designs. There are leather coats, scarfs and jewelry to delight the visitors.

At the end of the street is a funicular that goes up to the top of the hill. More crafts along with sausages smoking on a grill. A road goes on the ridge of the mountain. There are horse and carts that you can pay a few zlotys to take a ride.

Across the meadow you can see the cottages nestled in the forest. The snow covered tatra mountains peak out of the cloudy landscape. It is about 40 degrees this chilly day with intermittent rain.

After a brief look around we hurry back down the funicular to the warmth of the shops below.

Stan and I found a bank and exchanged the variety of currency (florins - Budapest, Euro - Vienna and Czech currency) to zloty so we could buy some lunch. We walked up the main street and peered at a few menus. A lady waiting on the steps of a cafe saw us looking and struck up a conversation. She noticed that we were probably Americans. We discovered after a few words and hearing her accent that she was from Australia. It is a small world after all.

We meandered up the street some more and found an interesting cafe that we had heard gorali mountain music playing the year before. We picked a table made of logs and sat down on a well worn sheep's skin draped on the seat. I ordered potato and cheese pierogies which were some the best I have eaten in Poland. Stan had noodle soup. Watching the people pass made the afternoon a delight.

We stopped by a bakery on that way back down the hill and bought a couple of Pushks (Polish name for jam stuffed Bismark type donuts).



Here is some interesting goralli Mountain Man folk music played at a restaurant






Itinerary Rainy and chilly


FRI, SEPTEMBER 03 – ZAKOPANE Breakfast at the hotel. Half-day tour of Zakopane, including: Funicular ride to Gubalowka Hill gives a beautiful view over Polish and Czech Tatras, Tatra Museum, a walk along Krupowki Street. Time for shopping - friendly street vendors will offer local goods (lamb-wool sweaters, walking sticks, wooden figures). Dinner at a bonfire with accompaniment of a folklore band. Overnight in Zakopane ( B, D )