Hiking the Easy Way

After a few rainy days here in Zakopane, Poland, we woke up to a beautiful clear day.  Perfect for riding the cable car to the top of the Mount Kasprowy in Southern Poland.  First we had to get to the cable car.  Minor details like that are sometimes not so minor when you rely on public transportation and you don't speak the language. We were able to find the right bus pretty easily this time since I had written down our intended destination.  At the bus station I showed the drivers the paper with where we wanted to go and they pointed us to the right mini-bus.  The driver was in a big hurry so we  all hung on tight as he quickly drove on the small roads passing horse carriages and another bus.  Once we are on  the right bus, we have to find our stop which can also be a challenge when we don't speak the language and not all stops are marked.  We did find the right stop and hopped off the bus to find that we weren't the only ones who thought it would be a good day to ride the cable car up the mountain.We got in line and nearly two hours later we were ready to board the car.  Should I even mention the challenges that standing in a line presents to our family?

Jenna and Seth waiting in line

Seth, Sam and Rich nearing the end of the line.  Rich is trying to figure out the  information sign.

The cable car took us part way to the top and then we had to change cars and take another one to the top.  Once off the cable car it was a short hike to be on top of the mountain.  It kind of reminded me of being on top of Mount Timpanogos (minus the hike to get there). The views were spectacular.   We were near the Poland/Slovakia boarder, but since I couldn't read the signs, I'm not sure how close we actually were to Slovakia.  It would have been fun to hike down the mountain, but we didn't have enough time since we had spent so much of our day standing in line.  So we rode the cable car back down the mountain, easily found our bus and had a calm ride back to our stop.  The best part about our top of mountain experience?  I am not one bit sore the next day.  This is definitely the easy way to  hike.  I wonder if someday there will be a cable car to get to the top of Timp?

Jenna in the front of the cable car

Looking out at the Poland side

The Slovakia side

Did I mention it was cold at the top?  

The Cable Car