Café Zakopianka – April 19, 2011

I had the most enjoyable evening after work on Tuesday. After dropping my things off in my room I headed over to my favorite spot, Café Zakopianka. (http://www.estrada.net.pl/?wiadomosci=13) As we ended work an hour early I wanted to get one more visit in before I left town.


As I walked up at 9:15 p.m., Marek and Ursula were standing in the doorway as if they were waiting on me. They invited me in and I became the sole customer at that hour. They close at 10 p.m. in the off-season.) I ordered my usual and sat down to read the day’s Commercial Appeal. (Yes, the current edition is slid under my hotel room door each day. Isn’t technology wonderful?) After finishing my piwa I told Ursula that this might be my last night here as I was leaving on Friday morning. We chatted a bit and she translated to Polish for Marek. Since he knew that I worked for I.P. he asked me my thoughts on the future of paper. (He is a former actor and a big supporter of artists who print on paper.) He then invited me into another room where he showed me all of the graphic arts that are displayed on paper. In his mind paper would always be around. I agreed with him. Then he went to his laptop and showed me photos of posters that he has created detailing the 185 years of his building and surrounding area. Come June he will have these tableaus displayed under the arcade of his garden. As it will run for three months I hope that I get to return to see it. Then he delved deeper into his digital photo albums and showed me photos of the restoration of the building in 1996-97. I had seen some of them on his Web site but he showed all of them to me.

For historical purposes, the building was constructed in 1826 and served as a coffee shop beginning in 1831. Around 1875 it became a departure point for carriage rides to Zakopane, the mountain and now ski resort in the Tatra Mountains. (In 2005 I took a bus there and it was a 2 hour ride.) I now have learned the origin to the name of his café. When he took possession of the building it had been vacant for six years and had been a pizza place prior to that. He showed me a photo of a sign that said “Italian Pizza” which places the shop to the Communist era.

So, he took upon a complete rehabilitation of the building as it was in, as Marek said, “a horrible and catastrophic” condition. The original owners would be proud of what he had done. But he was not finished. In 2009 he replaced all of the windows and doors and made them full size to restore the building’s façade to its original look. In reality, there were no doors just archways. The architectural design is considered an arcade.

He next showed me photographs of himself by the monument down the path and just north of his building. He was 5 years of age which places that photo to 1960. After talking about the building he went on to show me digital photos of himself as an actor and then of his recent vacations. (Marek is a great photographer with a really good eye for composition and color.) These photos were of his holiday in Gdynia, Sopot and Hel on the Baltic Sea near Gdansk. It looked a lot like the Emerald Coast on the Florida panhandle. He even said that the sand was a beautiful color of white.

Amidst the photos were images of his German shepherd, Hugo. I had finally learned his name. (While I perused the photos Hugo slept quietly at Marek’s foot.) And he also had photos of his two cars and a travel trailer, which he bought in the U.S. The cars are a 1991 Chrysler Minivan and a more recent Jeep Cherokee. He surely loves that van.

It was an interesting conversation as Marek spoke in both Polish and French so I found myself uttering a few words in both languages. Of course, Ursula was the linchpin to this conversation as if not for her I would not have been standing at his laptop for an hour. I had thoroughly enjoyed this time in the company of a proud Pole.

Before I left I typed my blog’s URL into his laptop and showed them where I had mentioned their café last week. Marek was happy to see that.

After saying “dobranoc” I left the café on such a high that I immediately called Toni to regale her with my evening. I had finally peaked behind the curtain of the Café Zakopianka and had been invited into the parlor for a history lesson on the café, Krakow and Marek. And it was a great feeling knowing that I had. In just one hour I had learned the names of Ursula, Hugo and the origin of the name of the café. And it had just been two weeks ago that I had learned Marek’s name. And I owe all of this to Ursula who provided the translation services for me to get to know Marek and his café to the level I had desired since 2006.

I had truly come home again.