The first of these started with a guy dressed in black robes, round glasses and a red and yellow striped scarf. As we were walking around the old center, this Harry Potter lookalike handed us a piece of paper with the words “The Leaky Cauldron” on it. Having a good laugh about the fact that a place like this exists in Krakow, we entered the magical pub to get ourselves a few pints of butterbeer. Now, it was not to bad (it tasted like a sugar waterfall) but the true magic happened (pun intended) when we discovered that we were both hufflepuffs and we got to enjoy our sugary beverage sitting under our house banner as pictured below.
Our next adventure was to a small paradise on the edge of Krakow. Looking like a small corner of the Croatian national park I had visited a week earlier, we arrived at the most gorgeous lake of turquoise waters surrounded by white cliffs. Suffering in the European heatwave, we walked into the refreshing water (there were a lot of good spots for jumping in but with one of its nicknames being Deadly Hollow, we decided to do it the safe/chicken way) and it was wonderful!
The afternoon sunbeams bouncing off the water, the deep turquoise colour and the rustic cliffs made the perfect surroundings for a long and invigorating swim. Walking around the lake, we also befriended a little flock of ducks!
The next day we took a two and a half hour bus to the Tatra Mountains close to the border of Slovakia where Nicole had booked a couple of nights at a quirky yet cozy little hostel a few kilometers from the city of Zakopane. After having frantically searched for pizza promised on the entrance signs of every single restaurant but nowhere to be found on the actual menus, we filled up on local cuisine consisting of dumplings, potato pancakes and apple pie. Then we headed into the mountains.
A thunderstorm had hit the valley earlier that day and the muddy trail was a challenge but we kept going trying to spot peaks through the mystical clouds as we went up. When we finally reached our destination, a luxuriant valley with no village or even the smallest refugio in sight, our shoes were dirty but our hearts were happy as we played the soundtrack to Pride & Prejudice in the background making the moment all the more magical.
It had started raining again though only a little bit. The sun was descending casting a warm, yellowish light that broke up the otherwise rather grey weather. As Dario Marianellis “Dawn” played, we swayed around the meadow ravished by the rustic scenery. Though solotravelling is wonderful, some moments are meant to be shared and this one was perfect.
