Where have you been?

For the second half of our day out in Warsaw we visited Park Łazienkowski. According to Wikipedia this is the largest park in Warsaw but more importantly it was the summer home of the Polish King Stanisław August Poniatowski. Here you can see his palace which is know as the "Palace on the Water".


Throughout the park there are several sculptures including these stylized lamp posts of Pan. There is also a Roman amphitheater where plays and music are performed.

In addition to the sculptures there are also several Peacocks. These elegant yet stupid birds are beautiful but are a pain to cohabit with. There were several in one of the cities I lived. So, who's the poof on the right you ask? Well, that is no queer but rather the most famous Polish musician, Fryderyk Chopin. He is not gay, it was explained to me, but "Artistic". Right...Speaking of poofs, nice pink shirt huh?

We visited the Botanic Garden (Ogród Botanizcny) and Park Łazienkowski this past weekend to take advantage of the nice Fall weather. The Botanic Garden is quite small and was a bit of a disappointment but worth the visit. Its Fall so there were only a few flowers left but that wasn't the problem. Everything seemed to be jammed together as if the important thing was to get as many plants in there rather than making them nice. Additionally, the green house was in a separate area and you had to pay again to view it. It was closed while we were there but it looked as if it could be nice. But, as I said, it was worth the visit not only because there were some really nice areas but also just to walk around in nature right in the middle of the city.


Above top you can see some photos of some of the last flowers of the year. Just above you can see one of the last bees of the year as well. I took a bunch of photos of this guy and naturally the first one I took (this one) was the best. Not quite as dramatic as my photo of the two bumble bees (Top Photographs) but nice none the less. Check back soon for photos from Park Łazienkowski.

So we have reached the end of the Tatra photographs and, although I have many more photos, it is time to say goodbye until next year. As a last post I would like to show a possible future non-heights-limited version of myself. We met this guy at the base of Rysy after he had been to the top and back. "Nah, its not difficult. There are even chains at the top to make it easier." Right...

For our next series I am going to post some photos from around Warsaw. Everything from the shitty little village I live in to the metropolitan city center and beyond. Keep checking back weekly for more photos and strange and sometimes funny stories!

I wanted to add a few photographs that show just popular Morskie Oko is with Polish people. Remember that at around 9:30AM there were only 20 or so people milling about. And then, an hour later...


Not bad. This is around 11AM. After another hour, when all of the lazy people finally make it up the 2 hour walk...


I have no idea how big the area is but its safe to say that every rock had someone standing on it. In addition to all their friends, it is (I guess) sometimes necessary for people to bring furniture as well. Here was can see a nice end table, um, right next to the water. I guess it makes sense if you want to read for a bit along the shore and then take a nap. You would have some place to put your book!

A few photos of flowers and butterflies from the Tatras. My girlfriend realized she was interested in learning how to take photos and the two photographs above are hers.

Now that we have finished the chronology of our trip I want to add a few side posts that I think you guys might find interesting. The first has to do with my overwhelming fear of falling to my death. Technically this is called Acrophobia but it is more commonly called a fear of heights. I know, I am a wimp.


While we would be walking along a trail, steep or otherwise, I would be fine. Then a narrow section with a large drop below would come along and things would get tense. This feeling occured several times but once, as we were making our way from Morskie Oko to Dolina Pięciu Stawów Polskich (Valley of Five Lakes), I couldn't overcome my fears and had to turn back. Here is a picture of the overall trail although I do not know if the "hard" section can be seen. I think it might be the large slide section seen as tan right in the middle but I am not sure.


Either way the trail at this point was only about four inches wide and was not a ledge so much as a flatter section of a large bald rock across the trail. There was not really any grip either and the span was about eight feet and the fall below was at least 40 feet. If there had been a chain to hold or something it might have been different but as it was there was no way I was going to make it. This picture shows me just after we decided to turn back: "The look of fear". Nice huh?


