“Zakopane, isn’t that the town with the ski jump? Is it in Poland?” This question encompassed all my knowledge about the historical Polish ski resort my sister wanted to visit. I looked it up on the map one week before departure and noticed we would be going into the Tatra mountains, towards the Slovakian border. Not sure I even knew that Poland HAD a border with Slovakia.

There may be many people as ignorant as I in Europe, but the Poles sure do know Zakopane. We joined the humongous crowd milling on Krupowki street, dazed, thinking we arrived at a festival day. “No, it is just a regular Saturday”, said the friendly hotel concierge. Indeed. And out on the hiking trails it was a regular Saturday traffic every day.

But if one manages to look past the crowds at the buildings in Zakopane, one is in for a surprise. The local style dominated in the early 20th century, born by the artist/architect Witkiewicz, who mixed Art Nouveau with folk carpentry. Oh, the attention to detail! Each door post must have at least one flower carving.And each house must have custom-made furniture.And today the Zakopane style still inspires – for example to build hobbit houses such as this B&B. Only in Zakopane.   (Zakopane, Poland; July 2015)