After ten days in Poland, we hardly know much about the country, other than having a historical perspective. However, lack of knowledge never seems to prevent us from expressing an opinion or two. Like the rest of Central and Eastern Europe, the language is difficult. What can you expect with the over use of so many 'K's, 'Z's, bunching of incompatible consonants and the use of few vowels. We thought we were progressing because of a tiny grasp of German and at least twenty Spanish words. Along comes the Slavs and we feel relegated to the bottom of the class. In my next life, rather than be a mathematics whizz, I would choose a proficiency in language skills. There is something very special about conversing with people in their languages. 'The lucky but lazy English speakers'. And by the way, my mathematics is nowhere near as hot as the earlier boast but sure is superior to my Polish.(continues at end)
A nice start at Morskie Oko, the lower lake. (Could be in Andorra or northern Utah.)
"I see this each day so I'm a little jaded," she chirped.
Sun breaks through for a short while.
Czarny Staw: Jen reaches the upper lake after nearly 3 hours of ascent.
A captivating forest scene at the beginning stages.
A particularly sharp climb linking the lakes.
Climbing to the top of the falls.
Perspective from the upper lake.
Feeling a bit smug after quite a morning climb.
'Wetting the feet'.
Cresting a mountain in the Polish Tatras.
From the top of the falls.
We did not have an easy beginning to this leg of Hike-about. In fact, it has been without doubt the toughest thus far. Without going into too much detail, suffice to say, with 4 only days to go before leaving on a jet-plane, I did not have a passport. Furthermore, no State Department personnel officer would hazard a guess whether I would receive it. Bear in mind, I submitted an application more than 3 months earlier. (A long story). Should we cancel the trip, change the tickets and if so, to what date? What about car rentals paid for, accommodation committed, advance payments made, accommodation payments falling due, etcetera?
Now while it may be easy to enter the United States without such document, a passport, all other countries take a different view. Could you imagine negotiating with a German immigration officer, (we entered Europe through Frankfurt), and promising that if they allowed me to enter I would undertake not to seek free education and medical benefits? Ja-nee!
We arrived in Krakow in early evening and made our way, according to the instructions, to Arrivals Hall-2 with the intention of finding the rental car company upstairs and across the street. Unfortunately, unbeknown to the instruction writer but well-known to the citizens of Krakow, there's only a single hall--not two buildings. After communicating with a number of people in a newly a discovered language for all, we found our way to the rental office, luggage in tow. We presented all the necessary documents, something we do in every place we have visited over many years but for Nepal and Peru. The latter are the only places we did not hire vehicles.
"Without an 'International Driver's licence," the young man behind the counter said, "I cannot allow you to take a car." He was humorless, firm and unsympathetic--making for an ideal negotiation.
The reply really got us feeling we were on a roll. Unfortunately, rolling into a small abyss. We had booked a car for twenty-seven days to cover Poland and Slovakia . The rental was fully paid for prior to arrival. It appeared our walking days just received a big boost.
We found a taxi and headed for the hotel following a fairly long and unproductive discussion. Poland is one of the few countries not recognizing a California licence. Now you tell us. Tough start. (to be continued...on foot.)
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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