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| GUESS WHERE? |
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| YES, WE WERE BOTH HERE |
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| OUR HIGHEST POINT - SARNIA SKALA |
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| NOT ALONE ON SARNIA SKALA |
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| GREAT VIEWS OF THE TATRAS |
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| LOOKING BACK TOWARDS ZAKOPANE |
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| EATING AGAIN |
Thursday 31st May, and after a busy 3 days, we decided to take things a bit easier today. We would travel south to Zakopane, close to the Slovakian border and on the northern side of the Tatra Mountains, where we planned to do some hiking. Packing our essentials in our rucksacks, we made it to the bus station by midday and bought tickets for our 2 hour ride, which turned put to be nearer 3 hours because of traffic.
A 10 minute walk from the bus stop in Zakopane took us to the Top Hostel where we had booked a room for the night. Dropping off anything we didn't need to carry, we headed through town to the hills.
I had identified a hiking trail that would take us close to the ski lift near Kuznice, then into the Tatra National Park, contouring around a mountain that should give us views over Zakopane town. There was a 5 zloty entrance fee to the park - only about £1. Unfortunately it rained while we were on the hills, dampening our spirits a little, although the thunder and lightning persuaded us that we had been wise not to go any higher. The mist also meant that we didn't get our views after all. We were out for 3 hours, but by the time we got back to the hostel we were dry again, so after a quick clean up we took to the streets to find a place to eat. The restaurant we chose served traditional Polish cuisine that we really enjoyed. We particularly liked the barley and buckwheat grouts.
The weather was clear the following morning as we headed back to the Tatras. There was a little more climbing this time to reach a magnificent viewpoint at Sarnia Skala. No fog this time, but by afternoon the threat of thunder and lightning returned so we chose not to ascend further. Instead we took a slow walk back to town to look around the outdoor shops. Rubi bought a spiral-shaped bready thing covered in cinnamon.
All done, we walked to the bus station to catch a bus back to Krakow. One was there waiting for us, with 5 minutes to spare, so we were back in our apartment by early evening.
We had enjoyed seeing Zakopane and walking in the Tatras, and agreed that we would enjoy walking there again, but ideally in less stormy weather.
