Zakopansney Land

I need to be less sporadic with these blog updates, don’t I?

Krakow has been absolutely beautiful these last few weeks. You should wish that you lived here. Really… crystal clear blue skies, cool breezes and warm sun, fewer tourists. I don’t mind the tourists, really, it’s just that there are so many of them. It’s nice to be able to walk around Old Town without constantly running into someone these days. Now I just have to watch out for the flying rats… I mean, pigeons. Those are still everywhere, unfortunately.

Last weekend, I was able to experience the Polish Tatra Mountains for the first time. International Messengers had their staff conference in Poronin, Poland – a town a few miles away from Zakopane which is a popular hiking and skiing and other miscellaneous outdoor activities destination. Here’s the thing about Zakopane: It’s really pretty there, but I felt like I was in Disneyland the whole time. You know how when you go to Disneyland (and I don’t really know this, since I was only at Disneyland once, when I was 6… but this is how I picture Disneyland) they have streets that make you feel like you are in some old-timey town in, let’s just say for the sake of this discussion, Eastern Europe. Perhaps even Poland. Well, that’s what Zakopane is like. As you walk down the main street there, you are surrounded by kitschy souvenir stands and “traditional” music. I was expecting to see a sign for Ye Olde Snowboarde Shoppe any second, and have Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck walk around the corner decked out in their “traditional” Polish mountain people outfits. No sooner did I express this thought to the people I was with, when I saw this:

Yes, that is a giant man-squirrel, my friends. Not Mickey, but close enough. *Cue Twilight Zone music.* That is the best picture of the man-squirrel that I could get without him chasing me down for money. Next we moved along to the It’s a Small World ride… wait, no. That wasn’t here. We continued walking down the street, bought some gofry – a waffle-like food with whipped cream and/or fruit on top – and encountered the next clue that we were, indeed, in some sort of amusement park.

The somewhat creepy – change that to totally creepy - giant Smurfs. Money also required for photograph which is why you again see only the backs of these blue giants.

But I have saved the best for last.

At least they have beautiful, life-like horses that you can insert money into to ride in the Polish mountains. Zakopansney Land would be nothing without these magnificent stallions. See how excited I am?

And here are the houses around the facility we stayed in during the conference. Fun times.

The end.