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Oscypek Wędzony

 


Yesterday my mom, my aunt, Liam, and I took a day trip to the mystical Tatra Mountains, a stunning mountain range separated between Poland and Slovakia. 

Since it was a 3hr drive from Bielsko (where we are now), we got an early start. One of the fastest ways to get to the Tatra was to drive through Slovakia, so I guess you could say that we saw another country… the 40-minute Slovakian farmland views were quite beautiful. 

Driving through the Slovakian Countryside

Our entry into the Tatra mountains was through the Polish ski-resort town of Zakopane, a very unique place steeped in the culture of the Górale, the Highlander people of Poland. 

Driving by a tavern 

Little cheese making hut

We started our day with a hike from Wierch Poroniec, which, at 1,105 metres, is one of the highest entry points into the Tatra Mountains. Our goal from here was Rusinowa Meadow, a large sheep grazing area which offers stunning views of the Tatras after just around 1hr of hiking. 

Tatra Mountains rising from the clouds

Walking to the meadow 

A Góral herding his sheep 

To reward our hike, I had to get some traditional smoked cheese, or oscypek wędzony, from this region of Poland. Generally a hard white sheep’s cheese, it is smoked over an open fire and gains a wonderful chewy consistency that I adore. Like parmigianno reggiano in Italy, the name “oscypek” is protected in Poland and can only be used to describe this specific cheese from this specific region. 

Oscypek Wędzony in the mountains

Cheese smoking over an open fire

Hello from the sheep!

Refuelled, Liam and I decided to continue the hike from the meadow up to the Goose Necks viewpoint. In contract to the last trail, which was mainly flat, this one was entirely stairs heading up hill! 

The grind was worth it through, the viewpoint was absolutely stunning and we got to see the Tatras in a whole new light. 

Rewarding views

Happy to make it to the top!

We trekked back to the car in the rain, and drove right to dinner - we were all so hungry! I got some great potato pancakes with mushroom sauce. 

Fantastic dinner with my two favourite things - potatoes and mushrooms!

The last stop of our day trip was what my aunt had described as “thermal baths”. So, I was expecting a small complex but when we arrived I was overwhelmed by the size of the place! 

These “baths” were esentially a huge waterpark. We all got wristbands that opened our lockers and let us know how much time we had, and then we were let loose into the pools. There were about 20 different jacuzzis, indoor pools, outdoor pools, pools for kids, pools for swimming, multiple swim up bars and restaurants, three waterslides, sulfur pools, salt pools, iodine pools, cold pools, and much more! 

It was an absolute blast, even we could only stay for two hours, Liam and I tried to do as much as possible! I don’t have any pictures from the baths but it was certainly a memorable experience :)

You could easily spend a week hiking the Tatras…I guess we’ll have to come back!

The “Sleeping Knight” Mountain in the Tatras


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