Tag Archive for: green city

???If you are a nature lover and looking for a nice place with lots of nature, beautiful views, to enjoy the autumn colors, then visiting Pieniny Mountains is a wonderful way to immerse yourself in nature during the Polish autumn which is a perfect time to explore the colorful country.

Pieniny is a stunningly beautiful, 35km-long mountain range located near the border of Poland and Slovakia, and the autumn colors make it even more appealing. The Pieniny mountain is consists of three separate ranges divided by the Dunajec River, the highlight is the most famous mountain range Trzy Korony (Three Crowns), which consists of five sharp peaks and the highest one is the 982-meter-high Okrąglica. Hiking to the top of Okrąglica, there is an observation platform with an excellent view of the Dunajec river gorge and the vast area of the surrounding Mountains. In nice weather, one can see as far as Babia Góra, 63 km away. Another outstanding mountain in Pieniny is Sokolica, which is well known for the pine relics on the slope of the Sokolica summit, one of them is 500 years old and regarded as an unofficial symbol of Pienins.

Some say that the most beautiful easy hiking trails in Europe are in the Pieniny National Park where trails are well marked and short, and no trekking equipment is necessary, which is perfect for families with children. The Pieniny mountains is a favorite destination not only for hikers but for history lovers, who can admire the medieval Niedzica Castle built on a limestone cliff and the 14th century Red Monastery on the Slovakian border, and so on. With the picturesque peaks and a comfortable temperature during autumn, the Pieniny will leave all visitors with a lifetime of memories.

?The Łódź Special Economic Zone has been ranked 3rd out of 61 entries from around the world, as the best economic zones in the world and 1st in Europe, in a ranking prepared by the Financial Times publication fDi Magazine. Congratulations! ?

Speaking of Łódź, what it has achieved today is inseparable from its history and culture. Łódź is the third-largest city in Poland and a diverse and multicultural city in which Polish, Jewish, German and Russian nations lived and worked together here. In an atmosphere of acceptance and tolerance, they left their mark on the early development of Łódź and became part of this beautiful city they were building together. For years, Łódź had been a melting pot of four cultures and nationalities, where synagogues, tserkvas, as well as Catholic and Protestant shrines got along well with each other in peace.

Łódź is also famous as the former textile industrial center that grew fabulously wealthy in the 19th century. The wealth differences between rich and poor are still noticeable in the architecture of the city,  where luxurious mansions contrast with redbrick factories and old tenement houses. By combing history with modernity, Manufaktura becomes a favorite spot for both locals and visitors, which is the biggest shopping center in Central Europe and was built in an old factory that belonged to Izrael Poznanski, one of the richest businessman in Lodz. Besides, take a stroll along Piotrkowska Street, Europe’s longest pedestrian street, you will find the best cafes, bars and clubs in town.

Today, known for its Film School, Łódź is also a significant cultural center and is aptly described as the country’s top cultural hotspot in Poland, from festivals to concerts, from theatre shows to dance performances, from exhibitions to movie premiere. With the distinct characters of buildings and the abundant art activities, Łódź is well worth a visit.

? If you want to visit Łódź, check out our Lodz City Break to find more multicultural heritage and charming attractions. ?

Photo: bartels-global.com

???Autumn is not only a beautiful season packed with colorful foliage but also a harvest season that one can find all kinds of fresh and delicious fruits and seasonal foods in the market, especially mushrooms! It is well known that the Poles enjoy mushrooms, picking mushrooms in the forest is one of the Poles’ favorite pastimes. Over the centuries, because of the popularity of mushrooms, a lot of Polish mushroom dishes have been invented and they have become a very valuable part of Polish culinary culture. Today, I’d like to share with you some of the classical Polish Mushroom Dishes, and I wonder what would you like to try first If you have the opportunity to visit Poland? ?

1. Mushroom soup

When people talk about mushroom dishes, mushroom soup would be the first to come to mind. Delicate mushrooms are great for soups, and porcini mushroom soup is one of the best-known of this kind of soup, which was made with dried porcini and fresh mushrooms. Besides, there are more interesting variations, such as a traditional Christmas soup, made with dried mushrooms and fruits like prunes and pears, from the Kociewie region near Gdańsk. There is another potato soup from the central part of Poland called Zalewajka, which is a traditional rustic soup made of diced and boiled potatoes, Polish sausage, and dried mushrooms.

