Poland - Eastern Europe - page 441

Inexpensive
Pizza Dominium ITALIAN Not as good as Soprano, but cheaper and quicker.
Dominium is a popular and successful Polish pizza chain going head-to-head with
Pizza Hut. The locals may have the advantage with thick-crust pizzas and usually fresh
ingredients. This branch is on Krupówki, but they also have a restaurant at 2,000m
(6,560 ft.) on the peak at Kasprowy Wierch, if you happen to be in the neighborhood.
Krupówki 51. & 018/206-42-11. Lunch and dinner items 12 zl-18 zl ($4-$6/£2.20-£3.30). No credit cards. Daily
11am-10pm.
EXPLORING
Krupówki merits about an hour's stroll end to end. Toward the northern end of
Krupówki (downhill), follow Ko1cieliska to the left for a couple of blocks to see two
of the town's most interesting sites. One is a tiny wooden church, the Church of St.
Clement; the other is the adjoining cemetery, with some of the most ornately carved
headstones you're likely ever to see. Look especially for the highly stylized totem pole
that marks the grave of Stanis l aw Witkiewicz (see below), the architect who first set
off the local craze for all things wooden.
Tatra Museum (Muzeum Tatrza^skie) There's not much information in Eng-
lish, so you're not likely to get much out of this exhibition of the personalities and
events that have shaped Zakopane and the Tatras down through the ages. Still, there
are some interesting stands of folk architecture and costumes on the ground floor.
Children will like the stuffed animals on the second floor, showing the diversity of the
flora and fauna in the mountain regions. Be sure to stow your camera safely out of
sight from the museum guards. They are paranoid you might want to photograph
something (a stuffed beaver maybe?). If they see you have a camera, they will follow
you around the entire museum.
Krupówki 10. www.muzeumtatrzanskie.com.pl. Tues-Fri 9am-4:30pm; Sun 9am-3pm.
Museum of Zakopane Style (Muzeum Stylu Zakopa^skiego) More
interesting than the Tatra Museum is this tribute to the work of groundbreaking Pol-
ish architect Stanis l aw Witkiewicz, the originator of the fabled wooden houses that
came to be known as the “Zakopane style.” The mansion that houses the museum, the
Willa Koliba, dating from 1894, was the first to be built in this style, roughly Poland's
equivalent of the Arts and Crafts movement. One of the draws is simply the chance
to walk around one of these big old houses, but there are plenty of interesting exam-
ples of ornately carved furniture and accessories. Upstairs, there's a small gallery of the
freaky and fascinating 1920s society portraits by Witkiewicz's son, Witkacy. He was
portraitist of choice for Poland's Lost Generation.
Ko1cieliska 18. Wed-Sat 9:30am-4:30pm; Sun 9am-3pm.
OUTSIDE OF ZAKOPANE
Zakopane is a natural jumping-off point for active pursuits of all sorts. In summer, the
activity of choice is hiking in the mountains. Good hiking maps are available at the
tourist information offices and at nearly any hotel or kiosk. Many of the best trails
begin just a short walk from town.
A good hike of about 4 hours of moderate to heavy exertion and some awesome
views begins from the Hotel Belvedere and follows the yellow trail along the Bia l a Val-
ley (Dolina Bia l ego). After a 90-minute ascent, turn onto the black trail, following the