The Last Day

Breakfast was Clarisse's home-made granola with milk from last night's trip to the grocery store. Then we started walking through some of Warsaw's lovely parks.

Saxon Garden Park

Baroque sculpture in Saxon Garden Park

Fountain in Saxon Garden Park

Changing of the Guard at the remnants of the palace in Saxon Gardens

One of Warsaw's many museums

Detail on door of above museum

Urban Sheep

Suspension bridge over the Vistula River

Tethered balloon for tourists

Lunch: real Turkish food at Efes

Cafe in posh suburb of Warsaw

Keep your fingers out of the electric connections

Beggar in the park

On top of the Orbis Building - Warszawa Centrum

Since it's our 35th anniversary, the original plan was to go out for one last posh meal. But after being out for six hours and having a rather large lunch, we change plans completely. It's off to the Piotr i Pawel (Peter & Paul) grocery store for bread, sliced meats, carrot salad, a tomato, and a couple of beer. This gets merged with our leftover black bread and salty sheep's cheese and makes a decent meal in our hotel room. Then it's simply a matter of watching England v Ireland (1-1), and packing for tomorrow's very long day of traveling.

Tuesday morning: Just by chance, the first tram is a spiffy new #4 which is much quieter than the old clunkers we get sometimes. At the Śródmieście train station, we have to ask which platform as we're a bit early for the airport train. The departure board confirms that we're on the right one a few minutes later. The S2 is very modern and very quiet. Toronto is so far behind in useful infrastructure that it's embarrassing. The whole trip from hotel to airport is about $2.25.

Check-in is quick and we have a decent breakfast in the lounge. That's about it. Soon we're off to Copenhagen, then to Toronto. See ya'll soon!

Nigel and Clarrise

                                                                     -30-

Completing the Circle: Warszawa to Warszawa in Six Weeks

Getting to the hotel in Warszawa was a lot easier the second time. The bus (20 zł each) left Zakopane right at 9:15 and arrived in Kraków at 11:30, only 5 minutes late. At the Carrefour adjacent to the bus and train stations, I grabbed some bread, meat, and beer for our lunch. The train (60 zł each) left on time and arrived on time (3hr 12 min). Right after we left, there was a pheasant in a field next to the train. No deer this time however. And for a considerable time, we were going almost 150 km/hr.

It's about a ten minute walk to the tram stop with the only confusion being which of the dozen exits to take from the subway under the major intersection. we got it right the third time. The old-style #15 tram (3.4 zł each for a 20 minute ticket) comes before the spiffy new #4 but they both stop at the corner where the Ibis Hotel is located. Check-in is fast and we're settled by 16:30. There are few restaurants in the area and we'd sooner have grocery store stuff than this hotel's restaurant. I find the Karafka online; it's less than a 5 minute walk away. It was a good choice. We have a nice chicken salad, two spinach crêpes, and two cheese crêpes with whipped cream and chocolate. With 2 bottles of blackcurrant juice and a glass of wine: 63 zł and a 7 zł tip.

It's off to the grocery store to load up on treats for some friends back in Toronto. Back at the hotel, we run into a problem. After a shower, the drain starts backing up through the floor tiles. Ick. When informed, the front desk immediately offers us another room. It has a fold up single bed which turns into sort-of a desk. But the light over the desk doesn't work and a new bulb doesn't solve the problem. They have no other rooms on the quiet side of the hotel with a double bed so we'll tough it out for the evening. They can fix it tomorrow while we're out.

Seen on a child's T-shirt: "Help save more trees; Give me less homework"
And on a menu: "Smoked trout with log"

Morskie Oko - Wow!

Last night, we'd asked for breakfast at 7:30 so we could get at early start. The 18-seater mini-bus (10 zł each) took about half an hour to get to Polana Palenica; 20 minutes on a smooth back road and 10 minutes on a pot-holed national highway. I guess Zakopane is a relatively rich town compared to the rest of the country. Park admission is the normal 4 zł for Clarisse, half that for old farts like me.

The walk is a lot easier and quicker than we expected and we're glad we didn't take the horse-and-wagon alternative (40 zł each to go up, 30 to come back down). It took us only 2¼ hours to walk up to the rim of Morskie Oko - The Eye of the Sea.

View walking up the hill

Morskie Oko - Eye of the Sea. Any resemblance to Lake Louise is entirely coincidental

Begging Birds

After this one was around, there were no crumbs to clean up

Another beggar

We rested for half an hour and had our usual meat and cheese sandwiches. It took an hour to walk around the lake with many stops for photographs.

Morskie Oko

We walked around the lake including crossing the snowpack

Hiding by the lake

View walking back down

Walking down was fast, a mere 1¾ hours. The bus leaves every 20 minutes on the 20. After getting off the bus close to our hotel, we picked up some 9% beer and Śląski (Silesian) cheesecake and sat around till the beer and half the dessert was gone.

