Breathtaking Kasprowy Wiersch
July 19, 2008
Beautiful sights from the cable car!
We caught a bus at the main bus station of Krakow, for a 3 hour drive south. I must admit I haven't seen much of the scenery along the way, as I was sleeping through most of the trip. Without any problems we arrive in Zakopane around noon. First thing we did after checking in our hostel, called Stara Polana, was having an ice cream. Well actually, my father choose to have Oscypek.
Warm sun on the cold mountain
Because there is so much to do here (there are like a thousand routes for walking and climbing) I asked Kinga (ladyjazzga) for advise. She wrote the two major things to do in Zakopane, seen we had only two short days here, are Kasprowy Wiersch and Morskie Oko. So for the afternoon, we followed her tip and took a mini bus to the Kasprowy Wiersch lift.
We arrived here around 2 pm and started waiting in front of the ticket office. We could see it was a long cue, but we didn't expect waiting there for 3 hours... because that's what we did.
We could just watch the clouds pass us by over the path.
While the cabin got higher and higher I started to doubt about my negative attitude. I remember saying to my father "well this isn't outstanding yet, but I start feeling less sorry for spending a whole afternoon in a crowded row for tickets". He nodded. The views became more and more amazing by the higher we got. I must say I had never been in the mountains before. That is, I've been in some low mountains in Thailand and I've been trekking through the Sierra Nevada in Spain, but those aren't real 2000 meter high snowy mountains. So this was a scoop. I was stunned.
By the time the lift arrived I couldn't wait to get out. When we did however, I was instantly freezing. I SO wasn't dressed for this! It must have been really stupid, but unexperienced as we were we really didn't think about dressing up warm.
When we'd just arrived there were still a lot of clouds. We stood above the rain and the sky was much clearer, but clouds drove by like mist over the paths and between the peaks.
Our initial plan was to walk the way down but because of the weather chance and mainly because it was already late because of the long cue, we had decided to buy a return ticket and took the lift back down. After that we went to have dinner straight away. I was starving!
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A bit old but very nice, with friendly staff and nice athmosphere
We stayed only two nights in this hostel. My parents had a private room and I slept in one of the dorms. From the outside the hostel looks a bit run down, but also very typical, as it is build in traditional Zakopane style and is made out of wood.
The inside is wood as well, and very cozy. I liked the atmosphere hanging around here. The dorm was very neat and lockers were very big. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and spoke fluent English. They were always right there to give information when you needed it. The hostel is a good place for meeting other travelers too, there stayed nothing but young and friendly people here while I was there.
The rooms were clean and so was the kitchen. Only the shared bathroom could have been better cleaned up and there was as well to little baths or showers for everyone. Apart from that, absolutely no complaints.
The location wasn't in the very center, but close enough to the main street and the bus station to do all trips by foot. A very nice place, I would certainly stay here again, and I hope I will in the future.
The inside is wood as well, and very cozy. I liked the atmosphere hanging around here. The dorm was very neat and lockers were very big. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and spoke fluent English. They were always right there to give information when you needed it. The hostel is a good place for meeting other travelers too, there stayed nothing but young and friendly people here while I was there.
The rooms were clean and so was the kitchen. Only the shared bathroom could have been better cleaned up and there was as well to little baths or showers for everyone. Apart from that, absolutely no complaints.
The location wasn't in the very center, but close enough to the main street and the bus station to do all trips by foot. A very nice place, I would certainly stay here again, and I hope I will in the future.
An easy ride to the South of the country
The buses from Krakow to Zakopane ride very frequently, in both directions. There are numerous companies, all leaving from the main bus station (close to the train station) and there is no need for reservation. If you don't have much luggage to take a small minibus may be the best option, if you need a lot of storage (or if you want some more space) you can take a larger long distance bus.
Tickets for both can be bought at the ticket office inside, or simply from the driver (which is often faster and easier). You might as well take a train, but buses are faster, more comfortable and they cost about the same.
