Poland is my beautiful country where I was born, shaped into who I am now by love of God and those He entrusted my life with. I was surrounded by beauty in my early years and yes, while I like big cities for what they offer, there is something special about nature.
I don't think the white stork is an official symbol of Poland but it does remind me about home. As I learnt they have adapted to live close to people for the food they can easily get from our crops. So here he is, a white stork called Klekus raised in the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center.
Poland's rich history has given us some marvelous places to visit:
Castles and Palaces. These are probably my favorite way of learning history just because they are so beautiful although so very old. There are plenty to choose from and some of them are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. They represent different architectural styles and have various historical significance. A number of them have preserved their original construction but many were destroyed and reconstructed. Some examples of the most famous ones are: Wawel Royal Castle, Royal Castle Warsaw, Malbork, Ksiaz, Moszna, Kliczkow, Czocha. You can also buy a castle and renovate it, like was done at Palac Brunow a place very close to my heart...that's where I got married!
Churches. From the time when Poland received Christianity to now, there were and still are churches being built from the old ones built of wood (Wang Temple) to the modern ones (Divine Mercy Shrine in Lagiewniki). They are important an part of our history and immerse all of the country, even in my little village the church dates back to the 13th century. The very best ones are magnificent art pieces: St. Mary Basilica in Krakow, Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, Royal Gniezno Cathedral, St. Mary Gdansk
Museums. These are the real places where you can admire a country's history. One of the most important museums is the National Museum in Warsaw, the Polish capital city and housing the largest collection of paintings in the country. Also of note is the Gniezno National Museum, the home of the Polish nations origins. And lastly, the Salt Mine in Wieliczka - something special, it's the world's oldest still operating salt mine.
City centers. For those who don't like historical sightseeing be simply amazed by the cities most prominent areas. Besides their old and often renovated architectural building they will have restaurants that serve delicious Polish food. They say about these cities: they never sleep... once in Krakow we were about to go to sleep in a shared hostel room when some other guests arrived, they left their bags and went parting. They came back in the morning when we were getting ready for church as it was Sunday. Here is where I recommend you go: Krakow (Cloth Hall with the stalls of local tradesmen selling handicrafts and cloth products), Wroclaw (Wroclaw's dwarfs hunt, they are tiny bronze figurines hidden through the city), Warsaw (it has a beautiful Royal Łazienki Park), Torun, Poznan.
It's interesting how regardless of these cities beauty there are still plenty that would say nature is what we want to see. So depending what you like:
Baltic Sea - Poland's most popular summer vacation destination, where you rest on the sand white beaches and enjoy seaside resorts, restaurants and bars. Beautiful touristic destinations will be: Swinoujscie, Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot, Kolobrzeg.
Tatra Mountains - the highest in Poland with its peak Rysy (8200 ft). When hiking you will encounter waterfalls, streams, and mountain lakes the largest being Morskie Oko Lake. Zakopane city is also here, one of the best for the mountain cultural life.
Bledow Desert - just 12 sq mi of beautiful loose sand.
Ojcow National Park - among many other parks this one has the most visited trail in Poland, Trail of the Eagles' Nests a marked trail connecting 25 medieval castles. It is known for it's limestone cliffs, caves and butterflies.
Bialowieza Forest Reserve - last primeval forest in Europe and known for European Bison.
So Zuzanna, a photographer, shared her love for nature with her pictures below, but reminded me that I like the forest too! Here I am with my mom eating wild berries from the forest.
A beautiful picture of the forest, a place of quiet, such a needed space in today's loud world, calm and simple in contrast to the complications we get into.
Even though we like landscape views... maybe it makes sense to take a closer look at nature's creations. See details of flowers, leaves, branches and tree trunks.
I don't really like animals yet my aunt told me I must, they are God's creatures too! And there's a quote from Bible about that Genesis 1:25
God made wild animals in their own species, and cattle in theirs, and every creature that crawls along the earth in its own species. God saw that it was good.Zuzanna adds "they deserve to be loved" and supports that statement with the pictures as they speak better than my explanations. She caught a flock of birds taking off, European hare's pretty eyes, a scared baby deer and friendly looking cow. With pictures like these you must start to like them at least a little bit!
Either you like sightseeing in big cities or relaxing in a forest or making friends with animals... just make sure you do it! Poland offers you all the options. Pick what you like and be blessed with the experience!
Zuzanna
a beautiful photographer, fond of nature and animals hence vegan and zoophysiotherapist to be.
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