The journey
The first visit to Poland, a three-week summer trip through the Tatra Mountains, historic cities and the Masurian lake region — an unexpected discovery.
Zakopane, the "winter capital" of Poland, is beautiful in summer too. At the foot of the Tatra Mountains on the Slovak border, it's a picturesque village of wooden chalets in the góralski (highlander) style with the lively Krupówki as the main promenade — full of restaurants, smoked oscypek cheese shops and street musicians. The ideal starting point for hikes in the Tatras: the Kościeliska Valley, the alpine lake Morskie Oko (Eye of the Sea) — reachable on foot or by horse-drawn carriage — and Poland's highest peaks like Rysy (2,499 m).
Kraków, already described in the 2010 trip, reveals itself for the first time with all its medieval charm. The Rynek Główny, Wawel, the Gothic churches and the nightlife of basement bars.
Warsaw, the rebuilt capital, with the contrast between the restored Old Town and the Soviet palaces. Łódź, the Polish Manchester, an industrial city in full artistic transformation.
The Masurian lake region (Mazury) in north-east Poland — the "land of a thousand lakes" — is a natural paradise little known outside Poland: interconnected lakes, forests of pines and birches, storks on rooftops, and a quiet that seems impossible in the heart of Europe.
The first of many visits to this surprising country.
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