Krakow Meetup Hiking Group

Upon arriving in Krakow, Poland nearly a month ago, I signed up for a local Meetup.com hiking group and when they held their first hike during my time in the city, I decided to join them. Going on the hike, however, meant taking up at 5:30 AM and this was extremely difficult for me. I only got about 45 minutes of sleep the night before, so when I woke up to join the hike, I was already completely exhausted.

I met the hike leader, Irena, at the park down the street from my apartment in Krakow and we drove in her car from there to pick up two of the other hikers in our group – Sylwia and Basia. The fifth member of our group was meeting us at our destination in southern Poland.

We drove for a little more than an hour before parking the car and hiking up into the hills in a small city near the border of Poland and the Czech Republic. Where we were exactly, or what the name of that city was, I don’t really know. I was just along for the ride.

The trail was covered in snow in parts, but more than anything, it was covered in ice. Walking on steep, slippery ice was not easy and I stumbled on several occasions.

During the hike we stopped and rested at two small cabins, inside of which were dozens of other hikers and a small workforce working from a kitchen where hot food and drinks were being served. I was amazed at just how many people were up in the mountains on this particular Saturday morning.

Outside one of the cabins I snapped this photo of some Polish military actors. They apparently dress up in traditional military garbs and put on small shows of some kind.

The hike was great, but it was even better to meet and talk with Irena, Dorota, Sylwia and Basia. They were a great group of individuals and I had a lot of fun getting to know them.