Zakopane

We enjoyed walking around Zakopane when the sun came out.  Its quite a bit like Aspen or Vail in Colorado (although more rustic and attractive and not nearly as expensive).  The houses and other buildings are built much like they are in Switzerland (and probably anywhere else that gets heavy snow) - steep sloped roofs, attractively decorated wooden paneling.

The view of the mountains around the town is spectacular (when they aren't covered in clouds)!

We walked through the old cemetary.  It was quite beautiful and not at all like cemetaries in the States.  Each grave had it old small garden plot on top and each crucifix on the graves was crafted differently.  Some were carved wood kind of like totem poles, others were stone or wrought iron. Most of the sites showed evidence of being well tended.   The oldest death we found was 1875.  I'm guessing the region of Zakopane was settled relatively recently since that's not really very old. (Or there is an older cemetary somewhere else).  Several school groups came through while we were there.  There was one grave where they all took pictures.  I need to look up the name and see who s/he is.

Lots of street vendors selling smoked cheeses.  We haven't seen this style before.  Tasty (and pretty) - the kids thought they were special breads at first (and were disappointed to find out they were cheese!)