Polish Tatras Mountains

Zakopane, Poland
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I have arrived in Poland.  The flight was a long one and not a whole lot of fun but I think it will be worth it.  The weather in Krakow has been perfect. A warm spring time climate.   The city is looking beautiful as it starts to turn green.

On Saturday we went to Zakopane which is a resort town in the Tatras Mountains.  The bus ride took about 3.5 hours to travel 70 miles.   Everyone in Poland seems to be heading to the mountains on this long holiday weekend.  The first day we just get to our room and head into Zakopane to walk around.  There is shops and little cafes for about a mile.  Any kind of souvenir, furs, and this local smoked cheese made from goat's milk.  The next day we head to this lake in the mountains.  The pope visited it in 1997.  It is a 9km walk up a slight hill to the lake.  There are hundereds of people going to the lake.  We get there and the lake is still frozen but you are at the base of the tall mountains covered with snow.  Ania and I decide to walk for another hour up half of the mountain to another lake.  There is still snow everywhere so it makes the trip a little longer.  We got to the base of the mountain and had to hike about 1km straight up covered with snow and jumping rocks on the creek.  It was all worth it when we got to the top though, we could see everything from there.  We were at the base of the highest mountain in Poland, we plan on climbing it in a few weeks, hopefully the snow will be gone.

We got to the base of the mountain and had to hike about 1km straight up covered with snow and jumpin rocks on creek.

Next Stop, The Top
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The next day we were going to take a chalet up to the top of one of the mountains.  We got there and it was a 3 hour wait, it was raining and snowing and you couldn't see anything from the top of the mountain.  We decided to change our plans and we headed back to Krakow.

The last two days I have been on my own exploring Krakow.  Yesterday I went to TESCO, which is their version of Walmart supercenter, but bigger.  It was interesting trying to find everything I wanted in Polish.  Today i am just walking around the city exploring different areas.  On Saturday we are going to a local soccer game.  I will write again soon.  Do forget to look at all my pictures at: http://photos.yahoo.com/moose127