Zakopane, Poland (Tatra Mountains)

After leaving Torun, we drove further south toward Zakopane, where we would stay for a few days. 

But along the way, we took a break at Częstochowa to go to the Catholic pilgrimage site of the Jasna Góra Monastery. 

sometimes group shots are just hard.

Here we wanted to see “Our Lady of Częstochowa”. This is a painting of the Madonna that is important to Polish Catholics and has been attributed to many miraculous healings. 

It was a very interesting stop, even though we bumbled our way through a bit of it. After a few wrong turns inside the monastery, an Italian nun helped us find the right chapel where the revered icon was on display. 

We were lucky. Our arrival coincided with Mass. The monks, nuns and many visitors were singing, and the communion elements were being offered. The chapel was small, but joyfully decorated in cast-off crutches and donated rosaries.

The room was packed with people on pilgrimage (many in wheelchairs) and the spirit in the place was rich with joy and hope. 

The worship was deeply moving.

We continued on our drive south. Thus far, most of Poland was flat farmland, which was as I expected. But the farther south we went, we saw pine trees, rocky outcrops, and small rivers darting across the landscape. 

This is our view for about 7 hours of driving from North to South.

Then we saw the southern villages. They were made up of the most adorable wooden houses ever!!! Carved and lovely. Charming and altogether wonderful.

We stayed in one called the "Sheep’s Cottage", and every nook from playground to attic was a delight!

Owcza Chata mean's Sheep's Cottage in Polish

That evening we had dinner at a traditional Polish restaurant that even had a Polka band. Tom made sure to facetime with his Grandma so she wouldn't miss this.

The next day we hiked to Moske Oko, the largest lake in the Tatra Mountains. 

On the website and on travel blogs, this hike was listed as easy, and “good for children and seniors.” I guess this was because the path was paved and wide and not very steep. 

However, it was at least 10 miles long and had very little tree shade. John bowed out, deciding to have a quiet day of solitude at the Sheep’s Gate. The rest of us took on the trek to Moske Oko. 

We pre-paid for parking, but on arrival found that the main lot was full, so they directed us to the overflow lot, a further two miles from the trailhead. We could have hiked the extra distance, but opted to pay additional for a shuttle to take us there. 

The strange thing was that, in order to get the shuttle, we had to walk across a bridge into Slovakia. Yes, we had to pass into another country! We were only there for a bit, but still! Europe blows me away with this!

Slovakia was lovely, by the way. The only notable difference was that when we crossed the bridge, we had to pay in euros instead of the Polish zloky. 

The hike was almost entirely on a paved road. There were loads of other hikers, and it was pretty easy as far as not needing to watch out for roots and rocks.

Every now and then, a horse-drawn wagon filled with “non-hikers” would pass us. Sometimes, I tried to catch a rider’s eye, but alas, every time they passed it seemed the trees just beyond or even the pavement below was more interesting than the sweaty hikers next to them. 

Photo: Andrzej Otrębski via Wikimedia Commons

* For the record, we tried to get a wagon ride for the return journey. But despite their jaunty hats and convivial costumes, the wagon drivers were unyielding in the price, which was 70 zloty per person IN CASH ONLY. No pleading eyes, or limping seniors, or promises of more money from the ATM at the bottom would turn their hard hearts. We would have to walk the entire 10+ miles.

After a few hours, we arrived at a rest area with a bathroom, ice cream stalls, and a bar! It was still another 30 minute uphill walk from here to Moske Oko and then there was the return journey. I couldn’t imagine who would want to drink beer and still hike at least 5 miles … must be those wagon riders. We did want some ice cream, but decided it would taste better on the return journey. At least that what we told the kids to keep them motivated.

After a final 30 minute uphill push, we reached our destination. 

Spectacular!

I could not wait to get my hot and swollen feet into that crystal-clear, cold water.  

God made such a beautiful world.