Nomad Notebook: Poland Update 4 (Zakopane & Tatra Mountains)

I never thought I would be sitting with my laptop in a small town square in Poland as people danced to salsa music outside of a small club on a lively Saturday night. But that is Poland in 2009.

I am back in Raciborz after a 4 day visit to the resort town of Zakopane. The weather was flawless, the Tatra mountains were breathtaking, and the food was just insanely good. Not only is it beautiful, tranquil, and fun…the exchange rate makes it very affordable. I went with a group of eight and we rented a Zakopane style home for under $100 U.S. per night…try getting that in Aspen or Jackson Hole.

Here are just a few pictures from a very memorable few days in Zakopane, Poland:

En route to Zakopane...the weather was amazing.

McDonald's in the mountains...yuck.

Lots of traffic on weekday in Zakopane...and this is the off season.

We have arrived...the red slashes just mean we had to take a detour to our Zakopane style home.

The home we rented in Zakopane. About 300 zloty (under $100 U.S.) per night.

Chicken from the farm...cheese made down the road...tomatoes from the garden outback and great potato chips. The eight of us ate and drank like kings and queens for about 50 zloty ($15-$17 U.S.) each.

View from our backyard in Zakopane.

Early morning view from my bedroom...in a few hours I would hiking on top of that mountain.

Heading up the mountain via the cable car.

A few minutes later and we are 6,000 feet above Zakopane.

Awesome view of the cable cars going up and down the mountain.

The path we would embark on. I never thought I would be hiking in Poland during the summer with snow on the ground. Insane.

This is a shot of the weather station looking over Zakopane.

Awaiting the cable car to bring us back down the mountain. Abour 125 people are carried up this cable car per hour during the off season. Almost 400 people pack into this cable car per hour during the peak winter ski season.

I will post more pictures from Zakopane in a few days. I am headed to Krakow on Monday for what is suppose to be a very rainy day. Then Tuesday I am off to the salt mines. I will post updates when I am near a WiFi hotspot.

So far the food has just been excellent! The drinks have been amazing. The people have been super friendly and my wife wants to move back to her home country after visiting for the first time in 10 years.

Maybe I can land a job selling strawberries (or truskafkis) on the side of the road to earn a living here in Poland.