Zakopane

Today was a full day tour to the mountains of Poland.  It was a lovely trip-the scenery reminded us somewhat of Norway or the Canadian Rockies with the tall trees and type of greenery.  Zakopane is nestled in the valley of the mountains and has a large market with all sorts of items.  One of the main local treats is cheese-smoked cheeses from all sorts of animals-goat, cow, etc..  They gave samples and it was quite good so we bought a few small pieces for our bus trip tomorrow.  We got a small ice cream cone and sat on benches and people watched and enjoyed the time there.  We stopped at some pretty churches on the way to the town where we had some free time.  Then we headed up the road to a lovely little hunting retreat where we had dinner.  The meal was excellent.  My favorite thing was the fried smoked cheese that is a delicacy in this area. yum. It was really good. They had music and dancers while we ate.  Afterwards, we had our first surprise of the evening-a horse drawn carriage ride out into the countryside.  I think it was a national park if I read the sign right at one point.  Jim got to sit with the driver and Marylou and I got the backseat.  It really was a lovely afternoon to do it and it was peaceful and just a real treat.  After about 45 minutes, he let us out at a small restaurant where the bus was waiting.  But instead of getting on the bus, we were taken to the yard out back where they had built a big bonfire and had polish sausages for us to roast and eat.  I didn't try any as I felt sure they had garlic in them, but it was fun to roast them.  We all laughed about how they could do this right after a huge meal.  But most managed to find the room to down them pretty well.  After a nice visit there, we headed on back to Krakow.  It was a really nice day and we were glad we got to go see this part of Poland as it is very different from the cities where we have stayed.