A weekend trip to Zakopane, two hours south of Krakow. The Tatra Mountains in winter are something else.
I’m not much of a skier, so I stuck to hiking the lower trails and photographing the peaks. The light at altitude is different — cleaner, sharper. Everything feels closer than it is.
The town itself is pure mountain kitsch, in a charming way. Wooden lodges, sheep cheese sold on every corner, tourists in matching ski gear. But step outside the main strip and it gets quiet fast.
Woke up at 5am one morning to catch sunrise over Giewont. Worth every frozen minute.