Unnecessary and necessary in your suitcase.

So, what we need to have with us when going to Zakopane, and what really can stay at home.

Oh, the tourist is coming.

The cape will be useful almost certainly. You can buy them everywhere. As you can see on the sign, there are also shops offering rental slings for children – quite a reasonable idea.

At the beginning a bit on fashion, this in town. Not everyone comes here with one goal only, walking in the mountains. We understand the need to demonstrate a fancy in the field of stylization. We are on vacation, we have the time for it and we are not limited by any office dress code, but we want to warn you about frequent mistakes, especially you ladies.

A confident step

Certainly, what will make our life in Zakopane extremely difficult, are heels. High, low, platforms, stilettos –irrelevant. In Zakopane, there will always be some section to walk up and another to go down. Not always on an even sidewalk, sometimes it will be a gravel alley, sometimes a muddy roadside. Seeing a woman in high heels, you can be 100% sure that she is visiting. Local women just do not dress like that. Not without justification, in addition to the traditional highland dress, even for very special occasions, are mountaineer moccasins. Here, issues such as the proportions of the figure (yeah, heels make you slimmer), or suitability of the costume to the occasion – they do not really matter. Women in Zakopane bear trekking shoes almost every on occasion, younger and those really old. Similarly, the youth wears sneakers or sports sandals. It’s worth taking an example from the locals. We never know if we will make a spontaneous decision about a walk through the valley, or will not turn somewhere down to admire the beautiful view. And then our beautiful city shoes will suffer, and we will suffer together with them. It is not worth sacrificing. Here, nobody is shocked by trekking shoes joined with the coat or sneakers with the official suit.

Speaking of a suit

Selfie stick can come in handy. However, it is worth being careful when taking photos, it is better to have a worse shot, but do not stand just above the abyss.

Unless we plan to take a wedding in Zakopane or participate in such a ceremony, we have not come here to cut the ribbons on a new investment or to give official speeches – we can safely leave our best suit at home. Even office employees sometimes appear at work in less formal clothes, such are used only for official ceremonies. Jeans, trekking pants, down vests, fleece sweatshirts and gore-tex jackets just work better in this climate. Well, you can take your jacket with you. On the other hand, a suit and tie will not impress anyone on Krupówki or in the tavern, similarly during a walk in the valley. In Zakopane, it is not a bad thing to appear in sports clothes at the vernissage, concert – even classical music – neither in the church nor in the restaurant. Here the clothes do not serve to emphasize social status. The bus driver and the owner of several dynamically operating guesthouses and restaurants can be dressed the same way.

For the sun and rain

The map is something that in Zakopane will definitely be useful, and if we go to the mountains – it is necessary.

What you definitely need to consider is the climate. For people who do not live under the mountains, it can be surprising. On the one hand, evidently lower temperatures. While the center of the country is struggling with heat of 30 degrees in summer – Zakopane residents enjoy 19-20, rarely suffering from temperatures above 25 degrees. But, attention. It does not mean that we will be freezing here. In the middle of a sunny day, definitely not. On the contrary, the mountain sun, although it does not shine often, if it does – it burns mercilessly. Each piece of clothing then seems too warm. It is worth having a headgear. And cream with a high filter even for a walk around the city, especially for children.

But in the evening – quite probably you will be almost freezing cold. While the locals qualify the temperature of 12-14 degrees as tolerable in one T-shirt, or a light blouse on top – for the inhabitants of other regions accustomed to heat, it can be really cold. A jacket and a scarf will be useful. And certainly closed shoes and socks. A very nice bonus – here are no mosquitoes. You can easily celebrate evening meetings in the garden without any deterrents, and you can also open the windows in the evening without worries. At the worst a moth could will fly in, never a mosquito.

