The first book I have ever read while still in preschool was about Polish Himalayan climbers. With bated breath I read the thing from cover to cover, unaware that the great fascination born within me would still be here 20 years later. It was the desire to see the Himalayas and other mountain ranges that drove me to travel to different continents and allowed me to experience emotions that are most precious to me.

I heard about Podlesice. I heard it was a mecca for climbers but it was only during my college years that I eventually made my way down here. I first joined a climbing school and soon became familiar with all the local rocks. The adrenaline as well as the knowledge I acquired in the process were priceless. Several years later I bought a piece of land from my first climbing instructor and started building a house. I moved in in the summer of 2000 and for the next 8 years the house was a beehive of social life in the area. Then, out of the blue, on a cold night in March disaster struck – the house burned down to the ground. It didn’t take me long to decide I’m staying. Even before the ashes cooled down I had made up my mind firmly to rebuild the house and to extend it by adding a guest section to it. The challenge to tackle the task on my own was easily comparable with climbing Mount Everest but it also proved the most exciting adventure in my life so far. In all of my efforts I have been accompanied by a Bernese dog by the name of “Bernie”, who adds immeasurably to the charm of Podlesice38.   

Every day that I spend in my humble abode rewards me for the years I spent toiling hard to rebuild it from the devastating fire. I have built the walls, floors and ceilings. The house has returned the favor by building me!