To understand Zakopaneer

Since when Zakopane ceased to be a village at the end of the world, visitors were fascinated by the local indigenous population, very different from the people in other regions of Poland, both in an appearance and in their way of life. And although from the time when the first tourists came to the Tatras, it’s been 140 years – distinctive features in a cultural, linguistic and manners sphere are still visible. Today, the inhabitants of Zakopane are not only highlanders, representatives of famous families who have lived in the local areas for generations. The others – they are simply Zakopaneers. People whose ancestors chose Zakopane to live in, maybe two or five generations ago. And there are those who have been living here for only a few years and are trying to blend in with the city’s community. However, the highlanders set the tone, they own the land, sit in the city authorities, they cultivate traditional rites, they finally know about traditional crafts and the local home’s construction. They are also, to a large extent, the owners of tourist infrastructure – lifts, hotels, gastronomy and shops. And their way of being, reacting in different situations is on one hand something that attracts visitors and on the other risks the statement that in fact not always highlanders are understood. Many myths and legends have arisen around them, and although they sometimes have a grain of truth in them, they are often exaggerated. There are therefore misunderstandings or unpleasant situations that can be avoided in a simple way – trying to understand the local customs and interests.

Greedy like a highlander.

The most repeated epithet. Tourists often think that the prices of services and goods are too high. Many people think that bargaining should be in good taste. Perhaps there are parts of the world where it is welcome, for example at an Arabic souk. In Zakopane, watching tourists haggling about payment 2 instead of 3 zlotys for a bus ride, you can feel embarrassed. Yes, highlanders earn money from tourism. Ever since Dr. Tytus Chałubiński brought his first summer holidaymakers to the city, for highlander the tourist associates with money, prosperity, and hopefully a better future. The first settlers in these lands lived in extreme poverty. Their existence improved only when tourists started to come here and they could rent the best room in their house for a few summer weeks. Initially there were several dozen of them, then several hundred in the season…then a few thousand. Since that time, highlanders have coded in their genes, that you must to take care of the tourist, provide him with the best possible conditions and take money for it, enough to survive the period beyond the peak of the tourist season. This applies to both owners of small boarding houses, in which they themselves have their own separate apartment, as well as large facilities belonging to a larger hotel groups. Seasonality affects equally bus drivers, restaurant owners, lifts and souvenir shops, all who live from tourism. Therefore, those who come here, somehow pay for those who have or will not come. You also need to be aware of the investment that any business owner incurs in any sector of the industry. Rooms do not clean themselves, meals do not cook themselves, gasoline does not pour on its own into the tank. Many Zakopane residents regularly go to Austria or Scandinavia, they are valued there as the experts in the construction industry and thanks to the money earned there, they can invest in family businesses here in Podhale. The people of Zakopane are simply clever and operative. That’s how they learned the life in hard conditions. They have no time for laziness and the lower they stand in the hierarchy of business, the harder they work.

The tourist cannot wait.

Here and there you can hear complaints about the slow pace of service, traffic, as well as short and rough contact with the customer. Dear tourist, you are in Zakopane, not in a big city. Slow down, relax and look around. Smile at the think that the traffic jam is caused by a horse-drawn wagon, which runs quietly through the only strip of the local road, or … a flock of sheep that have spread all over. With empathy, think that the staff of your hotel, restaurant or souvenir shop is working on shifts lasting 12 hours, because this is the custom here. And the people are still waiting for their return home in a town several dozen kilometers away. And tomorrow, they will be waiting here again with a smile, dressed in traditional highlanders’ attire. We will not say anything about wages, but you probably guess that the owner does not share profits equally with his employees, but no one complains here. This is what saves highlanders: an inborn sense of humor and a sarcastic joke. But sometimes even they are just tired. On the one hand, everyone is happy when tourists are many, because it means more stable business, on the other – sometimes you can get the impression that a crowded city will explode in a moment or there will be riots on the overcrowded Krupówki street. In all of this, employees try to keep calm, have good humor and a joke for everyone. Believe me, they really have good will and kindness.

Leave your solemnity at home.

