Zakopane – it will heal you!

This view alone can heal. View from the meadow in Rzepiska, near Bukovina Tatrzanska, 25 minutes from Zakopane.

We live in a time when many of us have to plan our holidays well in advance. Trapped in offices, staring at computer screens we try to plan these valuable two or three weeks to draw the maximum benefits of them. Only a few manage to organize a short multi-day or even weekend trips to change the environment for a moment. For a tired of monotony mind – it is salutary. Speaking of a successful rest, many of us mention beautiful weather, no worries and blissful laziness. However, it is worth to add regeneration of the organism and psyche to this list. Think about what will cause that we will come back really charged with energy and simply healthier. With this in mind, it is worth considering rest in Zakopane, the city closest to the mountains. Not everyone feels resilient and agile enough to plan mountain trips, this is not an obstacle to take advantage of the stay under the mountains. High location – Zakopane it is on average 900 m above sea level – causes thinning of the air and this results in higher production of the red blood cells. A lung function improves and in the mountains, at a height of over 1500 m, faster metabolism can be revealed. So you can add slimming to the list of benefits as well. The mountain air has fewer bacteria and allergens, it serves well allergy sufferers and asthmatics. Honestly, however, you must admit that some will not feel best in uplands. People with hypertension, or very low blood pressure, coronary heart disease, suffering from heart failure, migraines, sensitive to changes in the weather, may feel weak and tired. Most people, however, rest in the mountains will not hurt, on the contrary, it will bring many benefits. The beauty of nature around motivates you to physical effort, even just a walk, to get closer to the stream, rocks, to look at an unusual vegetation, smell and touch it. In Zakopane, we cannot avoid going uphill on some stretch of road. And that’s enough for our body to get a positive boost. And after returning to the lowlands, we will feel great – before the level of hemoglobin in the blood reaches a normal level, the surplus of strength and energy will be clearly perceptible.

Feel the unity with nature.

One cannot ignore the influence of mountains on the psyche. Their majestic peace affects people, if they will allow it. In the mountains it is not worth to hurry. You have to stop to appreciate the most precious – silence, air smell and views equally exciting regardless of the weather. At any time of the year, in the sun, fog or rain, mountains and the surrounding forests and meadows are a soothing, calming image for the eyes. Many fall into a meditative, reflective mood, many see the smallness of everyday problems opposite the power of nature, which we are also a part of.

To enjoy your stay in Zakopane, you just need to have warm clothes and shoes. A storm with hail in August and even snowfall is nothing extraordinary. And although during a downpour with lightning you definitely have to be under the roof, a summer battle with snowballs is just fun.

Be like a highlander.

To experience all this, go to Zakopane, to the mountains. And, although it’s hard to believe, the mountains can really heal. Not for nothing in Zakopane before the war huge sanatoriums were built one after another. It is also worth taking a look at the residents of Zakopane and the surrounding area – many live to a very mature age, usually in good shape, keeping a slim figure and nimble movements. They walk a lot on foot, they are resistant to changeable and rather cool climate. Harsh living conditions give them a distance to trifles. What’s interesting, here one rarely complains – about the rain, sidewalk never cleared of snow, or the famous strong, hot wind called “halny” (from “hala”, mountain pasture) – until this one does not blow down power lines and roofs. And although most of us will be here only for a moment, for a few days or two weeks – maybe it’s worth taking home this need for a healthier lifestyle with you? Maybe we will notice that it is nice to get wet, wear casual, sport-like clothes and footwear (in Zakopane breaking the lowland conventionalities is really widespread). Or maybe we will discover that – despite initial fluctuations and fears – it is not so bad with our physical condition at all? It is worth of checking it out, absolutely.