Krakow is pronounced, kra-kov. Warsaw is var-sav. Oświęcim is pronounced osh-vien-chim. My dad is in the bed behind me, making distinctive dad bedtime preparation noises as his saliva coheres and detaches from his teeth, gums, and dental floss. Daniel is convalescing in a local hospital after having undergone an emergency appendectomy en route to the Krakov airport Thursday afternoon. I have a cold.
While in Zakopane, Dad and I managed an easy 11 mile bike ride along the foothold of the Tatry mountains. Daniel was already feeling ill in the rental apartment, trying to subdue the feverish cold shakes then. The path along the mountains was relatively flat, but quite rocky and required mountain bikes.
Bicycling at the foothills of the Tatry
All Zakopane sidewalks, paths, bushes and underpasses are populated by crowds of Polacy (pronounced pole-atsi) on vacation. For future reference, here is the approximate route we took. The photo above was taken at about mile 9.5:
A nice ride around Zakopane
Krakov is mellow. The unspoken pride and joy of the local people are the four man-made mounds, not too tall, not too wide. Modest. About the shape of a pierogi.
A pierogi
Each (mound, not pierogi) is said to encase a memorial for, if not the remains of, one of Krakov’s historically significant personalities: Krak (the founder), Wanda (his stoic daughter; pronounced vanda), Piłsudski (creator of the Polish independence legions), and Kościuszko (a real character, it seems; namesake of the eponymous bridge between Queens and Greenpoint, Brooklyn).
Not a single Polak has mentioned the mounds, and they do not appear in most online or printed tourism guides. In fact, a Google Map search for Kopiec Krakusa leads one to an incorrect address, as I found out on foot. The true location is here.
Not the Kopiec Krakusa
I will have more to say tomorrow. It is 11:10, ten minutes past Dad’s bedtime.