Are We There Yet?

The day dawned clear and crisp with the smell of fall in the air. Everyone but Dennis seemed to have a fairly good rest last night. Poor Dennis is having a very difficult time making the time adjustment and getting any sleep at all it seems. Everyone loaded up on a good breakfast and Annie was successful in getting her scrambled eggs this morning. Fran got her cheese blintz heated before eating it and found it to be quite a different experience. Our tummies full we are eager to head for the hills - well the beautiful Tatra Mountains anyway.

Everyone found a seat in the van and we started out of Warsaw with high hopes of reaching Zakopane in time for an early evening concert in a local church. It just wasn't to be, however. The traffic was absolutely nightmarish and poor Aneta struggled to find a pathway through the maze of construction, trucks and wrecks. Of course we had to make stops periodically for the WC and that always takes a fair amount of time. One of our first stops was at a petrol station next door to a McDonalds. I went in the McD's and used their nice clean restroom and then bought a Coke Light to take on the journey. The others went in the convenience store at the petrol station and learned the hard way that these restrooms often cost one or two Zloty per patron to use. Everyone loaded up on bottles of water and take away snacks and off we went again.

Aneta had prearranged lunch at a nice restaurant in the village below Checiny Castle. We all made haste to use the WC only to discover there was no water! There were no warning signs posted either, not that we could have read them if there had been, and we were more than a little embarrassed that we could neither flush toilets or wash our hands. Annie came to the rescue on the hands issue and passed her hand sanitizer around the table. By that time we had also observed that there was no electricity in the restaurant. This was cause for some concern as we were expecting a meal and wondered how they would ever produce it. Well they produced all right. Lovely salads, beet root soup (obviously heated on a gas stove) fresh bread and a tasty dessert. We had the entire place to ourselves and enjoyed the time to laugh and talk and get to know one another a bit better. It seems the road construction crew had severed the water and electric service just an hour or so before we arrived but we were impressed with the aplomb with which the restaurant staff managed the situation.

Fot: Checiny Castle, Linda

Now, up the hill to visit the intriguing castle ruins we have been spying with each twist and turn in the road for the past 20 kilometers. Parking was at the bottom of the hill. The castle was at the top of the hill (makes sense, when you think about it). Walking was the only method of transportation to get to the top. Fine. Looks like a nice well used road to the top. "Oh, no! Stop. Don't go that way. The gate is locked and you have to go up this trail. Through the woods. No, it isn't far. Just go up there."

The fellow at the souvenir stand was really quite insistent. Annie bagged the entire plan at that point and Joe was wondering about making the climb with his bum knee. I was worried about whether I could even get up the hill and still be breathing! We started out and it wasn't too bad at first. The more intrepid travelers just went right on up the hill. I am the oldest in the group (that is my excuse) so it took me a little longer. Poor Joe, with the bad knee, and I struggled up the steep incline climbing over rocks and roots and finally making the stone stairway up to the castle proper. The stairs were similar to the Myan Ruins I climbed in Belize 20 years ago. They were tough then and they we're tough today. The spacing between steps was whatever the size of rock was the builders had at hand. Some were six inches and some were more like 16 inch risers. I practically dragged myself hand over
fist up the last 100 yards to the castle keep. Was it worth it? You better believe it! What a view. Say what you will about medieval castles, these guys knew about view scapes! We wandered around and took our happy snaps while Aneta talked about the history of the place with a security guard. Then she took us on a brief tour and explained the place to us. Several of our party felt energetic enough to climb the long winding circular staircase to the top of one of the three reconstructed watch towers. The roof was long gone from the castle, courtesy of an invasions by the Swedish in the last century. The regional government is trying to cobble together the finances to reconstruct the castle roof and recreate the interior as they imagine it might have been. The place was used by the Soviets as a prison and the local authorities want to put a coffee shop in the castle ruins to attract visitors! Egads and little fishes, as we used to say. That seems like a terrible idea. The ruins are beautiful as they are and give an impressive visual from quite a distance away. Climbing up to see the ruins makes you feel like you have discovered something important that not everyone knows about. I vote for leaving the ruins as they are.

Our nice leisurely walk down the road from the castle gave us the added benefit of breathtaking views from the front side of the castle and the shelter of cool woods as we walked on this warm fall day. Once back in the van we were a group of happy, weary travelers anxious to get to our destination. The traffic was uncooperative and we were continually delayed by barriers to forward progress.

Fot: Our B&B in Zakopane

When we finally arrived in Zakopane it was dark at night. Aneta had to call the hotel several times to get them to delay our dinner reservations. Then the GPS refused the address and wouldn't give us directions. We had a difficult time finding the turnoff to the hotel in the dark but eventually we found our way. The hotel was delightful. Built in the traditional woodsman style of the Gorals, the structure was a feast of delights for our eyes. Dinner was very good and we ate with relish before climbing the stairs to our rooms. My bed was very comfortable and I gratefully fell into it.