Scenes of Poland

Of all the trips I've gone on this semester, I think it's fair to say that this one was the most looked-forward-to of them all. The exception is the Prague trip, since that had been planned before I ever came to Germany. But of all the others, planned after I arrived here, Poland with Beth has been the leading idea. It seems quite fitting, then, that this trip ended up late in the semester-- in fact, it was / will be my last personal excursion of the semester. It was long, relaxing, and beautiful. My companion was delightful. It was a perfect trip to end with. :)

On Thursday afternoon (March 27), Beth and I skidaddled (sp?) out of here as soon as possible and took the train north to Goerlitz, on the German-Polish border (and not many miles from the Czech border, either!). We got there after dark, and just barely made it to our hostel in time to check in before the fellow at the desk left for the night. Whew!


We were rather delighted to see our hostel the next morning. What an amazing place! It was marvelous inside, too.

We had several hours to kill (enjoy) before our train into Poland, so we wandered somewhat aimlessly around Goerlitz. We found that our layover city was, in fact, a charming place in itself, and one we would happily have spent more time in!

The path to adventure...

Old town Goerlitz.

"Friendship is a treasured gift, and every time I talk with you I feel as if I'm getting richer and richer."

Martin Luther and one of the churches he helped make possible.

Inside the Goerlitz Frauenkirche.

The German-Polish border!!

We arrived in Jelenia Góra early Friday afternoon. This town is nestled into the Karkonosze Mountains in southwestern Poland. Our first find here was the huge cathedral and sepulchral chapels east of the downtown area-- a beautiful park on a beautiful, warm afternoon!

So happy...

The main square of Jelenia Góra. The name, by the way, means "Deer Mountain." And truly, over the weekend we saw about 40 deer!

The Ratusz (Rathaus in German, or town hall) by dusk.

Saturday morning in Jelenia. We had a ton of fun shopping, from both small street vendors (shoes, sunglasses, souvenirs) and a trendy mall!

After a few hours, we boarded a bus out to Sóbieszow, nestled even closer into the mountains.

Beautiful Sóbieszow.

Sóbieszow is best known for the Karkonosze National Park that begins just outside town. It's also well known (in Poland) for the beautiful castle in that park. It was the castle we hiked up to see!

Almost at the top of the mountain-- what a hike, and what a view!!

Zamek Chojnik, the beautiful castle we'd laboured hard to reach.

A victory shot from the top of the highest tower. Far, far beneath us is the Jelenia valley (Jelenia Góra, Sóbieszow, and other small towns), and behind us on several sides are snow-covered mountains that made our hearts ache with joy to see.

View from a tower window.

On the hike back down. The landscape was stunning!

Back in Jelenia Góra for dinner.

Somehow I managed to narrow down my photos for you from 100 to the 20 or so that are here. Because of that, and because of my limited time, I feel I've hardly touched on the surface of this trip, and all the little details of it that made it so special. But perhaps I will save those stories for some sweet time in the future, when you and I have sat down together with a cup of coffee or tea and a free hour or two to catch up.

I shall close this post with a few bold declarations. I love Poland. And I love it more with Beth.