We spent a week in Swiss Laax resort. Laax and nearby Flims are both dream resorts for skiers and snowboarders. More than 235 km of slopes and various types of lifts prevent you from getting bored with the slopes, even after a few days of skiing. We also had a beautiful apartment in pleasant and modern rocksresort at the foot of the slope. And the food. On one hand it’s regional and covers all the local specialties but on the other it’s also diverse and has a lot to offer. Something for culinary freaks, for young ones that love bars and parties and for families with children as well. An ideal place. We will write some more about Laax itself, about its culinary diversity and local specialties 🙂 Unfortunately the stay in Laax made us sad about something else…
It made us sad about our mountains and our own Zakopane that seems to be dying and disappearing over the last years and we don’t see any precautions taken to prevent it. We love it with faithful love but this relationship is getting more and more toxic… Because what works like a Swiss clock in Laax seems to be getting completely out of hand here. And I don’t mean the magnificent mountains, new lifts opened every year or endless tracks. We know that we can’t fight nature and that Zakopane is not in the Alps. But it doesn’t mean it’s supposed to give up and become a cheap bazaar with awful toys.
Laax isn’t the first place we visited in the last months, that can be an example of how to promote a region or a city. In January we had the opportunity to see how is South Tirol doing in this field. Both Laax and South Tirol are places that are perfectly promoted and marketed. Inviting bloggers and journalists is a part of the marketing-mix. They are all aware about their advantages, local specialties and what’s important in building the strength of their brand. South Tirol has speck, apples and wine, great restaurants and delicious, regional food in eateries on the slope. Also, plenty of ski slopes customised to various needs. Laax offers fondue, raclette and capuns. They care about specific customer’s needs, provide attractions for crazy snowboarders as well as calm slopes for those who go skiing in order to relax and forget about their jobs. In the cities and regions that are promoted wisely, nothing happens without a reason, everything can be explained, everything makes a coherent whole and people responsible for marketing are REAL specialists and have no problem preparing a solid USP (unique selling proposition) – something unique that distinguishes the product from others. They can customise the offer to individual needs of their guests. We know about it and it’s very important for us, because apart from blogging we both work in advertising business and have conducted promotional campaigns for cities and regions. Therefore each of our visits in a particular region is not only a bloggers’ visit but also advertising specialists’ visit. We do not only pay attention to how beautiful it is in a particular place, what museums do we want to visit, where to sleep and where to eat but we look, ask and try to know as much as possible about how a certain brand is being built. Thanks to our knowledge we see that the people responsible for marketing in these regions know their target audience and EVERY SINGLE element you’ll see in Laax or South Tirol is a part of a smart and reliable marketing campaign!
How is it down here? Seems like Zakopane is taken care of by accountants who DON’T KNOW A THING about what to do with their city in order to keep it something that Poland can be proud of. Not ashamed of! Because it’s becoming a shameful place right know. 10-12 years ago Zakopane was the magical place I wanted to show to all my foreign friends. I guess I wouldn’t do that now…
This picture reminds me of Zakopane from my first visits in the beginning of the 90s. That’s how I want to see it!
views that we like
Zakopane is very special for me. It’s the only place in Poland (apart from Warsaw) that I really feel attached to. I haven’t visited any other place over the years so often. Nothing makes me more calm and relaxed than a walk down Krzeptówki and Pardałówka or in the valleys. My family isn’t spread all over the country and I’m not attached to any place in particular. Neither do I have family in Zakopane (even though I dreamed about having family there when I was young :)) Why Zakopane then? I’m not sure. I remember my mother’s story about going to Zakopane in April in the late 80s, dressed in spring clothes and experiencing a surprise snowstorm. I also remember a guesthouse on the corner of Piłsudskiego and Makuszyńskiego streets and a terrace where I sunbathed with my cousin when I was 10. I remember lazy summers in a wooden house close to Strążyńska Valley and long walks with my mom.
I still love walking the Cicha road to Daniel and remembering those times. Then, there was a trip with my Dad.. My Dad and my Grandpa. Hotel on Antałówka, skiing in Białka and trips to Bąkowo Zohylina. It was magical since it happened only once. And Christmas with lots of snow, somewhere in an underheated but charming guesthouse on Pardałówka. And a language trip with my best friend. And boarding schools in a country used for school trips. And finally – first dates with Łukasz (Yes, in Zakopane!), and then – long walks down the Chochołowska Valley, boletus soup and lazy breakfasts with a newspaper in my hand. Also magical since I was pregnant. I guess it’s because of these memories my love for Zakopane still prevails and cannot be killed so easily. That’s why I still get calm and happy every time we arrive in Zakopane and usually want to stay longer than I can, despite the fact that what’s going on in the streets irritates me and makes me feel bad…
Zakopane seems to be disappearing, dying, floating in the void not knowing what to do next. Zakopane, the ski resort with groups of eager skiers going through Krupówki to Gubałówka with skis in their hands seem to be long gone. The slope on Gubałówka has been closed for many years now and you can only have a walk in the autumn there… That is unless you don’t trip over some awful gadgets sold on the way! The main footpath looks the worst… Instead of being city’s pride it makes me sick! Because Krupówki is flooded with rubbish… All day, everywhere!
“highland” souvenirs (sparkling devils)
near Gubałówka: helium to talk and wristbands
kitsch on Krupówki
A classic polar bear that everybody used to take a picture with back in the day, turned into a bunch of creatures in dirty disguises that are waiting for the little ones asking their parents for a picture. Our Maks wants one too, obviously – he needs to shake hands with every dog, bear and Winnie the Pooh… Thankfully we manage to persuade him that such a picture is not worth it. And the bear goes “Maybe daddy will take a picture? 5 zloty!”