With weather curiosities – wind is very rare in Zakopane. Unless you come across a halny, powerful wind that breaks trees, or in the spring cold breeze from the northern directions, you can get the impression that the wind has not yet been invented in Zakopane. For this reason, the change of the temperature sensation is different here than for example on the Mazovian plains. The air humidity is also different, especially in winter it is noticeably dry, and in the summer it is moist, but not stifling.

If we’re already at the evening, let’s mention the night. You will really need warm pajamas. The outside temperature can fall to several degrees in the morning – in the middle of summer. In most of the buildings, we cannot count on heating in the summer, a warm duvet and blanket is not guaranteed also. Locals feel the temperature differently. Although, of course, if only the hosts of our accommodation have additional small stoves or blankets, they will make it available to us easily.

If we do not get to the rain in Zakopane – we are really lucky. It is worth having fast-drying clothing and tight shoes, so as not to expose yourself to sitting in a hotel, when the clothes do not dry overnight. For drying, it is worth having your tourist shoe dryers, which can be bought in sports stores. And – if the hotel does not provide it – a hair dryer, which you can quickly dry your clothes. Capes are very popular, so the city turns into a land of colorful dwarfs in a rainy day. You can buy them everywhere. An umbrella, small and folded, it is worth always having with you just in case.

However, on the other hand, do not forget good sunglasses. Of course, everywhere you can buy them, but in the mountains only those that have a robust UV filter will work, it’s better to look for such ones earlier.

Convenience first

What is worth leaving at home? An elegant handbag. It will not be convenient when you have to unfold the umbrella and at the same time keep the city plan or phone. During longer walks we will appreciate the backpack and it is an option willingly chosen by the locals every day. What else? Thick clothes. Two or three thin layers will be much better when the temperature changes every now and then, and we feel it differently, for example, marching uphill. Tights and elastic, thin socks – it’s really not a good complement to sports shoes on a warm day, easy to rub off. It’s best to leave the home things which requires constant ironing, paying attention to where we sit to not get dirty. As we have already mentioned, you will not impress anyone here with stylization, at most, we will catch a sympathetic gaze.

What if we forget something?

There are not too many clothing and footwear stores in Zakopane, except for the sports stores which are a lot of them. Only six popular “chain stores” have their own company store here and it is not always exactly the same assortment as in the big cities. Finally, we can even buy a “highlander” hat, it’s better than a sunstroke. But, gentlemen, remember that those with a feather are only entitled to cavaliers.

Not only clothing

It is worth to have your favorite cosmetics with you so that you do not spend your holidays looking for them in drugstores. In some hotels under the slogan “free cosmetics” there is … soap in the dispenser. There is no shortage of pharmacies in Zakopane. It is worth – especially if we plan trips to the mountains, or even just to the valleys – to have a gel for bruises, something on stretched and crossed muscles, patches, disinfectant and a tried set of first response to a runny nose, when it turns out that we caught a cold in the first cold evening. It is also worth having something that will bring us relief after eating the abundant and sometimes fatty dishes in the regional tavern. Although they are extremely tasty, more than one sighs heavily, when he wanted to try pierogi, oscypek and hot and cabbage soup all at the same time.

It is worth leaving a little empty space for souvenirs in the suitcase. For example, books on mountaineering or related to Zakopane. The cult bookstore in Villa Poraj on the upper Krupówki street has a large selection and great service.

Do not forget the camera equipment, backup memory card or charger. In Zakopane, not every equipment can be bought without a problem, electronics stores are not well equipped. To be here and not be able to take photos is really a pity. If we have a tripod, let’s take it with us, because where, if not under the Tatras, we can take pictures of the night starry sky.

Finally, a practical tip. If we decide to pack in a suitcase on wheels, and do not come to the place by car, it is best to let go of exploring the streets of the city with it. The condition of sidewalks in many places will expose the wheels to destruction, or it will just make it impossible to pull luggage when a section of gravel is found.

A separate text belongs to mountain fashion and things that are worth having with you if you plan trips to the mountains. And you can read about it in the article “Tatra Fashion Review”.

Anna Markiewicz