Zakopane, white Zakopane

I have already been twice. Twice and I haven't done even half of the things that this town offers. Located almost on the southern border of Poland, it is so far away from the rest of the important cities of the country that you could tell yourself that it's something like the exclusive playground of Cracow. At an hour and a half away it it one of those destinations that you can go to if you're bored one day and want to have lunch in a different place. The ticket: 30 zl return and it isn't necessary to reserve or buy in advance: It is sufficient to go to the bus station (at the Krakowska shopping centre) where a bus departs approximately every 20 minutes. This is easy.

However, the first time that I went was a complete defiance. We arrived at the bus station and bought the tickets. However we were stupid and between seven of us, couldn't find the platform so not only once did we miss the bus, but twice. The second time we were waiting in front of the bus and as it doesn't explicitally say on it 'Zakopane', we didn't know that it was the bus we had to take until it had gone. Luckily, once you buy it, the ticket is valid for any of the journey's and we didn't have to buy another. We arrived at around 9PM - once again being rookies, because if I have learnt anything on my Erasmus, it's that journeys have to be very late at night or very early in the morning to save yourself from a night in a hostel and to take full advantage of the day. It was very late and too cold to do anything so we just walked a little down the beautiful town centre and searched for a restaurant to eat in. Most places were very similar: colonial, wooden and very typical. We ended up eating in a great restaurant where the waiters were dressed in typical Polish clothing, decorated in a cabin/attic style. Here I ate one of the best pierogi that I have tried in Poland for around 25 zl.

After dinner, we bought alcohol and returned to where we were staying. A hostel is a place with excellent rooms for 5 or 6 people with a bathroom in each room, a communal kitchen and a dining room. The night costes 30 zl. It was located very close to the bus station and approximately 20 minutes from the centre. However, it was on a kind of hill. I only appreciated the beauty of the walk, the surrounding houses and the tranquillity of those which surrounded it the following morning.

The plan was to visit the lake and see the mountain. We never found the bus that took us to the park or know where the mountain was. In fact, we didn't even know what it was called - yes, rookies. But in our defence, it was the first journey we had taken out of Kr. We spent the entire first day in the centre looking for the bus - later on we realised how stupid we were and as we never found it, were limited to seeing the town with it's benches which looked like squares, it's wooden establishments, it's trees and it's general Christmas charm because despite barely being November, Zakopane was already bringing out it's best side: Christmas. There wasn't any snow but it was clear that December was close. Mulled wine, soup and a couple of typical types of cheese was our lunch that day. We went to the church and the house of the second most important composer in Poland, whose name none of us remember but it was a lovely, small cabin located in the middle of a forest which served us as refuse to warm up for a while. We saw beautiful, elegant and simple houses, which were holiday homes to people with money in this country. I have to admit that when night came, we were all tired, frozen and a bit annoyed with each other for not having found the bus stop, but the magic of Zakopane kept us calm. We returned to the hostel and the boys went out to party - despite the fact that Zakopane isn't known for it's night-life, they managed to get drunk as they have rarely done so in Cracow - and us girls, we stayed in to talk and rest.

The following day we still hoped to go to the lake, but quickly took into account that there was no sense in it and we resigned ourselves to returning to Cracow having 'failed'.

It's true we didn't fulfil our plan, but we took the time to get to know the town and see a side of it that you can only get to know if you have already lost yourself in the place. It's woods, it's cabins, it's paths are things which we can never pay attention too when we have a fixed destination.

But even with all that we said to make ourselves feel better, we knew that we had to come back to see Zakopane's main attractions and each one of us would return later at different times.

I came back a month later with Dora, who had come to visit from Madrid. When I was thinking of places to show her, I remembered that I owed a debt to this town. This time I did much better because I knew that Dora would kill me if anything went wrong. We took a bus at four in the morning, had a very strong coffee in the bus station and quickly located the van that would bring us to the entrance of the park. It turns out it's very easy to get to the lake which is called Morski Oko, by the way. After we had barely left the bus station, on the left was the van that brought you for 10 zl to the park located thirty minutes away. There was a 'pay 6 zl - tariff for students' and 'Welcome to the mountain! ' You can walk or go in a cart pulled by horses. Dora and I walked of course. It was 9 kilometres up a paved road that is not very steep. The walk is great, especially if it is all snowy and the temperature is at one or two degrees. Yes, we had this good fortune. We saw little streams, bridges, cabins and many trees and a lot of snow. It is possible to shorten this walk through some short-cuts which were even more beautiful but very slippery.

Finally, and after a lot of gossip and tales accumulated over more than six months, we arrived at the lake where, with an impressive mountain backdrop (I still much prefer Ávila a lot), we took many photos. There, there is a restaurant - wooden, of course - to eat in and to have something before embarking on the way back.

Nine kilometres and a lot of laughter later, we were back in the van which for another 10 zl took us back to Zakopane. Dora and I ate, walked through the centre which was even more beautiful than the last time, for being closer to Christmas and returned to the station to take the bus which brought us home. Simple and without any inconveniences: Experts.

I believe this one of the easiest outings that I have most enjoyed being in Poland, not only for the scenery, but for the company and the memory of warmth that Dora brought me from Madrid.

As I said at the beginning, in spite of having been twice, I haven't done even half of the things that there are to do in this town which all the Erasmus of Cracow enjoyed so much. You can ice skate, ski, discover new trails in the mountains, view the rest of the lakes that are in the park, go to Morskie Oko from the other side of the mountain, which is a bit more dangerous because it is not paved but I have been told the views are stunning there.

To finish, a couple of things:

1. Zakopane is a destination in which you can go to just for a day trip or to spend an entire weekend depending on your plans, but it is very important to figure out in advance where things are and how to get to them. I am speaking from experience.
2. Walk all that you can. Despite that the centre is rather small, Zakopane is more than the three main roads and every corner is worth going to see.
3. Wear appropriate shoes; It will probably be very slippery. And make snow angels and have snow ball fights and do all of these other infantile things. More than two months later and I still don't understand why Dora and I didn't do them; even more so considering we are girls of the tropics who never see this type of thing. We were probably too focused on taking photos and catching up with each others lives.
4. In the park, although twenty kilometres back and forth can seem like a lot and the carriages are romantic and tempting, the best option is to walk it. Magical corners are discovered on the way, as if drawn from a story; it is unforgivable to miss them.
5. As from December, Zakopane is always snowing, but check the temperature beforehand and choose a good day to go. The walk, with the sun and temperature below zero, is more more pleasant.

And the last piece of advice: Don't hesitate to go. Zakopane awaits you.