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.