When you think of Poland, mountains are not what you think of, but at the southern border with Slovakia, that is what you find. We took the bus, 2+ hours from Kraków, to get here. Actually the distance is not too far, but the roads are crowded. With Poland's recent economic gains, many Poles can now afford a car, and the roads have not kept up with the volume of traffic. Consequently, many road construction projects are underway.
Our B&B at Zakopane. Very modern with many custom features; located at the edge of the town where we could easily walk to forest trails.
Neighborhood restaurant, 1 block from our B&B, where we found tasty but simple dinners.
Is this how you picture Poland? We enjoyed the last few days of warm weather with outstanding natural scenery.
Walking the ridge at Kasprowy Wierch. To the left is Poland; toward the right is Slovakia.
In Zakopane, a ski resort town, they have already had snow twice this Fall, but temperatures during our stay are in the 60's. We rode the gondola to a mountain top where we could look north to Poland or south into Slovakia from a 2000 meter altitude. While waiting in line at the gondola (last day it will be open this season), we talked to some IT workers taking the weekend off. One couple was from India; one fellow from South Africa; and one a native Pole. They all live in Kraków. With native languages of Hindi, Africaners, and Polish, we all conversed in English; how fortunate we are!
We have met no one here for whom English is their first language. Poland has the fastest growing economy in Europe, and many IT functions are located here. Poland has smart, highly trained workers who work for modest salaries due to the low cost of living. A nice restaurant dinner for two can cost about $30. Interesting tidbit: everyone in Poland seems to know someone in Chicago; until recently (when it was surpassed by Warsaw), Chicago had the largest population of Polish people of any city on earth.
We walked 300 meters from our B&B to this trail into a forest valley.
There was an admission charge to enter this trail system, but it was only about 50 cents.
In Zakopane, a ski resort town, they have already had snow twice this Fall, but temperatures during our stay are in the 60's. We rode the gondola to a mountain top where we could look north to Poland or south into Slovakia from a 2000 meter altitude. While waiting in line at the gondola (last day it will be open this season), we talked to some IT workers taking the weekend off. One couple was from India; one fellow from South Africa; and one a native Pole. They all live in Kraków. With native languages of Hindi, Africaners, and Polish, we all conversed in English; how fortunate we are!
We have met no one here for whom English is their first language. Poland has the fastest growing economy in Europe, and many IT functions are located here. Poland has smart, highly trained workers who work for modest salaries due to the low cost of living. A nice restaurant dinner for two can cost about $30. Interesting tidbit: everyone in Poland seems to know someone in Chicago; until recently (when it was surpassed by Warsaw), Chicago had the largest population of Polish people of any city on earth.
We walked 300 meters from our B&B to this trail into a forest valley.
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