Devin's Travels: Zakopane

We got off the bus in Zakopane at about 5pm and decided that we could walk to the hostel that we had picked out. So we set off down the road for what we thought would be a long, but fairly straight forward walk to the hostel. The directions that we had gotten seemed to be working fairly well and after about 30 minutes of walking we turned down what we thought was the road that the hostel was on. After walking down the road for about 5 minutes we decided that the hostel wasn't there so seeing a couple of locals out for a walk we approached them to ask for directions. After a bit of trying to figure it all out they got their neighbor who spoke great English to explain that it was back out on the main road and one block further down. So we set off again and about 10 minutes later we found the hostel hidden down a small road and tucked into the middle of nowhere, almost impossible to find. By the time we finally settled down and got a room it was pretty late so we decided to go to the only nearby restaurant for a spot of dinner since everything else was either closed or miles away. The dinner was pretty good although we definitely felt like we were interrupting the locals by being there so after having a quick bite we returned to the hostel where we just relaxed for a bit before heading to bed.

The next morning we got up and got prepared to go out for a hike. Only it was pouring outside so we took a little while with the last bit of preparation since we were hoping it would dry up. Thankfully it did seemed to stop raining so we set off for the 30 minute walk to the start of the hike that was recommended. The hike started at the base of a ski lift and by the time that we got there the rain had started again so instead of heading up the mountain we decided to enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate and wait out the rain again. Of course as soon as we got our hot chocolate the rain stopped so after our short break enjoying our delicious beverages we started off. Our chosen hike started off up the mountain and after an hour of walking we came out to an open ridge where we were rewarded with some nice views of the landscape below us and over the town of Zakopane. Continuing on we climber over a small pass and continued up a valley until we came to a hut where we enjoyed our lunch and watching the hoards of people hiking by us. After lunch we continued for another 30 minutes until we came to a nice lake surrounded on three sides by mountain walls. We spent a few minutes relaxing by the lake and taking pictures but we decided that we should start heading back as it still looked like it could rain so we didn't want to be caught in that. The hike back to the base of the ski lift was fairly uneventful and after finishing it we made our way back to the hostel stopping at a small grocery store on the way. That evening we relaxed at the hostel watching a movie and cooking dinner as the hostel was too far from anything to go out. So once the movie ended we just had a fairly early night.

The following morning we got up early and after a quick breakfast we made our way out. Today to get to our starting point for our hike we had to take a short bus ride from the bus station in Zakopane so after squishing onto a bus with the rest of Zakopane we got to the bus station from our hostel where we jumped on another bus that took us to the valley Dolina Chocholowska. Arriving at the start of our hike we proceeded to start walking up a nice wide and flat valley getting passed every once in a while by a horse drawn carriage taking other tourists further up the valley. After about an hour of walking through the valley we came to a cave that passed through the mountain to a point further down the trail. After a short climb up to the cave entrance we got to enter almost right away and spent the next 15 minutes squeezing through some narrow passages to the other side. The interior of the cave wasn't anything spectacular but it was quite long and fun to have to squeeze through. At the far end of the cave we descended back down to the main trail where we continued on to a small hut located at the end of the valley. After a short break at the hut we started to climb up to the top of a small pass where we took a break to enjoy our lunch while sitting on the grass. After lunch we continued down the other side of the pass until we came to the valley Dolina Koscielika which we walked down until we came out back at the road. Once at the end of the hike we hopped on a bus and got back into Zakopane. Back in Zakopane we picked up some food for dinner and made our way back to the hostel where we enjoyed another evening of movies and home cooked dinner before going to bed.

The next morning Lianne and I had to get up extremely early as we were leaving Celine and Adam since they were heading to Slovakia and us to the Czech Republic. So after saying goodbye to them we made our way out the door and to the bus station where we got on an early bus back to Poprad in Slovakia. Once in Poprad we bought some food for lunch and then got on a train for a very long ride to Prague in Czech Republic. Once we reached Prague though our day of traveling still wasn't done so after waiting in the train station for a couple of hours we boarded a train bound for Ceske Budejovice our destination for that day.