retiredmartin

I just read that the thing most appreciated by sodden UK blog readers is reports from exclusive European Ski resorts. Happy to oblige.

Actually, there is some footage of my first and last ski lesson, taken by a 15 year old who will never reach 16 if it sees the light of day on his his Instagram.

Our hotel sits at a foot of a modest ski slope that I shan’t be setting foot on ever again, in the heart of the gorgeous Silesian Beskids, which I shan’t pretend I’d ever heard of.

The straggly village of Istebna isn’t as picture postcard as you get used to in Germany, but the local church looked breathtaking on the way to Midnight Mass.  The Mass itself was a test of endurance for those of us used to the Salvation Army Carol Service.

Beer choice at the hotel is Zywiec, Paulaner and Heineken, which isn’t much of a choice.  Zywiec in particular would sit well below Fosters on my own taste chart, with Coors below that.

Pub Curmudgeon wrote about Polish canned beer here, finding some of the lesser-known brands available in UK offies palatable enough for the price.  We popped into the next village of Wisla, home to the sort of Ski-resort influenced café you normally find on Macclesfield’s Sunderland Street, to see what options they had.

Clearly Zywiec can make good beer, as the 1881 Porter (9.5%) (top) was rather spectacular, firmly in Old Tom territory even in bottled form.  Sadly I was driving, but a specialist bottle shop next door was at hand.

Granted there’s the odd Kozel and Efes in that line-up, but some really interesting local stuff as well.

Mrs RM planned to save our purchases for a Polish Party when we get back, but has already drunk a Porter and this DIPA, which was the best beer we’d had all week.  If our local Polski Sklep added these to the cans for less than £2 they’d have at least 2 customers.