I’m in Zakopane, Poland, in the Tatra Mountains, near the border with Slovakia. I love it here, but unfortunately, it’s still raining quite a bit.

It’s absolutely beautiful, and pretty cheap too. Sure it’s offseason, but even in the offseason in a similar town back home (say, Breckenridge), a hotel room hasn’t been had for $13 since 1947. And then there’s the meals…amazingly delicious, and huge meals, all at TGI Friday’s prices…and good beer for cheap too!

And after a day of hiking in the cold rain, nothing beats a nice porter, with a garnish that’ll make you feel like you’re on the beach.



Oooo, and on the topic of food…oscypek. It’s smoked salty sheep milk cheese from the Tatras. They press them in wooden molds to give it a decorative shape. And it’s delicious.



First day here, I hiked up to Kasprowy Wierch, in the West Tatras. For the first bit of the hike it was fairly clear, but once I got a bit higher, where the view should’ve gotten better, the fog/clouds got really thick.





The top of Kasprowy Wierch is on the ridge line that defines the border between Poland and Slovakia, and here’s the glorious view of Slovakia that I got at the top!



Another great hike (on a bit more clear day) was to a lake called Morskie Oko.







And yet another day of hiking…





In between hiking, I’ve been riding around the mountains…there are some nice roads, and even better views.







And this cool little church that I found shortly after crossing into Slovakia.

