How We Got Stranded in the Tatras Poland: A Cross-Border Misadventure

“Getting from the Tatras Poland side to Slovakia isn’t exactly easy. There are virtually no connections, and even though politicians keep talking about how something needs to be done, nothing ever changes.” Those were the words of our Slovak friend Dagmar, tossed into conversation almost as an afterthought — and we really should have paid far more attention. We might not have ended up stranded in the Polish Tatras, hopelessly waiting for a way to get to Slovakia in time.

If You Work Online, Don’t Count on Working on Trains

Our trip actually started somewhere else entirely. We set off from Moravia heading to Krakow. On a whim, we decided this time we’d do a road trip by trains and buses so we could get some work done along the way.

Sounds lovely in theory, right? But if your job, like mine, requires fast internet about 95% of the time, maybe just forget about it. By the end of that week I’d racked up so much overdue work that I spent the entire following week glued to my laptop from 8 a.m. until midnight.

Is Poland Better Than Switzerland?

Krakow is a stunning city. I’m a huge fan of Poland in general — it never fails to charm us both. We wandered around the city like a pair of wide-eyed kids in a sweet shop. Krakow actually reminded us of Switzerland: the streets were spotless everywhere, and we couldn’t decide which of the countless cafés and restaurants to pick.

I felt quite nostalgic — some of the places could have been carbon copies of spots in the US or Canada. A true paradise for hipsters and café loungers, capped off perfectly by the MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art.

We Queued for Tickets and Ended Up at a Psychologist’s

History lovers won’t be disappointed either. There’s nothing quite like strolling around Wawel Hill, home to the Royal Castle and the Cathedral of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus.

Make sure you also visit St. Mary’s Basilica, where the breathtaking blue-painted ceiling arguably overshadows even its most prized treasure — the 13-metre altarpiece by Veit Stoss from 1489. You do have to pay a small admission fee, but it’s so cheap you really shouldn’t hesitate.

Head to the Leaky Cauldron for a Butterbeer!

One word of warning: make sure you don’t accidentally queue up at a psychologist’s office instead of the ticket counter. That’s exactly what happened to us. We only realised we were waiting in the wrong line when they started seating us around little tables. And if you’re a Harry Potter fan, you absolutely must visit the Leaky Cauldron for a butterbeer.

The Language Barrier? What Language Barrier?

Travelling to Slavic countries has its perks when you speak a Slavic language. On day one, Lukáš spoke English with the locals. By day two, he was mixing in Czech words. By day three, he’d ditched English entirely and was just speaking Czech. The Polish girls were blushing, and I was thinking that if we stayed another week, he might actually start speaking fluent Polish — and I’d have a wedding to worry about. For English speakers, don’t worry — most young Poles in Krakow and Zakopane speak excellent English, so you’ll get by just fine.

When Life Gives You Warning Signs, You Should Listen

It wasn’t just Dagmar’s words that hinted at trouble ahead. Things went wrong from the very start. We arrived in Krakow at half past two and decided to take an Uber to our accommodation to save time and explore the city in daylight. The Uber was supposed to arrive in five minutes — we waited twenty. In the app, it looked like we’d vanished into thin air. We ended up cancelling and grabbing an overpriced taxi, though we probably would have been faster just walking.

Our Nickname for Travelling in Poland: Delays

Back at the station after a gorgeous day in Krakow, we nearly froze solid because the bus to Zakopane was late. At that point, we were still surprised. But the idea of anything running on time during those winter days in Poland soon became a distant dream.

Zakopane is a gorgeous little town in the Poland Tatras mountains, full of Instagram-worthy wooden villas. We stayed in one of them — a place that was supposed to have a mountain view. We didn’t see the mountains. Let me spare you the suspense: we didn’t see the mountains once during our entire time in Poland. But it didn’t matter. We enjoyed the villa, the cafés, and the snowstorms, and the next day we were looking forward to crossing over to Slovakia.

Getting from the Tatras Poland to Slovakia by Public Transport? It’s Not Easy

To reach Poprad in Slovakia, we had to get to Bukowina Tatrzańska, which was supposed to be a 20-minute bus ride from Zakopane. We’d allowed an hour for the connection. We didn’t want to risk any more time out in the Polish winter cold. But that was a mistake. Instead of 20 minutes, the bus took 2 hours, and we found ourselves in the dark in the middle of a ski town with no accommodation and absolutely no prospect of getting to Slovakia.

It was starting to feel like Poland and Slovakia weren’t on speaking terms. Only three Leo Express services run from the Polish Tatras to Slovakia — and they’re not buses, they’re minivans with just 7 seats. Naturally, everything was sold out.

To add to our luck, the hotel we’d booked in Poprad via Booking.com had no record of our reservation — and was fully booked anyway. So at least we didn’t have to worry about cancelling. What was worse, though, was that the only available hotel in Bukowina was over a kilometre from the bus stop. Through the woods. On ice. We slid our way there — occasionally on our backsides — and slept hoping for better luck the next day.

Waiting for Godot

Better luck did eventually come. We managed to find a connection, but not until half past one in the afternoon. That meant we’d make it to Bratislava, but our tickets for the cable car to Lomnický Štít — which we’d been so excited about — would go to waste. The only thing standing between us and Slovakia was a five-kilometre walk to the bus stop where this minivan departed. We powered through it in about an hour, and then we waited.

Five minutes. Ten. Fifteen. By then we’d made friends with a local cheese seller, our eyes and noses were streaming, but the bus was nowhere to be seen. After forty minutes, I was in genuine pain from the cold — the kind I’d only ever experienced at minus 30 in Canada.

We called Leo Express to ask if we’d missed it. “Probably not,” came the reply. “We can’t see the GPS location — you’ll have to call the Polish helpline.” After a full hour, the minivan for 7 passengers finally picked up two human icicles.

We’d had enough winter to last us the whole year. And when the Slovak Tatras finally opened up before us in Poprad, we — self-proclaimed mountain lovers — couldn’t have cared less. We bolted into the nearest café, tried every type of tea on the menu, and waited for our train.

The Big Little City of Bratislava: Pancake Paradise

Bratislava cheered us right up. We stayed in a perfect hipster flat right in the centre for next to nothing and had an amazing breakfast at the retro bistro Žufaňa. Bratislava is one of my favourite nearby destinations.

Popping into Lacinka — a restaurant that hasn’t changed in decades — for mountains of stuffed pancakes, lingering in bookshop cafés that were hipster long before the trend hit the mainstream, is an absolute must whenever I visit Slovakia’s “big little” city.

Looking for Something Different? Visit the Flat Gallery

For a change of pace, we headed to Bratislava Castle and the Slavín war memorial. And to leave you with one more tip from our adventure — hidden in the city centre is the Flat Gallery, the first apartment gallery in Bratislava.

This concept is hugely popular in Berlin. Essentially, it’s a gallery inside a private flat — to get in, you ring the doorbell. Art historian Andrej Jaroš opens the door and gives you a personal tour of the exhibition. You can check what’s currently showing on their Facebook page.

Want to know how much a trip like this cost us? Drop us a message and we’ll put together an article for you!

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