On the positive side we decided to walk up to Czarny Staw after we returned to Morskie Oko because we had the rest of the day to kill. So while the trip to the Valley of Five Lakes was a bust we did get to see Czarny Staw. As I said before, "next time". Here is a few of Morskie Oko as we made our way back down.

After two hard days on the trail and one day of cool-down we decided to take it easy and play tourist. We hit all the popular sites in town, did some shopping, and, on the last day, spent quality time at a pool.

The first place we saw on day four, mostly because it was downhill from our apartment, was the Sanktuarium Fatimskie church. The church is dedicated to "Our Lady of Fatima" which is what the Blessed Virgin Mary is known as by those who believe that she appeared to three shepherd children at Fátima, Portugal on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917.


In front of the church is an identical giant cross to the one on top of Giewont. The cross on Giewont is not able to be seen in this photo but would be on the background peak directly above the old guy walking on the right hand side.

The church is very devoted to John Paul II and even built several buildings/chaples as offerings for his health in the 80s because of the atempt made on his life. In addition there are several statues of the Pope, two shown here, spread across the site. The Pope later visited and consecrated the church.

After the church we made our way to the top of Gubałówka. This is your basic tourist area with plenty of souvenir stands, restaurants, and the like. There is also an Alpine Slide there as well. It is not as big as the one in Park City, Utah, but is fun none the less. Here is a photo of my girlfriend after her ride.

On a clear day the view from Gubałówka must be amzing. Unfortunately it was cloudy when we were there so the photos are not that great. Here is one of us with Giewont in the background.

After the Alpine Slides we decided to relax with some beers (shown) and then spent the rest of day four shopping in Zakopane.

The wether on day five was excellent so we decided to not bother with any more tourist stuff and headed off to find a pool. We eventually found the giant "pond" at the Hotel Kasprowy. This is a large outdoor pool that is in the form of a natural pond. It has an absolutely beautiful view of the Tatras and I am very dissapointed I did not take my camera. If any of you make it to Zakopane in summer time this pool is a nice, but somewhat expensive, way to spend a lazy day enjoying the sights. On the map of days four and five the hotel is circled.

After the two long trips on days one and two we decided to take it easy on day three. After sleeping in and a big breakfast we headed up Dolina Kościeliska (I haven't mentioned this yet but dolina means valley in Polish - so we walked up the Kościeliska valley) to Mrożna Jaskinia. This cave is the only one in the Tatra National Parks system with electricity that allows casual tourist like us to explore it without additional equipment. This, and the easy walk to the entrance, make it a popular spot for not only tourists but also youth camps. After the light fourty minute walk to the entrance we had to wait an additional fourty minutes to get to the front of the line and gain access to the cave.


Although the wait was a bit annoying we were quickly impressed by the narrow passages and interesting feel to the cave. I thought it might suck walking single file through the cave but the organization was good enough that once inside it felt as though we were in there with only a few other people. A few areas were very tight and claustrophobic, a few were huge wide open caverns, while other areas consisted of difficult climbs up or down. It was fun as I had never been in a cave like this and would now like to try one that requires spelunking gear. Here are a few of our pictures from inside.


After the thirty minute walk through the cave you exit at a different location and are forced to walk down a huge series of stairs to the valley below. At the bottom we rested along a small stream with about 60 loud Polish kids in youth camps. It is safe to say that Polish youths are as annoying as American kids. We decided to quit the shore and walk slowly down the stream away from the kids. It is a peaceful stream that is quite beautiful at many spots. Here is one such spot.


As we slowly made out way back to the car we decided to rest again in this small forest area. This particular valley, Kościeliska, is well know for its beauty as well as a starting place for adventurous who make the several day trip along the ridge line of the Tatras. I have been told this trip, going West to East, can take anywhere from three days to seven days. There are many mountain huts/lodges along the way to take shelter in. It might be fun to do this some day but not just yet.

So, a late start followed by a relaxing walk through Dolina Kościeliska and Mrożna Jaskinia. Day three was the beginning of the end for our more active days but we are both quite pleased with what we did and saw. As before here is a map of Day Three.