2. Mushroom pierogi

The Poles are proud of their pierogi (meaning ‘dumpling’). Though there are many different pierogi fillings, one of the most traditional ones is sauerkraut and mushrooms. This amazing combination is also the foundation of bigos, which is commonly known in English as hunter’s stew. Traditionally, these dumplings are served as the 12th course of a traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner. 

3. Uszka with wild mushrooms

Uszka, meaning ‘little ears’, are small dumplings (a small and twisted version of pierogi) which usually filled with flavorsome wild forest mushrooms and onion or minced meat. They are mainly made for Christmas Eve dinner and served as an opening dish with a tart and rich beetroot broth. Delicate pierogi dough filled with wild mushrooms almost melts in your mouth and combined with clear beetroot soup is really worth a try.

4. Mushroom kaszotto 

Kaszotto is kind of like polish risotto, made with buckwheat, barley or millet, and whatever you have handy, like lentils, celeriac, squash, and of course seasonal mushrooms. It’s become quite a popular dish, as it’s delicious, easy to make and healthier than a traditional risotto. It can go with different veggies, but with wild mushrooms will produce an amazing umami flavour.

5. Scrambled eggs with mushrooms

Scrambled eggs with mushrooms is one of the most common breakfasts in Poland, which is traditionally made with intensely yellow chanterelles, is very tasty, healthy and easy cooking. Chanterelles is a very tasty edible wild mushroom and very popular in Poland.

Photo: culture.pl

Over 1,600 meters above sea level, Mount Śnieżka is situated on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland, the highest mountain in the Karkonosze Mountains and the Sudetes, Stretching along the Polish-Czech border, as well as the tallest peak in the Czech Republic on the border with Poland.

Towering over the Karkonosze Mountains, Śnieżka captures the attention of interesting hikers from all over the world. There are many marked hiking trails of varying difficulty from the Polish side to the top, each of them providing unforgettable views. You can set off from a Polish town, Karpacz, which is a spa town and ski resort, where you can enjoy the picturesque view over the Karkonosze Mountains and the town. There’s also an option to take a chairlift from Karpacz to Mount Kopa (1,377 m), and then to hike up to the peak of Śnieżka, which significantly shortens the way to the summit. Apart from the baroque Chapel of St. Lawrence that has over 350 years of history and interesting mountain huts along the way, there are a number of attractions on the way from Karpacz to Mount Śnieżka that worth a visit.

Once you arrive at the peak, make sure to visit the famous UFO-like meteorological observatory on Śnieżka, which is consists of three joined discs, each with a different function. The highest disk is home to the meteorological observatory. The middle disk is a technical facility and observatory employee’s rooms. The lowest disk is used as a public service area including a restaurant, restrooms and tourist chill room. In nice weather, It would be a good experience for visitors to climb up to the observation deck near the meteorological observatory to admire the panoramic view of the Karkonosze Mountains.

Photo: www.karpacz.pl

Golden Polish Autumn is the best time of year to pick mushrooms in the forest. Thanks to the abundant resource of forests, Poland is filled with porcini, milk caps, chanterelles and all kinds of mushrooms from September to early November. ????

It’s kind of like local seasonal activities that lots of families in Poland go mushroom picking in the forest at least once a year. It’s one of the Poles’ favorite pastimes as well, back to nature, surrounded by the beautiful sceneries and trying to find the hiding places of the tastiest ones. Mushroom is the gifts of autumn, you don’t need any permission to go picking, and there are no quantitative restrictions on how many mushrooms you can pick. But be careful not to pick the protected mushrooms, or destroy the inedible ones, you may get a hefty fine.

Poland has a long tradition of mushroom picking, and therefore mushrooms become basic ingredients for many traditional cuisines. There are many Polish mushroom dishes that have been invented, such as Mushroom soup with dried porcini, Sauerkraut & mushroom dumpling(pierogi), Hunter’s stew (bigos), and so on. If you don’t have much time to visit Poland then try some polish cuisines in a local restaurant would be an ideal option. ???