Perhaps you are normally, dear guest, very serious president of a very serious company, or at least a department manager. Perhaps you like to have everything under control, you have planned this trip long ago, you bought the equipment and clothing in the best store and you expect a perfect holiday. And suddenly, surprise. There is no possibility to go to the mountains because it’s raining all the time, the outdoor concert is cancelled, in the restaurant you wait half-hour before the ordered dish appears on your table … it was not supposed to be this way. And again, slow down and smile. In a store listen to the banter of the saleswoman’s talking in the local dialect. Talk to the musician from the band. Talk to museum staff. Take an umbrella and go for a walk to the place where you can see fogs rising up over the meadows. Change your plan – instead of getting angry, that from Kasprowy, instead of a panorama, you can see only gray fog, go to Chocholow to see traditional highlanders’ huts. Be positive and you will see what you will get in return. If the driver asked how much will cost the bus fare will respond with poker face “one hundred”, do not be offended, do not say “I am asking seriously”, but with a smile respond „trump, I give 101′, finally you will find out that it costs 3 zlotys, as always and everywhere. If you count on friendly service – just be nice. If you want respect show it as well. Leave a modest tip. Or learn the correct street name or district where your guesthouse is located. At least try, we know Polish language is difficult.

They pray under the statue …

…and have a devil under the skin? (as the popular Polish proverb says). Not necessarily. Of course, among the highlanders there are troublemakers, but they are in every city in the world. Generally speaking, this community has its own rules. Getting to know the Zakopane people closer, you can see that for them the family is really a great value, really a marriage vow means something and the commandment to care for the aging parents is realized. In general, the elders have a lot to say in the family and not only because they own land or home. Their experience is appreciated. Many of them emphasize the role of religious faith, how it helped them to survive the tough moments in their lives, and those in Podhale are not lacking, just a flood that will wash away the house, or an avalanche that will take the son of a rescuer – in almost every family there is such a story.
Upbringing children is also a bit different from that in a big city. The sports ethos is clearly dominant in Zakopane, children often ski, do other sports, and are active. There is no shopping mall here, so the young people do not disappear in it for long hours. Small children often say “good morning” on the street even to the strangers (maybe it’s friend of my mother?). It behooves us to answer in a welcome way, just like on a mountain trail. Young people start earning money early – they help in family businesses, they play in bands. Many leave the family town, looking for growth prospects, better jobs, but they do not always manage to live outside of Zakopane. There are those who cannot imagine a different place to live and it is easy to alienate them by giving negative opinions about the city. And to get in highlander’s bad books it is not good. Their fierce feelings wake up, they still have the genes of Balkan people who arrived in Podhale a long time ago. But generally they are good people, compassionate, they will sense who has good intentions and will stand by him.

One talent is not enough.

What sometimes troubles visitors is the understanding that a real Zakopaneer rarely has only one job. There are not too many office employment opportunities in Zakopane, but here are endless other ideas to earn a living or to have a business. Nobody is surprised here that at the same time somebody makes films, he is a mountain rescuer, he rents rooms, helps to run a quad riding school and plays in a band. Why not? As long as there is the energy and time, everyone tries to use the potential of this place where he found himself with his talents. Zakopane favors discovering people potentials and capacities and some interests are passed from generation to generation. Also among the most recent residents are those who do a lot of things, have many skills and continuously are searching for new opportunities, associate with the locals and penetrate into different environments. Most in Zakopane react badly to the question “and is it not better to focus on one thing and do it properly?”. They do everything properly.
With this in mind, it is possible to gain respect for the inhabitants of this strange place – neither a city nor a village, a place with the ambitions of a great resort, and a little overwhelmed by the fame. Today in Zakopane there are no longer crazy artists in the style of Witkacy, they do not come here lured by the wildness of the place and the raw simplicity of the indigenous people. Everything has been civilized, evened out. Maybe a little pity, although the locals probably do not regret it. Their standard of living is incomparably higher than the one hundred years ago, and what they have kept the most valuable is still there. A unique personality, a mixture of pride, honor, sense of humor, distance, humility and persistence. It seems to be an impossible set, but the truth is that the Zakopaneer always senses with whom he does associate, whom he has to respect and on whom he can look down. It’s not easy to become friendly with Zakopaneers but it’s worth a try. Those who have succeeded, return to this town many times, not only to the mountains, but also to the people.

Anna Markiewicz