There is something incredibly beautiful about a soft falling snow. The delicately intricate snowflakes floating down from above, the calm stillness and bright sparkly white captivates me in a way few other scenes do. Though the winter here in Kielce has been unusually mild, I was lucky enough to have the chance to enjoy the soft falling snow when I visited Zakopane.

Nestled high up in the Tatra Mountains, Zakopane is located in the most southern tip of Poland. Throughout the year thousands of people visit it, making Zakopane one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. However, after seeing Zakopane in August and in January I would argue that winter is perhaps the most beautiful time to visit.

On January 20th I started my six hour train ride to Zakopane bright and early. After being quite warm in Kielce for the past week, I awoke that morning to a slight white covering, a good sign for my upcoming winter activities trip. After finally arriving in Zakopane later that afternoon I settled into my guesthouse, a traditional Tatra mountain house made all from wood, and got ready for the night's adventure - Kulig.



What I didn't realize when I arrived in Zakopane was how popular Kuligi (sleigh rides) are. However, after my five days in the area and my ride that night I began to understand their popularity. After we snuggled under the sleigh blanket we were taken for a ride through the Zakopane area. It was quite magical, with the largest snowflakes I've ever seen drifting down and the bells jingling merrily as the sleigh passed by small ski hills and neighborhoods of wooden buildings. After we warmed up sipping hot drinks, we went to bed early in preparation for a full day of skiing ahead.

It continued to snow throughout the night and upon awakening the next morning I was delighted to see the fresh snow blanketing everything, a perfect day to go skiing. In the group of exchange students I was with three of us had skied/snowboarded before and three had not, two of whom had never seen snow before coming to Poland! Therefore we started on a small 'Mount Como' like hill. For me it was a great place to warm-up, since I hadn't skied in several years, and it was wonderful to see the others learn! The non-skiing/snowboarding Mexicans turned out to be quite naturals!




After a few hours at this hill the three of us who had experience left for a bigger slope. It wasn't exactly the Alp like experience I was expecting, but it was still a lot of fun. In a couple of hours, extremely hungry and a bit worn out, we headed back for obiad. We had a short break, just enough time to fall soundly asleep and have to wake up, then we headed out for a different slope. This one was also nice, though unfortunately after a couple of hours I was quite exhausted and ready to call it a day. That night I was asleep within minutes.



The next morning the group skied for most of the morning, had obiad then got ready to attend the ski jumping competition. Ski jumping is an extremely popular sport in Poland and the FIS World Cup ski jumping competitions were held in Zakopane the weekend I was there. In ski jumping skiers ski down a large take-off ramp, jump and try to make it as far down the hill as possible before touching the ground. As our group walked to the jumping hill the air was full of cheers and horn calls, the ground covered in a hoard of red wearing people. The vibe was incredible, pure excitement.



One reason ski jumping is so popular in Poland is because of the accomplishments of Adam Małysz. Adam Małysz is considered one of the best ski jumpers in history, winning 39 World Cup medals and the silver medal in the Vancouver Olympics. He lives in Wisła, Poland and truly is a Polish national hero. Everyone here knows him and for a country that doesn't usually standout in the athletic department, his accomplishments give the Poles much to brag about. I was lucky enough to see him jump well on that Saturday because the following day Małysz fell during his landing and was immediately taken to the hospital by ambulance. He suffered apparent leg injuries.

With the Polish Olympian

The following two days of my stay in Zakopane were filled with long walks in the snow, laughter and good times. We met the owner of our guest house, Franciszek Gąsienica Groń, the Polish Olympic bronze medalist in ski jumping in 1956 and got to hold his actual bronze medal. We went into the center of Zakopane where we wandered through all the stores filled with souvenirs. We had snowball fights and simply enjoyed ourselves. It was hard to leave that magical place Monday afternoon.

The souvenir that I most wanted to take home with me...

However, life is pretty wonderful here in Kielce too. I started my two week winter break on Friday and though I don't have any major plans, the next two weeks promise to be a lot of fun! My Polish is getting considerably better, both speaking and listening, which has made things a lot easier. And as I start to figure out plans for coming home this summer, it strikes me again and again how incredibly special this year has been and how lucky I am to have this opportunity. Just like a fresh snow fall, this year continues to hold me captivated.