You can also find colourful balloons with cartoon characters, squeaking, battery-powered dogs and lots of other awful gadgets – sparkling balls, creatures on a wire, helium to talk and wristbands. They even came up with plastic drawing circles that I remember from primary school. Lately I get the feeling that walking through Krupówki is becoming more and more similar to walking through a gigantic, cheap bazaar. It doesn’t look like a winter capital of Poland anymore! Walking through Krupówki with a 2-year old is even worse: you quickly find out how easy it is to lose PLN 100 in 30 minutes if you listen to your child begging. The child doesn’t know yet that it’s all rubbish and therefore everything that’s loud and colourful becomes a must have instantly! After our last trip I get the feeling that all the awful toys overshadowed what used to be the advantage of Zakopane: traditional, highland wooden alpenstocks, houses and figures. Souvenirs that are appropriate for this region, local and stylish… You practically can’t find them anymore! Everything is made from plastic, rubber, painted in millions of colours and low quality! Grrrr…
The only thing you can do now is going for a walk far from the city centre… After going a bit further, towards Krzeptówki, Strążyńska Valley or Kuźnice you will find some calm and charming areas. Areas that are by now free of the overwhelming kitsch… But there’s one problem: if the centre keeps turning into a repelling and awful place, is anybody going to visit it anymore? Especially with the strong competition nearby…
“I just want to say hello” – how dirty teddy bears attack on Krupówki
squeaking dogs – Mommy I want one!
traditional drawings?
How about the culinary aspect of Zakopane? We think that it’s yet another thing that is becoming worse and worse in Zakopane. Year after year it’s getting worse. Death, massacre, nothing…
Waffles, kebabs and “jadło” by kilograms is what you see on Krupówki. Oscypek cheese with cranberry from a stand and a potato pancake from a booth seem to be the quintessence of local specialties and the most you can get around here. There are awful huge banners with pictures of colourful waffles and big numbers stating how much you can eat for PLN 3 everywhere… Suddenly you realise that Zakopane is a place where the best thing to do is stuff yourself with meat and a tonne of potatoes! The quality, service and local flavours don’t matter. The important thing is to stuff yourself as cheap as possible! Is this really the target audience Zakopane wants to reach to?
Traditional inns on Krupówki? They all look the same (and are owned by the same person! MADNESS!), all serve pretty much the same food in the same mediocre way, counting on solutions such as free crushed biscuits to go with the beer when it comes to attracting customers. Maybe it will attract somebody. But who? Those who want to sleep over for PLN 20 and eat McDonald’s or a PLN 15 kebab for lunch? In most places the sraff doesn’t give a shit about customer’s needs and every polite request for something that’s not on the menu is welcomed with sulks and rudeness of the waiters. And the prices! Too high and inadequate to the quality of the food and size of the portions! What else is there apart from inns? Kebab and burgers… Again with awful banners with price tag and an awful picture of a bun on it. There are also 2-3 pizzerias. In one of them they lately charged me extra PLN 5 for two slices of lemon for my water!! I don’t know if I should laugh or cry!?
food by weight – seems like it’s the quantity, not the quality that counts
Wanna try a kebab? A traditional highland meal!
back in the day Czarny Staw restaurant used to be a nice place. Now it’s hidden behind banners advertising “Zapiekanka XXL”
repulsive banners – look pretty much the same all over Krupówki
pizza, kebab, burger, chocolate – they forgot about sushi!
The places that offer “everything in one place” are our “favourites”: pizza, kebab, burger, hot chocolate and mulled wine. Can’t you really see how absurd it is? Do you still want to eat in such places? I don’t know how it’s possible… I do know however that for people that have bigger expectations than cheap food “PLN 3 for 100g” Zakopane is slowly withering and has less and less to offer. And contrary to the popular belief there’s more and more of this kind of people every year and what’s more – they are the ones to be fought for as they have the money to spend. Right now they prefer to go to Austria, Italy, France or Switzerland as they are disappointed with their own winter capital. That’s because these few slopes that are available and Zakopane’s offer are not enough to satisfy their needs.. Who’s going to come to Zakopane then? Well it’s you, who have to answer this question! If you have any doubts, have a walk through Krupówki. The characteristics of a Zakopane visitor have changed dramatically over the years…
More and more people are talking about the death of Zakopane right now. About the end of Polish winter capital, about the kitsch, rubbish sold in the streets and about the awful banners. We should ask ourselves if we want to save the city and rehabilitate it? Will we support the initiatives to save Zakopane or give up on our winter capital? I don’t want to!
Unfortunately, right now, my love for Zakopane is like the love for a husband that’s and alcoholic who drinks more and more every day and every year but you still love him and believe he will change in the end… But does not listen to your requests and threats and keeps doing his thing… That kind of love usually ends with a tragedy. I wish one thing for everybody: that this time it doesn’t end with a tragedy. I hope that Zakopane will finally wake up and sober up!
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I wrote this article because of my great love for Zakopane that makes me, as a citizen of Poland, heartbroken when I see what’s happening with Zakopane. But we don’t want it to be just a collection of thoughts with no meaning, that will fade away somewhere in the depths of Internet. We want to act! I’m planning to send the article to the authorities of Zakopane, to the media. Maybe it will help to save Zakopane in some way? If you also care about our winter capital, share it and write about what irritates you! Only together we can start a discussion and maybe make a difference…
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