We payed 18 PLN per person for a one way ticket. The ride took us a small three hours, after which we were dropped of at the bus station in Zakopane, at walking distance from the city center. So the trip is very easy, doesn't require much planning and isn't expensive either.
Tickets for both can be bought at the ticket office inside, or simply from the driver (which is often faster and easier). You might as well take a train, but buses are faster, more comfortable and they cost about the same.
We payed 18 PLN per person for a one way ticket. The ride took us a small three hours, after which we were dropped of at the bus station in Zakopane, at walking distance from the city center. So the trip is very easy, doesn't require much planning and isn't expensive either.
Heaven for cheese lovers :)
I'm crazy for anything that has cheese in it. Honestly, I'm a cheese freak. So I was very much set on trying the typical Zakopane specialty called Oscypek.
Oscypek is salty smoked sheep cheese, and made only in the Tatra region. It tastes wonderful, so please try it when you're there. You can eat Oscypek in many different way. The most obvious one is to buy one of those small blocks. Their color varies in lightness, depending I guess on how old they are and how long they were smoked. You can cut of pieces to eat it with bread, or to use it in warm dishes.
At the restaurant there are different meals that include Oscypek. One of the simpler ones are slices of the cheese which are warmed up and served with honey or berry paste. Absolutely delicious!
Oscypek is salty smoked sheep cheese, and made only in the Tatra region. It tastes wonderful, so please try it when you're there. You can eat Oscypek in many different way. The most obvious one is to buy one of those small blocks. Their color varies in lightness, depending I guess on how old they are and how long they were smoked. You can cut of pieces to eat it with bread, or to use it in warm dishes.
At the restaurant there are different meals that include Oscypek. One of the simpler ones are slices of the cheese which are warmed up and served with honey or berry paste. Absolutely delicious!
My dad is stealing my cookies, w…
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Amazing views from upon the mountain
Kasprowy Wierch is said to be the most famous mountain top of Poland, and is almost 2000 meters high. You can reach the top by foot, or with a lift.
We choose to go with the lift and wanted to walk back down, but the cue was so long we didn't have time for it, so we bought a return ticket straight away.
The cable ride up takes about 15 to 20 minutes and offers beautiful sights. It is rather expensive though, and the waiting for tickets took us 3 full hours. So better go there early. If you don't plan on walking down or staying at the top that long, you can best by a return ticket straight away. People with such tickets get priority in going down, while people who buy a ticket down on top of the mountain have to wait for free places in the lift.
The lifts itself are very stable closed cabins on cables. I would never step into one of those chair lifts but this one was perfectly fine for me.
The view from on top of the mountain is magnificent. Absolutely brilliant. There are walking routs on the top, and paths that go back down. All marks indicate how long the walk would approximately take. If you have a return ticket however, you don't have hours of time. You must go back down after, if I remember correct, 1h30 or 2h00. So long walks out there can't be made.
However, just a stroll around this amazing scenery is worth the trip. A nice drink in the warm restaurant is a perfect ender of a visit to Kasprowy Wierch.
More pictures are posted in my Zakopane blog.
We choose to go with the lift and wanted to walk back down, but the cue was so long we didn't have time for it, so we bought a return ticket straight away.
The cable ride up takes about 15 to 20 minutes and offers beautiful sights. It is rather expensive though, and the waiting for tickets took us 3 full hours. So better go there early. If you don't plan on walking down or staying at the top that long, you can best by a return ticket straight away. People with such tickets get priority in going down, while people who buy a ticket down on top of the mountain have to wait for free places in the lift.
The lifts itself are very stable closed cabins on cables. I would never step into one of those chair lifts but this one was perfectly fine for me.
The view from on top of the mountain is magnificent. Absolutely brilliant. There are walking routs on the top, and paths that go back down. All marks indicate how long the walk would approximately take. If you have a return ticket however, you don't have hours of time. You must go back down after, if I remember correct, 1h30 or 2h00. So long walks out there can't be made.
However, just a stroll around this amazing scenery is worth the trip. A nice drink in the warm restaurant is a perfect ender of a visit to Kasprowy Wierch.
More pictures are posted in my Zakopane blog.
