One of my friends recently asked me how would I describe Poland in one sentence. I have to say “Poland is Europe in a nutshell”. Nature was very generous to our land, providing it with a beautiful and extraordinary diversified landscape enriched by a colorful culture and stormy history. It has the waves of an unquiet sea, the rocky alpine peaks of the Tatra Mountains (Tatry) look down on its lands. Puck Bay (Zatoka Pucka) with its steep cliffs and wide sandy beaches could be the envy of the French Riviera. Our seacoast has beautiful sand dunes and pine woods and they are not many big hotels, but mostly small, cozy pensions (pensjonaty) and inns (zajazdy).
There is Kashubian Switzerland, Polish Venice in Bydgoszcz and Masuria (Mazury) – our own land of thousand lakes ,that may not equal the ones in Finland in size, but definitely matches its beauty. We also have some of the wildest forests on the European continent, the Białowieża Primeval Forest inhabited by the mightiest European land mammal, the bison (najpotężniejszy europejski ssak lądowy, żubr). There are swift mountain streams (szybkie górskie potoki) and vast wetlands (rozległe bagna), bright green meadows (jasne zielone łąki), deep ravines and gorges (głębokie jary i wąwozy) and even Błędowska Desert (Pustynia Błędowska).
The southern part of the country is filled with beautiful mountain landscapes. The castles and palaces (zamki i pałace) of lower Silesia (Dolny Śląsk) bring to mind the stormy history of the region. In Wielkopolska you can visit places where polish statehood (państwowość, statut stanowy) was born, in Masovia (Mazowsze) dream under a forked willow tree (rozwidlona wierzba) and in Warmia and Masuria (Warmia i Mazury) – admire the vast castles and strongholds (twierdze) of the Teutonic Knights (Krzyżacy) dating back to the dates of proud chivalry, historic grandeur and fierce battles. Do not forget to take a trip to one of the famous Polish spa resorts. All this topped by a satisfying mixture of culture: in the Eastern Borderlands you will meet Lithuanians, Belarusians or even Tatars, in the West there are Germans, and here and there in Poland, Roma people. All these people have enriched our culture over many ages.
In spite of all these wonderful cultural and natural treasures we have been fighting a long battle with Western European stereotypes which have developed over many years in the minds of our neighbors, in the minds of generations of people. The images of wild, winter bears walking the streets have been relegated to the past, to that poor, grey communist country of long ago. Today there is a brand new Poland, beautiful, fascinating and as hospitable as ever.
This can be confirmed by huntsmen coming here as if on an African safari or by ornithologists or birdwatchers who have found their wildlife paradise in the wetlands of the Biebrza River. Local customs and folklore enthusiasts are attracted to Poland from the far corners of the continent by colorful local festivities and unique wooden sacral architecture to be found in many parts of the land.
I’m proud I grew up in such a beautiful country…
Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)
