Zakopane and Slovakia

Got up quite early today again so that I could go to the mountains with Slawek. I didn't feel so bad, considering I got about four hours of sleep the past two nights. Today it was just me and Gabe who went with Slawek to the mountains, as the hostel emptied out last night and was left with very few guests. We took a bus to Zakopane, a town near the Slovak border in the Tatras, the highest moutain range in Eastern Europe. It took about two hours to get there, and the town was very nice, with beautiful chalet-style wood buildings, and leafy boulevards. We headed off to the Slovak border so that Slawek could get some more Absinthe in Slovakia. Apparently Slovakia has less restrictive rules on alcohol and is allowed to sell 80% absinthe. Slawek goes to Slovakia about once a week to do this, and feeds hostel members some of the stuff pretty much every night. We crossed into Slovakia, and remember, this is in the middle of nowhere, and went to the duty free shop selling alcohol right next to the border post. After getting some absinthe, we had lunch next to the duty-free shop. I had fried cheese, which was quite tasty. We then crossed back into Poland, and took a mini-bus that took us to the national park for a hike. It was quite gruelling, lasting about two hours uphill. However, the weather was wonderful (25 degrees), and the scenery terrific. The mountains were snow-capped from a couple of weeks ago during the cold snap. At the top of the mountain, we went to a chalet where we had an early dinner of soup and perogys. After a less-gruelling time getting down the mountain, we headed to what Slawek called the 'hot springs.' Naturally, I expected some wilderness pool. However, it turns out a massive water park has been built on top of the springs, complete with water slides. Anyway, I thought it was pretty tacky, and a shame they didn't keep the springs in their natural state. After finishing at hte water park at around eight, we caught the bus back to Krakow. I am now looking forward to a good-night's sleep.