Here's the weather for Warszawa. It looks like the cold snap is about to end. :-)

What a change in the weather!

Dinner: Our original plan was to eat at the Tuberoza one last time but like the weather, we changed our minds and went for cheap 'n' cheerful instead. We were happy with our lunch a few days ago at Papitar so we headed there early as they close at 19:00. After five hours of hiking, we had a serious appetite for some traditional Polish food. Two beers, two plates of mixed perogies, a bowl of beef stroganoff, and a plate strawberry and plum knuddles (3 of each) comes to 47 zł (no tip, it's counter service). That's less than half of last night's dinner. Tomorrow it's off to Warszawa and some shopping.

Another Hike, Less Rain, and More Dinner

Right after our normal 10,000 calorie breakfast, we picked up bread and smoked salmon from the Biedronka and headed for the hills. It's a very easy 4-hour out-and-back trail that follows the boundary of the town and the National Park.

Small waterfall on the trail

Sheep's Milk Cooling

A row of Oscypek getting smoked - half a kilo for 15 zł

The sheep that provide the milk to make the Oscypek - video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_--hOKg51-s

And for a video of a squirrel with cool tufted ears, look here: http://youtu.be/wieN7vwRI5Y

Tatra Mountain encroaching on the trail

We're luckier with the weather today with just a couple of light showers to dampen our umbrellas. Back at the Tuberoza, we rest our feet after the 12km stroll and have our usual three games of pool. And then we splurge on another lovely meal downstairs.

*warning* next section contains images and phrases that could be construed as gastro-porn.  

An amuse-bouche of pickles, cream cheese, and pâté

This time, it's creamy mushroom soup that a Campbell's has never seen, a plate of blanched green asparagus with Hollandaise, spaghetti with oodles of garlic and shrimp, and a lamb ragout with lemon zest.

Restaurant patron and her asparagus with Hollandaise

Lamb Ragout

Spaghetti with shrimps and a lot of garlic

With the beer and two glasses of wine, we finally broke the 100 zł mark by a shade - before tip! Good thing we're planning a long hike tomorrow to see Morskie Oko. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morskie_Oko Tune in tomorrow to see if we made it.

Easy Hike, More Rain, Champions League Final

Not much to talk about today. After breakfast, the two of us and another person staying at our hotel did an urban/suburban hike in the eastern part of Zakopane for about 4 hours. Most of the time it was dry. There were a couple of light showers and for 10 minutes, a real downpour. Lunch was cheese and bread from the Biedronka followed by another three games of pool.

Typical Zakopane Villa

Modern Church with Mountain & Palm Leaf Motifs

Carving outside a Zakopane Villa. Sheep are everywhere.

 For dinner, we tried the well-known Pstrąg Górski fish restaurant. The trout (24 zł) was perfectly cooked but the tablespoon of cooked sweet peppers was not the vegetable accompaniment that we expected. The smoked duck salad was ok (20 zł) and the portion of chips (5 zł) was small. Still hungry, we split some apple cake with whipped cream and ice cream (10 zł). Service was minimal if not poor. We left exactly 10% tip for 80 zł in total. Back to our hotel for tomorrow's dinner.

Then another disappointment; there are only 5 channels of TV and no football game. As the internet here is slow (if reliable), I watched a low-res feed that was lumpy - stopping and starting continually. At least it was a cracking good game.

Zakopane in the rain, drizzle, mist, showers, ...

The title about sums it up. We did get down to the train station and bought our Kraków to Warszawa tickets for 60 zł each. Taking the train from Zakopane is not feasible as it takes over seven hours. The bus to Kraków is two hours with another three hours on the train to Warszawa. Lunch was smoked salmon on bread from the Biedronka (Ladybird or Ladybug) grocery store across the street from the hotel.

Some notes on the three levels of Polish consumption taxes: All taxes are included in the posted prices so there are no surprises at the till or in the restaurant. Luxury goods such as alcohol, chocolate bars, and plastic grocery bags are taxed at 23%. Food like bananas and croissants are at 8% and regular food (cheese, bread, vegetables, smoked salmon) is at 5%. The rate for hotels and bus and train tickets is 8%.

