Üks esimesi asju, mida ma juba enne Poola kolimist mõtlesin teha, oli kindlasti esimesel võimalusel minna mägedesse. Kuna Eestit võib lugeda peaaegu et täiesti lamedaks maaks ning meie 318 meetri kõrguste küngaste mägede alla kategoriseerimine kõlab juba eos totralt, tundus mõte päris mägede lähedusest justkui omamoodi õnnistus olevat. Kusjuures minu esimene reis mägedesse mõned aastad tagasi oli just Poolas ja kui päris aus olla, siis on see siiani mu jaoks üks kõige ilusamaid vaatepilte, mida ma ma oma elus näinud olen. Ilmselt olime tollal ääretult hea õnnega koos, kuna nii ilm kui ümbritsev õhkkond lõid põimudes minu jaoks midagi täiesti maagilist. Säravalt sinine taevas, selge vaade üle mägede ja rohelusest pungil puude, õhus rippus mõnus kuuma suvepäeva hõng ning kõrvu kostusid rahva elevus ja hõisked Tour de Pologne Zakopane etapil osalenud jalgrattulitele. See oli imeilus päev ning see jääb mulle ilmselt igaveseks meelde.
One thing I was extremely happy about when moving to Poland was the opportunity to go and spend as soon as possible more time in the mountains. As Estonia can be basically considered as an extremely flat country and declaring our 318m high hills as mountains is not something we should be extremely proud of, having actual mountains rather nearby feels like a true blessing to me. My first trip ever to the mountains a few years back was actually in Poland and to be honest, it is still one of the most beautiful sights I have ever see in my life. I must say that back then we were probably extremely lucky with the weather and the atmosphere, so that everything kind of just fell into place and some sort of magic was created. The vibrant blue sky, the clear view over the mountains and vivid green trees, the pleasantly hot summer air hanging in the air, plus the great vibe of the Tour de Pologne having one of its stages in the Zakopane area. It was a beautiful day and I will probably remember the extremely beautiful view in my head forever.
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Sel korral meil ilmaga nõnda palju ei vedanud, kuna õhk oli tol päeval veel siiski pisut kevadiselt karge ning taevas pilvine. Kuid sellest hoolimata otsustasime veeta päeva Zakopanes ja visata pilgu peale kuulsale Morskie Okole. Viimane on üks sügavamaid järvi Tatra mägedes, ümbritsetud kaunite mäetippudega ning on üks populaarsemaid sealseid turismisihtpaiku. Kuid ma ei saa inimeste soovi seda paika näha kuidagi neile ka pahaks panna. Kuigi meid tervitas saabudes tüüpiline aprillikuine ilm - võrdlemisi külm ja mõningal määral isegi lumine - oli see siiski kerget matkamist väärt. Paik ise on imeilus ning võin vaid ette kujutada, kui kaunis on see suvisel või pisut värvikirkamal ajal. Traditsioonidele kohaselt maiustasime järveäärses mägionnis ka tükikese szarlotka ehk õunakoogiga, mis oli oma maitselt üks parimaid, mida seni maitsta olen saanud.
This time around we were not so lucky with the weather, as it was still a bit chilly and cloudy that day. But nevertheless, we had decided to go and have a some sort of a daytrip to Zakopane to visit the infamous Morskie Oko. The latter is one of the deepest lakes in the Tatra mountains, surrounded by beautiful mountains and therefore also being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the area. But I cannot blame the people for wanting to see that. Even though we did get the typical April mountain weather - rather cold and there was even snow to be seen - but it was worth the small hike. It is a beautiful place and I can see how wonderful it must look like during the more warmer and colourful times. And according to the traditions, we also had a delicious szarlotka (apple) cake up in the cabin, which was one of the tastiest ones I have had so far.
Öö veetsime oma kambaga Good Bye Lenin hostelis, mis asub umbkaudu nelja kilomeetri kaugusel Zakopane kesklinnast. Kuid mugavaks muutis asukoha hosteelist paarisaja meetri kaugusel asuv bussipeatus, kust saime kenasti bussi peale mindud, mis meid Morskie Okoni viiva matkaraja alguspunktini viis. Teekond sinnani ei olnud midagi erilist, mistõttu ei näinud mõtet seda retke ette võtta ja otsustasime bussi kasuks. Kuid üks kõige vahvamaid kokkusattumusi leidis aset just eelpool mainitud hosteli administraatoriga. Ajasime kõik koos hommikusöögi saatel juttu, kui ühtäkki jõudis järg nende küsimusteni, mis puudutas meie päritolu. Ning kui ma olin öelnud, et olen pärit Eestist, vaatas administraatorist tüdruk mind üllatunult ning vastas, et tema ka! Nii naljakas on mõelda, et kõikidest kohtadest üldse kohtan ma teist eestlast ühes väikses Zakopane hostelis. Kuid tervitused sulle, Egle!
We stayed the night in the Good Bye Lenin hostel, which is located about four kilometres from the Zakopane city centre, but it was on its way to Morskie Oko, so it was extremely convenient to take the bus from a station located a few hundred metres from it. You could always walk up to the starting point of the almost eight km trail, but as the road itself was nothing special there, we saw no point to do so. But the greatest coincidence regarding the hostel was the receptionist, whom we were casually having a conversation with during breakfast. After some point the talk lead to the question of where we are from and once I had declared I come from Estonia, she got this surprised look on her face and suddenly said that she is from there as well! I mean, what are the odds that, out of all places, you meet a fellow countryman in a small hostel in Zakopane. So random, but what a surprise!
