On Tuesday Oct 20th we booked a hotel in the High Tatras Mountains in the town of Zakopane, Poland for a 2 night get-away. Zakopane, Poland is only a 2 hour drive from Presov so we figured we could leave mid-morning and arrive by lunchtime. We were looking forward to seeing some snow on the mountains!
We were only about 15 minutes out of Presov when we encountered a problem. Mical's car lost power so we were stranded on the side of the highway. We called Mical to send a tow truck but before it arrived the highway department stopped to see if they could help us. They couldn't speak English so they had to call someone to translate.
The tow truck arrived.
We had to go back to Presov, rent a car, and get back on the road. By the time we got on the road, it was after 3 p.m. So much for our lunchtime arrival!
Getting up to the snow level in the mountains
Arriving in Poland
Our hotel - Tatra Chalet
Fresh fruit in our room
Views from our balcony
Our room had 2 balconies
Dinner at our hotel
The mountains cleared a little bit the next morning so we could see the dusting of snow
Breakfast buffet
We went into the village on Wednesday morning. Zakopane is ski resort village with a nice pedestrian walkway and market area.
We saw these things everywhere in the market. We thought they were some kind of pastry or bread. After touring the market in the morning we finally stopped at one of the booths to buy one or see if we could taste one. To our surprise, it was smoked cheese! The one in the back is made of sheep cheese and the one that looks like corn on the cob is goat cheese. They are at least a half pound each and cost about $2.00 each. Awesome!
A lady at our hotel recommended a small hike into the Strazyska Valley where we could hike to a small "Tea House" for soup and apple cake.
This is the "Tea House"
We got mushroom soup and tomato soup and then apple cake with cream jam and coffee.
After lunch we decided to take a drive to Krakow. Krakow was only 65 miles from Zakopane so we couldn't pass up a trip to one of our favorite cities.
Market Square - Krakow
We had an artist protrait of Erica done in this square 16 years ago.
They refer to this as "The Head" but its official name is "Eros Bendato". Many people would climb up inside and look out of its eyes.
Had to get a picture of Starbucks mugs for one of our friends.
Back in Zakopane for dinner at our hotel. We had goose for dinner and a baked caramel apple for dessert. Wonderful!
On our return to Presov we stopped in the walled village of Levoca for lunch
Beautiful Fall colors around the city cathedral
What a poor Mical's car!?!
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