Not Tesco, but close

Rain spout on a house in Zakopane

Even modern buildings in Poland have flair rarely scene in Canada

We spent the entire afternoon indoors playing Scrabble, playing with computers, and watching the drizzle. This had to be the first time we didn't leave the hotel after lunch to do something. To add to the inertia, we decided to eat at the hotel's restaurant as it had garnered rave reviews. http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g274793-d2539722-Reviews-Tuberoza-Zakopane_Lesser_Poland_Province_Southern_Poland.html

And it was a truly excellent meal with perfect service. A bread basket with a trio of little dishes (sliced pickles, pâté, cream cheese) showed up to accompany Clarisse's Okacim beer and my glass of red wine. My traditional horseradish soup was creamy but I would have preferred more horseradish. Clarisse's lentil soup was decently picante. As usual, we ordered one salad and one main course. The salad was duck breast with a sour cherry sauce on a bed of lettuce. The other dish was tender pork with wild mushrooms and a cream sauce. Both had a little demi-glace drizzled on the side of the plate. I wish I had remembered the camera for the gastro-porn shot as the presentation was gorgeous. All this came to 85 zł. We left a huge 15 zł tip and the waitress looked as pleased as if we'd left $50. There are a couple of other restaurants we want to try in town but we'll eat here again Monday night before we leave.

In the basement of the hotel are two common rooms. One hass a large TV with comfy chairs and couch; the other has a dart board, a foosball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foosball) table, and a pool table. We played three games of 8-ball before heading back to our luxurious room.

Zakopane: no rain; no sun

*FLASH* The salt mine tour page has finally been updated with photos *FLASH*

It's cold! The weather report said it was 6º at 8 a.m.; 5º at 10 a.m. Brrrr. Breakfast is great except for the coffee which is barely warm. Fried eggs and bacon along with cereal, several kinds of yogourt, sliced cheese, little packets of cheese, sliced meats, hard-boiled eggs, two kinds of jam, and a basket of bread. We waited till the light rain ended and ventured out for a walk. The first stop was to pick up a trail map at the tourist office for 8 zł. We followed the city map up into the hills until our path disappeared into a soggy pasture.

The last houses before the path ended

Sculpture park at the edge of town

Typical Zakopane House

Mural on the bank depicting executives carrying home their annual bonus

Lunch was at a self-service (samoobsługa) place next to the above bank. The daily special was a bowl of żurek (no egg, very little meat) and a platter of hamburger, mashed potatoes, and sauerkraut for only 14 zł. We're the only tourists. Everyone else is a housewife taking a break from shopping or a worker grabbing a quick lunch. You order and pay at the counter and take your own dirty dishes back when you're done.

Then we discovered a huge cemetery where the graves are slightly above ground and decorated with oil lamps and fresh flowers.

Fancy crypt in the very large cemetery

Literal translation: Tatro City

On the main road

In spite of the big lunch, we need some sugar and stop at a little cukiernia (bakery). Two scrumptious pastries are only 6.7 zł and keep us going for the next few kilometres. The main road is far too busy for enjoyable walking. We cross over the stream and up a steep hill to the road leading to the funicular railway. Then it's back through town for a brief respite before heading out for dinner. We end up at a place with a sports motif after skipping the places with loud live music. Clarisse isn't happy with her warm spicy beer with honey nor with her goulash (which was traditional but not what she expected). My Okocim porter goes down well with my chicken, mushrooms and bacon. The whole lot with an order of fries and tip is 60 zł.

House in town

Another style of house in Zakopane

Off to Zakopane

After loading up on yet another mega breakfast, it's a quick walk to the bus stop. The #304 drops us at Rondo Matecznego where we cross the street and in a few minutes, catch a Szwagropol coach (20 zł each) to Zakopane. The bus climbs and climbs and after an hour, we can see snow in the distant mountains. The trip takes about two hours to go about 100 km. Once in Zakopane, we walk to the Pensjonat Tuberoza (Pilsudskiego 31) and check in at noon.

The place reminds me of those old small hotels in England with its elegant furnishings.

We immediately went out for lunch and found the Papitar at the bottom of our street. We started with a bowl of soup each: bigos and strogonow ( (8 zł each). Still hungry, we split a plate of pierogis (9 zł) and a piwo (beer 6 zł) of course. We braved the drizzle for a while, just wandering around the town to get a feel for the place. One street is super-touristy with seemingly 1000s of day-trippers but surprisingly, the competition has driven food and drink prices down.

Tourists and view of the Tatra mountains

Sean and his friends

Pulpit in the big church on the main drag

Tourist Trap

Our hotel has a highly-rated restaurant but it's closed today. Another place up the street is also closed until the weekend. It's off-season: too warm to ski; too cold and wet for most hikers. They suggest a couple of places and we end up at Trattoria Adamo, just off the main tourist strip. The atmosphere was spoiled somewhat by four brats treating the place as their playground. We asked to move tables to a quieter spot which helped a little. The food was excellent; one of the best meals we've eaten in Poland. We split a Caesar salad with chicken (16 zł and a plate of penne con fruta del mare, the latter loaded with mussels and a few shrimp (25 zł). Since we're here for six nights, we might try it again and hope for a better atmosphere. Total bill with a half-litre of decent white wine (30 zł)  was 80 zł with the tip ($27 if you've lost track).

Although the double bed has a pair of mattresses, they are new and firm with a negligible gap. We get a solid much-needed nine hours of sleep before heading for breakfast.