There are for sure many other travel tips on Zakopane that you can find online, I referred to them as well :D especially Trip Advisor (my all-time favourite). But in this post, it is more about me reminiscing memories of my solo trip to this southern part of Poland.
I shared here some ideas that you can do in Zakopane, Poland within a day :D
My hostel provided simple breakfast every day as early as 7 am, so my day in Zakopane basically started with breakfast and a book to read.
At 10am, I walked out to the center.. to be more specific to Krupowki Street. I need to change some money as I ran out of Polish zloty and after surveying the night before, the exchange rate in Krupowki Street was better than other places (like the bus station) even though this street is always full with tourists.
1. Took pictures with this huge Zakopane board.
On my way there, I saw this huge ZAKOPANE board :D a good one to take pictures. Well just look at the background... whitish snowy mountains, something I can not see routinely.
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| To get here, walk to Dolna Rówień Krupowa - this board is located here (a small park along Tadeusza Kościuszki street) |
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| The same park. |
2. Walked along Krupówki street.
Krupówki is pronounced as 'crew-poof-key'
After few minutes walking, I arrived at Krupówki street, the main street in Zakopane. As expected, many people were already there but not as packed as Charles Bridge in Prague. Hehe. You can expect building along the street - they can be souvenirs shops, banks, restaurants, hotels, historical monuments, church as well.
It was lovely to walk along it, especially when it served you with good atmosphere. If you are into shopping, this is the place you should go - almost all shops are here.
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| Not easy to get picture without people here :p |
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| Classic street. |
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| I have no idea the meaning of this statue. |
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| Kościół Świętej Rodziny - a Catholic church. Poland is more religious than Czech anyway. |
3. Walked along Na Gubałówkę street (Gubalowka Hill Market).
From Krupówki, I walked across the main road towards Gubalowka Hill. Along the way, there were a lot of shops with variety of stuffs you can buy - pastry, clothes (especially leather jackets), shoes, bags. From my reading, the market is open every day from 8am till late evening.
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| I forgot to survey the prices though. Haih. |
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The market looks like this.
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4. Took a funicular to the top of Gubalowka Hill.
I had the idea to climb the hill, but naaah it's okay.. I took the funicular instead. The funicular is kind of similar to the one in Penang Hill, but of course the view is different ;)
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| Empty station before few groups of school children came. Haha. |
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| 18 zloty for return trip. |
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| The best view was obviously from the bottom cabin. |
The best part of this hill was it provided free WiFi! Hahaha.
I know it is better to disconnect to Internet to connect with the place I am travelling to. But, it was a solo trip, I made calls to people instead and shared the view. Lol, I was trying to be creative. The views were as expected to be mesmerizing. From the hill, I could see panoramic views of Tatras Mountains and the town of Zakopane itself.
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| SubhanAllah! |
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| Another one! |
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| Suddenly, groups of school children came. :D |
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| It was snowing that day. |
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| View from the funicular. |
5. Watched people gambling.
On top of Gubalowka Hill, there were many shops selling souvenirs and I could see a ski areal as well. At first, I had no idea why so many people gathered there so I joined the crowd. Since the camera was always on my hand, I tried to record the situation. Hahaha, then I was scolded by one of them. Only then, I knew they were gambling!
Like, seriously gambling in an open space like that?
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| Please do not take part in any of gambling activities, here or anywhere else! You will surely lose the money, stolen by these people! |
6. Ate Crème brûlée in Góralskie Praliny.
This creme brulee was recommended by my junior who is studying in Poland. It is a dessert made of custard with a hard layer of burnt sugar caramelized by a butane torch. Wow.
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| It is tasty, but quite sweet for me that I need to remove the sugar layer. |
7. Bought Pierogi.
Pierogi = Polish dumplings.
Most Eastern European countries have their own dumplings but I still consider dumplings in Poland as the best, especially if you bought them in
Zapiecek. Wow, that confidence. HEHE
But, there is no Zapiecek in Zakopane... so I bought the frozen dumplings instead.
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| My favourite - dumplings with mushrooms. |
Finally, I am done with Zakopane's posts :D
Yeay!
Till then,
Salam.
HK, Czech
170330
