Blogs from Zakopane, Lesser Poland, Poland, Europe - page 2

Sorry, there still seems to be a problem with the photos but if you are seeing only empty boxes- click on the box and the photos will appear. It seems some people can and some can't see them. ---------------------------------- After a few hectic days in Lodz most of the wedding guests had returned home. Stan and I had 5 days left before our flight so caught the night train south to Zakapane. In the winter it's a ski resort but in the summer months the town is a lively touristy spot and the surrounding mountains are beautiful, covered in pine forests with the odd Swiss style chalet dotted around on their flanks. A maze of paths lead up to the summits or for the less energetic there's no shortage of cable cars and ski lifts to ... read more

Days 39 & 40 28th & 29th June Slovakia-Poland A Brush with the Law Day 39 28th June “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it." -- John Steinbeck ….and we thought we had our 48 hours in Slovakia under control. We were going to travel up through the little country to the High Tatras mountains which border with Poland. We were going to spend the night in a nice campsite and the next day (today) we were going to take a hike up into the mountains. Well, at least we thought we were….. The short journey from Western Riding Ranch to the border gave us a glimpse of how poor and run down rural Hungary can be. The roads were diabolical and the site of large ... read more

Day trip to Zakopane, Poland & the Tatra Mountains Mom and I both slept great last night and in fact Mom slept so good she didn't wake up on her own like she normally does. I had my alarm set for 7am since we needed to board the bus by 8am. Mom jumped up when my alarm went off and asked what time it was. She normally woke up by 6am on her own...got ready and went down to breakfast and ate leisurely and I would be awake by the time she got done with breakfast...but not today. She was rushing around and had to eat her breakfast quickly in order for us to make it to the bus on time. We made it thankfully and shortly after began our journey to Zakopane. An expected trip ... read more

For the first time ever, I had broken away from the idea of booking a ski trip as one complete package, and descended into 'ad hoc' ski trip territory where I had booked all the elements of the ski trip to Zakopane separately, and was looking forward to seeing how it would all come together. A swift flight into Krakow airport, followed by two relatively simple bus transfers, and I soon found myself approaching the Polish resort town of Zakopane, famous, perhaps for being Poland's biggest fire hazard, many of the town's buildings being made of wood. This factor though, amongst others besides, contributed to the whole area's charm, and the town itself is a real gem, a well-equipped place replete with a huge aqua park (ideal for bathing after a ski session!), various restaurants of ... read more

From Prague I got an overnight bus to Warsaw, which took an hour and a half longer than expected, due to a large number of stops and some mysterious bus problems which required us to change buses at 3 o'clock in the morning. I'm pretty sure the second bus had bigger problems that the first. All very interesting when you can't speak a word of Polish! I have since picked up a few words, but it hasn't helped it much. Polish people seem very unhelpful, to the point of being quite rude if you don't speak any Polish. Except for people my age-ish, who mostly all speak English and are more than happy to practice it on you. Anyway, had a nice time in Warsaw wandering around the Old Town, particularly the Old Square, which was ... read more